8 BULLETIN 614, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ridges of the valley are steep and rocky, but the valley itself is nearly 
level, with a gentle slope toward the Yakima River. (Pls. I, IJ, III, 
and IV.) 
METHOD OF PRESENTATION. 
In analyzing the cost of production in the Yakima Valley it is 
deemed advisable to give the results of the management under the 
two more common methods of handling the soil, namely, clean 
cultivation and the mulch-crop system. The former refers to 
orchards which are annually cultivated and in which no cover or mulch 
crop is sown. The latter refers to orchards in which the growing of 
alfalfa, clover, and vetch is the practice. Alfalfa is grown in prac- 
tically all the mulch-crop orchards considered in this study. The 
method of management is fully discussed under the subject Mulch 
Crop. 
The cost of production of apples in orchards under each method 
of management will be given separately for North Yakima and 
Zillah. These will then be combined to show a cost of production of 
each method of management for the valley, and finally the cost of 
production will be given in all orchards considered in this study 
regardless of the method of orchard management. . 
Four kinds of costs are considered in arriving at the total annual 
cost of production—(1) maintenance, (2) edhe (3) material, and 
(4) fixed, which are subdivided as Pollo 
Labor costs. Costs other than labor. 
Maintenance. Handling. Material. Fixed. 
| 
Manuring. Hauling shooks. Manure. Interest. 
Tuning. Hauling boxes to and | Spray material. Apple-building charge. 
Disposal of brush. from orchard. Seed. Equipment charge. 
Cultivating. Picking. Gasoline and oil. Sprayer hire. 
Trrigating. Packing-house labor. Made-up boxes. Taxes. 
Thinning. Hauling packed boxes. Insurance. 
Propping. Picking up and hauling Water rent. 
Spraying. culls. 
Miscellaneous. 
Sowing mulch crop. 
Harvesting mulch crop. 
FARM ORGANIZATION. 
The most intensive type of specialized agriculture of the entire 
valley is found in the vicinity of North Yakima. The apple is the 
most extensively grown fruit, although the pear, peach, plum, and 
some of the smaller fruits are common. The ranches are small, with 
usually a tract of commercial orchard. However, most ranchers 
produce enough garden truck for their own families. Many of the 
owners do much of their own work. Not all ranches are fully equip- 
ped with the necessary implements for orchard work, though the 
owners are generally able to exchange, borrow, or hire them at their 
