COMMERCIAL ORCHARDING IN WEST VIRGINIA. 



13 



sleeping quarters. Under such conditions young men from schools 

 and colleges find congenial employment, as well as the sons of respect- 

 able citizens in the community. 



HORSE LABOR. 



A man with one horse to plow or cultivate is generally paid $2 to 

 $2.25 per day. A man with two horses may receive $2.50 to $3.50 

 per day. Frequently a man with a team is employed by the hour, when 

 he may receive in some sections 30 cents per hour for a 2-horse team 

 or 50 cents per hour for a 4-horse team. 



From an accurate record on one farm it cost for the entire year an 

 average of $13 per month to care for and feed one mule. This did 

 not include the fre- 

 quent pasturing of 

 the mule on Sundays. 

 Another orchardist 

 found that the cost 

 of keeping a horse 

 during the year was 

 about $15 per month. 

 The variation is $8 to 

 $15 per month, de- 

 pending largely on 

 the price of feed, 

 which during the past 

 10 years has varied 

 from $12 to $35 per 

 ton for hay and 50 

 cents to $1 per bushel 

 for corn . It has been 

 a common practice in 

 this section to sell the 

 mules and horses in 

 the fall when the culti- 

 vating season is over 

 and to buy again in 

 the spring when the 

 growing season begins. Not all, however, regard this practice as 

 satisfactory. There is a loss of 10 to 20 per cent in buying and selling 

 in this manner. 



Figure 4 shows in graphic form the number of hours of man labor 

 employed on a 400-acre peach orchard during the year 1911. Most 

 of the labor represents work done with teams, and shows quite accu- 

 rately the relative amount of time 16 mules were employed. 



UAM ^£3. /tA/P. AfV?./*7AYUlS/V£-Lj</£y ACS. Sett OCT. A/OK 0£C. 



Fig. 4. — Chart showing the number of man hours of labor performed 

 during each month of the year 1911 on a 400-acre peach orchard. 

 This is approximately the amount of time that 20 mules — the 

 proper number for such an orchard — could be used during the year. 



