18 The Commercial Apple Industry 



intended to discourage legitimate investments. Well se- 

 lected farms have been known to pay for themselves in a 

 year. Syndicate farming schemes, however, are always 

 questionable. They sound well, but they seldom work out. 

 Attempts of this kind were numerous a few years ago, were 

 largely discontinued for a time, but may revive following 

 high price years. After a few years of inactivity, " pro- 

 moters " will appear to prey on a new class of investors. 

 Careful investigation on the part of investors should enable 

 them to determine which orchards were set to produce fruit 

 and which were set for speculation. By curbing this spec- 

 ulative influence, a long step will be taken towards pre- 

 venting over-planting. 



Among the favorable factors mentioned in the forego- 

 ing paragraphs are the extension of foreign markets and 

 the increase in exportations to meet this demand. In pass- 

 ing, one should not fail to note that in a certain part of the 

 world there are being developed important apple-produc- 

 ing regions. Notable among these is Tasmania, which has 

 produced as many as 2,000,000 cases of commercial ap- 

 ples and exported as many as 800,000 cases (bushels) to 

 England in one year. Canada will be an increasingly im- 

 portant factor in the apple industry. Many Idealities are 

 suitable for apple-growing in this country and new regions 

 are constantly being developed. 



4. Competition with citrus fruit. 



In discussing the outlook for the apple industry, some 

 consideration must be given to its relative status in com- 

 parison with the rapidly growing citrus fruit industry. 

 In 1896, when one of the largest apple crops in the his- 

 tory of the industry was harvested, citrus fruit-growing in 



