COST OF PEODUCING APPLES IN WENATCHEE VALLEY, WASH. 25 

 Table XIX. — Man and horse hours chargeable per acre for cultivation in alfalfa orchards. 





Number of 

 records. 



Plowing. 



Disking. 



Cultivating. 



Furrowing. 



Total. 





Man. 



Horse. 



Man. 



Horse. 



Man. 



Horse. 



Man. 



Horse. 



Man. 



Horse. 



30. 



Hours. 

 1.03 



Hours. 

 2.06 



Hours. 

 5.65 



Hours. 

 10.86 



Hours. 



2.97 



Hours. 

 5.16 



Hours. 

 2.09 



Hours. 

 3.39 



Hours. 



11.74 



Hours. 



21.47 











Many times, in order to facilitate irrigation, it is necessary to do 

 other labor in the orchard, such as hand hoeing and locatmg the work 

 of gophers. Such items were taken into aocomit under miscellaneous 

 labor. Five irrigations, on an average, were made in alfalfa orchards. 

 Alfalfa orchards required more water than the clean-cultivated 

 orchards; nevertheless, the average time per acre for labor connected 

 with irrigation was not much more than in the clean-cultivated 

 orchards. 



Twenty of the orchards under alfalfa management were mown, on 

 an average, twice. (See Table XX.) 



Table XX. — Man and horse hours chargeable per acre for harvesting alfalfa. 





Number of records. 



Mo\\'ing. 



Rake and pile. 



Hauling in. 



Total. 



Yield 





Man. 



Horse. 



Man. 



Horse. 



Man. 



Horse. 



Man. 



Horse. 



acre. 



20 



Hours. 

 6.62 



Hours. 

 3.13 



Hours. 

 4.64 



Hours. 

 0.96 



Hours. 

 5.38 



Hours. 

 5.58 



Hours. 

 16.64 



Hours. 

 9.67 



Hours. 

 1.01 







The figures secured indicate a cost of $11.77 per acre for cultivation 

 and harvesting of the alfalfa crop. The total cost per acre for culti- 

 vation in orchards under clean-cultivation management was $14.75, 

 giving a difference of $2.98 in favor of the orchards under alfalfa 

 management. There is, however, in aKalfa orchards a cost of $8.92 

 per acre for irrigation, or $0.33 mor<^ than the average cost per acre 

 for the same imder clean-culture management, which would, there- 

 fore, make the difference of only $2.65 in favor of the latter. But 

 considering tli<i yield of 1 ton per acre of alfalfa valued at $9 per ton, 

 there would appear to bo a total difference of $11.65 per acre, or 

 practically $0.0196 ])rr box, in favor of the orchards under alfalfa 

 manag<rm(^nt. fS<!<', Table XXI.) 



Owing to the fact that so few have been in alfalfa for any length of 

 time and that the manag<iment of these orchards was more or ]<iss in a 

 transitory state, it was inipossibl<'. to obtain adetjuate coniplele data 

 on this siibj<'.r,t. A mon^ extend(Ml investigation would bo necessary 

 to d<it<'nnin(', tlui relative rmirit.s of the two m<>.thods of management. 



