THE COMMERCIAL ASPECT OF HARDY FRUIT GROWING. 301 
Fences and Implements. — As a rule the land taken up for 
market gardens or fruit growing is already furnished with hedges 
or fences, but if these have to be provided the expense is a serious 
item. Near public roads a fence will be needed as protection 
while a hedge is growing. An open wooden fence, three or four 
feet high, with three or four rails, tarred, will, with labour and 
material, cost about 2s. 6d. a yard. A quickset hedge and ditch 
will cost about I5. a yard. 
Implements for cultivating the soil will cost from £5 to £20, 
according to the extent of the land and the number of regular 
hands employed. 
Draining. — If permanent plantations are being formed, this 
preliminary must have attention, though in the case of land that 
has been already efficiently drained for agricultural purposes 
the expense would be saved. 
The cost of cutting drains and laying pipes varies somewhat 
in different districts and according to the nature of the soil, but 
the rate per acre, for most districts, will average as follows: — 
Depth 
Distance apart 
Cost per acre 
2i feet 
15 feet 
£2. 10s. to £S 
2| „ 
20 „ 
£2 to £2. 10s. 
25 „ 
£1. 10s. to £2 
2 k 
30 „ 
£1. OS. to £1. 10s. 
3 „ 
15 „ 
£3. 10s. to £4 
3 „ 
20 „ 
£2. 10s. to £3 
3 „ 
25 „ 
£2 to £2. 10s. 
3 „ 
30 „ 
£1. 15s. to £2 
The cost per acre for pipe tiles 2 inches by 12 inches, at 
20s. a thousand, would be, at 15 feet apart, £2. 18s. ; at 20 feet, 
£2. 4s. ; at 25 feet, £1. 16s. ; at 30 feet, £1. 10s. 
EoADS.— It may be necessary to construct roads, but as this 
is a great expense, giving no return except in economising labour, 
they should be as few as possible, consistent with carrying out 
the work. Eoads 9 feet wide would suffice for ordinary 
purposes, and if they have to be made up with material carted a 
distance the expense will be enormous, and in some cases quite 
prohibitive. Scarcely any rough material can be had for less 
than 3s. a load, including cartage, and this only when it is near 
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