FRUIT-GROWING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1454, 31 May 1912, Page 8

FRUIT-GROWING.

A H(>nOWHI-;X("A SCHEME CRITICISED. • , Commenting on the figures compiled by Mr. M. Fosella, of Levin, and published last week, a Nelson correspondent, Mr. S. Hull, says: In the first place, no man in his senses is goiiijj to pay XSO per an uncleared, absolutely unimproved tract of..country. A man must bo well olt, after the above outlay, to pay <£200 for clearing, stumping, and fencing, and another .£SO is to go for raising shelter trees, for which sum a man could buy 10,000 ready-grown, so that this estimate is unreasonably liigh. Then as to the 30,000 apple, trees raised on. the ground, 1 bought a"puny 500 recently, well grown, and delivered at /:3 10s. per hundred, and thev were offered per 1000 at X' 3. ior 30,000, not home grown .WOO would be required, and vet Mr. Fosella estimates them at .£ISOO, and home-raised at that. Mr. Fosella then goes on to say that you can dairv 40 cows till the apples bear. Good—but are they to roam haphazard in this orchard, smashing his trees right ami left? The millionaire-like estimate ol for cowsheds is suitable, doubtless, for some people, but hardly ior a practical farmer, 110 then having his cows, is going to put 0E259 more on to fencing on top of the original .£IOO. That is fairly solid. .£350 Oil .100 acres for fencing. Cart, horse, and'harness .£50—.£27 10s. is fair unless lie wants to buy a Corazon to draw his milk cart, and jump his apple trees at. the same time. Then he is going to plant 300 trees per.acre. How is he going to do it? The only way would be to plant them in two layers, one oil top of the other. Further, -10 cows are going to pay interest, expenses, etc., on ,£BOOO. Well, an. average fair return in .good years would be ,£lO per month, which, if it could be sustained for nine months, would give ,£3GO, and's per cent, on ,£800(1 is i/ioo. Then there is labour and food for milking, and attending to 30,000 fruit trees.

Filially, he counts on ,£IO.OOO per annum when .the orchard would be.in full bearing. In isolated ca*cs a XlflO per acre return has been obtained, but it is only occasionally. A satisfactory average is l£3o per acre. The article on which the above comment is based dealt with- an area 100 acres in extent, and the scheme purported to be ready and bringing to orchard profit- an area of 100 acres ot virgin laud. Mr. Fcsella's figures, as printed in the "Horowhciuia Chronicle,"

are:— Ono hundred acres at (say) ,&0 an acre. -£5000: clearing and stumping, .£100; fencing, .£100; shelter trees raised on the land, .£3O; two-horse team, plough, harrow, «CSO; buildings. .£150; 30.000 apple trees raised on the ground, ,£1500; highest estimate, <£7000. He recommended the growing of poplar trees'"for shelter—Lombard"' poplars for preference. These lake two years to grow high enough lo protect young trees." During that period the land could he made productive b.v establishing a dairy farm on the 100 acres. Cost would be:—Forty cows, .£350; sheds, .CSiO; .fencing, X1!5»; cart, hor.se, and harness, .£SO; calls and other exnt-iises, .£t00; total. .£IOOO. This, it was uraed. would give a return more than sufficient to pay all interest and wtsgex. Alter two years, 300 two-vear-old apple trees per acre could be planted, and there would still remain about two-thirds of Ihn land, which could be cropped with mangold, carrot, maize, etc. The return should prove lo be ample to defray expenses during the lour years rrriuire.f to bring the trees into pro'it. Then there would be trees six years old, and producing at least 201b. of fruity per tree; 'enough return to nay expenses. Two years laler the trees (eight years old) would be producing al: the lowest estimate 401b. of fruit per tree, and as 30,000 trees would be planted, the total amount of fruit, would be 1,200.0001b.; and that, al. 2d, pel' lb., would realise .£IO,OOO.

"Look to the main chancc" is acceptable advice In mo-t folk. The factory manager's "main chance" is his own and the shareholders' enrichment. That ran ■be best gained by flic use of "Victor" Cheese Vats in the factory. These Vats last, longer and perform better work than anv other make. In a word—tlie.v are perfect. For full particulars, write to Albert J. Parton, Carterton.—;Wh t.

Chink-rearing fs not. only profitable, but a pleasure, when von feed and P" Chick-Rai=er. Jt is complete and _ pro-, perlv-blencietl food for Young Chirks. Obtainable from all storekeepers,—Adrt,