AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.
In seasonal industries like gas works and breweries, production was not continuous throughout the year — it peaked only during winter months. Investing in expensive machinery for peak-season use alone would be wasteful, as machines would sit idle for the rest of the year. Employing workers only for the season was far cheaper than large capital investment in machines.
Source: Hand Labour and Steam Power, Chapter 4
The key phrase the examiner wants is fluctuating/seasonal production cycle — machines require heavy capital investment but would lie idle off-season, whereas workers can be hired and dismissed seasonally. Avoid general points about cheap labour; focus specifically on the seasonal/fluctuating nature of demand making machine investment uneconomical. Two marks = two clear points: (1) production fluctuated with the season, (2) idle machines meant wasted capital investment.