PROFITS OF DATE GROWING 181 



artificial method the cost will be nothing save that of 

 the little labor required; and the expense involved in 

 marketing is less than that with most fruits, because 

 the date is not perishable, does not need to be kept 

 in iced cars or cold storage,* and can always be held 

 for a favorable market. As the industry is new, 

 there is naturally much yet to be learned about 

 marketing dates to the best advantage, but that is a 

 problem which Americans are well able to handle, 

 and when date-growers have as efficient a co-operative 

 organization as the orange-growers of California, the 

 percentage of profit to the owner will be very high. 



Perhaps the safest and most helpful way to 

 consider the cost will be to make a comparison with 

 the cost of lemon- growing in this state. Any other 

 industry would do, but I take the lemon growers 

 because information regarding their operations has 

 been collected with particular care. 



Citrus fruit lands with water are valued at from 

 $400 to $500 per acre. Date lands with water can 

 be had for much less. The expense of bringing a 

 lemon grove into bearing, including the cost of land 

 and water, is from $750 to $1200 an acre. The cost 

 of clearing, grading, and preparing the land for planting 

 may vary from $10 to $15 an acre, of irrigation 

 ditches and flumes from $15 to $50 per acre, 

 and of the trees and planting from $75 to $150 per 

 acre. The annual care of the grove is from $30 

 to $100 per acre up to five years of age. These 

 estimates should all be sufficient to cover the expenses 

 of a date plantation, with the exception of that of 

 cost of trees. Owing to the rarity of offshoots of the 

 choicest varieties one must allow $300 an acre for 



*In fact, it quickly moulds if so stored. 



