26 Commercial Gardening 



Strawberries, the net return should be 20 per acre, and the average 

 annual return for mixed plantations may be taken at that amount, though 

 in some seasons it would be far more." Unfortunately, Mr. Wise has not 

 told us what he means by "net". Does he mean that after all the ex- 

 penses incident to producing, marketing, and with share of establishment 

 expenses deducted, the cultivator of an acre of fruit such as he describes 

 will have 20 to spend upon his household and himself? This is the 

 natural interpretation of the words. That is, the cultivator of 20 ac. 

 of fruit in bearing can count upon an average net income of 400 a year! 

 That he may do it on some years is conceivable, indeed he must, and more, 

 or his average would be small indeed; but the average is nothing like 

 this. Let the reader before he invests his capital upon such expectation 

 enquire into the circumstances and examine the mode of living of some 

 typical fruit growers and then form his own opinion. It is manifest that 

 if such returns were obtainable, the men who are cultivating 300 ac. of 

 fruit and there are many of them would be enjoying princely incomes, 

 and of this there is no evidence. If an average return of 10 per acre 

 is obtained after paying all charges and outgoings, the cultivator should 

 consider himself an extremely fortunate man; nothing like this will 

 certainly be obtained till after the tenth year. [w. G. L.] 



