COST OF PRODUCING APPLES IN YAKIMA VALLEY. 25 
The soil is such that many‘orchardists do not feel the necessity of 
plowing annually. It is the practice, however, to begin some culti- 
vation as early as possible in the spring, so as to conserve the 
moisture from the rain and snow of the winter. 
The soil, broken by the various implements previously mentioned, 
is usually well worked, so that a dust mulch is formed. All growers 
make a practice of working the orchard both ways, many times prac- 
ticing what is known as “‘zigzageme”’ in order to cultivate close up 
to the trees. ; 
The importance of these early cultivations is shown by the fact that 
more than 40 per cent of the total cultivation, exclusive of plowing, is 
Fig. 4.—Type of cultivator commonly used in Yakima Valley orchards. 
made before the first irrigation. After the soil is once put in good 
condition comparatively little labor ordinarily will be required to 
keep it in condition to prevent the loss of moisture. Table XVII 
gives the average day’s work with various cultural implements used 
by the orchardists of the valley. 
The soil in most of the apple orchards in Yakima Valley considered 
in this investigation is a sandy loam, friable and easy to work. Both 
climatic and soil conditions are such that cultivations may be com- 
menced as early as the middle of March. The majority of the 
orchardists begin the work on the soil before the middle of April. 
_ Forty-three of the 64 orchardists visited in the North Yakima 
district practiced clean cultivation. Twenty-nine, or 67.44 per cent 
of this number, made a practice of domg some plowing. [Fifteen 
