May, 1931] Studies in Economics of Apple Orcharding 5 



and 12 are medium-sized specialized orchards without additional cash 

 crops. Orchards 9 and 10 are each representative of the large group 

 of orchards operated by older men on a part-time retirement basis. 

 Orchards 3 and 6 could hardly be called representative orchards since 

 they have a larger proportion of non-bearing and young trees than one 

 would normally find, and yet they are typical of the situation where 

 moderate orchard business is in the process of considerable expansion. 

 The farms selected do not represent a random sample, but were 

 picked where definite problems in management could be studied. How- 

 ever, it is thought that the farms as a group, while they may not be 

 representative of apple production in general, do present a rather 

 typical picture of the situation on commercial apple orchards of the 

 state. 



Personnel 



The operators vary in personnel from older men of 65 or more who 

 are seeking to make a living from apple production without too strenu- 

 ous a physical life, to vigorous young men who are under the necessity 

 of meeting current expenses and paying for the farm. This difference 

 in personnel accounts to some extent for differences in farm organiza- 

 tion. The older men are not so concerned with diversification to make 

 use of all their time. At an age when most men have retired, they are 

 doing the thing they like to do, and if they find whole weeks with no 

 orchard work, they are well able to use the time for personal satisfac- 

 tion. On the other hand, on farms where younger men are building 

 up a business and seeking continuous profitable employment for them- 

 selves and their employees, diversification plays a larger role. 



Orchards 



The twelve farms collectively had 19,132 trees in 1927. The in- 

 dividual orchards varied from 503 to 4,315 trees (Table 3). Thirty- 

 five per cent, of the trees were under 10 years of age, 51 per cent, be- 

 tween 10 and 19 years, and 14 per cent. 20 years or over. This 

 distribution by ages is typical of the larger fruit farms, but shows a 

 larger percentage of trees in the 10 to 19 year old group than in the 

 case of all commercial orchards as reported in the 1925 survey, which 

 had only 24 per cent, in this age group. The chief difference is that 

 the twelve farms have expanded more in the last 20 years. They are 

 carrying a larger percentage of young trees and are doing a better 

 job of it than the average. 



The present orchard in nearly every case developed by setting new 

 plantings arovind the old small farm orchard as a nucleus. The usual 

 story is that the planting was done because the old trees were paying 

 better than dairying. In several instances the expansion was gradual, 

 a hundred or so trees set out each year, but in two instances large 

 blocks were set at one time. 



Of the bearing trees 42 per cent, were Baldwin, 23 per cent. Mcin- 

 tosh, 12 per cent. Wealthy, 5 per cent. Wagner, 4 per cent. Graven- 

 stein and 14 per cent, other. The trees more than 30 j^ears old were 

 mostly Baldwin, and the newer plantings had a larger percentage of 

 Mcintosh. 



