July, 192G] 



Apple Industry in New Hampshire 



23 



iiig to be OIK' of the most profitable sources of income. These resident 

 farmers, planting trees in the main in small lots and learning the tech- 

 nicalities of the fruit business as their orchards grew, ha\e become the 

 best fruit growers of New Hampshire. There are undoubtedly today 

 among the group of 462 men owning orchards of between 100 and 300 

 l)earing trees, a considerable number who, like those just mentioned, are 

 to become the successful fruit growers of the future. It is undoubtedly 

 true that a good many of the orchards of this size are not successfully 

 conduclcd, and i)r()bal)ly those orchards are nuich below avei'age in the 

 number of non-bearing trees. On the other hand, there are probably 

 some of this group who have large plantations of young trees. 



Table VII. — Classification of New Hampshire Orchards {801 Orchards) 

 Based on Nnmher of Trees cf Bearing Age 



In many cases these men are pleased with the results which they are 

 obtaining from their orchards and are increasing their plantings at what 

 might seem to them a rapid rate. They have no adequate conception of 

 what their labor income ought to be or of how large a unit they could 

 oiieratc successfully. Their point of view is one based on small begin- 

 nings and the lack of familiarity with real commercial units. To bring 

 these men to a realization of what they ought to be accomplishing is 

 a real problem in agricultural e.xtension work. 



Records were taken from about 130 farms on which there were less 

 than 100 bearing trees but where there were a considerable number of 

 non-bearing trees. There are, of course, many thousands of other or- 

 chards having less than 100 trees but on which there are no new plant- 



