COST OF PRODUCING APPLES IN HOOD RIVER VALLEY. 



13 



fessions or trades. The larger farms are usually owned by the pio- 

 neers of the valley. These are usually men with considerable agri- 

 cultural experience. In some cases, however, the man from the city 

 who applies thorough business methods is more successful than his 

 more experienced neighbor. 



INVESTMENT. 



In Hood River Valley on the 54 farms studied the average invest- 

 ment per farm as estimated by ow^ners is $22,503.70, the average size 

 of farm being practically 40 acres. The average investment per acre 



Fig. 4. — A typical ranch 2 miles west of Odell, showing an orchard in bearing and a 

 young orchard planted on land recently cleared of pine. This land was valued at 

 about $250 per acre before it was cleared. 



in apple orchards is $990.70. As shown in Table II, the investment 

 is somewhat higher for mulch-crop than for clean-culture orchards. 

 This is due to the fact that those under the mulch-crop system are 

 all irrigated and generally better located than those still under the 

 clean-culture system. 



An investment of nearly $1,000 per acre is easily accounted for 

 when all the existing factors which have influenced the price of land 

 are considered. The original raw land suitable for orchard purposes, 

 when fairly well located, sells for $200 to $250 per acre. (See fig. 4.) 

 The cost of clearing this land, which is heavily wooded, usually with 

 pine, is from $90 to $150 per acre, 



