Cost of Production 369 



skilled farm managerial ability when its size exceeds that 

 of the economic unit. The prospective buyer or settler 

 should always take into consideration the community prac- 

 tice and the existing economic conditions before investing 

 large sums and plunging into a method of farm manage- 

 ment and organization wholly foreign to that region. 

 Such undertakings sometimes succeed, but in most cases 

 they have failed on account of the growers' inability to 

 gauge conditions from a practical instead of a theoretical 

 standpoint. Diversification is generally recommended in 

 lowering cost of production, but it should not be prac- 

 ticed to the neglect of the orchard. Under neglect the or- 

 chard usually ceases to be commercial and is separated 

 from the realm of commercial fruit-growing. 



EFFECT OF CLIMATE AND SOIL ON COST OF PEODUCTION 



The cost of production is affected by climate and soil 

 insofar as these factors determine the yield and quality of 

 fruit and govern cultural methods. In humid climates 

 the cost of spraying is usually greater, on account of 

 fungous troubles. In arid climates, however, there is the 

 added cost of irrigation. Some soils are easily cultivated 

 and adapted to tree growth. Others are poor in plant- 

 food and difficult of cultivation. Soil has such a very 

 direct bearing on yield that it is well to study the yield on 

 different soils. Only average yields should be considered. 

 Tor example, when the average yield an acre of fifty com- 

 mercial orchards in one district is fifty barrels below that 

 of a similar number of commercial orchards in another 

 district, it is usually safe to assume that this difference is 

 due to soil. Often this may be overcome by scientific and 

 intelligent treatment, although no other test is quite so 



