83 



He shows by actual data that 90 per cent of the farmers in these counties 

 whose farms do not exceed thirty acres in extent, receive less than $400 per 

 annum net for their labour. On farms of two hundred acres and over, only one- 

 third of the farmers receive $1,000 and over as a reward for their labour in the 

 course of the year. 



When we come to compare these figures with the average returns from a well 

 managed fruit plantation, one year with another, there is a marked difference. 

 Net returns from $50 to $200 per acre and even more are not at all unusual and 

 it is safe to say, from a perusal of the replies received from over one hundred and 

 fifty correspondents in all parts of Canada in answer to an enquiry on this subject, 

 that at least $50 per acre, net, may be counted upon in this country from the area 

 under fruit. In many sections farms of one and two hundred acres, which were 

 returning their owners not more than a comfortable living while devoted to gen- 

 eral farming, are now supporting from six to twelve families who are devoting 

 their energies to fruit culture, and doing so successfully. 



Fruitgrowing furnishes pleasant and profitable employment to all the mem- 

 bers of the family, encourages the sub-dividing of the land into smaller holdings, 

 gives social and educational advantages, leads to the establishment of many 

 allied industries in the district, and in many other ways adds materially to the 

 substantial wealth of the community. 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 



In conclusion I wish to call the attention of the prospective fruitgrower to 

 a few outstanding features of the situation in regard to the successful production 

 of fruit in this country. These conclusions have been arrived at after careful 

 ' study and observation of the methods and operations of many of the most pro- 

 gressive and successful men in the industry from one end of the Dominion to the 

 other. 



In the first place, while the growing of fruit offers ample rewards to the man 

 of energy, patience and perseverance, there is perhaps no phase of agricultural 

 endeavour which requires to be more closely studied and in which a wide range of 

 information is more desirable and necessary. 



There are so many varied influences at work, any one of which may prove the 

 limiting factor in an undertaking of this kind, that it is almost essential to have 

 considerable practical experience in actual field work, combined with a theoreti- 

 cal knowledge of many scientific subjects before the average man can realize to 

 even a moderate extent the object of his ambition. 



The fruit areas are so extensive and the climatic conditions so different, the 

 soils are so dissimilar, and there are so many varieties of fruit which succeed in 

 one locality, but which may prove an utter failure in another, that it behoves 

 anyone beginning fruitgrowing as an occupation, to exercise the greatest care at 

 the outset. A great deal can be learned from enquiry and close observation of 

 the methods in use by successful men in any given district. If possible it would 

 be well, having selected the locality which seemed best to supply the conditions 

 sought after, to spend a season or two in active co-operation in the work on the 

 property of such a man and thus by practical experience be partially fitted for 

 entering upon the work of laying the foundation of a profitable fruitgrowing 

 undertaking, with a slight idea at least, of some of the conditions involved, and 

 the obstacles to be encountered. 



Available markets are another essential consideration. No one should select 

 a locality or enter upon the production of any class of fruit without first ascer- 

 taining the facilities for the profitable disposition of his crop when produced. 

 Many in the past have found themselves stranded under conditions when the 

 harvest has been abundant and of fine quality, but the means of transporting the 

 crop to market has been woefully deficient and unsatisfactory. Fortunately 

 much of this latter difficulty is rapidly disappearing and a much better distribu- 



