CHAPTER V 
INTERMEDIATE CROPS 
Durie the first two or three years the fruit-rancher is 
much more keenly interested in the crops that he grows 
between the young orchard trees than he is in the trees 
themselves. These crops consist chiefly of roots, forage, 
crops, and small fruits. 
Root Crors.—Of root crops, the most important by 
far is potatoes. They are comparatively easy to grow, 
they yield well in the light sandy soils of British Columbia, 
and they sell for good prices. In the autumn or fall 
potatoes dug straight out of the ground fetch in car- 
load lots $20 to $30 per ton. In the spring, after the 
winter breaks up, they are wont to be scarce and dear. 
Prices range then between $40 and $50 per ton, and I 
have known them to jump up for a short space to even 
double the latter figure. 
Potatoes are a very serviceable crop to grow as the 
first crop after breaking the land. They insure its being 
well worked, and that is beneficial in that it sweetens the 
soil and corrects its acidity and sourness. Where the 
ground was occupied by fir, pine, or other coniferous 
trees, the soil is wont to be more or less impregnated with 
turpentine. The effects of this must first be got rid of 
before one can hope to grow the majority of crops with 
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