Proceedings, 1!)13. 10 



"To maniifai-tiirc in Olcunugdn. — On a small scale nianiifacturins in singlo-barrol 

 lots of concentrated spray, the materials required per barrel are as follows: 112 lb. 

 sulphur, 50 lb. lime. The approximate price of sulphur at Victoria is $2S.-jO per ton. 

 The freight rate to Vernon on sulphur, car-load lots, in bags, is 67 cents per 100 lb., 

 while the rate on lime in barrels is 33 cents per 100 lb. There is a slight increase to 

 Kelowna, Summerland, and Penticton. The cost of 112 lb. sulphur is $1.00, freight 

 is SO cents, total $2.40 ; 5G lb. of lime costs approximately 32 cents and the freight 

 costs 16 cents, a total of 4S cents, f.o.b. Vernon. The lald-down cost of materials is, 

 therefore, $2.88. 



" To make up a barrel of spray requires boiling for one hour. Preparation might 

 be estimated at another hour, and there must be a barrel to put the material in. 

 Labour will cost probably 65 cents; a barrel will cost about $1.25; fuel will cost say 

 30 cents ; total cost, $2.20. Paying car-load freight" rates on materials, total cost 

 will apparently be around $5.08 per barrel. 



"This will not, however, be quite as strong as the commercial product, which 

 tests 32%° Beaume, and the value depends in direct ratio to the Beaume test. 

 Usually it should test about 20° if made under proper conditions. 



" If lime and sulphur were brought up to the Okanagan in less than car-load 

 lots, the total cost w-ould be increased to about approximately .$7 per barrel, the 

 L.C.L. rate on sulphur $1.24, and on lime 74 cents. 



" There would be, in addition, the cost of a hydrometer — .?1 — and the first cost 

 of the boiling plant, which on a one-barrel scale need not be over $12, and might 

 be kept as low as $3 or $4. 



" The local prices of lime and sulphur would probably put the manufacturing of 

 small lots out of the question. There is, in addition, the need for experience and 

 skill in manufacture and in using the Beaume test. The variation in strength of the 

 home-made is an ob.iection." 



I learn from Captain Brush, manager of the K.L.O., that he effects a considerable 

 saving by making lime-sulphur on the ranch. 



It would seem that, given proper conditions, several dollars per barrel might be 

 saved. On the small scale, esijecially with inexperience, the saving, however, would 

 be more apparent than real. The O.A.C. bulletin on " Making Commercial Lime- 

 sulphur " is very good and may be followed to advantage. A good report on a 

 successful plant of fairly large capacity is given by Professor Cole in the Wash- 

 ington State Plorticultural Society's Report of 1012. 



The cost of spraying machinery here is greater than elsewhere, because of a 

 duty of 25 per cent, and long distance from the Eastern manufacturers and conse- 

 quent high freight charges. We have looked into the question, but fail to find any 

 hope of materially reducing the cost to the purchaser in either tariff or freights. 

 The retailers' margin for handling is small, especially in Vernon, and there is little 

 profit in it for them. 



The British Columbia Fruit-growers' Association secures wholesale rates on the 

 principal spraying materials for its members for cash, and the saving effected, by 

 Coast growers principally, amounts to a very considerable sum. They buy about 

 $3,000 annually through the Association, and save about $700 by so doing. This 

 price-list has al.so resulted in retailers generally quoting these materials at small 

 margins, and I do not look for much reduction in cost there. 



SUMMABV. 



(1.) Our total cost of production is too high. 



(2.) The cost of pest-control seems excessive considering our comparative free- 

 dom from pests. 



(3.) The high cost of pest-control is due, partly, to high cost of machinery, 

 mateiials, and labour, but there seems little chance of reducing these costs. None of 

 these are providing excessive profits to makers and dealers under present economic 

 conditions. 



