on selected areas, where soil and situa- 

 tion were favourable, near a railway sta- 

 tion, and with security of tenure — say, a 

 lease of at least 30 years — with a distinct 

 understanding as to compensation at the 

 end of the tenancy. 



" Given capital, a landlord who would 

 find the trees, some knowledge of the 

 business and a favourable spot on which 

 to commence, there was no doubt that 

 many a tenant farmer might augment his 

 income by planting a small acreage of 

 fruit to commence with, and, by gradually 

 feeling his way, might establish a good 

 business. The landlord would be increas- 

 ing the value of his estate, and the 

 labourer would find a greater inducement 

 to remain on the land." 



Again, when preparing a paper on "Com- 

 pensation for Fruit Planting," to read 

 before the Surveyors' Institute, Mr. 

 Walter Kruse, of Truro, Cornwall, most 

 kindly wrote to me on the subject of the 

 cost of raising a plantation of fruit. " In 

 my opinion the cost of raising a planta- 

 tion of fruit has been vastly under-esti- 

 mated. The estimates may be very well 

 on paper, but do not work out in practice. 

 It is all very well to put down the cost 

 of trees and planting the ground, etc., 

 but nothing is allowed for contingencies 

 which always occur and there are a great 

 many expenses not included. Nothing is 

 allowed for fencing, gates, fruit lodges, 

 making roads into the plantations, broken 

 trees, re-grafting varieties which prove 

 unsuitable, or for that which is much the 

 greatest item — the cost of cultivation until 

 profitable, together with tithes, taxes, etc. 



" I have planted several farms in Kent, 

 and I will give the cost of the second of 

 these which I planted. It was a farm of 28 

 acres, the whole of which I planted with 

 fruit (except, of course, the land occupied 

 by the house, yard and buildings). 



" The cost of planting and cultivation 

 the first two years, after deducting the 

 amount of fruit, potatoes, etc., sold, was 

 £2,070. Besides this, there was an outlay 

 of £90 for fencing, and £140 for fruit, 

 lodges, cart lodges, etc. This makes a 

 total of £2,300, and with loss on cultivation 

 a little longer until the fruit trees paid 

 expenses, came to about £2,888 or fully 

 £100 per acre. My subsequent experi- 

 ence in planting confirms this sum. If 



worked out on the actual net acreage, 

 after deducting rates, etc., the cost would 

 be higher. I went to work as cheaply as 

 I could and grew strawberries to bring 

 a quick return, as my name was known 

 in several markets for sending the best 

 strawberries to those markets, I got very 

 good prices, so I doubt if anyone could do 

 it for less money. 



" The reason the cost of planting is 

 usually under-estimated is, I think, be- 

 cause the expenses of cultivation are 

 mixed with those of other crops, and far- 

 mers do not keep a s^arate account or 

 them." 



Estimate of Cost of Planting, by Mr. 

 Walter Kruse : — 



£ s. d. 



Cultivating and clearing land, £2 to £4 3 



Manuring, from £1 to £10 4 



Setting out plantation, 12 feet apart for trees, 



Oft. by 3ft. for bushes 10 



305 apple and plum trees, at Is. ... 15 5 

 2,115 gooseberries at 12s. a 100 12 14 



2,420 -^ 27 19 



Digging holes and planting trees 

 at 8b. per 100, £1 4s. 4d. ; stakes 

 and staking at 2d. each, £2 10s. lOd. 3 15 2 



Digging holes and planting goose- 

 berries at 5s. per 100 5 5 8 



9 10 



Rent, rates, cultivation, including digging 

 docks, couch, etc., by hand, pruning, and 

 general cultivation, washing, re-tying trees, 

 share of foreman's time, finding men work 

 when cultivation cannot be done — for three 

 years at £10 a year 30 



Replacing dead trees and bushes 12 



£75 1 10 

 Share of fencing and packing lodge 5 



Share of roads 10 



5 



Interest on capital £66, at 5 per cent., equals 

 £3 6s. per annum for three years 9 18 



£90 19 10 



I have quoted Mr. Wise and Mr. Kruse 

 at length, because of their wide experi- 

 ence, and because they expressed their 

 opinion in a very lucid manner. My ex- 

 perience coincides with what they said, 

 but is on a smaller scale. 



Owing to the vastly changed conditions 

 of labour and all else, the prices and 

 figures quoted can only be taken as refer- 

 ring fairly approximately to things as 

 they were before the war. At the present 

 time it is almost impossible to offer any 

 reliable estimate, but it is fairly safe to 

 predict prices and cost will never again 

 come within 50 per cent, of those before 

 the war. See also Appendi.x notes. 



