No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 575 



But there are fruit farms and fruit farms, just as there are fac- 

 tories and factories. The land itself must lie right for fruit. A 

 northern exposure, to insure protection against early, premature 

 start of leaf and bud; diainage, or at least the opportunity for it, 

 to secure against drowning and fieezing of roots (as climate may 

 determine) ; and such a lay of the land as permits economical culti- 

 vation, level surfaces, moderate grade, tillable soil under modern 

 methods and tools, these are essentials to be considered. It is the 

 rough, poor rebellious soil that cuts down the profits. A farmer is 

 prone to value his land by his best acres, Avhen in truth it is his 

 poorest acres that fix his income. That is the best fruit farm whose 

 poorest land is the most productive. He is the best farmer who 

 takes best care of his poorest land. And it is a question of land, 

 this matter of "The Fruit Farm as an Investment." Soils may be 

 brought back to fertility by proper feeding, and the first question 

 the investor in a fruit farm must ask is "What is the soil feed-bill?" 

 This question is largely a question of the lay of the land. Land that 

 Avashes is most expensive; hollows and pockets become too rich 

 for fruit though jjroduetive of plant growth. A fruit grower is not 

 raising shade trees. 



And by no means least to be considered, in selecting a fruit farm, 

 is outlook, neighborhood, scenery, weather conditions, adaptability 

 of the land to practical "fruitscape" results. A well planned, well 

 laid out, well kept fiuit farm, w^ell located is always marketable. 

 The widow^ can always sell to advantage; the heirs (small children) 

 inheriting a valuable farm are precisely in the position of heirs 

 inheriting a valuable factory. Selecting a fruit farm is like selecting 

 a father and mother to be born from ; one may as well select a 

 good one. 



But every investment if profitable means ceaseless care, economi- 

 cal management, sound administration. This is a question of brains. 

 No fruit farm will run itself, except into the sheriff's hands. No 

 fruit farm is every quite up to the standard its masterful owner 

 has set. Each year has accidents, failures, storms, sleet, hail, frosts, 

 blight, pests, this row of grapes, that section of the cherry orchard 

 killed by lightning; a horse dies; some of the help fail, fertilizers 

 fail to fertilize; tools break down; markets are fickle; fashion for 

 fruits can change, and there are days of sickness and bad weather. 

 But seed time and harvest have their round and fhe large conditions 

 of horticultural success are matters of experience. The whole prob- 

 lem is one of administration. And here are the "Don'ts" and the 

 "Do's" which experience is ever ringing in our ears: 



Feed your land, says Franklin (he said "Keep your shop") and 

 your land will feed you. 



Crop your land and you lose your crop. 



A hard soil means a lean purse. 



Humus in the land is money in the bank. 



Labor is capital. Use labor well and your capital grows. 



A weak plant is a perpetual lo.ss. 



Standard varieties fill the basket. 



Let Governments and State Colleges experiment, — unless you are 

 a millionaire. 



Rule of thumb is the rule for losing. 



The best farmer makes the best book on farming. 



