27 



Investment, depreciation, repairs, storage, and risk. The 

 «ltimate cost of labor performed is largely dependent upon 

 the amount of service rendered, since the cost per unit of 

 production is apportioned to the amount produced. Here 

 .again, fruit growing is fortunate in that it demands only a 

 .moderate investment. 



Under the head, circulating capital, the fruit grower 

 must offset fertilizer against feed in comparing his business 

 with that of the dairyman. Nitrogen, the most expensive 

 element in plant fertility,, he is able to obtain at small cost 

 by the use of cover-crops. 



The cash capital which he must maintain is doubtless 

 larger than with some other lines of farming. 



Labor 



Fruit growing is a fairly intensive branch of agricul- 

 ture, hence, the proportion of labor to capital invested is 

 relatively large. The proportionate interest charge is, there- 

 fore, relativel> small. Unequal division of labor affords the 

 greatest disadvantage to the fruit-grower, yet the winter 

 ■season is short, and with spraying, pruning, the manufacture 

 of barrels , crates, etc., there need be little lost time. The 

 picking problem is the most serious one and must be care- 

 fully considered by every prospective grower. A farm 

 woodlot may aid in equalizing the demand for regular work 

 in winter and in summer. To the fruit-grower, himself, the 

 winter lull is advantageous ; it affords him the chance for a 

 vacation. He should improve it to the full. 



The items of cost in team labor are made up of feed, 

 •care, bedding, shoeing, stable rental and deprecialion. The 

 cost per hour depends upon the amount of work done. The 

 per cent, of efficiency in fruit growing is likely to be low, 

 •with consequent high cost of team work. 



The Marketing Problem 



The price is all-important in marketing. When an art- 

 icle which costs the grower 40c. sells for 50c., his profit is 

 '25 per cent. If the price be 60c. this means an increase of 

 20 per cent, to the purchaser. To the grower it means a 

 very different thing; it means an increase of 100 per cent. 

 in his profits. One acre in the latter case being equivalent to 

 two in the former. 



In transportation, the New England grower is for- 

 tunate, both owing to good highways, nearby markets and 



