6 



BULLETIN 446, XT. S. DEPAETMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



Table I. — Total apple acreage and number of trees in north central Washington an&'in 



Wenatchee Valley.^ 



North, central Washington: 



Total apple acreage 41, 711 



Total number of apple trees 2, 678, 172 



Nimiber of apple trees, 10 years and over 227, 695 



Wenatchee Valley: 



Total apple acreage 11, 445 



Total number of apple trees '. 736, 455 



Number of apple trees, 10 years and over 164, 927 



The growth and importance of the apple industry in north central 

 Washington is also shown by the increase in the number of cars of 

 apples shipped during the 10 years 1905-1914 (Table II). 



Table II. — Number of cars of apples shipped from north central Washington from 1905 



to 1914, inclusive. 



Direction of shipments. 



1905 



1906 



1907 



1908 



1909 



1910 



1911 



1912 



1913 



1914 



Cars east . . 



254 

 257 



222 

 202 



508 

 150 



995 

 274 



492 

 118 



1,851 

 343 



1,201 

 507 



3,413 



887 



3,546 

 910 



5,913 



Cars west 



980 







METHOD OF SURVEY. 



In making a study of tliis kind it is highly important that average 

 conditions of the district be obtained. At the beginning of this par- 

 ticular investigation many orcharcUsts in the intensive commercial 

 apple-producing regions about Wenatchee, Olds, Monitor, and Cash- 

 mere were visited. In choosing the ranches from which records were 

 obtained no effort was made to select the seemingly better class of 

 orchardists. In order to make the data uniformly comparable, it was 

 imperative that the orchards chosen should contain trees of the same 

 bearing age; that the trees should be uniform and typical of the 

 region; that the orchard should contain only apple trees and not be 

 interset with peaches, pears, plums, or other fruit trees; that inter- 

 tillable crops other than cover crops should not be present; that the 

 orchard should be managed as the representative commercial apple 

 orchard of the valley; that if the trees were top-worked such trees 

 should have been worked over to the present variety for at least five 

 producing seasons, and that the manager, renter, or person doing the 

 work should have had supervision of the orchard for at least five years 

 so as to be conversant and thoroughly acquainted with the methods 

 of management, conditions, and yields of the orchard for such a 

 period. 



Where conditions did not conform to these limitations, as a rule 

 data were not taken. Where any discrepancy arose after data had 



' The north central Washington tree census for 1915 — State department of agriculture. 



