THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



WHAT THE SETTLER SHOULD KNOW 



(Continued from page 428) 



a new dairy farm it will take a year to get the farm 

 under full headway. In the case of the orange 

 grove it will take about five years to bring the trees 

 into commercial bearing ; that is, into a condition 

 where it will pay expenses. It may not come into 

 full bearing for ten years. Dairying is a going con- 

 cern almost from the start, while to secure a suc- 

 cessful orange grove it requires many years of 

 waiting, which can be afforded only by men who 

 have other sources of income. One of the most 

 important questions to determine in the purchase 

 of a piece of property is how soon it will become 

 a going concern. Some banks adopt it as a policy 

 not to loan except to going concerns. The man 

 who must earn a living through his own labor will 

 do well to invest in an orchard or ranch from 

 which he can get immediate returns, rather than 

 to invest in land which will require years to de- 

 velop. On the other hand, a man who merely 

 wishes to invest capital may easily spend five or 

 even ten years in developing a business farm en- 

 terprise. The fact that relatively few men have 

 capital so to invest gives them a greater oppor- 

 tunity to reap eventually a good return. 



It is, however, possible for a man to make him- 

 self a going concern by taking up side issues while 

 his orchard is growing. There are two general 

 methods of doing so: one is to grow intercrops in 

 his orchard while the trees are small. The success 

 of this method will depend upon a number of fac- 

 tors, including the kind of fruit, the abundance and 

 cost of water, and market conditions. The other 

 method is to engage in outside work while the 

 orchard is growing. It is a rather common prac- 

 tice in the citrus sections for a man who is starting 

 a grove of his own to care for other groves at the 

 same time ; thus a man with a ten or twenty acre 

 tract of his own may have charge of two or three 

 other bearing groves, ranging from five to twenty- 

 acres each. It is generally estimated that one man 

 can do the cultural work on forty acres. 



It has been assumed that only a single crop 

 was being used. In fact, however, many farms do 

 and most farms should raise a variety of products. 

 A diversity of crops helps to conserve the soil, to 

 keep down insect enemies and fungous disease, and 

 to make possible a more constant and economical 

 use of labor. 



Assume a man has $5,000 to invest and that he 

 desires eventually to secure a gross income of 

 $4,000 per year, but is willing to accept less in the 

 beginning, how is he to proceed? The discussion 

 which follows is intended to suggest that a person 

 with a small or insufficient capital, by economy and 

 self-sacrifice, may achieve a satisfactory compe- 

 tence. The main items to be considered in esti- 

 mating the probable or possible outcome are illus- 

 trated by a concrete, although imaginary, example. 

 In order to caution the reader against taking the 

 figures here mentioned too literally, there follows a 

 discussion of the application of the particular illus- 

 tration to existing conditions. 



Whether the figures apply to any given place 

 or time is wholly immaterial so far as the involved 



principles are concerned. The intelligent reader 

 will realize that yields and values will vary with 

 the locality and that what is true of prices of land 

 and products today may not be true tomorrow. 

 The purpose of the discussion throughout is to 

 state principles and methods by means of concrete 

 illustrations. Its value to the reader will depend 

 upon his ability to apply the principles and methods 

 suggested to the particular conditions which he 

 may meet. 



First Year. The first act should be to set aside 

 $500 for family expenses during the first year. As- 

 suming the purchase of sixty acres of undeveloped 

 land with water rights attached at $100 per acre, 

 or a total of $6,000, he may pay $1,000 upon the 

 land, set aside $1,000 for buildings, $1,000 for teams, 

 machinery and tools, and $500 for running expenses, 

 including water charges. He may purchase a four- 

 horse team and will spend most of the first year in 

 leveling, checking and seeding his land. He has 

 left $1,000 with which to buy ten cows, a couple 

 of sows, and a few chickens. Most of these will be 

 purchased during the latter part of the year and not 

 more than $300 cash income should be assumed 

 during this year. 



Second Year. Since the owner is now going 

 to get his pay check every month, he may pay the 

 interest on $5,000 at 6 per cent with the $300 and 

 meet his family and running expenses out of cur- 

 rent income. During this year his cows, bull calves, 

 pigs and chickens may bring in a thousand dollars, 

 while another thousand dollars may be received 

 from the sale of alfalfa. Assuming running ex- 

 penses to be $700, living expenses $500, and in- 

 terest $300, there is left $500. With this sum five 

 cows and a bull may be purchased. 



Third Year. This year the return from dairy 

 products and livestock may be assumed to be 

 $1,500, while, on account of the greater age of the 

 alfalfa, $1,000 may again be assumed from that 

 source. Assuming the running expenses to have 

 increased to $1,000, the family expenses to $700, 

 the total outlay will be $2,000, leaving $500 with 

 which to buy five additional cows. 



Fourth Year. The returns from alfalfa may be 

 reduced this year to $800, while the other returns 

 may be increased to $2,000, making a total of $2,800. 

 Allowing for increase in running expenses the 

 yearly outlay may be stated as follows: 



Running expenses $1,200.00 



Family expenses 700.00 



Interest 300.00 



Total $2,200.00 



The balance would thus be $600, with which to 

 buy five cows and a bull. 



Fifth Year. The returns from alfalfa may be 

 reduced to $600, while the other returns may be 

 increased to $2,500, making a total of $3,100. Al- 

 lowing again for an increase in running expenses, 

 the following may result : 



Running expenses $1,400.00 



Family expenses 700.00 



Interest 300.00 



Total $2,400.00 



The balance will thus be $700, with which seven 

 cows may be purchased. 



