COOPERATIVE CITRUS-FRUIT MARKETING AGENCIES. 
21 
Table 6.- 
- Analysis of average packing-house expense of representative orange 
and lemon associations for the five-year period, 1917—1921. 
& 
Item. 
Cents per packed 
box. 
Lemons. 
Total packing material. 
Box shook 
Wraps 
Nails 
Labels 
Strapping 
Chip board 
Miscellaneous 
Total direct labor 
Packing 
Grading and tallying 
Receiving, washing, and storing- 
Box making and labeling 
Pressing and strapping 
Car loading 
General labor 
Total indirect expense 
General and administrative salaries. 
Miscellaneous expense 
Depreciation 
Interest 
Total packing-house expense. 
30.2 
22.35 
6.04 
.60 
.30 
.30 
.30 
.30 
34.2 
23.60 
7.87 
1.03 
.34 
.34 
.34 
12.5 
5.5 
2.1 
.9 
.9 
1. 1 
.7 
1.3 
12.0 
4.65 
3.05 
1.89 
2.42 
54.7 
36.0 
11.2 
13.0 
7.9 
1.0 
1.1 
.7 
1.1 
19.4 
7.64 
5.05 
2.63 
4.05 
INCREASES IN EXPENSE. 
The cost of direct labor per box increased rapidly from 1916 to 
1920, but declined slightly in 1921. Before 1916 this expense had 
been relatively stationary for the previous 15 years, except for a 
slight advance in 1913 due to the fact that the crop had been frozen 
and more labor was required to prepare it for market. The cost of 
packing material increased slightly faster than labor costs and reached 
the peak early in the 1921 season. When expressed on a per-box 
basis, the various components of indirect expense in a given associa- 
tion vary inversely to the number of boxes packed. 
Total packing expense per box is the sum of direct expense, which 
increased steadily during the 5-year period, and indirect expense, 
which varied inversely to the size oi the crop. Direct expense, 
however, amounts to four-fifths of the total packing expense, which 
therefore shows a fairly steady advance. In 1919 the total packing 
expense for oranges remained stationary in spite of a slight increase 
in the cost of labor and material, because indirect expense was 
reduced by the large crop of that year. 
Figure 6 and Table 7 show the cost per box of direct labor and 
material and the indirect expense of one lemon association over a 
period of 21 years. The rapid increase in material and labor expense 
are brought out clearly. The increase in indirect expense during 
1913 and 1914 can be traced directly to the short crop during those 
years. 
