140 The Commercial Apple Industry 



the average individual. The individual must adapt the 

 organization of his plans to the economic conditions as they 

 exist in his particular community. He must take advan- 

 tage of the favorable, conditions in order to combat the 

 unfavorable ones. It must be recognized that commercial 

 orcharding is seldom successful as a side-line enterprise 

 and, while it is important that there should be diversifi- 

 cation in order to provide some, outside income, the or- 

 chard should always remain a leading if not specialized 

 undertaking. 



SYSTEMS OF TENANTBY 



The problem of renting enters less into the apple-grow- 

 ing industry than into almost any other type of farming. 

 It is seldom profitable to entrust the care of an orchard to 

 the tenant system and this has discouraged the practice of 

 renting among the owners of fruit-land generally. In 

 years of crop failure, the tenant will not and can not be 

 expected to devote himself to the intense care which might 

 result in a profitable crop after his lease has expired. 

 Obviously a long-term lease with detailed specifications as 

 to the number and character of sprays to be applied, the 

 amount of pruning and cultivation to be given, and a. com- 

 plete understanding as to the harvesting methods, would 

 have many advantages over a short-time lease. And yet 

 even with such specifications, it is almost impossible to se- 

 cure the personal attention which is the secret of success. 



The basis for renting apple orchards depends largely 

 on the individual orchard and also varies considerably in 

 different regions. A system in which the owner has sup- 

 ervision is obviously desirable from the owner's standpoint. 

 A number of systems of tenantry will be discussed briefly. 



