26 



BULLETIN 518, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



in alfalfa, and 4 in both clover and alfalfa. About 12 pounds of 

 alfalfa are sown per acre and 14 pounds of clover. Usually the 

 orchards do not need reseeding unless plowed up. Thus, the cost of 

 seed is a small item when distributed over several seasons and is 

 almost negligible in arriving at the cost per box. 



Of the 24 growers, 18, or about Y5 per cent, make a practice of 

 taking some hay from their orchards. One grower pastures his 

 orchard, and four others mow the hay and leave it on the ground 

 as a mulch. The number of cuttings made varies from one to three. 

 The average yield of hay per acre on those orchards from which 

 hay is cut is 1.5 tons for those in clover and 1.6 tons for those in 

 alfalfa. These are actual yields for the years when hay is cut. but 



Fig. 9.- 



-A 13-year-old Newtown orchard under cover-crop sj'&tem of management. 

 the clover grown between the trees and the irrigation furrows. 



Note 



when it is distributed over all years, including those when no hay is 

 cut, the yield is 0.86 ton per acre for the clover and 1.54 tons for the 

 alfalfa. Thus it is evident that the alfalfa orchards are not turned 

 under nearly so often as those in clover. 



The cost per ton of harvesting this hay is the same in both cases. 

 In harvesting hay a man and team with mowing machine are usually 

 used for cutting the hay between the rows and a scythe used for 

 mowing out the tree rows. It is raked either by hand or by horse- 

 rake and when cured is usually drawn in on a sled, as it is much 

 easier to load a sled than a wagon in the orchard. The cost of 

 harvesting is no doubt higher per ton than would be the case in an 

 open field. 



