PRODUCTIVE ORCHARDING 



CHAPTER I 

 THE OUTLOOK FOR ORCHARDING 



IF the agricultural history of the twentieth century is ever 

 written, the writer believes that one of the most significant 

 features of such a history will be the account of the great 

 interest in orcharding which developed during the latter part 

 of the first decade of the century. That interest is still at its 

 height. Men from all walks of life are turning toward orchard- 

 ing as the one branch of farming in which they would like to 

 engage. Wealthy men are setting out orchards (and commercial 

 orchards) on their estates, farmers in orchard sections are en- 

 larging their fruit plantations, while bank clerks, insurance men, 

 and retired ministers are either investing their savings in small 

 farms which are to be set out to fruit trees, or have bought an 

 interest in some development scheme in the West. No wonder 

 that there is a shaking of heads among the conservative element 

 of our fruit growers and a wondering as to what the outcome 

 will be. No wonder that even the most enthusiastic advocates of 

 orcharding are speculating as to whether it may not be overdone. 



A Good Occupation. But while there has undoubtedly been 

 a wonderful interest in the fruit business in recent years, and 

 while many who have gone into it, without sufficient thought and 

 preparation, undoubtedly will be disappointed, and while we 

 may even have to admit that the price of fruit is likely to de- 

 cline, yet it still seems to the writer that for the right man, in 

 the right place and with the right methods, the growing of fruit 

 offers a healthful and delightful occupation with at least a 

 reasonable assurance of satisfactory financial returns. Let us 

 examine the situation briefly and see what ground there may be 

 for such a belief and what conditions one must fulfil if he ex- 

 pects to be successful. 



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