COMMERCIAL ORCHARDING IN WEST VIRGINIA. 



21 



Table V. — Cost of peaches per tree and per basket on smooth red-shale land in West 

 Virginia under more efficient management than the orchard summarized in Table IV. 



Items of expense. 



Per 



basket. 



Cost at bearing stage (fifth year) 



Gjost of routine operating expenses^ 10 years . . 

 Cost of handling and marketing fruit, 10 years 



Total cost 



SI. 03 

 4.18 

 2.75 



.0746 

 .3030 

 .2000 



7.96 



The average price for peaches on this orchard has been 69 cents. 

 If this price should continue and the rate of past yields be maintained, 

 a net profit of 11.24 cents per basket may be expected, or $1.55 per 

 tree. 



Another orchard located on chert land and cared for in an up-to-date 

 manner will have produced, on the basis of past records, 16 baskets 

 of fruit at 16 years of age. The average price of peaches from this 

 orchard during the past eight years has been 74 cents per basket. 

 Table VI gives the estimated costs for this orchard. 



Table VI. — Cost of peaches, per tree and per basket, on chert land in West Virginia. 



Items of expense. 



Per tree. 



Per 



basket. 





$1.40 

 5.09 

 3.52 



SO. 0875 





.3181 





.2200 









10.01 



.6256 







At 74 cents per basket this orchard may expect a net profit of 11.44 

 cents per basket, or $1.83 per tree. 



It would seem from the above analysis that superior and more 

 expensive management as well as exceptional natural advantages 

 will lessen the average cost per basket and will also increase the 

 average market price by producing peaches of exceptional quality. 

 The fact that increased cost per acre and per tree has decreased 

 the cost per basket x is explained on the ground that by this expense 

 the yield was increased more proportionally than the amount of such 

 expense. This decrease in cost per basket, of course, could not 

 continue in proportion to the added expense per acre. A point would 

 quickly be reached where the added expense would increase the cost 

 per basket, and if the quality remained the same no economic advan- 

 tage would be secured. This is an important problem for the 

 manager to work out as his orchard grows. 



1 In mathematical terms these facts maybe stated thus: The cost per basket varies directly as the total 

 expense of the orchard and inversely as the total yield. 



