268 An American Fruit-Farm 



The Neville farm was of a trifle more than sixty- 

 three acres, of which fully five were in grove, 

 driveways, and alleys. For each year I fotmd a 

 balance sheet so that the story of expense and 

 rettirns might easily be read. Thirty acres were in 

 grapes, ten in cherries, seven in prunes, six in 

 peaches, four in berries, and one in garden. At 

 times he had tried currants, strawberries, goose- 

 berries, quinces, and grape-cuttings, and evidently 

 with profit; but, finally, he had brought his farm to 

 the divisions and stock I mention. He believed in 

 specialization, and I know that he piuposed lessen- 

 ing the variety of production. He had come to 

 believe in grapes and cherries as dependable 

 producers. His records showed that the grape 

 crop had never' failed. Indeed, so far as I know, 

 the Concord grape never fails to fruit. Not every 

 year was the crop heav>^ — ^that is, remarkable, but 

 the tonnage always returned a fair reward. Some 

 years, from his thirty acres he gathered one hun- 

 dred and forty tons, and one year, one himdred and 

 eighty-seven tons, which sold, on the average, at 

 thirty-six dollars a ton. His cherry record was, 

 taking one year with another, of heavy crops 

 alternate years. The ten acres in cherries were 

 seven of sour and three of sweet — ^the sour chiefly 

 Montmorenci — with some Richmonds and Morel- 

 los; the sweet, Windsor and Napoleon, with some 

 Black Tartarian. The sweet cherries bore less 

 heavily and with less regularity than the sour. 

 The records showed, in highly productive years, 



