PROFITS OF DATE GROWING 183 



With all these expenses the cost of growing each 

 crop of lemons up to the time of harvesting is approxi- 

 mately $197 per acre. The upkeep of a date 

 plantation should be well below this. Expense of 

 handling the crop should be much less than with 

 citrus fruits, because of the saving of icing charges and 

 long railway hauls, since all dates grown can un- 

 doubtedly be marketed in the west for many years. 



If we take cost of land and water and expense 

 of bringing a lemon grove into bearing as $1000 per 

 acre, which is very near the average, we can safely 

 assume that the expense of a date plantation will be 

 less, since land is cheaper and labor little, if any, 

 higher, while the additional cost of trees to the date 

 grower is offset by the saving in many items of 

 cultivation. It should be noticed, too, that this 

 estimate for lemon groves, covering five years, in- 

 cludes the pay of a foreman. The date-grower who 

 manages his own plantation will save this, while 

 he should be getting considerable returns from his 

 dates before the fifth year, and may also grow a 

 secondary crop. If we say, then, that $1000 an acre 

 is an adequate investment for land, water, and the 

 expense of bringing a date plantation into bearing, 

 we should be well within the truth. 



The annual upkeep of a lemon plantation, not 

 including picking or marketing the crop, is about $200 

 per acre. Even with the added water and cultivation 

 needed, annual upkeep of a date plantation should 

 be less than this, in view of the great saving which 

 the date grower makes in fertilizing, fumigation and 

 frost protection. 



When it comes to picking and marketing the crop 

 the date grower has a great advantage, for he is not 



