COST OF PRODUCING APPLES IN YAKIMA VALLEY. 43 



In the Zillah district, 50 orchardists visited used for spraying a 

 crew of three men and two horses, 5 a crew of two men and two 

 horses, and 1 a crew of four men and two horses. In the valley as a 

 whole,, 105 used a crew of three men and two horses in spraying. 

 With this crew, one man usually does the driving and tends the 

 engine, leaving one man for each lead of hose to do the spraying. 

 Since most of the orchardists used a crew of three men and two 

 horses, all the discussion on spraying will pertain to an outfit with 

 this number in the crew unless otherwise stated. 



Gasoline engines used for spraying purposes vary from 1| to 4 horse- 

 power. The complete outfit usually consists of a gasoline engine, 

 a spray tank varying in capacity from 150 to 200 gallons, and two 

 50-foot leads of spray hose. Bamboo rods with a single nozzle 

 attachment complete the outfit. But few orchardists use two nozzles 

 on a lead. Nozzles of the Bordeaux type are the most popular and 

 a pressure of 200 to 300 pounds is used ordinarily in making all 

 sprays. Few growers feel the necessity of using a spray tower, 

 although the use of towers is encouraged. 



Eighty-three of the growers considered in this investigation owned 

 spray outfits and 37 hired their spraying done. Where spraying 

 was hired, $1 an hour was paid for the spray outfit, team and one 

 operator. Considering the man- and horse-labor at $0.25 and $0.15 

 per hour, respectively, there is left a machine charge of $0.45 per 

 hour. The machine-hours per acre for hired outfits are 9.62, and the 

 machine cost per acre $4.33. 



The owned spray outfits are considered as a part of the farm equip- 

 ment and the annual charge for their use is included in the equipment 

 charge, while the machine charge for hired outfits is given as a separate 

 item. Both appear under fixed costs. 



DORMANT SPRAY. 



A dormant or lime-sulphur spray is made usually in the latter 

 part of March or the 1st of April. Many of the orchardists have a 

 tendency to delay this spray until the fruit buds begin to show their 

 green tips. This spray is made usually with a 1-10 solution — that 

 is, 1 gallon of concentrated solution of lime and sulphur to 10 gallons 

 of water. A number of the orchardists are beginning to use miscible 

 oils for the dormant spray. 



All orchardists visited in the valley make the dormant spray. 

 Of the 105 -who used a crew of three men and two horses, 69 own 

 spray outfits and 36 hire their spraying done. (See Table XXXIV.) 

 By referring to Table XXXIV, in the lime-sulphur spray, it will be 

 noted that the former spray about an acre less per day and apply 

 nearly 80 gallons more per acre than the latter, making a total labor 

 and material cost of $2.03 more per acre for those who own their 

 outfits than those who hire. 



