INTERCROPPING THE Yor.xr; ORCHARD 705 



Hedrick has said that the average yield in the Aucliter orchard 

 was 116 barrels per acre; that is much above the average yield of 

 this county. The average yield, as shown by orchard surveys, 

 is 70 to 75 barrels per acre. That would make quite a big differ- 

 ence in figuring the average cost of production. We are fixing our 

 ideas from figures on some of our orchards that are not quite rep- 

 resentative of the average. 



The average cost of producing our barreled apples we do not 

 know. We ought to know. If we are business men it is up to us 

 to find out, and that means some concerted action. It will be much 

 harder for us to find out what it costs to grow farm products than 

 it is for the merchant to find out the cost of his goods, but that 

 is no reason why we should not do it. We are falling down on 

 the business end. It is up to us, it seems to me, to take some steps 

 to obtain accurate records on a large number of farms that will 

 establish something near an average cost. And when people in the 

 city are educated as to just what it costs to grow products, these 

 stories of big profits which are going around will be discounted. 



The very fact that the subject of the cost of milk production* is 

 being studied is having a very wholesome effect on the market at 

 the present time, and that will tend toward higher price for 

 milk. We can do the same thing with apples and hay and grain. 



WHAT ENTERS INTO COST OF PRODUCTION 



There are three general things that enter into the cost of pro- 

 duction. The first is labor man and horse ; second, the raw 

 materials that go into the cost of that production, such as fer- 

 tilizers and manures, cover crops, etc. ; third, the fixed charges, 

 such as interest on the investment, taxes, etc. I know that people 

 say, " Well, if I figured business that way I would not make a 

 cent." Does figuring really make any difference with the facts? 

 They are there just the same. One can say he is making $200 

 an acre from apples if he chooses, but he is not gaming anything 

 by it ; he is rather losing. Corporations are always exaggerating 

 their costs; they are always trying to prove that the things are 

 costing more than they do. The cost of our product, in too many 

 minds, is the labor hire and the fertilizers or seed bought. That 



