340 TJie Farmstead 



ORCHARDS 



In some fruit districts the farmers are cut- 

 ting down their orchards, saying that they can- 

 not afford to bother with them, and that fruit- 

 raising must be carried on in a large way by 

 specialists to be profitable. This is tantamount 

 to saying that they are not intelligent and 

 enterprising enough to manage six or eight 

 acres of orchard successfully, while their neigh- 

 bor is competent to care for ten times that 

 acreage. The man who owns the smaller or- 

 chard should, other things being equal, secure a 

 relatively larger profit than the owner of the 

 large orchard, since he will be able to give 

 it more personal attention. The man who over- 

 comes the difficulties of fruit-raising is con- 

 stantly adding to his education and power, 

 while the man who is appalled wdth the difficul- 

 ties of orcharding,' and falls back on rye, 

 buckwheat and oats as money-crops, sinks in 

 intelligence and loses courage. The orchard, 

 when intelligently cared for, seldom fails to give 

 much larger profits than a like area devoted 

 to the cereals. As a rule, the most difficult 

 crop to raise or the most difficult business is 

 the one which brings the most liberal reward 

 after the difficulties have been surmounted. 



When convenient, the orchard might well be 



