PROFITS DERIVED FROM CELERY CULTURE 131 



An acre of celery should reasonably yield from 

 250 to 350 crates, worth $2 per crate at the shipping 

 point, or $500 to $700 an acre. The lowest net bal- 

 ance then would be $45 per acre, and the highest 

 under the above estimate $565 an acre. Commercial 

 growers as a rule figure on a net return of about 

 $100 an acre, and cases are on record where an acre 

 has produced $1,250 worth of celery at a cost of 

 $450, or a net return of $800 ; this was accomplished 

 on new Florida land, highly fertilized, and the crop 

 sold for about 40 cents a dozen at the shipping point. 

 Some of the growers in Michigan claim that celery 

 can be produced for 15 cents per dozen with fair 

 profit, but the net returns are certainly not large at 

 this figure. Celery may undoubtedly be grown 

 profitably for 25 cents per dozen at the shipping 

 point, provided the crop does not fail oftener than 

 one year in five. It is not desirable that a grower 

 should begin on a large scale, but he should begin 

 with i or 2 acres and gradually increase his 

 acreage until he has all his labor can handle 

 profitably. 



