50 



land Expeditionary Force, the following 

 is given as the approximate cost per acre 

 of producing an apple plantation in New 

 Zealand : — • 

 Land suitable for planting per 



acre £10 



Apple trees 20ft. x 20ft. (ap- 

 proximately 100 per acre) ... 5 

 Preparation of land (subsoil- 



ing, planting, etc.) 5 



Cultivation, pruning, spray- 

 ing, etc., £7 per acre per 

 annum for first three years 21 

 Ditto next four years, £9 36 



Total expenditure at end of 

 seven years per acre £77 



To this must be added rates, taxes, 

 interest, etc. 



Orchards at this age are changing hands 

 in New Zealand at prices as high as £200 

 per acre. 



Eeturns from the 7th to the 10th year 

 will vary, but should be considerably 

 greater than expenditure. 



At ten years planted out a properly 

 cared for orchard should yield 5 bushels 

 per tree, which at 7s. 6d. per bushel gives 

 a gross return of £187 10s. per acre. 

 Under pre-war conditions in New Zealand 

 the apple could be produced, after paying 

 all expenses, at 3s. 6d. per bushel case. 

 Orchards in New Zealand are known to 

 produce as much as £300 per acre gross in 

 one season. 



In Nova Scotia about £200 per acre used 

 to be the price per acre for an apple 

 orchard in full bearing. 



In a bulletin of the U.S.A. Department 

 of Agriculture, published in 1917, the 

 average yield per acre of apples in Wes- 

 tern Colorado is put at 284 bushel boxes 

 per acre, the average age of the trees 

 being 17 years of age, planted 74 trees per 

 acre. 



Spraying. 



For the winter cleaning of the bark from 

 lichen, moss and scale insect, etc., caustic 

 potash or soda are wonderful cleansers, 

 giving the bark, if regularly used for 

 several winters, the appearance as if the 

 trees had been varnished. Lime washing 

 the trunks of trees is an excellent and in- 



expensive practice. Spraying trees all 

 over with as thick lime wash as a pump 

 will carry is very beneficial in cleaning the 

 trees, checking certain insects including 

 apple sucker (Psylla mali), a very serious 

 pest, also probably aphides. This is 

 found to be best done in spring, as near 

 as possible to the opening of the leaves 

 and blossoms. The standard fungicides 

 are Bordeaux mixture (copper sulphate 

 and quick-lime), and lime sulphur which 

 within the last ten years have been re- 

 placing to some extent Bordeaux mixture 

 as being less liable to burn the foliage of 

 certain apples. Where apples are liable to 

 fungoid disease either of these sprays are 

 used, the Canadian and U.S.A. practice 

 which we are following in England, is to 

 spray just before the blossoms open, just 

 after petals have fallen, and a third time 



figure 7. 



First Spraying before blossoms open, to destroy 

 spores of apple scab and other fungi and 

 caterpillars of winter and other moths. 



about a fortnight later; the second and 

 third spray may advantageously have 

 arsenate of lead added to kill codlin and 

 winter moth caterpillars. Arsenate of 

 lead has replaced Paris Green as less liable 

 to scorch foliage, but costs more. In case 

 of aphis attack, nicotine is found even 

 better than quassia and soft soap, but it 

 needs to be applied before the leaves be- 



