COST OF PEODUCING APPLES IN HOOD RIVER VALLEY. 



43 



The most expensive of all hauling operations is delivering the ap- 

 ples at the shipping station. A man and team haul on the average 

 87 boxes per load 4 miles, at a cost of $0.0285 per box for the average 

 distance hauled, or $0,007 per box per mile. There is considerable 

 contract hauling, while many boxes are shipped to the association at 

 Hood River via the Mount Hood Railroad at a freight cost in the 

 lower valley from 2^ cents to 3^ cents per box. Considering all rec- 

 ords, the total cost of delivering these apples f. o. b. at Hood River 

 station is materially increased by this freight charge, making a total 

 cost of $8.28 per acre or $0.0373 per box. The total cost of all haul- 

 ing for the 54 farms, including the shooks, loose boxes in the orchard, 

 and hauling to the station, including contract hauling, is $12.70 per 

 acre, or $0.0572 per packed box. 



PACKING-HOUSE LABOR. 



Labor in the packing house includes sorting, packing, nailing, 

 stamping, waiting on the packers, foreman, and any other labor em- 

 ployed about the packing shed. The cost of making the box is not 

 included here, but under the cost of made-up box. This labor, when 

 all records are considered, amounts to $0.1073 per box, or about 50 

 per cent of all handling labor costs, and 28 per cent of the total labor 

 cost. . 



Table XVIII. — Packing Jwuse averages and practices on farms studied. 



Operation. 



Number 

 practic- 

 ing. 



Per cent 

 practic- 

 ing. 



Man- 

 hours per 

 acre. 



Packed 

 boxes in 

 10 hours 

 per man. 



Cost per 

 acre. 



Cost per 



packed 



box. 



Pro rata 



cost per 



box. 



Packing 



Sorting 



Machine sizer 



Nailing 



Nail and wait 



Foreman 



Waiting 



other packing labor. 



Total cost per box . 



98.15 

 59.26 

 38.89 

 25.93 

 74.07 

 29.63 

 11.11 

 11.11 



29.03 

 43.62 

 34.31 

 10.20 

 14.13 

 13.28 

 11.31 

 33.03 



77.5 



53.3 



82 

 232 

 200 

 213.4 

 260 



95 



10.24 

 9.81 



7.72 

 2.30 

 3.18 

 2.99 

 2.54 

 7.41 



0.0457 

 .0463 

 .0320 

 .0108 

 .0141 

 .0121 

 .0096 

 .0357 



$0. 0453 

 .0262 

 .0135 

 .0027 

 .0106 

 .0040 

 . 0013 

 .0037 



,1073 



Table XVIII shows the packing-house practices, indicating the 

 number who practice the different operations, together with the 

 average time and costs per acre and per box. The pro rata column 

 is the cost per box distributed over all the records, so that the total 

 column represents the actual packing-house cost for the 54 records. 



Sorting. — All apples are sorted and packed in the packing shed or 

 tent. There are two methods of sorting. The apples may be sorted 

 either by hand or on the sorting tables of a sizing maching. Pre- 

 vious to the introduction of the sizing machine many apples were 



