Cost of Production 373 



LABOR AND COST PRODUCTION 



Farm and orchard labor varies greatly in the different 

 sections of the country with respect to its efficiency, intelli- 

 gence, and the rate of wage paid. While daily wage rates 

 may be high, they may be more economical in the end, due 

 to greater efficiency. The following table shows the 

 amount of apples which the average laborer picks in a full 

 working day in several of the leading fruit regions. This 

 refers to day labor unless otherwise stated. In the fall of 

 1919, however, picking by the box system came into use 

 in the Northwest and many under this system averaged 

 150 boxes a day. Picking by the box, however, is not 

 always satisfactory as it promotes carelessness and conse- 

 quent damage to the quality of the fruit. 



TABLE XIX. AMOUNT OF APPLES PICKED IN ONE DAY 



Yakima, Washington 60 loose boxes, 20 barrels. 



Wenatchee, Washington 75 " " 25 " 



Hood River, Oregon 60 " " 20 " 



Watsonville, California 54 " " 17 " 



Western Colorado 57 " " 19 " 



Western New York (day labor) 20 



Western New York (contract labor by barrel) 25 



Piedmont District of Virginia 10 



Southern Ohio 11 



The orchards in the Piedmont district of Virginia are 

 usually on hillsides and for that reason picking is more 

 difficult. Furthermore, the question of yields is involved. 

 However, it may be seen from the above that it is not im- 

 possible for cheap labor to be the most expensive. There 

 is as much complaint over labor costs in the South as in 

 any other part of the country. In regions of general 

 farming, labor is usually cheaper than in specialized sec- 

 tions since it can be employed profitably for a longer 



