30 FRUIT RAXCHIXG. 



getting them planted with small fruits in the fall and 

 with strawberries in the succeeding spring, he still 

 has to wait two years before he will be able to get any 

 returns. The amount of capital stated would 

 obviously be inadequate. It should be put at least 

 50 per cent, higher, and probably that would not be 

 enough. Indeed, in the British Columbia Govern- 

 ment publication, " Agriculture in British Columbia " 

 (p. 22), the initial cost of planting 20 acres with apple- 

 trees is put at $2,489.40; and the total cost before the 

 trees begin to yield a revenue at $4,838.22, or $242 

 per acre, the ground produce and small-fruit returns 

 being assumed to cover the settler's living expenses. 

 This more than justifies the moderation of my 

 criticism. 



Now, it is very probable that the writer of the 

 paragraph quoted was proceeding on the assumption 

 that the land would be paid for in four instalments, 

 one of these being cash down, and the other three a 

 bond upon the ranch at 6, or may be 7, per cent. Let 

 us see how the case stands then. The settler, buying 

 at $50 per acre, pays in cash $250. He clears 2 acres 

 in each of the first two years at a cost of $40 per acre 

 ($160), supporting himself meanwhile on his own 

 capital. At the end of two years he has paid tw-o 

 further instalments of $250 each, plus interest ($575), 

 and has spent $1,000 on his own living and $800 on 

 fences, trees, implements, a house, and so forth. Con- 

 sequently, he has spent altogether $2,785. And even 

 if we assume that the settler does all the clearing with 

 his own hands — a task almost impossible — he would 

 still have spent nearly $300 more than his capital. 

 Assuming, however, that he by some means keeps his 



