FRUIT-GROWING 189 



An acre of good orchard land at this time was let at 2 an 

 acre ; and this is a fair balance sheet for an acre l : 



DR - s. d. 

 Rent of one acre . . . . . ^. . .200 



Tithe on 10 hogsheads, @ 6d. ;. . __. . . 50 

 Gathering, making, and carriage to and from the pound, @ 



3-r. 6d. a hogshead 1150 



Racking twice, @ 6d. ..','.'.' . . . . 50 



Casks and cooperage 80 



4 13 o 



CR. s . d 



I o hogsheads diminished by racking and waste to 8, @ 1 2s. 6d. 500 



Leaving a balance of 'js. for spoiling, &c., so there was not much 

 profit in cider-making then. The same authority sets down 

 the cost of planting an acre of apples as : 



^ d. 

 132 trees, @ 2s. 1340 



(The custom had been to plant 160 trees to the acre, but 



this was considered too close.) 

 Carriage per tree, @ -id. ; manure per tree, @ ^d. ; planting 



per tree, @ ^>d. , . . .480 



Interest on 17 12s. od. for fifteen years before orchard is 



profitable, @ 5 per cent 1326 



Loss of half the rent of the land for the same period, @ icy. an 



acre . 7 10 o 



Building cellarage for product per acre 500 



43 4 6 



For this outlay the landowner would gain an additional 

 rent of 1 a year, so that, according to this authority, growing 

 cider fruit at that time paid neither landlord nor tenant. 



1 The Case with the County of Devon with respect to the New Excise 

 Duty on Cider (1763). The duty was 4*. a hogshead, but the opposition 

 was so strong it was taken off. 



