109 



per bushel. Do you think you can produce them for less? This 

 last year in Xew York State we are being offered anywhere from 

 -5 to 35 cents per bushel for our potatoes. You cannot grow them 

 for that money ; our yield is not high enough. If you secure lOO 

 bushels per acre of which 8o are marketable, and you get 50 cents 

 per bushel you haye $40.00 per acre. Personally, I cannot grow 

 potatoes for less than $50.00 per acre, and the ]\Iaine Station find 

 that it costs them $69.00 per acre, but under their conditions eyen 

 this expenditure was profitable at 50 cents per bushel, but not at 

 30 cents. 



Ten-acre Field. 



Plowing at $2.00 per acre, 



Harrowing. 5 times, $3.00 per acre, 



Fertilizer (home mixture), $30.00 per ton, 



Seed (130 bus.) at 75c per bu., 



Disinfecting seed (labor and material), 



Cutting seed (by hand) at 6c per bu., 



Planting, team and 2 men, 3 days, $5.00 



Harrowing or weeding before crop is up, 4 times, 



Cultivating crop, 8 times, at $3.50, 



Spraying. 6 times, ($1.00 per acre each application) 



Hand hoeing and pulling weeds once (if necessary) 



Digging and hauling to storehouse or station at $15.00 per acre, 

 Rent of land (5 per cent, on $50.00 per acre value), 10 acres, .... 

 Depreciation of implements { plows, harrows, planter, sprayer, 

 digger, etc.), value $250.00 at 10 per cent., 



Value of crop, 225 bus. per acre, (2,250 bus. at 50c), 



Value, per acre $112.50 



Cost of growing, per acre, 69.93 



Xet profit per acre, ' $ 42.59 



It will be seen that it cost 31 cents per bushel to produce the 

 above crop. Just determine the actual cost and see if the business 

 pays, whether it is worth bothering with. If it will not pay to 

 grow potatoes alone it will not pay to bring them into the orchard. 



Member. How much commercial fertilizer will vou use? 



Mr. F. Ve have generally applied about 10 tons of manure 

 with 600 pounds of mixed fertilizer made up of 100 pounds of 

 sulphate of ammonia, 400 of acid phosphate, 100 of muriate of 

 potash. We prefer the sulphate of ammonia to nitrate of soda. 



Member. If the crop costs as much to grow as we get out 

 of it. may the gain be said to be the cultiyation and growth of the 

 orchard ? 



Mr. F. We think if the trees be given a space of from 4 to 8 

 feet on each side of the trees from the first year to the fourth that 

 it would be leo^itimate to charge $8.00 per acre of the total expense 

 against the field to trees. There is one thing you must remember, 

 and that is. that we cannot incorporate the organic matter so well 

 in the future as we can when the trees are young. You cannot 

 grow it under the trees when the trees are well grown. 



$20.00 

 17.50 



225.00 

 97.50 

 3.00 

 7.80 

 15.00 

 10.50 

 28.00 

 60.00 

 15.00 



150.00 

 25.00 



25.00 



$699.30 

 $1,125.00 



