14 BULLETIN 29, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Based on the average number of men and horses employed on six 
commercial peach orchards in this section of West Virginia it is found 
that the time of one man for one year is required to care for 2,500 
trees, exclusive of the thinning and handling of fruit. This number of 
trees would cover about 20 acres of land. On these same orchards it 
would require the labor of one horse or mule to care for 2,300 trees, 
making, on the average, more than one animal for each 20 acres. 
METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION. 
Peaches are shipped by express or by freight in refrigerator cars in 
carload lots. Table I shows the rates per hundredweight to some 
market points from a station located in about the center of the region 
investigated. 
TaBLe I.—Freight and express rates per hundred pounds on peaches from a station in 
West Virginia to various market points. 
Rate per hundred- Rate per hundred- 
weight. weight. 
Market. =< Market. 
Freight. | Express.! Freight. | Express.1 
Wrashineton DanC 22> ea-seace $0. 37 | $0.50 |) Philadelphia, Pa....-....-.---- $0. 42 $0. 80 
Baltimore, Md-_.........----- on - 50: Pittsburehs Pate. 15 eee alae eens 75 
Cumberland siMde aa |e .50 || Thomas, W. Va. (a typical 
BOS tom. Masses eee: oe alee see | ISO) le saeehbouner (KO), Ae) 5 pemscoooasaaclscossccuse -80 
ING WeYiOn kN aya geet eee .42 | 1.00 
1 The express rates quoted are for packages weighing 100 pounds and less. Rates for carload lots are less, 
but the shipper will choose refrigerator cars when shipping in carload lots. 
Thomas, W. Va., and Cumberland, Md., are near-by towns that 
have no transportation advantages as market points. 
COST OF EQUIPMENT. 
The average cost of equipment on several large orchards was found 
to be, in terms of the area of the farm, about $30 per acre. Many 
are equipped at much less cost. A great saving may be made where 
companies of large capital construct very cheap cottages for summer 
camps only. Such companies having orchards in different localities 
of a section may shift their forces from one orchard to another when 
needed, thus enabling them to economize in labor. In such cases the 
total equipment need not cost over $15 to $20 per acre. 
On a 260-acre- orchard the equipment consisted of 1 boarding house, 
$900; 1 packing house, $900; 1 barn, $900; sleeping quarters for 40 
men, $600; 3 tenant houses, $1,200; 3 sprayers, $750; 12 horses, 
$2,400; implements and tools, $500; 4 wagons, $260; total, $8,410, 
or $32.36 per acre. On a 400-acre orchard the equipment was 5 ten- 
ant houses, $4,000; 10 packing sheds, $400; camp building, $1,000; 
barn with water equipment, $1,000; 5 spraying outfits, $1,250; 16 
mules, $3,200; 6 wagons, $390; harrows, plows, ete., $500; miscella- 
neous tools, $150; total, $11,890, or $29.70 per acre. 
