The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1889-02-21
FRUIT CULTURE NO. 3.
For the Journal.

SeHerdlly reSulteu III Ial1ufe. AS
farmers then we should earnestly
consider proper rotation, and see
to it that no one production be SO
permanent as to exclude others of
equal merit. We only claim for
fruit culture a secondary position,
but by all means give it that. The
question of values is the great con-
trolling one in all business transac-
tons. 1t is therefore proper to
consider the amount to be expended
and what would be reasonable in
come from such xpenditure. When
the cost expends the income the
business is a losing one and no sane
man will invest in it. When one is
an Offset to the other it is then a
matter Of taste or preference. But
when the profits exceed expenses
the investment is profitable and the
greater the excess of income the
greater will be the inducement to
invest. The application Of this
principle to the cultivation of fruit
brings us to the consideration ofthe
cost of the orchard and the value of
its productions. The cost consists
in the value ofthe land the amount
necessary to purchase young trees,
or to raise them +; the expense of
transplanting and subsequent cult
vrtion and interest on the entire
The income is the val
ue of the fruit produced. Fruit is
valued for home consumption and
for market. By.home use we mean
what is consumed by the family and
fed to stock. This valuation is a
fixed quantity that is it does not
vary on account Of location. He
who lives many miles from market,
his fruit for home use
DIS highly as he who lives convenient
to city or near rail road. Proxi-
nifty to market determines the mon
ey value OF the orchard. When it
costs as much to market fruit as it
will bring when sold this value
ceases to exist. For the present,
therefore, we will consider its value
for domestic purposes only. Later
on we will devote few lines to the
market value ard to the best meth
cd OF marketing. What is fruit
worth when used at home? This
is a difficult question, and admits
of no definite answer. All we can
do is to assume some reasonable
amount and argue from that stand
point. We will now try to prove
the value Of fruit raising by an il
lustration. Take an orchard of 100
trees, 60 of them apple and 40 peach.
Planted p feet apart it will take
one acre OF land. This acre is worth
about $40. The trees will cost about
$40 more. Breaking up the land
and planting the trees $3.50, and
for manure another $3.50. This
makes the aggregate cost OF the or
chard $500. For three years it
would hardly be fair to change in
terest or other expenses for the or
chard, for the land will produce in
cotton, peas or sweet potatoes, (the
only crops that should be planted
among young trees) amply enough
to cover all expenses. The peach
trees ought to produce fruit enough
to cover expenses for 4th and 5th
years. The farmers ledger would
contain about this entry for the 9th
year: DIR. to various items of ex-
penses, S25, credited by an orchard
of 100 bearing fruit trees. Allow
ing for no other crops to be taken
from the land we must now look to
the fruit to cover all expenses and
create a sinking fund with which to
reduce the $500 indebtedness.
Peachtrees ssare in their prime from
the fourth to the tenth year and
during this time ought to bear
from two to six bushels per annum.
Assuming the smaller amount of
two bushels as q safe basis for calcu-
lation and supposing the trees to
bear only one year in two we would
have an average annual yield Of
one bushel. Anything like we'll
cared for apple trees ought to bear
T.