All this is axiomatic. The purpose of emphasizing it here is that it is fundamental to the success of those who attempt to produce horticultural products. The necessity for the emphasis lies in the fact that these factors are so often disregarded. They are of most vital importance to the man who attempts to raise tree fruits. A mistake in the planting of celery, cabbage, or onions may be rectified the following season, but if a mistake is made in planting tree fruits, it may, as in the case of apples, require ten or even 20 years to discover the error.
The growth in commercial orcharding is due in part to the need of special knowledge and facilities for combating fungous diseases and insect enemies and to the better markets which a large production of uniform quality makes possible. While these are extremely important considerations, there is a more fundamental reason, which may in the long run exercise an even more potent influence. The location of the ordinary family orchard, so called, has been determined in almost every instance by the location of the farm buildings. There is no necessary relation between a good site for a farm dwelling and a suitable location for an orchard. It happens, therefore, that family orchards, taken as a whole, are not grown under as favorable conditions as are commercial orchards. This is a sufficient reason in itself, even if the other reasons above mentioned did not exist, why the commercial orchard must, in time, supplant these accidental plantings.
ADVANTAGES OF HORTICULTURE
The advantages of this intensive form of agriculture as compared with the more extensive forms discussed in Chapter XII may be stated as follows:
(1) A large gross income per acre may be obtained. An investigation of truck farming made some years ago indicated a gross return per acre about 40 times as great as that obtained on an average from all forms of agriculture.
(2) There is a large opportunity for the use of skill in raising and preparing products for market and an equal opportunity for the exercise of judgment in choosing the best markets.
DISADVANTAGES OF HORTICULTURE
(1) It requires considerable capital, particularly for machinery and labor. In the investigation in truck farming above mentioned the capital per acre invested in land, buildings, implements and teams was eight times that in the more general forms of agriculture.
(2) The products are for the most part readily perishable, requiring special facilities if held for any length of time.
(3) Growing out of above-mentioned fact, the market is easily overstocked at any given point, and hence prices often fluctuate widely.