20 



BULLETIN 636, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



orchardists may follow this with some other cultivation tool, such 

 as the spring or spike tooth harrow. Following this, however, there 

 is no further treatment of the soil aside from the rilling for irrigation. 

 A few men plow under their mulch crops as an annual practice, but 

 most of them leave them in for several years, although the growers 

 say it is the intention to turn under and resow the mulch crop at 

 intervals of from three to four years. 



The kinds of mulch crops used vary somewhat from those in other 

 regions. Alfalfa seems to be the most popular and is used largely 

 for pasture. There are many orchards in bluegrass, which also is 



Fig. 8.— A large packing shed of a fruit grower near Boise. 



used as a pasture. This has been down in some cases 10 or 12 years. 

 The older orchards, which show the greatest amount of neglect, are 

 the ones which are in mulch crops, or, more properly speaking, which 

 have been in sod for a number of years. Such an orchard really can 

 not be said to be under the mulch-crop system. 



These mulch-crop orchards are often irrigated by means of flood- 

 ing, although about half are irrigated by means of rills. Generally 

 the pastured orchards are flooded, while the better-cared-for orchards 

 are rilled. 



It is found that 7 of the 22 men who use some form of mulch crop 

 have their orchards in clover, and 9 have them in alfalfa. Four 

 pasture their orchards in addition to taking the hay off, while seven 

 make a practice of pasturing the orchard and not taking off any hay. 

 There is a net credit of $7.40 per acre for hay and pasture, or a 

 credit per box of SO. 022, for the 22 growers who use some kind of 

 mulch crop. (See Table IX.) 



