Trees which are badly split or which have so grown that a heavy crop is likely to break them over should be braced with wires or bolts. Where the limbs are close together a bolt driven right through them with wide, strong washers at the ends is very effective in strengthening the tree. Where limbs must be braced from one side of the tree across to the other wires are the best to use. They may be fastened to bolts through the limbs with wide washers on the outside hooks on the inside, or by passing the wire around the branches. In the latter case some wide, fairly rigid material such as tin, pieces of wood, or heavy leather should be used to protect the tree from the wire which would otherwise cut into the bark and perhaps girdle the limb.
Cost.—For the benefit of those who would like to get some idea of the probable cost of renovating old apple orchards, the following estimate made by the writer in a recent government publication on this subject is given. This estimate has been carefully made up from actual records kept on several New York farms. Because these costs are very variable according to the condition of the orchard, both maximum and minimum amounts are given per acre for the first year only.
CHAPTER XII[ToC]
THE COST OF GROWING APPLES
Two factors have always operated to deter many persons from taking up fruit growing as a business or even as a side issue on the farm, and they will probably continue to be an obstacle for more time to come. These are the comparatively large investment required and the necessarily long period of waiting before paying returns can be obtained. Farmers who have not gone into the business of fruit growing because they could not afford this heavy investment or to wait so long for returns have been wise. Others who, though lacking the necessary capital, still have planted heavily have learned to their sorrow the importance of capital in the business both for the original investment and to carry the enterprise. And yet with sufficient capital and the proper conditions there is no more attractive or profitable line of agriculture than fruit growing.
Who knows what it costs to grow an orchard to bearing age? Or what it costs to produce a barrel of apples? We venture to say that very few persons do. Because of the large investment both in fixed and in working capital it is most important to know these costs. Moreover an accurate knowledge of the financial conditions and facts in any business is of first importance to intelligent management. For these reasons every grower ought to keep careful records of the cost and income from each field or orchard every year in order to determine as accurately as possible what his crops have cost him per unit and per acre and what rate of interest he has realized on his investment. As farming becomes more intensive competition increases, costs multiply, and the margin of profit on any given unit becomes smaller. It therefore becomes increasingly necessary to have accurate records on the cost of production.