175 



he would rather have black currants alone 

 without strawberries. However, for the 

 sake of quicker return, the approximate 

 cost of strawberry planting is here given. 



Cultivations after Planting and Cost 

 OF Planting Strawberries. — February — 

 Six harrowings (two men and one horse) 

 at 7s. each harrowing, £2 2s. March. — 

 12,000 strawberry runners (Royal 

 Sovereign) at £1 per 1,000, £12; 

 planting strawberries 3ft. by 16ins. 

 at 4s. per 1,000, £2 8s. April to 

 September. — Six cultivations with Planet 

 Junior (two men and one horse) at 

 9s. 8d. each time, £2 18s. ; hand hoeing 

 during season, £6; cutting runners during 

 season, £1 10s. Total, £26 18s. per acre. 



Spraying Young Apple Trees.— March. 

 — Lime spray (once). May and July. — 

 Caterpillar sprays (twice). Labour 3s. 6d., 

 material Is. 6d. each time, 15s. per acre. 



It is a good plan to put a little dung as 

 a mulch round young apple trees in the 

 spring in case of a drought the first year. 



IIent, Hates and Taxes for One Year.— 

 Say net rent £2, tithe 2s. 6d., land tax 

 2s. 6d., rates 15s., income tax 10s. per 

 acre. Total, £3 10s. 



Strawberries should pay expenses their 

 second year. If these are not grown, 

 gooseberries and currants should pay ex- 

 penses their third or fourth year, whilst 

 the trees would become profitable in their 

 eighth to tenth year. Mr. E. M. Bear, of 

 Hailsham, Sussex, from his experience 

 considers it now requires at least £30 per 

 acre capital to work ready })] anted fruit 

 land, but that the fruit farmer should have 

 more capital than this for fear of his first 

 season proving unfavourable. Mr. H. S. 

 Bickham, of Hilltop, Ledbury, Hereford- 

 shire, finds it now costs him £70 per acre 

 annual expenditure on his established 

 fruit plantations. His plantations are 

 extremely well cultivated, manured and 

 sprayed, but they yield wonderful crops. 

 Summary of Approximate Capital 

 Expenditure. 



If land is purchased the price per acre 

 for unplanted land may vary from £25 up 

 to £100 per acre, the latter for best land 

 in a successful fruit-growing district. The 

 purchase price of land is about 25 times 

 its agricultural rent. 



Drainage, if necessary, may cost £40 per 

 acre if well done. 



Fencing against rabbits and man, if 

 necessary, may cost £10 per acre for, say, 

 10 acres; less for more, greater cost if 

 for less. 



Manuring may cost from £5 (for bone 

 meal placed in holes) up to £25 per acre — 

 say £11. Under some circumstances 

 manuring may not be needed; even then a 

 mulch over the tree roots wDl be advan- 

 tageous. 



Cultivation before planting, £5 16s. ; 

 cost of trees and bushes, £48 10s. ; plant- 

 ing trees and bushes, £4 10s. ; cultivation 

 after planting, planting strawberries, cul- 

 tivation to Michaelmas, £26 18s. (if no 

 strawberries, say £11); spraying young 

 apple trees, 15s. ; share in making roads, 

 packing-shed, etc., £3; replacing dead 

 trees, bushes or strawberry jjlants, £2; 

 expenses of cultivation, &c., till straw 

 berries crop in second year, £25; super- 

 intendence from commencement, £5; in- 

 terest on capital for two years at 6 per 

 cent., £12; rent, kc, for two years at 

 £3^10s._, £7. Total, £140 9s. 



So with cost of fencing it looks like £150, 

 with any manuring to add. If the owner 

 himself does much of the labour of course 

 the expenditure in labour is greatly 

 lessened. 



The following gives an idea of wholesale 

 prices of fruit trees and bushes of good 

 quality of ordinary good varieties for 

 planting in season 1920-21 : — Bush apple 

 trees, one-year old on Paradise or Crab, 

 selected £12 10s., good £10, two-year old 

 £20 per 100; pear and plum trees, same 

 prices as apple trees; crab-apple stocks, 

 budding size, £3 10s. per 100; black currant 

 bushes, one-year old £8 to £12, two-year 

 old £20, cuttings £3 to £3 10s. per 1,000; 

 red currant bushes, one-year old £7 10s., 

 two-year old £15, cuttings 15s. to £1 per 

 1,000; gooseberry bushes, one-year old 

 £20, two-year old £30 per 1,000; rasp- 

 berries, £1 to £1 5s. per 1,000 up to £3 10s. 

 for new-quality sorts ; strawberry plants, 

 ordinary varieties, good runners from one 

 and two year old plants, 15s. to 20s. per 

 1,000; rhubarb plants, 10s. per 100. 



Approximate Present Cost of Farm 

 Operations. 



(From " The Agriculturist's Diary " 



for 1921.) 

 Ploughing by motor tractor, 3ins. deep, 

 22s. per acre; 6ins. deep, 25s. ; by one man 



