ng 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.

IN BEARING.--Having given the reader an idea of the probable cost of
bringing an orchard to bearing age, it may be well also t