OPERATING COSTS OF A NEW YORK APPLE ORCHARD. 



9 



In the third and fourth sprayings of 1911 only the trees which 

 .blossomed were sprayed. This partly accounts for the lessened cost 

 at those times. 



Table III. — Cost of spraying the 14-74-acre Wellman apple orchard, containing 527 

 trees from 45 to 60 years of age, in 1911 and 1912. 



Year and operation. 



Hours per 

 acre. 



Cost per acre. 



Horse. 



Labor. 



Mate- 

 rial. 



Total. 



Cost of both 



material and 



labor. 



Per 



tree. 



Per 



barrel. 



First spraying... 

 Second spraying. 

 Third spraying. . 

 Fourth spraying . 



Total for season 11. 31 



First spraying... 

 Second spraying. 

 Third spraying . . 

 Fourth spraying. 



Total for season. 



3.34 

 3.05 

 3.29 

 1.63 



2.61 

 2.03 

 3.26 

 1.63 



1.020 

 .765 

 .358 



52. 684 

 1.879 

 1.853 



.075 

 .053 

 .053 

 .025 



9.53 



3. 486 



7.315 



3.76 

 3.09 

 5.43 

 4.59 



2.44 

 2.03 

 3.66 

 4.75 



1.048 



.864 



1.532 



1. 550 



1.182 

 1.129 



1.977 

 1.852 

 2.714 

 2.676 



16.87 



12.88 



4.< 



9.219 



.055 

 .052 

 .076 

 .074 



.257 



SO. 042 

 .030 

 .029 

 .015 



,116 



.013 

 .013 

 .019 

 .019 



.064 



There are many systems of orchard management in the apple belt 

 of western New York. In the management of the Wellman orchard 

 it has been the practice to plow 3^ to 4 inches deep in the spring. 

 The ground is tilled during the season, and in the latter part of the 

 summer a cover crop is sowed, the orchard remaining in sod the fol- 

 lowing year. With this plan of management the orchard is in sod 

 every other year. 



In 1911 this orchard was plowed. On the average, 1.5 acres were 

 plowed each 10-hour day at a cost of $3.24 per acre. The depth of 

 plowing, width of furrow, stiffness of sod, and the type of soil will 

 influence the time required for this operation. Many times a single- 

 horse plow is required to plow away from the trees. During the 

 season the orchard was rolled once and harrowed five times. A 

 cover crop was then sowed and the orchard again harrowed. The 

 total labor cost of tillage was $6.26 per acre. 



Figured on the basis of the yield in 1912, if the orchard had been 

 plowed and worked during that year as in 1911 there would have 

 been an increase of 4 cents per barrel in the labor cost. In addition, 

 the cost of the cover crop would have been 2 cents per barrel, making 

 a total increase of 6 cents per barrel in 1912. 



If the plowing had been done in 1912, it would not have necessi- 

 tated cutting the clover that year. This is a minor cost and would 



