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. FACTORS IN THE COST OF PRODUCTION.--The value of records depends on their accuracy and on their completeness. There are a great many factors which enter into the cost of production. For convenience these may be classified as cash costs and labor costs. Labor charges should include the work of both men and teams at a rate determined by their actual cost or by a careful estimate. Man labor costs are easily reckoned, as they are either simple cash or cash plus board and certain privileges, the value of which should be estimated in cash. The value of horse labor is more difficult to determine. It is made up of interest on valuation, depreciation, stable rental, feed, care, etc. A fair estimate of this cost is $10 a month or $120 a year for a horse. Cash costs are interest on the investment and on the equipment in machinery, etc., or rental of the same, taxes, a proper share of the general farm expenses such as insurance and repairs of buildings, telephone, etc., the cost of spraying material, packages, fertilizers, etc.