322 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
PROFITS OF RAISING FINE FRUIT. 
The great deficiency of excellent fruit in most parts 
of the northern States, is evident to every one who is ac¬ 
quainted with the finer varieties. It is believed if many 
of our farmers and others who own land, knew the actu¬ 
al profits which might be derived from orchards of the 
very best kinds, they would no longer hesitate in plant¬ 
ing immediately, a large portion of their ground. Cal¬ 
culation on paper, I am aware, is not actual experience; 
but correct calculation from admitted facts, cannot be far 
wrong. Let us take a few examples. 
Apples for domestic animals. —Suppose one acre 
of land can be had for $50, which is high for the ave¬ 
rage of good land in this country; that 40 apple trees, 
which would place them two rods apart on the acre, may 
be had for 25 cents each, or $10 for the forty; and that 
$5 be paid for transplanting them, which would do the 
work well, placing them in holes six feet in diameter 
and well filled with mellow rich mold, and staking them 
well to prevent loosening by the wind. The crops ob¬ 
tained from the ground until they would arrive at a full 
bearing, state would amply pay the interest on the whole 
cost, and cultivation and manuring. If well taken care 
of, and the soil kept mellow by hoed crops, they would 
bear abundantly in one-half the time usually required, 
and yield an average of at least five bushels to the tree— 
many would bear fifteen or twenty when the trees be¬ 
come large, if kept cultivated. Fed to hogs, the pork 
they would produce might be safely estimated at 12^ 
cents per bushel—a neighbor obtained about 500 lbs. of 
pork from 120 bushels. The estimate will then stand as 
follows; 
1 acre of land,. $50 
40 apple trees,. 10 
Transplanting,. 5 
Contingencies,. 5 
Whole cost of one acre of orchard,.$70 
Five bushels per tree, 40 trees, 200 bushels; at 
12^ cents,. $25 
Deduct interest on $70,. $4.90 
And for gathering,. 2.10 
Clear annual profit per acre,. $18 
Winter apples for market. —The average price of 
good winter apples for several years past in most parts 
of the State, has not been less than 25 cents per bushel; 
some late keepers are sold early in summer for triple 
that sum. An acre of trees, if well cultivated, would 
yield as already shown, not less than 200 bushels; allow¬ 
ing 5 cents per bushel for hand picking, which would be 
very liberal, if convenient ladders were at hand, and the 
estimate would stand thus: 
200 bushels apples at 25 cents,...$50 
Deduct 5 cents per bushel, picking,. 10 
Clear profit per acre,. $40 
This estimate, it will be at once seen, is quite low, in¬ 
stances being frequent where more than double the 
amount is obtained. But four hundred dollars nett profit, 
as a yearly average from a ten acre field, is not to be de¬ 
spised. 
Early Peaches, if of the very finest of the early 
kinds, will bring in all our cities and larger villages, ge¬ 
nerally not less than two dollars per bushel; they have 
often brought four dollars. In most parts of this State 
adapted to their culture, the trees continue to bear under 
good care for many years, and will average at least one 
bushel to the tree. One hundred and fifty trees may stand 
on an acre; gathering and marketing would cost perhaps 
from ten to twenty-five cents per bushel; thus an acre 
would be worth as follows; 
Cost of land and 150 trees at 20 cents each,.... $80 
Transplanting, &c. say,. 20 
$100 
150 bushels peaches at $2 per bushel,.$300 
Deduct for interest, gathering and marketing, 
25 cents per bushel,.. 82 
Clear profit per acre,..$218 
Apricots, which ripen from one to two months before 
such early peaches as are profitable for market, and are 
nearly as fine and delicious, bring still higher prices. 
An experienced fruit seller gives it as his opinion, that 
good apricots would bring any year, as fast as they could 
be sold, not less than $1 a peck, or $4 per bushel. An 
acre would easily contain 150 trees, and each tree would 
yield on an average one bushel of fruit, if well attended 
to. Such attention would consist in keeping the ground 
cultivated, and guarding against destruction by the cur- 
culio. The latter is to be either accomplished by year¬ 
ly confining a sufficient number of pigs to eat all the fall¬ 
en fruit, in which case crops would be precluded; or by 
daily jarring the insects on white sheets and destroying 
them. The following is an estimate of the expenses and 
profits: 
Cost of land,.$50 
150 trees at 37-± cents,. 56 
Transplanting, &c. say,. 20 
Cost of one acre,. $126 
150 bushels, at $4 per bushel,... $600 
Deduct interest on $126,. $8.82 
care from curculio,. 10.00 
gathering and marketing,. 75.00 
—- $94 
Clear profit per acre,. $506 
A selection of the best and most suitable varieties of 
cherries and plums would give as profitable a crop, pro¬ 
bably, as the apricot. These estimates may seem large, 
but they are much less than I have known on a smaller 
scale in case of cherries, plums and apricots, and also 
much less than I have known on a much larger scale in 
case of apples and peaches. 
But every one who undertakes this business must re¬ 
member that there is no “ royal road” to the cultivation 
of fruit trees. Crowding the roots into a small hole in 
hard soil, suffering them, unstaked, to whip about by the 
wind, tearing them with the plow and scratching them 
with the harrow, and more than all else put together,al¬ 
io wing them to be overrun by grass and weeds, or smoth¬ 
ered and stunted by crops of wheat, barley or corn; such 
treatment does not deserve success. 
The best crops for the ground occupied by a young or¬ 
chard, should be such as require a frequent use of the 
hoe, plow, or cultivator, and which are in no danger by 
a tall growth of shading the trees. Such are beans, car¬ 
rots, potatoes, ruta bagas, beets, onions and pumpkins, 
but not sown crops.* 
A selection of suitable varieties is also of the greatest 
consequence. Apples for stock should be of those vari¬ 
eties which are great and constant bearers. For market, 
they should be good bearers, handsome in appearance, 
of good flavor, and part of them long keepers. Peaches, 
cherries, &c. should be abundant bearers, of good quali¬ 
ty, and as early as is practicable with those requisites. 
J. J. T. 
Importation of Manures into Great Britain.— 
It was stated at a late meeting of the Agricultural Che¬ 
mistry Association, that the following sums were paid 
for manures imported into England and Scotland, during 
the last year. For bone-dust, .£91,755; rape cake and 
rape seed, £169,331; guano, (being the amount import 
ed, not for the country at large, but to Liverpool alone, 
in one year,) <£59,240; being a total of upwards of 
£320,000. It is also stated that there were 300 vessel? 
engaged in the importation of guano; 
* A neighbor kas a fine young orchard of peach trees, one-hal 
of which is planted with potatoes, and the other halt with pea? 
—which are perhaps the most harmless of all sown crops; thos* 
standing among the potatoes, have made tne present season 
more than double the growth of those on the pea ground. 
