io6 



not in itself profitable then it certainly shonld not be put in an 

 orchard with the idea of ,2^ettino- a certain sum back to pay the 

 orchard expenses. It is quite possible that you could charge off 

 $8.00 an acre from the working expenses to trees, but I consider 

 it is really unwise to try and grow the potatoes close to the trees. 

 I would certainly leave 4 feet, the next year 6 feet, and later eight 

 feet on each side of the row of trees. If the orchard be planted 

 to fillers there is so little land left that I doubt whether it will pay. 

 Orchards are worth so much more than potatoes that I would seri- 

 ously question the avisability of growing some low yalued money 

 crop in them. If the money crop grown is highly productive 

 and does not draw too heavily upon the soil I think it would be 

 better. Or, again, it might be better to run the orchards in the ex- 

 tensive fashion, without a crop and concentrate on three of four 

 acres on some other part of the farm and in this way earn suf- 

 ficient money to carry the orchard. Or, we can look at the matter 

 in another light, and that is, one which I use in almost all other 

 crops, namely, you determine first whether you have or can secure 

 enough money to grow the crop until harvest. If you undertake 

 to grow radishes you may have to wait but six weeks ; if you at- 

 tempt to grow potatoes you may have to wait four or five months ; 

 if you plan to grow apples you have to wait six or seven years. I 

 think it would be better to look at the subject from a business stand- 

 point and try to get enough capital and get some way to carry the 

 crop until it is ready to produce some revenue, and devote all the 

 energy of the land to that crop. I hoped at one time that I could 

 do otherwise, but I have been forced to this position by experience. 

 I realize that my experience may be decidedly different from that 

 of yours in this locality, and therefore, hesitate to advise you 

 whether you should or should not grow potatoes in a young or- 

 chard. In some sections of New York our growers report adverse- 

 ly on growing potatoes, especially in peach orchards. They have 

 had such poor results that they consider that they have lost two or 

 three years growth of the trees, owing to the influence of the po- 

 tatoes upon the peach trees ; and if a potato crop makes $10.00 

 per acre, net, it is doing well, and in some cases we may get $20.00 

 or more net ; but should that be secured by the loss of one peach 

 crop or one apple crop we have a very large contra-account ; for 

 the one apple or peach crop will probably be worth as much money 

 to us as five potato crops. Then, as:ain, when a man is working 

 potatoes there is a tendency to sacrifice the trees, which does not 

 happen when there is no crop being grown. Another point with us 

 is that we need or.eanic matter in the soil, and are not able to secure 

 enough to grow profitable crops of potatoes unless we have a rota- 

 tion of perhaps clover or meadow one or two years in four and the 

 orchard does not lend itself very well to such a practice. 



To return to our first question that of cost of production, it 

 might be wise to take one other crop as a sample. The U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture has been determining the cost of produc- 

 tion of certain crops in Alinnesota and they find that it costs about 

 $6.00 an acre for labor, teams, seed, etc., to produce a crop of 

 wheat. This does not include any charge for rent. If now, the 



