PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 117 



20 cents throughout the season. Since the middle of October I believe it is a fair 

 statement that the labor of picking, cleaning- and packing grapes has in most 

 districts been in the neighborhood of 30 cents per crate. This high cost can of course 

 be attributed to the fact that the grapes were affected by early rains which made it 

 necessary to pick and clean them with extra care. 



You ask if it is true that a large percentage of the table grape crop was left on 

 the vines this year for the reason that there was no profit to be derived in shipping 

 them. 



Unfortunately it is true that such is the case. I am informed that in many vine- 

 yards in the Lodi and American River districts a very large percentage of the crop 

 is still remaining on the vines, and I know that this is the case in the Yacaville 

 district in our late vineyards. 



I have been told that in all probability there were in the neighborhood of 1.000 

 car loads of grapes left unpicked because there was no prospective profit in shipping 

 them. I do not know whether this is true or not. but I believe there are several 

 hundred car loads of these grapes which will be allowed to rot on the vines. 



Your last question is what has been the cost of properly picking and packing a 

 crate of Tokay grapes since the rain. 



I can only answer this question from my own experience, which has been at 

 Yacaville. I found some three weeks ago that it was costing 25 cents per crate to 

 pick and pack the Tokays, and as I did not believe there was any margin for profit 

 in the fruit with this high cost for labor. I ordered picking to cease and it is 

 estimated that we have something like 200 tons of grapes remaining on the vines in 

 the 50-acre vineyard of which I am speaking. 



A particularly unfortunate thing about these early rains which damaged our 

 grapes this year is that they did not come early enough and hard enough so that all 

 shipments would have entirely ceased, as so far as we are personally concerned it 

 would have been money in our pocket had we not shipped a single crate of grapes 

 since the first of October. 



Trusting that I have fully answered your questions and regretting that I can not 

 give a more encouraging report. I remain. 



Yours very truly. 



California Fruit Distributors. 



F. B. McKevitt, Manager. 



General Manager W. C. Walker, of the California Fruit Exchange, 

 was asked identically the same questions and the following is his reply: 



OFFICE 



CALIFORNIA FRUIT EXCHANGE. 



Sacramento, Gal., November 23, 1909. 

 Mr. R. D. Stephens (Chairman), Mr. E. M. Angicr, Mr. C. M. Hartley; Fruit 

 Grdwers' Committee. 



Gentlemen : Your valued favor of the 20th instant at hand. In reply would 

 say we have read over your various communications and can not see wherein your 

 contentions have been in error — in fact, we have been agreeably surprised at the 

 correctness of your figures and the elaborate detail covering the same. 



In regard to your question, as to whether we believe the request to have our 

 shipments given the same transportation rates as those of the orange growers; 

 would say we think this request is very mild in comparison to the existing conditions 

 in the deciduous fruit business as a whole. I think that a demand for a rate of .$1.00 

 per hundred would be more in line with our requirements than any other rate, and 

 I believe that in trying to present our position we should leave other industries out 

 of the question, because the situation has changed so tremendously in the past two 

 years that a comparison of the prices realized for citrus and deciduous fruits is so 

 far apart that to even try to put us on the same basis as the citrus fruit growers 

 would be unjust and would not help us to the extent required. 



This season has been one of the worst in the history of the business and from 

 the enormous plantings which took place during the last few years the future is 

 even darker than the present. We know that for certain, in some districts, they 

 are contemplating pulling up every third vine, as the growers who have taken time 

 to compute the facts realize that even a reduction to $1.00 per hundred is not 

 going to save the industry — especially table grapes. 



As far as we can see, from a strictly cold-blooded business standpoint, it is better 

 for the railroads to pay heed to your requests and warnings now before it is too 

 late. It is almost a certainty that unless the railroads announce that they intend 

 to make a reduction for next year's business, that some uprooting is surely going 

 to take place ; whereas, if their intention to reduce the rate is made known this 

 drastic action will be deferred. 



In reply to your inquiry as to whether the demand for our fruit in the East has 

 kept pace with the rapidly increasing supply, we can safely answer "No." There 



