-3- 



A Note on App le Yields 



X'ie cannot boast about high yields froni some of our experimental 

 orchards at the College. Many trees, for purposes of comparison, are handled 

 in v/ays knoviii to be unwise for commercial growers. But the Mcintosh trees 

 in our mulch-cultivation comparison have given a good account of themselves. 

 Over a 10-year period while these trees were 16 to 26 years old, the mulched 

 plot averaged 585 bushels per acre per year, and the cultivated plot 400 

 bushels. The highest yield, 1269 bushels per acre, was taken from the mulched 

 plot in 1936. These are total figures, conservatively calculated from the 

 yield of 18 trees. About 20-25^ of the apples were "drops" and about 10/J 

 were not salable. 



These are not remarkably high yields. Some coinmercial growers do 

 as well, if not better. All should try to. But why, an occasional individual 

 asks, should we strive for higher yields when there are apparently too many 

 apples now? For the country as a whole, there may be an oversupply. But for 

 the individual grower, larger yields lower the per bushel cost of production 

 and thereby increase the opportunity for profit. Cutting dovm unprofitable 

 blocks of trees is a move in the right direction, J. K. Shaw 



1940 Farm Income in the U. S. 



According to preliminary figures, the 1940 cash farm income in the 

 United States amounted to .;S, 354, 104, 000. In addition, government payments 

 to farmers totaled .;i; 765, 799, 000. Iov;a had the largest farm income, 

 $679,271,000, followed by California, Illinois, and Texas. Rhode Island, 

 with $9,889,000, showed the smallest income. A figure of <^75, 609,000 is 

 given for Massachusetts. 



Cash farm income by crops showed cotton lint in the lead, with a 

 value of ^573,401,000. VJl:ieat, truck crops, corn, and tobacco were next in 

 order. Income for apples was C^Sl »417,000, peache s - 034, 701, 000, strawberries 

 - $40,885,000, and cTtn Ts fruits - $129,790,000. Total crop income was 

 $3,535,712,000 comparedTo the total livestock income of |4, 818, 392 ,000. 



L. Southwick 



Labor Returns From Various Farm Crops 



Labor spent in pro"ducing dairy products in "ew York State returns 

 25/ per hour, poultry 28j^, and apples 39/. These figures are presented by 

 V. B. Hart of Cornell University. Ke points out that the hours spent on 

 dairy and poultry farms, while returning a comparatively lov; rate, often in- 

 clude hours that could not be used on other enterprises. Therefore, it is 

 to be expected that they would return less per hour. In the case of apples, 

 the season of profitable emplo;/ment is relatively short while dairy work is 

 a year round proposition. The returns from other crops are as follows: 

 wheat 52/, alfalfa 60/, beans 30/, cabbage 55/, potatoes 54/, tomatoes 41/. 



Ideas o n Apple Sto rage 75 Ye ars Ago 



In"tl7e 1866 report*~of the Essex Agricultural Society there appears 

 an article by Robert Llanning on the "Preservation of Fruit and Construction 

 of Fruit Houses." He says, "Ripening of fruit is a completion of the chemical 

 process by which starch is transformed into sugar. It is the first step 

 toward decay." He mentions seven principles of storage, as follows: (l) Un- 

 less fruit attains a certain degree of development on the tree, the ripening 



