BUILDING THE RANGE 91 



Other expenses. In the maintenance and up-keep of 

 a range, other factors must be considered. Among 

 them are, the interest on capital invested, town taxes, 

 and depreciation in value of the property. Land values 

 should also be considered. 



For a range such as that mentioned, at least ten acres 

 would be necessary to provide for future increase and 

 soil for the greenhouses. Fifteen or twenty acres would 

 not be too large a land area for an important range. Too 

 many builders establish their ranges on too small an area. 

 However, estimating ten acres as the amount of land 

 necessary, this would probably necessitate an expendi- 

 ture of $500 to S1500 an acre, or a first cost of $5000 to 

 $6000. A reliable grower states as follows : 



" One who is to start in business in a wholesale way 

 should go out of town far enough so that he can get a 

 larger area of land for a given amount. I consider fifteen 

 or twenty acres enough. Land in this vicinity may be 

 bought for $500 per acre, which I think as much as a 

 wholesale grower should pay." 



In estimating the running expenses, therefore, we will 

 estimate the land value at $7500. Our estimate would 

 then be : 



Interest on capital invested in greenhouses, equip- 

 ment and land, at 5 per cent $1660.20 



Taxes on greenhouses and land at one-half per cent 155.50 



Annual depreciation at 5 per cent on greenhouses and 



equipment 1285.20 



Annual maintenance . . . 4030.00 



Annual running expenses $7130.90 



Income. The expected returns for such a house are 

 difficult to estimate, for much depends on the market 

 prices, which are variable year by year; also on the 



