A]igiisf. 1919 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 7 



In some sections of the Northwest Angora goats have been found profitable in orchard districts where there is pasture or 

 where cover crops are grown. The above illustrationshows a small band of goats in one of these districts. 



Increasing Profits by Diversifying and Raising Stock 



By R. E. Miller, Director of Agriculture, Idaho Techmcal Institute 



LABOR is to be one of the largest, 

 if not ttie largest, limiting factor 

 in future successful orcharding. 

 Fruit growers are confronted with the 

 economic utilization of labor as well 

 as the other problems which guar- 

 antee profitable production. Prac- 

 tices which conserve the labor out- 

 lay should, therefore, merit our clos- 

 est consideration. 



Before the war the questions of 

 orchard culture were largely "settled" 

 but the war, with its food crisis, has 

 upset some of our staid notions and 

 opened up again this "settled" prob- 

 lem. The ideal western orchard be- 

 fore the war was one blanketed witli 

 a dust mulch followed usually in the 

 fall by a green cover crop. The pur- 

 pose of the dust mulch being to con- 

 serve moisture and aerate the soil. 



Clean cultivation has been called 

 ''cruel cultivation" by Professor Pad- 

 dock, because by this practice the or- 

 ganic matter is readily "burned" out 

 of the soil by the rays of the scorch- 

 ing sun. Unless this organic matter 

 is returned to the soil either by plow- 

 ing under green cover crops or by di- 

 rect application of manure, it is not 

 many years until we are unable to 

 secure anything but a clod mulch. In 

 other words, the texture of the soil 

 depends directly upon the amount of 

 organic matter it contains. But im- 

 portant as this fact is, it is not as im- 

 portant as the fact that all plant food 

 in the soil is made availabe for i)]ant 

 use through the action of soil bacteria. 

 Decaying organic matter is the food 

 of these bacteria and when it is de- 



ficient in the soil as a result of being 

 "burned" out by the rot rays of the 

 sun, these bacteria cannot exist in 

 numbers large enough to prepare suf- 

 ficient plant food to provide for a 

 normal growth of the trees. The re- 

 sult eventually is a decreased fruit 

 yield. In localities of limited rainfall 

 or available moisture, during the 

 growing season, this form of orchard 

 culture will undoubtedly prove not 

 only the best practice but the only 

 feasible practice that could be fol- 

 lowed with any degree of success. 



Many orchards are located in irri- 

 gated sections or localities having an 

 abundant rainfall, and the available 

 moisture during the growing season 

 is not the limiting factor. Orchards 

 so located should consider the prob- 

 lem of decreased labor outlay and in- 

 creased profits as a result of more 

 diversified orcharding. 



The kind of diversification in orch- 

 arding to be used is necessarily a 

 local and individual problem, but, 

 generally speaking, there are three 

 way of accomplishing the desired re- 

 sult. 



1. Growing non-leguminous inter- 

 crops. 



2. Growing various types of fruit 

 harvested at different periods. 



3. Raising live stock on legume 

 cover-crops. 



While intercrops of various kinds, 

 ranging from vegetables to grains, 

 have proven profitable in young orch- 

 ards, the question of continued fer- 

 tility must be considered in mature 

 orchards. In addition to this, the 



labor outlay is usually materially in- 

 creased and the market must be very 

 favorable if the profits are to con- 

 tinue. 



The growing of various types of 

 fruit harvested at different periods of- 

 fers one of the best forms of diversi- 

 fication for the fruit grower; since, 

 by this system, the overhead expense 

 can be distributed over an extended 

 period and cash incomes are received 

 at different periods of the year. Pick- 

 ing and packing may be accomplished 

 by a smaller crew. Diversification by 

 combinations of fruit culture, such as 

 strawberries, bush fruits, cherries, 

 peaches, plums, pears and apples 

 adapted to the locality will do much 

 to eliminate the possibility of lean 

 years. The maintenance of an acre- 

 age which guarantees economical pro- 

 duction is naturally a problem that 

 enters here. 



It has long been recognized that a 

 permanent system of agriculture must 

 rest on livestock and this fact should 

 lend weight to the practicability of 

 raising live stock in connection with 

 orcharding. The pasturing of legume 

 cover crops has proven more profit- 

 able than cutting them for hay. The 

 experience of Mr. E. A. Gammon, of 

 Hood, California, is interesting in this 

 connection. Mr. Gammon's 80-acre 

 irrigated pear orchard was planted in 

 the fall to vetch and .lapanese clover. 

 In the spring fifteen sows were 

 turned in the orchard to pasture and 

 later a band of Hampshire sheep. The 

 orchard was pastured throughout the 



Continued on page 32. 



