THE HOUSEHOLD CHORES 147 



the write-off would be one-half cent per quart. Tops 

 must be replaced oftener, say, every two years; rub- 

 ber washers every time the can is refilled. Allow- 

 ing for these, and adding one-third of a cent for 

 fuel and water, the total cost per quart would be 

 two cents. (Do not forget that the costs of plant- 

 ing, raising, and harvesting were more than cov- 

 ered by cash sales of fresh tomatoes, and that 

 throughout the season we had all we could eat 

 fresh ourselves.) At the close of the season when 

 canned tomatoes are retailing at their low for the 

 year, four number two cans were advertised by one 

 of the local chains for twenty-five cents. This works 

 out to seven cents a quart. The labor profit on 

 canned tomatoes was therefore not less than ten 

 dollars for two hundred quarts. Reckoned at the 

 end-of-the-year store price for canned tomatoes it 

 was sixteen dollars. On fruits it was, of course, 

 much higher. 



When all this is translated into hourly wages 

 it is not impressive: somewhere from fifteen to 

 thirty-five cents per hour. But to me it matters not 

 so much how well it pays, since it does pay some- 

 thing for time not otherwise gainfully employed, 

 as that it is not cheaper to buy canned tomatoes 

 than it is to put them up. 



It is not so easy to make accurate computations 

 of jams, jellies, and preserves as it is of canned 

 goods. The best I can tell you is that we do as 



