16 BULLETIN 851, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The amount and frequency of manurial application is governed 

 to a large extent by the type of farming practiced. As already 

 stated, diversified farming is the most common type in this area. 

 Fruit, however, is one of the chief enterprises. On account of the 

 small number of live stock kept and the lack of other sources of 

 supply, but a small amount of manure is available, and it was found 

 that only 17 growers in group 1 were able to apply such fertilizer 

 each year. The remaining men were fairly evenly divided into those 

 who applied manure to the entire orchard every other year or to 

 one-half, one-third, or one-fourth of their orchard each year. In 

 group 2 somewhat similar methods were used, such as cover-cropping 

 each year, with manure applied to the entire orchard every two 

 years, or to one-half, one-third, or one- fourth of the orchard each 

 year. Variations of a similar nature were also found in group 3. 



The highest average yield, 104.9 barrels per acre, was for 13 

 orchards in group 2 that were annually manured, tilled, and sowed 

 to a leguminous cover crop. Their net cost of production was 

 $143.85 per acre, or $1.37 per barrel. Their average net returns 

 Avere $86.93 per acre, which was the largest from orchards which 

 were annually tilled. Considering all the orchards which were an- 

 nually tilled, regardless of the method of fertilizing, the maintenance 

 cost ranged from $20 to $32 per acre, depending upon the intensity 

 of cultivation and the time spent in pruning, spraying, fertilizing, 

 and minor operations. The handling costs per acre on these orchards 

 ranged from $21 to $31. The material and fixed costs ranged from 

 $64 to $100 per acre. There was considerable variation in all costs 

 considered under this heading, particularly in interest on the esti- 

 mated valuation of the apple orchard, taxes, insurance, etc. The 

 total net cost of production for these orchards ranged from $99 to 

 $145 per acre, while the net returns were from $47 to $87 per acre. 



The maintenance cost per acre for the 11 orchards in sod was $14.80, 

 or 19 cents per barrel. The average yield on these orchards was 77 

 barrels per acre. The handling cost per acre was $21.62, or 28 cents 

 per barrel, while the material and fixed costs were $63.90, or 83 

 cents per barrel. The total net cost of production of these orchards 

 was $82 per acre, or $1.06 per barrel. The net returns were $87.62 

 per acre. A credit of $5.55 per acre was allowed on these orchards 

 as the estimated value of the use of the orchard as a pasture. In 

 but few instances were the cultivated cover crops pastured, and such 

 credit was small. 



All the sod orchards at the time of this investigation were in good 

 physical condition and appeared to be in as healthy a state as those 

 which were cultivated. However, no account was taken of the 

 amount of foliage, root growth, dead wood, condition of fruit during 



