June 3, 
TIIE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
438 
THE VALUE OF YOUNG ORCHARD TREES. 
In the Spring of 1808 I set out an orchard, apple trees 
with peach between the trees in the rows. They were 
good trees. They have been well cultivated, fertilized and 
pruned, and they have made a fine growth. Last Spring 
the orchard was seeded down to clover. In late November 
a passing train set lire to leaves, etc., at the foot of the 
bill. The fire ran up the hill and through a part of the 
orchard. Several of the trees are dead, and I think more 
will die. What are the trees worth? What damage should 
the railroad pay? If possible I would 'ike the opinion of 
several practical fruit growers to present to the company 
if necessary. Reach trees are Elberta, Salway and Smock; 
apple trees York Imperial, Stayman and Rome Beauty. 
Ross Co., Ohio. m. l. r. 
Very much depends on the condition of the young: 
orchard that has been burned. If the orchard has been 
well cared for, as one 'would infer from the letter, and 
of good and productive varieties, I should value the 
apple trees at $12 per tree, and peach $7. I would place 
no value on trees half burned. f. p. vergon. 
Ohio. 
One dollar for each year of a tree’s life, counting 
from the time the tree is planted, is a very low esti¬ 
mate indeed, provided the tree is healthy and vigorous. 
This applies to apple trees. I know of apple trees, 
planted 15 years, that have already returned to the 
owner $2 for each year of the tree’s life, counting from 
the time of planting, or $30 per tree. An estimate of $15 
per tree on such an investment as this is certainly a 
very low one. I have also known the crop of apples from 
a seven-year-old tree to sell for $4, although this is 
exceptional. Two crops in succession from such trees 
would actually return to the owner $1 per tree for each 
year of the tree’s life. However, the basis of valuation 
of trees should he their present and prospective value, 
and not their record for the past. f. h. ballou. 
Ohio Exp. Station. 
Good apple trees seven years planted and well cared 
for are worth $7 each, and peach trees of same age one- 
half as much as the apple; the railroad company ought 
to pay for all they have caused to be lost at this rate. 
In some instances the value would be higher, in some 
possibly a little lower, but 1 make my estimate on a con¬ 
servative basis, and from experience in the fruit busi¬ 
ness. Outlook for apple crop here is good; the fruit 
has set well and the weather so far is favorable. I 
would be slow to take the price or value I have placed 
upon trees of seven years planted and cared for as you 
describe those have been. We have sold the apples 
from a Hen Davis orchard planted seven years for $40 
per acre, and from one 19 years planted at $200 per 
acre wholesale. n. f. Murray. 
Missouri. 
The owner is likely out about 25 cents a year for 
care of those trees, and if well fertilized and cultivated 
it may exceed that amount. With interest added and 
hope of a dividend, if the trees are of profitable varie¬ 
ties, he should have from $2 to $3 each for his trees at 
the lowest estimate. I would not want to take that for 
mine, and I would rather keep good trees than sell 
them at $5 each at that age. All trees in an orchard 
are not good trees, and some of them die ever\ r year, and 
if the railroad pays a fair price, including those about 
ready to die, that ought partly to satisfy the owner for 
the loss of his expectations. As {.o peach trees set 
between the apples, I would not consider them worth 
much at that age as a general thing. The inquirer has 
probably got the value out of them and the apple trees 
need the room. u. T. cox. 
Lawrence Co., O. 
Some years ago the writer was called on by the Van- 
dalia railroad to appraise some damage to an orchard 
that they had burned over. This orchard had been 
planted from three to nine years, was only in fair condi¬ 
tion, not having had the best of care. It consisted of 
about 50 acres planted to apple trees, but there were 
many vacancies in it, and in the writer’s opinion the 
pruning had not been properly done, and the orchard 
lacked quite a lot of being in the best of shape, but 
allowing all of this, taking into consideration the cost 
of the trees, planting, classification, etc., I could not 
figure out where there had been a loss to exceed $1,500 
to $1,800. While of course no one would be willing to 
go in. and sell out his orchard tree by tree at that price, 
yet the actual reduction to the selling value of the farm 
did not exceed $1,500. I went among many of the 
large orchards of the country and took the selling price 
of orchards at different ages, and found that on this 
basis the loss figured almost identically the same as 
I had figured it on the other line, that is, the price at 
which orchards of different ages could be nought, all in 
good condition, and well cared for. The orchard re¬ 
ferred to in your letter has been planted seven years. 
If in good condition and has received proper care, 1 
should say it had increased the value of the land from $50 
to $75 per acre, owing to the location, etc., though it may 
possibly have increased it $100 per acre. If the larger 
part of the trees were ruined of course the. orchard is 
practically a loss, as a few trees scattered here and 
there over a tract of land are worthless. The varieties 
in the orchard would also affect its commercial value 
materially, but to give anything like a reasonably accu¬ 
rate estimate as to value of trees or damage done one 
would be obliged to know more definitely the circum¬ 
stances or conditions. emery albertson. 
Indiana. 
The cost of the production of the tree does not give 
its value, nor does its value depend upon any other one, 
or even a dozen considerations. Nor can a value be 
placed upon the tree at any particular period of its life, 
because of the element of time either of its past or of 
its future. Perhaps the greatest single determining 
factor of a tree’s future value is its treatment in the 
nursery. It must be started right. The bud must be 
placed upon a congenial stock, well grown in a congenial 
soil, free from disease and insect enemies, with its 
branches well spaced at from two to three years old. 
These conditions, in a measure, will insure it against 
A MORGAN MARE AND HER FOAL. Fl«. 183. 
destruction at or before its period of greatest useful¬ 
ness, and fixes its value at a figure many times greater 
than the value of the average tree the average nursery¬ 
man sends out. Given such a tree there still remains 
many conditions which determine its value. The species, 
the variety of the species, the individual of the variety, 
the climate, the location of the orchard, the market, the 
reputation of its fruit on the market, the- purpose of its 
production and many other things are to be considered, 
and who can say what the first tree of a new variety 
“CAN SHE MAKE A CHERRY PIE?” Fxo. 184. 
is worth? I venture to say that the first tree of the 
Baldwin or Grimes, or even the poor old Ben Davis, was 
each worth more than one million of dollars to our 
race. But now let us come down to the value of an 
average fruit tree under average conditions. Let us 
take for this, purpose the apple, which, perhaps, is as 
near an average fruit as any. A well-grown two-year- 
old is worth at least 25 cents; the preparation of the 
soil, the pruning, setting and cultivation for the first 
year 75 cents; the interest on the investment in soil, 
implements and taxes, etc., about five cents, bringing 
the cost for the first year to $1.05; say it is one dollar. 
The cost or expense per year for the next six years will 
not vary much, and will be about as follows: Cultiva¬ 
tion of soil, three cents per tree; pruning, spraying, 
protection, fertilizer, etc., five cents; interest and taxes, 
three cents, or about 11 cents per tree per year, 60 cents 
for the six years. This will bring up the cost for the 
seven years to $1.66, to which we may add or allow a 
margin for incidental and even unforeseen expenses, 
bringing the cost up to at least $2 per tree, up to near 
its bearing age. This is the cost of the tree. Its value 
is a different matter, and in the opinion of the writer 
is not far from $5. These figures arc based upon a 
general average. j. w. trinkle. 
Jefferson Co., I mb_ 
CORN IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN. 
O. L. Goulter, of Grand Traverse Co., Mich., sends us 
the following note: 
For the enlightenment of that class of people who 
have the idea that northern Michigan can .produce 
nothing but “Injuns,” snowdrifts and pine stumps, I 
submit the photograph shown at Fig. 185. This is Late 
Mammoth sweet corn grown by me for fodder at Cen¬ 
tral Lake, Mich, (north of 45 degrees), in the year 
1899. Both myself and neighbor shown in picture are 
close to six-footers. The corn* was grown on rather 
light sandy loam that had been well manured with ordi¬ 
nary barnyard manure for several years; was planted 
about May 20, drilled in with an ordinary farm drill, 
closing three hoes and leaving one to run. It had 
about the regular cultivation for such a crop. I made 
no definite data at the time and made no especial effort 
at either keeping close tab or in trying to grow a bum¬ 
per crop, only pursuing my general policy in farm 
operations, small fields and big yields. At my regular 
employment I daily, from June to October, inspect 
growing crops, covering a territory from the Upper 
Peninsula of Michigan to Oklahoma, and my observa¬ 
tion compels the belief that 80 per cent of the farms I 
tramp over during the Summer months would be be'ter 
off (or rather their owners would) if it were possible 
to confiscate about half their land and devote the same 
labor and attention to the remaining half. I neglected 
to state the land had a clover and Timothy sod pre¬ 
ceding plowing for the corn crop. 
SAMPLES OF HORTICULTURAL ADVICE. 
It would appear from the following that horticulture 
Can hardly be called an exact science. On January 18, 
1905, I wrote the following letter to a number of promi¬ 
nent horticulturists and nurserymen: 
I have in my orchards 900 Bon Davis trees planted in the 
Spring of 1Q00. I am beginning to fear this variety is 
over-planted and am seriously considering having these trees 
top-grafted to Arkansas Black, McIntosh Red and Rome 
Beauty. Kindly give me your opinion of the plan, and of 
these varieties, and suggest any others you would recommend. 
1 . “I think myself Ben Davis is over-planted. I 
would top-graft with Rome Beauty and Arkansas 
Black.” 
2 . “Ben Davis is not long enough life tree to top- 
work; don’t think you need be uneasy about production, 
and bring a good price. If you had hardy variety like 
Northern Spy it might pay.” 
3. “If they were mine I don’t believe I would do it; 
. . . always be a market for Ben Davis; no better 
keeper. If I did top-work would use Jonathan and 
Grimes, not Rome Beauty—it is not a, good bearer and 
drops badly.” 
4. “I understand Arkansas Black is not a prolific 
bearer, and the Rome Beauty is certainly not as relia¬ 
ble cropper as Ben Davis. You would not miss it to 
top-work to Grimes Golden.” 
5. “I should hesitate some time before I made the 
change, especially if I had other land \ could set. . . . 
I think Rome Beauty is all right. McIntosh Red liable 
to scab; nice otherwise.” 
6 . “I, too, think Ben Davis is over-planted, ... I 
would not use any of the varieties you name. . . . 
Arkansas Black good apple but not prove satisfactory. 
. . . Rome Beauty is all right if you have deep, 
moist soil, if not it is of no value. ... I am 
planting, etc.” This man sent a bill (afterward with¬ 
drawn) for $5 for this expert advice. 
7. “Do not like your selection at all. . . . Arkan¬ 
sas Black shy bearer. . . . susceptible to scab. Mc¬ 
Intosh good apple, not good shipper, not good keeper. 
Rome Beauty is probably the best of the three—but 
there are better sorts.” 
8 . “Would advise you to leave the Ben Davis, as 
they are . . . not of the best quality but most sal¬ 
able.” 
9. “Am surprised that you have 900 Ben Davis that 
you want to top-graft; hardly see that you can im¬ 
prove on good old Ben. Arkansas Black is almost no 
account, McIntosh 1 do not know. Rome Beauty will 
do right well.” 
In view of this variety of opinion, 1 concluded to 
follow the advice of Number 8, as it is the easiest and 
cheapest plan. w. 
Missouri. 
