122 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



May, 1915. 



Old wounds in need of treatment. — No. 1. 



Picking and hauling to warehouse, three 

 miles, at 15c 40.05 



Total cost $191.50 



Average cost per barrel for orchard 

 No. 1—71.7 cents. 



Orchard No. 2 — About five acres, 

 one third in full 'bearing, the remainder 

 about equally divided between ten and 

 fifteen year old trees. Crop last year — 

 209 barrels. 



120 man hours at 20 cents an hour .... $24.00 



165 horse hours at 15 cents 24.77 



Fertilizer and vetch seed for cover crop. 18.25 



Cost of spray material 12.00 



Cost of 209 barrels at 30 cents 62.70 



Cost of picking and hauling to warehouse 



at 15c 31.35 



Total cost $173.07 



Cost per barrel Orchard No. 2—82.8 

 cents. 



Orchard No. 3. — -About twenty-five 

 acres, all commercial sorts, fifteen 

 acres full bearing, remainder ten and 

 fifteen years set. Crop last year — 

 1,124 'barrels. 



353 man hours at 20 cents an hour $70.60 



443 horse hours at 15 cents an hour .... 49.45 

 Cost of fertilizer and vetch for cover crop 85.00 

 Cost of spraying material and gasoline . . 50.00 



Cost 1,124 barrels at 30 cents 337.20 



Picking and hauling to warehouse at 15 

 cents 168.60 



Total cost $760.85 



Cost per barrel Orchard No. 3 — 67.6 

 cents. 



Prom these figures, the average cost 

 per barrel on the three orchards on the 

 combined crop of 1,600 barrels is 70.3 

 cents. 



While packing in the warehouse 

 there is a shrinkage of a'bout sixteen 

 per cent., that is, one hundred barrels 

 tree run will pack on the average about 

 eighty-four barrels. These slack six- 

 teen barrels are credited back to the 

 grower at twenty-five cents a barrel, 

 and this should be credited to the 



orchard account. In this particular in- 

 stance the sixteen per cent, slack bar- 

 rels will reduce our cost ju.st four cents 

 a barrel, making the average cost 66.3 

 cents. 



The reader will notice that in this 

 account no charge is made for man- 

 agement, interest on money invested 

 in equipment, and repairs and renew- 

 als or depreciation of same. For in- 

 stance, the power sprayer cost three 

 hundred dollars, and at least fifty dol- 

 lars a year should be charged the 

 orchard for wear and tear and interest 

 on the cost of this sprayer. Repairs on 

 the sprayer this past season cost twen- 

 ty-two dollars, 'but the machine did 

 outside work for the neighbors, and 

 earned twenty dollars in this way, so 

 that account was about squared for 

 this one season. If fifty dollars was 

 charged the orchard for the use of this 

 sprayer, the cost of raising the 1,600 

 barrels on the three orchards would be 

 increased about three cents a barrel. 



Another item in the cost not consid- 

 ered here, but which always should be 

 considered, is that of interest on cap- 

 ital invested. A fair value to place 

 on orchards such as these under con- 

 sideration is five hundred dollars an 

 acre. Then against the year's crop of 

 J, 600 barrels should be charged the in- 

 terest on thirty-two and a half acres 

 at five hundred dollars an acre, or six- 

 teen thousand two hundred and fifty 

 dollars at six per cent. This amounts 

 to nine hundred and seventy-five dol- 

 lars, or 60.9 cents a harrel. The aver- 

 age operating cost of the three orch- 

 ards under consideration is 66.3 cents 

 a harrel; allow five cents a harrel for 

 interest and depreciation on tools and 

 equipment, and we have the full ac- 

 count as follows: 



Cents. 

 Labor cost, fertilizer, spraying, cover crop, 



etc 66.3 



Interest on tools 5. 



Interest on Inveatment 60.9 



Total cost per barrel \ 132.2 



While these figures are interesting, 

 still they do not answer the question 

 asked at the head of this article — 

 "What does it cost to grow a barrel 

 of apples"? for they are only based on 

 one year's production. One should 

 have five years' accounts to follow as 

 a guide. The average here given for the 

 three orchards should give, however, a 

 fairly accurate answer, for the size of 

 the crop in apple growing will cause 

 & great difference in the cost per bar- 

 rel. While the cost for barrels and 

 picking will remain constant, the 

 charges against each barrel for spray- 

 ing, fertilizing, pruning, cultivating 

 and interest will vary greatly. To il- 

 lustrate this point: In 1911 the orch- 

 ards under consideration produced 

 2,700 barrels. Spraying, cultivating, 

 etc., cost practically the same as last 

 year, so if we charge the same rate for 

 barrels and picking, and five cents a 

 l/arrel for interest on equipment, we 

 find a total cost, including interest on 

 five hundred dollars an acre valuation, 

 of only 97 cents a barrel, as against a 

 cost of 1.32 cents a barrel when only 

 1,600 barrels were produced. From 

 this we might reasonably draw the 

 conclusion that the latter figure would 

 be considerably higher than the five- 

 year average.' 



Right here another question natur- 

 ally comes to mind : Is there a profit 

 in growing apples at these figures? 

 The prices received for the past four 

 crops will give some light on this 

 question : 



In 1911 the price received was $1.33 a barrel net 

 In 1912 the price received was $1.60 a barrel net. 

 In 1913 the price received was $2.01 a barrel net. 



For last year, while the account has 

 not been altogether made up at this 

 date, the probable net price will be 

 about $1.15 a barrel. This shows a 

 loss, one year in four. 



Paint and Concrete in the Orchard 



H. Arnold Haigh, Stamford, Ont. 



ALTHOUGH all large wounds made 

 by the saw in pruning should 

 be painted over, nevertheless, 

 the paint brush is rarely taken into 

 the orchard. This is because the re- 

 sults of neglecting this operation are 

 not apparent for some time, and in 

 many eases the wound closes over and 

 no harm results. 



A paint of white lead, with linseed 

 oil and no driers, is as good as any- 

 thing. Three coats are absolutely safe. 

 One coat is hardly sufficient, but is bet- 

 ter than none. Creosote or tar oil are 

 also very good. If pitch is used, it 

 ^ould be applied hot. It has a ten- 

 dency to run when the sun strikes it. 

 Look over a block of, say. King trees, 

 thirty or more years of age, where 

 painting has been neglected, and note 



the percentage of large pruning 

 wounds that have rotted, often right 

 through the body of the tree to the 

 roots. The King is particularly sus- 

 ceptible, but many varieties of apple 

 and other fruits are more or .less so, 

 and there is a big risk with all. 



If the rot has started, there is 

 nothing for it but to clean it out, even 

 though you have to cut the tree open 

 to the ground. 



The first of the accompanying illus- 

 trations shows a tree with two old 

 wounds, one just above the crotch, the 

 other just below it. Gouge and chisel 

 were taken to this tree, and every par- 

 ticle of rotten or dead wood was cut 

 away. The result is shown in the 

 second illustration. Living wood had 

 to be cut away down the body and up 



