COST OF PRODUCING APPLES IN YAKIMA VALLEY. 



57 



Where a wiping machine is used, which in the case of these records 

 is only in the Zillah district, the sorting cost is less than that where 

 no such machine is used. At one end of the wiping machine the 

 apples are fed into an endless carrier by one or more men. On 

 either side of the carrier is a rotating cylinder covered with strips 

 of cloth, which serve to wipe the fruit clean from spray material 

 or dust before it reaches the sorters. It is claimed that the wiping 

 greatly aids the sorter, enabling him readily to detect worm stings 

 or marks. In addition to this the machine if properly handled will 

 assure the steady flow of apples to the sorters. 



Many orchardists claim that this machine is practical only where 

 the crop is at least 2,000 boxes, although it would seem that its use 

 would be practical for a smaller crop. 



Where mechanical sizers are used, sorting is usually more rapid, 

 for the apples are placed on a sorting table, which enables the sorters 



Fig. 13. — Four kinds of packs used in packing box apples. 



the pack. 



The size of apple usually determines 



to work more rapidly and more conveniently. In such cases there 

 is always one man to wait on the sorters or dump the apples on the 

 sorting table. Mechanical sizers are coming into more general use. 



PACKING. 



On 100 of the 120 farms considered in this survey the growers packed 

 their own apples. Forty-five of these men are located about North 

 Yakima and 55 in Zillah, or the lower valley district. Packers are 

 usually paid by the box, at from $0.03 to $0.05 per box. Both men 

 and women are employed as packers. An average day's work for the 

 valley was 72 packed boxes. In addition to the 100 men who pack, 

 there are 8 who sort and pack. This is slower work when done by the 

 piece. The pay is from $0.01 to $0.02 more per box than for merely 

 packing. The seven orchardists in North Yakima who sort and 

 pack 59 boxes in 10 hours, at the rate of 6 cents per packed box, give 

 a fair average for the valley. 



The diagonal pack is used (see fig. 13) and apples are sized by the 

 packer, unless a mechanical sizer is used, in which case the rate paid . 

 per box is less, usually $0.03 to $0.04. 



