COST OF PRODUCING APPLES IN YAKIMA VALLEY. 5 
seventies farmers began in a small way to practice irrigation, taking 
water from rivers and creeks to irrigate small tracts in the adjacent 
lowlands. Probably the first irrigating ditch of any size was the 
Konewoc, which was built about 1878. This ditch, some 9 miles 
long, tapped the Yakima River at a point about 10 miles below the 
present site of the city of North Yakima. The irrigated land was 
used for growing alfalfa and wheat hay, but only upon a very limited 
scale. A few hopyards were found in the Ahtanum Valley as early 
as 1880. Haid 
By 1888 there were a few family orchards in thedistrict, mostly 
prunes and apples. Probably the first commercial planting of fruit 
trees was made about this time by H. J. Bicknell in what is known 
as Parker Bottom. This planting consisted of 3 acres, principally 
prunes and peaches. In the spring of 1889 Fred Thomson set out, 
also in the Parker Bottom district, the next commercial planting, 
including probably the first commercial apple orchard in the valley. 
His whole planting consisted of 10 acres, including 3 acres of prunes, 
3 acres of peaches, 3 acres of Ben Davis apples, and 1 acre of pears. 
At this time a few express shipments of fruit were being sent to the 
coast cities from the small home orchards. The fine quality of the 
fruit and its freedom from insect injury and diseases were incentives 
to commercial planting, and following the early plantings in Parker 
Bottom other orchards were set near Zillah, a few miles below, and 
also in Naches, at Selah, and on Nob Hill in the upper valley. 
In 1888 and 1889 two important irrigation companies were orga- 
nized; one under John A. Stone to undertake the Selah project and 
the other under Paul Schulze to. develop what is now known as the 
_ Sunnyside Government ditch. Land with water rights at this time 
was selling from $30 to $50 per acre. Paul Schulze was the Northern 
Pacific land agent and had purchased from this railroad a considerable 
acreage which it had received as a part of the alternate sections given 
under Government land grants. The other sections of land were open 
to homestead. Both the above companies went into the hands of 
receivers in 1893 and emerged as private corporations again about 
three years later. The Government purchased the Sunnyside Canal 
in 1906 and about 1911 the Selah project was taken over by the 
growers in the form of a water users’ association. About 1896 the 
Government built a canal to the Indian reservation and in 1909 began 
the Tieton and other reservation canals. Following the Selah and 
Sunnyside projects came the Congdon or Yakima Valley Canal and 
also the Selah-Moxee Canal. 
Up to about 1897 the prune-growing industry occupied a position 
of chief importance; about this time the prices for prunes became so | 
low that many orchards were pulled out. — 
