THE PROFITS ON A BARREL OF APPLES* 



U. P. HEDRICK 

 Horticulturist, New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y. 



This paper is written for those who want data on the cost of 

 producing a barrel of apples, on the yield of barrels per acre, the 

 selling price, and the profits. It is not, however, a full considera- 

 tion of the subject; for to obtain precise information as to what 

 it costs to grow, a barrel of apples, and from that to figure out 

 the profits would be a complicated piece of business. An abso- 

 lutely accurate reckoning for one year would not be difficult ; but 

 it must be remembered that it takes several years to bring an 

 apple orchard into bearing, after which it barely maintains itself 

 for a decade or two. In apple growing, too, rather more than in 

 any other industry, the lean years and fat years are accentuated. 

 More than with most other crops, also, advantages and disad- 

 vantages change from year to year. And, lastly, the value of the 

 investment is exceedingly variable. But, notwithstanding these 

 difficulties, the present paper puts into the possession of apple 

 growers figures that, rightly used, ought to be helpful. 



THE ORCHARD 



The orchard from which the following figures were obtained is 

 situated a few miles west of Rochester, known to many as the 

 Auchter orchard, in which the Geneva Experiment Station carried 

 on a test of sod mulch and tillage for ten- years.f Added value 

 is given to the figures to be presented by the fact that the orchard 

 was selected for experimental work because it was as typical as 

 could, be found, in the great apple belt of western New York. The 

 trees are Baldwins, and were twenty-seven years old at the begin- 

 ning of the experiment. 



AVERAGE YIELD 



The first information we must have is the number of barrels 

 of apples per acre per year. The exact number for the cultivated 



* See State Experiment Station Bulletin No. 376. 

 f See article by W. D. Auchter, page 803. 



[889] 



