SUMMARY 



591 



Summary. It is important, then, that the young man who 

 is contemplating the production of fruit crops as his life work 

 consider carefully the following factors: 



1. The basis of his interest in the work. 



2. The capital requirements. 



3. Planting a new orchard vs, purchasing one already 

 established. 



4. Factors affecting the margin of profit. 



5. Prices in terms of purchasing power. 



6. Possibilities of diversification, its effects on purchasing 

 power. 



He must line up the fields in which he entertains some 

 interest squarely before him and subject them to careful 

 analysis. The age of trial and error is over in establishing 

 orchards. Unprofitable orchard sites are being abandoned 

 for those which have proved their worth. With increasing 

 costs of fruit production, with no corresponding increase in 

 prices, the margin of profit shows a tendency to diminish. 

 In spite of this, opportunity remains for him who chooses a 

 favorable site in a suitable region and farms intelligently to 

 make a good living from this enterprise. 



It is evident that the efforts of the fruit farmer will be 

 directed toward the type of production which will yield him 

 the maximum return. He is not interested so much in gross 

 receipts or expenses taken independently as in the margin 

 which exists between the two. This is his profit. This is the 

 thing that can be exchanged for the goods which serve to pro- 

 vide him with some of the necessities and satisfactions of life. 

 Before most other things, he must be certain that he will obtain 

 a maximum degree of enjoyment from the work he is doing. 

 This last point is worthy of stressing over and over again. 

 Large profits cannot be expected from agriculture. This makes 

 it all the more important that the individual find satisfaction 

 in its pursuits. There will be years when that, in itself, will 

 constitute the chief return from his labor. 



