144 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



land, but this is because the labor of cartage of vegetables and 

 manure to and from the city is made less by moi'e than the interest 

 on the price of the land." 



Another in the same county, but living some forty miles from the 

 city, says : " Your tenth question can only be answered correctly 

 by reference to a diary of facts kept through a series of years. I 

 answer, generally, I believe in this locality, the same amount of 

 care, labor and manure applied to an orchard will produce double 

 the profit they would if applied to any other crop usually cultiva- 

 ted. Orchards here are sadly neglected, my own among the num- 

 ber. Better care would pay well." 



A cultivator in Sagadahoc county says: "I am unable to state 

 the difference in dollars and cents, but I am sure the comparison 

 would show a large percentage in favor of fruit." And another in 

 the same county says: " I cannot answer the question with pre- 

 cision, but I am fully persuaded that my orchard for the last 

 twenty years has yielded me much larger profits than the same 

 ground would if devoted to any other crop with the same outlay 

 for the same period." 



The only reply from Androscoggin county is, " That the com- 

 pai'ison would be four fold in favor of apples." 



A farmer in York county, of considerable experience with fruit, 

 and living twenty miles or so from a seaboard market, makes the 

 following estimates : " In answering your tenth inquiry, much de- 

 pends on the situation and nearness of market, and the natural fer- 

 tility of the land for orcharding. The best orchard lands lie back 

 from the sea, lakes or rivers ; consequently away from markets, 

 and the best grass land is not the best orchard land, and good 

 orchard land is good for corn or other grain ; and hay or grain is 

 worth nearly as much twenty miles back from the seashore as it 

 brings in the seaport markets ; but apples at that distance bring 

 much less than in good markets. Then there are other consider- 

 ations. The apple crop of a good orchardist does not sap his farm 

 if taken off and sold, like hay or grain. Now, to be fair about the 

 matter, I will calculate for the orchard land in this town. One 

 acre properly prepared for trees is worth one hundred dollars. 

 One hundred trees, five years from planting, the land to be cropped 

 to pay the expenses during that time, including manures and inter- 

 est, one hundred dollars. The yearly expenses subsequently as 

 follows : 



