CONNECTICUT VALLEY CIGAR LEAF TOBACCO. 191 



Table 29. — Cost of Packing a 350-Pound Case in 1917-18. 



Shrinkage, 10 per cent at 30 cents, price paid farmer, .... $10 50 

 Sweating, 5 per cent at 30 cents, price paid farmer, . . . . 5 25 



$15 75 



Paper, 1 pound at 11 cents, . . . . . . . . $0 11 



Price of white pine case, ......... 2 50 



Nails for case, ........... 03 



Twine, 1 pound at 20 cents, ........ 20 



Labor: — 



Tying350pound3at $1.25 per 100 4 37 



Sorting 350 pounds at $1.30 per 100 4 55 



Packing, 1 60 



Sampling 35 



Cartage and inspection, ........ 15 



13 76 



Price paid producer for 350 pounds at 30 cents, $105; interest on $118.76 



($105+$13.76) at 6 per cent $7 13 



Storage, 1 year (including taxes and insurance), ..... 50 



Light 10 



Heat 1 00 



Transportation to New York at 20 cents per 100 pounds, less shrinkage 



and sweating, .......... 60 



Office help 20 



Collecting 10 



Depreciation on buildings, $5,000 at 5 per cent on basis of cases packed, 54 



10 17 



Total cost per case, . . • $39 68 



Cost per pound, ........... 113 



Labor and all materials connected with packing have advanced since 

 1914. For the season of 1917-18 paper cost the packers about l\\ cents 

 per pound. Three sheets weigh 1 pound and will line a case. Wire nails 

 cost about $6 per keg. Cases have also advanced considerably. Table 

 27 gives the relative sizes and costs of cases for sun-grown tobacco in 1916. 

 Add 90 cents per case to obtain the cost in 1917. 



Storage. 



Tobacco is a product which, in contrast to the great bulk of products, 

 requires a period of storage before it is desirable for consumption. At 

 least six months are required for the natural sweating and packing proc- 

 ess, and from five to eight weeks for forced sweating. The longer tobacco 

 is in storage the better the qualitj'. It can be held two, three, five or 

 even more years without any deterioration in quality. Some large firms 

 advertise their product by some such catchy phrase as "mellowed by 

 age." This is one reason why it is so easj/ to regulate prices; crops are 

 safely held over from years of overproduction to years of underproduction, 

 although since 1914 we have been drawing heavily on our reserve supply. 

 Consequently the length of time in storage depends to a large extent 

 upon market conditions. In general, we may say that tobacco is in 

 storage six to eight months, although the periods range from two months 

 to two years. 



