PEAR GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 229 



COST OF PRODUCTION OF FULL-BEARING TREES. 



In 1914 Deputy County Horticultural Commissioner of Sacramento 

 County, Mr. F. C. Brosius, prepared an article for the Monthly Bulletin 

 of the State Commission of Horticulture on the cost of producing pears, 

 from 25 to 40-year-old trees in an orchard containing 1,000 bearing 

 trees. The following table is copied from the article as published at 

 that time. It contains much information which is of interest as well as 

 of much value to the pear grower: 



"Yield From 1,000 Pear Trees, 25 to 40 Years Old, 189 Tons or 7,000 Packed Boxes. 



CULTURAL COST. 



Pruning, one man, 7 trees per day, at $1.75, or 25 cents per tree $250 00 



Pear blight pruning in spring, at 20 cents per tree 200 00 



Plowing, one man, one acre per day, at $2.25 per day 43 00 



(6f acres, 3 cultivations, 19 days) 



Pumping, irrigating on 6 acres, at $7.50 per acre, per season 47 50 



Hauling from orchard to packing shed, one man, 19 days and $2.25 



per day 42 75 



Two tons fertilizer, at $38.00 per ton 70 00 



One team, 130 days, cultivating, spraying, hauling, etc., feeding at 



$1.00 per day 130 00 



COST OF SPRAYING. 



For thrips : 



22 gallons distillate per tank, at 18 cents per gal., or 



30 trees -- $3 96 



One pint black leaf "40" per tank, or 30 trees 1 25 



- $5 21 



Or 17 cents per tree for spraying 1,000 trees twice in season 340 00 



For codling moth and thrips : 



12 pounds lead arsenate per tank, or 30 trees, at $1 20 



One pint black leaf "40" per tank, or 30 trees 1 25 



- $2 45 



Or 9 cents per tree for spraying 1,000 trees three times in season__ 270 00 

 For pear scab : 



500 pounds lime-sulphur spray, at 7i cents per pound 36 25 



(One special spraying and one combined with codling moth spray) 

 Labor : 



Three hose men, one driver, at $2.25 per day ; 5 tanks, or 150 trees 



per day, 4 sprayings in season of 42 days 378 00 



PICKING AND PACKING. 



Picking : 



One man, 30 boxes per day, at $2.25, or 74 cents per box, 7,000 



boxes " 525 00 



Shook, nails, paper, 12 cents per box, 7,000 boxes 840 00 



Making boxes and packing, 6 cents per box, 7,000 boxes 420 00 



Total cost of production $3,598 50 



RECEIPTS. 



189 tons, or 7,000 boxes, at $1.10 net $7,700 00 



Deduct cost of production 3,598 50 



Balance __ . $4,101 50" 



The above estimate of the cost of production was made at a time when 

 labor was more plentiful and much cheaper than at the present time. 

 However, the average is believed to be fair. This case is a striking 

 illustration of the amount of money that it is sometimes necessary to 

 invest in order to make an orchard pay for itself. Without spraying, 

 pruning, cultivation and all those things which go toward making a 

 success of an orchard such profits could not possibly be made. 



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