COST OF PRODUCING APPLES IN WENATCHEE VALLEY, WASH, 



29 



All fruit is sorted : sometimes by the men as they pack, sometimes 

 by a person especially employed for this purpose. The sorters 

 usually sort the fruit from the loose boxes into three grades: Extra 

 Fancy, Fancy, and Choice. The culls are thrown into boxes close 

 at hand. In some instances the fruit is placed on canvas packing 

 tables and sorted in a similar manner. Some of the growers who har- 

 vest the largest crops use mechanical sizers, but when this investiga- 

 tion was made so few men had adopted this method of sizing that it 

 was impossible to obtain enough data to give reliable averages. 

 Both men and women are employed in sorting and packing. One 

 person will sort from 50 to 100 boxes per day. The sorters are paid 

 S0.225 to $0.25 per hour for labor. 



Fig. 6.— Packjng apples in the Wenatchee Valley. This type of packing shed is not uncommon on many 



of the smaller ranches. 



It is the usual practice to line all boxes with paper before packing. 

 All grades of apples are wrapped. As previously stated, the packer 

 may both sort and pack, or may merely pack sorted fruit. Over 64 

 per cent ol the growers j)ractic(» tiie former method. A man will sort 

 and pack 69 boxes in 10 lioui-s, wlx'reas a man who packs sorted fruit 

 will average 76 boxes in the same time. The former receives $0.07 

 per box, wliil(^ i]\(- latter receives $0.06. Three loose l)oxes, as they 

 come from tlie orchard, usually })ack ont two boxes. '^Flie cost of 

 each operufiori or (;ornbination of ojx'rations in haiKHing llx' fruit has 

 beeri disl/ibnlcd ovc^r all rccoi'ds, so that the resulting cost ])er box is 

 an avenigc foi- all ranches. (Se(^ Table XXIII.) 



