1322 
She  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
I 
October  14,  1010. 
Ideal  Arrangement  of  a  Hill  Fruit  Farm, 
thick  with  Alfalfa,  and  when  properly 
seeded  this  crop  does  well  there,  better  in 
fact  than  tiny  crop  which  needs  t<*  he 
cultivated  constantly.  The  heavy  mat  of 
Alfalfa  prevents  washing  of  the  soil,  and 
gives  better  returns  than  any  kind  of 
grass  or  ordinary  farm  crops.  Then  i:i 
the  valley  come  the  young  apple  orchards, 
this  soil  being  far  better  for  them  than  it 
would  be  for  the  peach.  While  the  young 
trees  are  coming  on  into  hearing,  ‘‘tiller” 
crops  of  beans  and  buckwheat  are  grown, 
and  these  usually  more  than  pay  the  en¬ 
tire  cost  of  handling  the  land,  so  that  by 
the  time  the  trees  come  in  bearing  their 
crops  will  be  practically  clear  gain,  aside 
from  the  expense  of  cultivating,  spraying, 
feeding  and  pruning.  A  highway  runs 
parallel  to  the  rows  of  beans  only  a  short 
distance  down  the  bill.  Here  is  a  case  of 
thoroughly  good  management  in  laying 
out  a  farm,  and  very  few  mistakes  have 
been  made  in  starting  this  place. 
A  Day’s  Work  Picking  Apples 
The  Department  of  Agriculture  esti¬ 
mates  a  day’s  work  by  a  good  apple  pick¬ 
er  at  5£  to  70  bushels  per  day.  Ifow 
does  this  compare  with  actual  perform¬ 
ance  in  your  section? 
The  men  are  usually  paid  by  the  bar¬ 
rels  as  they  till  them  in  the  orchard  and, 
of  course,  when  the  barrels  are  shaken 
down  and  packed  properly  considerably 
more  fruit,  goes  in  the  barrel  than  the 
picker  is  paid  for;  I  think  perhaps  110 
per  cent.,  even  including  (hose  which  are 
thrown  out.  It  has  been  customary  here 
to  pay  15c  per  barrel  for  picking,  and 
when  the  men  work  by  the  day  I  think 
they  feel  they  have  done  a  good  day’s 
work  when  they  have  picked  12  barrels. 
In  some  sections  they  pay  20c  per  barrel. 
I  am  giving  you  the  average,  taking  an 
orchard  right  through.  Of  course  the 
men  may  average  15  barrels  one  day  and 
10  another.  When  picking  piecework  at 
15c  per  barrel  we  have  had  men  earn  all 
the  way  from  .$2  to  $4.20;  the  latter  was 
an  exceptional  tnun,  the  former  ib  the 
average  as  we  get  them.  At  the  present 
moment  we  are  paying  $2  a  day  f<*r  la¬ 
bor.  I  judge  we  shall  have  to  he  satisfied 
with  an  average  of  10  barrels  if  we  hire 
them  by  the  day,  for  the  more  we  pay 
the  less  efficient  they  are.  I  may  say  that 
this  picking  is  in  baskets;  they  might 
do  more  in  hags,  but  I  think  the  esti¬ 
mates  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
ere  very  much  too  high,  for  when  the 
crop  is  thin  and  the  trees  are  high  we 
shall  be  very  well  satisfied  with  25  or  2(1 
bushels  instead  of  52  as  a  minimum. 
Livingston  Co.,  X.  Y.  Samuel  fbaseh, 
Anple  pickers  of  average  sort  are  paid 
.$2.25  to  $2.50  per  day  without  board, 
and  on  average  picking,  time  themselves 
to  earn  the  employer  no  more  than  usual 
price  for  piecework — 5c  per  bushel; 
when  on  small  apples  or  high  trees  day 
work  costs  more  than  piecework.  Grow- 
do  better.  We  regard  IS  to  25  barrels 
of  Baldwins  acceptable  .work,  if  really 
interested,  and  expect  a  good  picker  will 
accomplish  more.  One  of  m,v  best  pick¬ 
ers  last  Fall  was  a  woman  who  gathered 
30  to  32  barrels  per  day,  when  some  of 
the  strong  men  were  getting  Id.  aud  her 
value  was  recognized  when  _  pay  time 
on tue.  I  have  on  a  couple  of  occasions, 
some  years  ago,  had  50  barrels  of  Bald¬ 
win  apples  taken  from  the  trees  by  one 
man  in  it  working  day.  Il  was  done  in 
sheer  carelessness  to  make  _  a  record. 
Wages,  per  day.  <o  apple  pickers,  will 
range  from  $2  to  $2.50,  the  latter  paid 
by  some  speculators  who  do  driving 
work.  \v.  8.  that* nt. 
Dutchess  Co.,  X.  Y. 
There  is  a  wide  difference  between 
picking  apples  from  low-beaded  trees  well- 
laden  with  fruit  that  can  be  picked  with 
a  20-foot,  ladder,  and  large  trees  with  a 
small  crop  requiring  a  30-foot  ladder. 
Most  of  our  tipples  arc  picked  by  the 
bushel,  and  men  pick  from  35  to  135  htt. 
per  day.  Our  men,  when  they  have  good 
fair  lucking,  working  by  the  day.  will 
pick  from  40  to  50  lm.  per  day.  We 
usually  pay  5c  per  lm.  or  when  hiring 
by  the  day  $2  per  day,  and  it  mini  work¬ 
ing  by  the  day  seldom  averages  more 
than  40  bit.  per  day,  on  large  trees  bear¬ 
ing  good  crops.  (i.  R.  WIOXAI.L. 
Wrtyue  Co.,  X.  Y. 
I  consider  50  to  75  bn.  its  a  good  day’s 
work  picking  apples,  when  picking  by  the 
day,  for  which  we  have  to  pay  from  $2 
to  $2.50  per  day  and  they  board  and 
lodge  themselves.  I  have  my  apples  usu¬ 
ally  picked  by  the  bushel  ami  pay  4c  per 
bushel,  and  have  had  men  earn  from  $4 
1o  $(>  per  clay.  c.  HKitUKitr  Me  CLEW. 
Niagara  Co.,  X.  Y. 
I  would  say  that  00  to  100  bushels 
wottld  be  nearer  an  average  than  the  52 
to  70  its  stated  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture.  The  compensation  for  such 
a  day’s  work,  if  paid  for  by  the  bushel, 
would  he  5c  to  tic  per  bushel  or  its  in 
most  cases  $2  to  $3  per  day  and  board. 
Monroe  Co.,  X.  Y.  uko.  w.  m:\x. 
The  above  is  in  my  judgment  about 
correct  and  for  such  a  day’s  work  will 
receive  $2  and  board.  However,  we  have 
local  men  who  will  pick  from  30  to  50 
barrels  in  good  picking,  and  they  draw 
from  12c  to  15c  per  barrel  and  board 
themselves  .  ir.  l.  b. 
Orleans  Co,,  X.  Y. 
A  fair  day’s  work  for  an  apple  picker 
in  good  picking  is  from  50  to  70  bushels 
per  day.  We  have  Had  them  pick  125, 
but  tlmt;  is  with  exceptionally  good  pick¬ 
ing,  and  when  the  man  was  picking  by 
the  bushel.  B.  «T.  CASE. 
Wayne  Co.,  X.  Y. 
We  pay  $2  per  day  without  boat'd  ami 
lind  it  crew  of  men  will  average  around 
50  bu.  each  with  average  run  of  pick¬ 
ing,  costing  us  four  cents  per  bu.,  an¬ 
other  cent  per  bushel  to  deliver  at  cen¬ 
tral  packing  station.  We  also  find  it 
costs  21  %  cents  per  barrel  to  pick  and 
pack  a  barrel  according  to  New  York 
State  requirements  its  to  grade.  This  is 
from  two  tests  made  this  year  of  about 
300  barrels  each  picking,  To  arrive  at 
Arrangement  for  a  Hillside  Fruit  Farm 
The  picture  given  below  is  sent  us  as  an 
object  lesson  in  successfully  farming  a 
hillside  so  as  to  make  all  parts  of  the 
farm  suitably  employed.  This  is  part  of 
the  Hopkins  farm,  near  Sodas,  X.  Y\.  and 
is  a  type  of  hundreds  of  such  farms 
ranging  through  that  section.  On  the 
top  of  the  hill  is  a  peach  orchard. 
Growers  have  learned  to  put  the  peach 
tree  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  its  in  that  way 
they  often  escape  an  untimely  frost,  and 
the  hilltops,  being  windswept,  tire  less 
likely  to  be  troubled  with  f iftigus  dis¬ 
eases.  Then  the  hillside  is  seeded  ro 
Alfalfa,  so  as  to  give  a  very  heavy  stand 
of  that  crop.  In  many  parts  of  Cc-D-al 
Xew  York  you  will  find  these  hillsides 
ers  using  day  help  admit  that  it  is  more 
expensive  than  piecework,  blit  ‘hope” 
that  fruit  is  handled  more  carefully  and 
less  dropped  in  process  of  picking.  In 
out  experience  this  is  not  usually  true; 
expert  pickers  drop  less  and  bruise  no 
more  than  ordinary  pickers  on  day  work. 
I  doubt  if  picking  gangs  of  large  grow¬ 
ers  average  above  5(1  bushels  per  day  on 
average  picking,  and  correspondingly  less 
on  poor  picking.  Piecework  gets  the  ap¬ 
ples  off  without  any  push  on  part  of  the 
owner.  Experts  pick  100  to  150  bushels 
per  day  for  the  season. 
K.  W.  OATCIIPOI.K. 
Wayne  Co.,  X.  Y. 
The  statement  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  as  to  what  constitutes  a 
day's  work  in  picking  apples  is  right, 
also  as  it  applies  to  Eastern  Xew  Y’ork. 
A  fairly  good  man  will  pick  10  barrels 
or  48  bushels  in  ordinary  work  by  the 
day.  If  he  is  of  the  right  kind  he  will 
Commercial  Fruit  Culture 
President  Wilson  .Signing  the  Rural  Credits  Act 
President  Wilson 
Has  Won  Real  Freedom— 
Has  Secured  Prosperity— 
For  the  Farmer 
The  Wilson  administration  is  the  first  that  has 
dared  to  make  common  cause  with  the  farmer 
against  the  usurer,  the  fake  middleman,  and 
the  other  human  pests  who  in  the  past  have 
grown  rich  on  the  fruits  of  the  farmer’s  toil. 
FOR  the  first  time  in  our  national  history 
the  farmer  has  been  freed  from  the  domi¬ 
nation  of  the  extortioner  and  slavery  to 
the  favored  few.  Under  President  Wilson  the 
farmer  has  been  treated  as  a  business  man ,  and 
accorded  his  full  rights  and  advantages. 
Under  the  Wilson  administration  the  average 
annual  farm  wealth  production  has  been 
$10,000,000,000— over  a  billion  dollars  morethan 
the  best  previous  showing.  And  the  farmer 
has  enjoyed  the  financial  fruits  of  his  work. 
President  Wilson  Has  Maintained 
Peace  With  Honor 
No  greater  service  has  ever  been  rendered  to 
any  country  by  any  man  in  any  time.  This 
alone  warrants  your  supporting  him.  On  the 
record  of  his  administration’s  service  to  you , 
see  what  has  been  accomplished.  In  brief, 
here  is  the  record : 
1—  Appreciation  of  the  importance  of  agri¬ 
culture  has  been  shown  through  greatly 
and  intelligently  increased  appropriations 
for  its  support. 
2 —  Greatly  increased  provision  lias  been 
made,  through  the  enactment  of  the  Go- 
operative  Agricultural  Extension  Act,  for 
conveying  agricultural  information  to 
farmers  and  for  inducing  them  to  apply  it. 
3  Through  the  creation  of  an  Office  of 
Markets  and  Rural  Organization,  system¬ 
atic  provision  has,  for  the  first  time,  been 
made  toward  the  solution  of  problems  in 
that  important  half  of  agriculture  which 
concerns  Distribution  —  marketing,  rural 
finance  and  rural  organization.  The  appro¬ 
priations  for  this  Office,  includin a  those  for 
enforcing  new  laws  designed  to  promote 
better  marketing,  have  been  increased  to 
f 1,200.000. 
4  The  United  States  Grain  Standards  Act 
will  secure  uniformity  in  the  grading  of 
grain,  enable  the  farmer  to  obtain  fairer 
prices  for  his  product,  and  afford  him  an 
incentive  to  raise  better  grades  of  grain. 
5— The  United  States  Warehouse  Act  will 
enable  the  Department  of  Agricultuf-e  to 
license  bonded  warehouses  ill  various 
states.  It  will  lead  to  the  development  of 
better  storage  facilities  for  staple  crops 
and  will  make  possible  the  issuance  of 
reliable  warehouse  receipts  which  will  be 
widely  and  easily  negotiable. 
6—  The  l-V.U-ral  Aid  Road  Act  will  conduce 
to  the  establishment  of  more  effective  high¬ 
way  machinery,  stimulate  larger  produc¬ 
tion  and  better  marketing,  promotes  a  fuller 
and  more  attractive  rural  life. 
7—  The  Federal  Reserve  Act  benefits  the 
farmer  by  guaranteeing  better  banking, 
safeguarding  the  credit  structure  of  the 
country  and  preventing  panics,  making 
larger  provision  for  loans  through  national 
hanks  on  farm  mortgages  and  by  giving 
farm  paper  a  maturity  period  of  6  months. 
The  Federal  Farm 
Loan  Act 
8—  It  was  essential,  however,  that  hanking 
machinery  be  devised  which  would  reach 
intimately  into  the  rural  districts,  that  it 
should  operate  on  terms  suited  to  the  farm¬ 
ers’  ncv.ds,  and  should  be  under  sympa¬ 
thetic  management.  The  need  was  for 
machinery  which  would  introduce  business 
methods  into  farm  finance,  biittg  order  out 
of  chaos,  reduce  the  cost  of  handling  farm 
loans,  place  upon  the  market  mortgages 
which  would  be  a  safe  investment  for 
private  funds,  attract  into  agricultural 
operations  a  fair  share  of  the  capital  of  the 
nation,  and  lead  to  a  reduction  of  interest. 
These  needs  and  these  ideals  have  been 
met  by  the  enactment  of  the  Federal  Farm 
Loan  Act. 
This  is  not  all  but  it  is  enough  to  indicate 
what  has  been  accomplished. 
That  is  Why  the  Farmer  Will  Vote  I  published  and  paid  I 
J  for  by  the  Democratic 
m  n  .  •  n  .  «  ,  nr.l  •  /\ff*  national  Committee, 
To  Retain  President  Wilson  in  Umce  '■jn,i  si-  - A- r- 
