12 BULLETIN 29, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



per carrier (about $2 per day) and will pack, on the average, about 

 100 carriers a day. Expert packers, however, will pack 150 to 200 

 carriers and are paid $2.50 to $3 a day. An expert in heading car- 

 riers receives one-fourth of a cent per carrier and will head 800 to 

 1,000 carriers daily. The "Delaware" basket, which is estimated to 

 hold half a bushel, is used in this section. 



LABOR PROBLEMS. 



In this section the conditions under which labor may be employed 

 in orchards and on farms are fixed largely by the mining, quarrying, 

 lumber, and railroad industries. The 10-hour day is quite generally 

 standard in orchard work and the rate of wages at present is 12-£ to 15 

 cents per hour, or 10 cents per hour when board is furnished. How- 

 ever, some orchardists employ labor at $1 a day and board. The 

 cost of boarding men, including all charges, such as service, interest, 

 miscellaneous expenses, etc., has been 35 to 50 cents per day during 

 the past few years, the average being about 45 cents. In the larger 

 orchards workmen are boarded in camps. Men, mostly foremen 

 with families, who remain on the farm the year round as a rule get 

 $30 a month, a cottage, garden, and the use of a team free. Other 

 foremen are paid $1.50 to $1.75 a day, with similar perquisites. 



The distribution of labor during the year is well illustrated on a 

 well-managed 250-acre fruit farm having 17,000 peach trees, 1,000 

 cherry trees, and about 12,000 apple trees. This orchard employs 

 16 men, on the average, for about eight months of the year. During 

 the cherry-picking period this force is increased to 20 or 25 men and 

 later to 30 or 35 men when the time for thinning and picking peaches 

 begins. The full force during the picking season has reached 125 

 laborers on this orchard. 



The labor problem is a most serious one in this section. During a 

 large part of the year there is employment for but few men in the 

 orchards, while in the picking season the number required is very 

 large. This problem is most serious for the small grower and for those 

 who are beginning the business. The experienced orchardists have 

 established relations with workmen, as well as with the handlers and 

 distributors of fruit. Some keep a labor directory in which the names 

 and addresses of all who have worked for them are recorded. When 

 wanted for service these men are written to and are asked to bring 

 friends with them. 



It is a matter of great interest and importance to note that those 

 who seem to have the least trouble in employing workmen when 

 wanted and in keeping them are those who insist on proper discipline. 

 Rules for this purpose forbid vulgarity and drinking and insist on 

 such sanitary regulations as are consistent with camp life. Managers 

 are also expected to be solicitous about proper food and comfortable 



