I 



II 



FRUIT-GROWING 189 



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

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



Dr. £ s. d. 



Rent of one acre . 200 



Tithe on 10 hogsheads, @ 6d. 5 o 



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



3J. 6d. a hogshead 1150 



Racking twice, @ 6d. 50 



Casks and cooperage 80 



£a 13 o 



Cr. jC s. d 



10 hogsheads diminished by racking and waste to 8, @ 12s. 6d. 500 



Leaving a balance of 7^. 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 : — 



£ s. 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, @ 2d. ; manure per tree, @ 3^^. ; planting 



per tree, @ 3^. , . . .480 



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



profitable, @ 5 per cent 13 2 6 



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



acre 7 lo o 



Building cellarage for product per acre 500 



£4 3 4 6 



For this outlay the landowner would gain an additional 

 rent of ;^i a yearj so that, according to this authority, growing 

 cider fruit at that time paid neither landlord nor tenant. 



■■ TAe 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. 



