Commercial Cherry Orcharding. 241 



COMMERCIAL CHERRY ORCHARDING. 

 By E. F. Stephens. 



The ready demand for cherries again this year, and that in face of 

 the outlook for a general bountiful crop of all fruits, but adds emphasis 

 to the opinion long held by the writer of the value of a commercial 

 cherry orchard. 



Next to the strawberry as a popular fruit for home consumption 

 and preserving the cherry will take its place. Its popularity is on the 

 increase, and that despite the failure of last year's crop. 



More trees were planted last spring in the village and city lots than 

 ever before, and the man or woman who does not want a cherry tree or 

 two, if not a dozen of them, in hi^s yard is rarely found. They are even 

 found as an ornamental and fruit tree combined in many of our front 

 yards. This popular planting of the tree in the small lots should give 

 the commercial orchardist a cue to his plans for orcharding. 



As a business enterprise it is safe to estimate the returns from the 

 cherry orchard as follows: The average life of the cherry tree, of the 

 Early Richmond type, may be placed safely at fifteen years. It begins 

 bearing at three and four years after planting, and for the latter ten 

 years of its life (of fifteen years) it will readily yield one bushel per 

 year on an average. Many trees, under favorable care and soil, "will 

 double this average, for I have known a yield of three or four bushels 

 per tree to have occurred in favored years. At one bushel per tree for 

 ten years, as a very conservative estimate, we have ten bushels for the 

 life of the tree, valued safely at $1 per bushel on the tree. An acre 

 will contain, at one rod apart each way, 160 trees. These should pro- 

 duce an annual average income then of $160 each for ten years. Sixteen 

 hundred dollars then would be the total net income from an acre In 

 fifteen years, or an average of $106.66 per acre for each year. The first 

 cost of the orchard, including trees and planting, may be estimated at 

 40 cents per tree, or a total of $64 per acre. The expense of cultiva- 

 tion and care for the first five years may be offset by the use of the 

 ground between the tree for garden or small fruit growing. Five or 

 six dollars per acre for the following ten years will cover the cost of 

 pruning and care for that period. This would make the total cost per 

 acre foot up around $125 for the entire period of ten years. This will 

 average about $8 per annum, and deducting this expense from the In- 



