COST OF PRODUCING APPLES IN" YAKIMA VALLEY. 33 



cultivator, shovel plow, and alfalfa marker. The cultivator and 

 shovel plow are used most commonly in the North Yakima district. 

 When the cultivator, which is usually 6 feet in width, is used for 

 making creases, three shovels are attached — one at each end and one 

 in the middle. A man and team constitute the crew. The trees of 

 the valley are so set that with this implement six furrows 3 feet apart 

 may be made comfortably in the space between the tree rows. These 

 small furrows, usually four to six between tree rows, are 4 to 6 inches 

 in depth. Often one or two cultivator teeth are placed between the 

 shovels to loosen the soil between the furrows as they are being 

 made. The 6- or 8-inch shovel plow is used by many orchardists, 

 with either one or two horses. Where the trees are close together or 

 the branches hang low, it often is necessary for one man to devote 

 his entire attention to the plow while another man leads the horse. 

 Orchardists often use a 1-horse shovel plow for making one or two 

 furrows close to the tree row and then use either a 2-horse shovel plow 

 or a 6-foot cultivator for making the other furrows. Ordinarily 

 fewer creases are made between tree rows when the shovel plow is 

 used than when the cultivator is used. 



The alfalfa marker is a homemade implement. It is made by 

 attaching a 4-inch shovel to the end of a 4 by 4 from 2 to 3 feet in 

 length. Upon this 4 by 4 is made a platform on which the operator 

 may ride. The small 4-inch shovel at the front end of the 4 by 4 

 breaks the soil as it is drawn by the team and the weight of the 

 operator upon the platform forces the 4 by 4 into the ground, making 

 a suitable furrow. The edges of the 4 by 4 which enter the ground 

 are usually planed so that it will pass through the soil more easily. 

 This implement is used most commonly in making furrows in alfalfa 

 in the Zillah district. 



The importance of furrowing in all clean-eultivated orchards of the 

 valley is shown by the fact that its cost constitutes more than 20 per 

 cent of the total cost of cultivation, exclusive of plowing. Eecords 

 were obtained from 75 orchards under clean tillage, 74 ■ of which 

 practiced irrigation. 



Furrows are made following each cultivation and before each irriga- 

 tion until along in the midsummer, when cultivation ceases. After 

 this last cultivation it is usually necessary to make only one set of 

 furrows for any subsequent irrigations. Of the 74 orchardists in 

 question, 12 made five creasings, 33 made four, 22 made three, 6 made 

 two, and 1 made one. 



In the clean-cultivated orchards 28 orchardists used the 6-foot 

 cultivator and 41 the shovel plow (28 with a crew of one man and one 

 horse and 13 with one man and two horses) ; 2 used the alfalfa marker, 

 and 3, miscellaneous implements. 



