Bringing To Bearing Age

The first of the following tables is given as a sample of one year's records, that of 1907, on this orchard in order to show both the manner in which the costs were made up and what the items amounted to in one



year: FIELD A--1907. FIFTH YEAR Total Hours Cost Cost hours Total per acre per per Operation Man Horse cost Man Horse acre 100 Mulching 3 6 $1.05 .455 .91 $0.16 $0.22 Pruning 11 ... 1.65 1.67 ... .25 .35 Cultivating 1 7 7 1.75 1.06 1.06 .26 .38 Cultivating 2 10 10 2.50 1.51 1.51 .38 .54 Cultivating 3 6 6 1.50 .91 .91 .23 .32 Plowing in fall 47 94 16.45 7.12 14.25 2.50 3.52 Banking trees 12 ... 1.80 1.82 ... .27 .39 Harrowing 21 42 7.35 3.18 6.36 1.11 1.58 --- --- ------ ----- ----- ----- ----- Total lab. cost. 117 165 $34.05 17.73 25.00 $5.16 $7.30 4 loads manure at $1.50 6.00 .91 1.29 Equipment charge 1.15 .174 .25 Taxes 5.29 .801 1.13 Interest 38.48 5.83 8.23 ------ ------- ------ Total cost $84.97 $12.875 $18.20 INCOME, COST AND PROFIT ON BEANS--FIELD A--1907 Income Cost Profit 75 bushels at $1.50 $112.50 31/2 tons pods at $6 21.00 $133.65 $94.50 $38.85 LOSS ON FIELD A--1907 Total Per acre Net income from beans $38.85 $5.89 Cost of orchard 84.97 12.87 ------ ------ Loss $46.12 $6.98 A summary of the cost of the orchard, the net income from the crop, the income from the orchard and the profit and loss by years for the eight years follows: SUMMARY OF COSTS FOR EIGHT YEARS, FIELD A Net Income Crop income from Cost of 6.6 acres Year grown from crop orchard orchard Profit Loss 1903 Corn $ 15.17 ... $109.87 ... $ 94.70 1904 Beans 42.57 ... 216.16 ... 173.59 1905 Beans 43.13 ... 83.78 ... 40.65 1906 Beans 120.90 ... 80.14 $40.76 ... 1907 Beans 38.85 ... 84.97 ... 46.12 1908 Corn 37.68 ... 64.22 ... 26.54 1909 Oats and strawberries 100.61 $27.88 84.73 43.76 ... 1910 Wheat 60.70 38.65 96.35 3.00 ... ------- ------ ------- ------ ------- Totals $459.61 $66.53 $620.22 $87.52 $381.60 Net loss on field for eight years $294.08 Average annual loss 38.76 Total cost an acre, exclusive of income 124.27 Total cost an acre, including income 44.55 Total net cost a hundred trees 62.97 Total net cost an apple tree 1.37 Total net cost an apple tree, exclusive of income 3.80 Total labor cost an acre 35.09 Total cash cost an acre 89.19 We find that this orchard has cost $124.27 an acre during the eight years of its life, but that the $79.72 an acre of crops grown in the orchard has brought this cost down to $44.55 an acre. It is safe to say that the orchard would have cost even more than it did had it not been for the crops, for many operations charged directly to the crops would of necessity have been charged to the trees. The cost a hundred trees does not mean much, as it often happens that not all the trees are covered by an operation and as the number of trees an acre greatly affects these costs. We have another and younger orchard upon which a record has been kept. This orchard of five acres contains 126 standard apple trees, "filled" both ways with 375 peach trees. It was set in the spring of 1908, so that the trees have grown four seasons. The permanents (apples) are set 36 by 40 feet apart, so that, with the peaches between, the trees stand 18 by 20 feet apart. A crop of beans has been grown between the tree rows each season. The first season a full seven rows, twenty-eight inches apart, were planted in the wider space; the second and third season six rows, and the last season only four rows. The crop has been very good each year until the last. One application of manure, one crop of clover and one seeding of rye have been plowed under, and in addition a liberal amount of commercial fertilizer has been used with each crop. This year the peach trees bore their first crop. The record of the four years is as follows: SUMMARY OF THE COST OF A FOUR-YEAR-OLD APPLE AND PEACH ORCHARD Net Income Crop income from Cost of Year grown from crop orchard orchard Profit Loss 1908 Beans $63.37 ... $130.12 ... $62.75 1909 Beans 66.70 ... $85.03 ... 18.33 1910 Beans 79.81 ... 83.39 ... 3.58 1911 Beans 53.20 $46.05 61.95 $37.30 ... ------- ------ ------- ------ ------ Totals $267.08 $46.05 $360.49 $37.30 $84.66 Total cost an acre, exclusive of income $72.10 Total cost an acre, including income 9.47 Total net cost a hundred trees 4.73 Total net cost an apple tree .376 Total net cost an apple tree, exclusive of income 2.86 These figures show a still lower cost of growing trees to bearing age. After paying all expenses connected with the growing of the trees, including the interest on the land at $150 an acre, and deducting the net profit from the crops of beans and the sales from the first crop of peaches we find that the growing of the trees has cost us $9.47 an acre, or 371/2 cents an apple tree at four years old. Had no crop been grown in the orchard it would have cost us at least $62.89 an acre after deducting the income from the first peach crop. The peach trees are now at full bearing age, and should show a good profit from this time on. Possibly at five and certainly at six years of age this orchard will entirely have paid for itself. The only possible further charge which could be made against this orchard is the crop income which might have been obtained from the land had the trees not been there. We estimated that the presence of the trees cut down the crop of beans from the land 30 per cent. As the average net income from beans was $13.35 an acre this would amount to $4 an acre a year--an insignificant sum.

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