COST OF PRESERVING 



75 



tion, and where activities are directed toward differ- 

 ent interests, with one principal line of work, sec- 

 ondary matters often prove to be of the most con- 

 siderable assistance and value. Cattle, horses, hogs, 

 poultry, the family orchard and truck garden, the 

 meadow, cornfield and pasture are all essentials of 

 a well regulated rural home, and cannot be omitted 

 without lessening the efficiency of the farmstead. 

 Here they can be utilized with little comparative 

 cost, and the least loss of time, resulting in the 

 greatest possible profit. So, if a grower plants 

 from four to six, not over ten, acres in figs, he will 

 have a main industry and a principal source of 

 revenue, one that will amply provide family wants, 

 giving him time for secondary interests and the 

 opportunity to improve his relation toward the com- 

 munity far different from the life of a drudge. 



Since a fig plantation requires considerable capi- 

 tal, if the grower intends to maintain his farm upon 

 a cash basis, or with reasonable provision against 

 adversity, and still be comparatively independent 

 of the market for fresh fruit, he should equip for 

 preserving his own crop. In most cases this is a 

 serious financial undertaking, as the following fig- 

 ures indicate: Ten acres should yield, annually, 

 one thousand five hundred bushels. For gathering, 

 preserving and marketing in first-class glass pack- 

 ages, it costs from seven to ten dollars a bushel; 

 this estimate includes an allowance of three cents a 

 pound for the fruit. Ten acres would then require 



