50 BULLETIN 614, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Where all records taken in the valley are considered, the total net 
labor cost per acre for handling was $87.79 or 25 per cent of the total 
annual net cost of production. 
PICKING. 
Picking is usually begun in the early part of September on a few 
early varieties, but the most intensive harvesting comes with Jonathan 
picking about the middle of September and continues well into 
November, or until the Winesaps are picked. The fruit on a tree is 
usually harvested with one picking. However, some orchardists 
make two or three pickings from the trees of the red varieties. In this 
way it is usually possible to a crop of better color and size than 
with one picking. 
All picking is done by hand. An 8- to 14-foot ladder and 18-quart 
picking pail or canvas bag constitute the picker’s equipment. The 
bag is suspended directly in front of the picker by means of shoulder 
straps. The bottom of the bag is formed by a flap of the canvas 
which is held in place by a snap and ring. By unsnapping the ring 
the apples are allowed to roll out of the bottom of the bag into the box. 
The majority of growers use this type of picking sack. 
TABLE XX XVII.—Number of boxes picked in 10 hours and me ver box and per acre on 
the farms studied in Yakima ee 
| Clean-cultural management. Mulch-crop management. 
District. Loose | Cost per | Cost per 
Loose | Cost per | Cost per 
boxesin | loose packed pe Per'| boxesin| loose packed Cost Age 
| 10 hours.| box. box. 10 hours.| box. box. 
North Yakima .=-- ==: 64.22 | $0.03S0 | $0.0584 $27. 74 66.60 | $0.0376 | $0.0563 $24. 44° 
ZAM ae eae oe ao 50. 71 0449 - 0673 28.33 59. 81 0418 - 0627 23. 01 
Combined management. 
District 
: Loose | Cost per | Cost per 
boxesin | loose packed Costepae 
10 hours.| box. ‘box. are 
Worth wakimas = 2242220 Bape ree soe cosarees ns aoane meee 64.98 | $0.0385 | $0.0577 $26. 66 
/AULEN c1 ah aot ee ee Me eRe ee Ree eee ek ae lee se | 57. 26 - 0437 . 0655 26. 05 
Practically all picking is done by man day labor, at the rate of 
from $0.225 to $0.25 perhour. <A few exceptions were reported where 
contract picking was done at from $0.035 to $0.04 per loose box, 
but none of the orchardists considered in this study hired their pick- 
ing done in this way. Ordinarily a man will pick between 50 and 
75 loose boxes in 10 hours, varying with the crop (yield per tree), 
the variety, the size, the age of tree, etc. 
Table XXXVII gives the variations in the number of boxes that 
usually are picked in a day in the North Yakima and Zillah dis- 
