COST OF PEODTJCING APPLES IK WENATCHEE VALLEY, WASH. 19 



The factors which appreciably affect the time required for thinning 

 may be summed up as number of trees per acre, variety, size of tree, 

 age, method of pruning adopted, water supply, soil condition, method 

 of thinning (by shears or by hand), density of foliage, equipment, 

 hail, tendency to alternate bearing, and the quantity of fruit removed. 

 Considering all records, the average time per acre required for this 

 operation w r as 53.29 man-hours at a cost of $13.32. 



PROPPING. 



The regularity of the apple crop in the valley necessitates the 

 practice of propping annually. This is done any time throughout the 

 growing season when the weight of the fruit bears the limbs down so 



Fig. 4— The center-pole-and-wire method of propping. This tree is a 3-year Winesap graft on a 5-year-old 



Wagener stock. 



that there is danger of their breaking. Four methods of propping are 

 used by the orchardists: The center-ring-and-wire, the cross-wire, 

 the center-pole-and-wire, and the single-pole prop. 



In the center-ring-and-wire method (A, fig. 3) screw eyes are placed 

 in the main limbs at some distance above the crotch of the tree. 

 Wires are attached to the screw eyes and brought to a ring placed 

 approximately in the center of the tree. This holds the tree in shape 

 and prevents the breaking of the limbs at the time when the crop is on. 



In the cross-wire method (B, fig. 3) screw eyes are placed in the 

 main limbs at some distance above the crotch. From each screw eye 

 a wire extends and is attached to a limb opposite or nearly so. This 

 answers the same purpose as the former method. 



In the center-pole-and-wire method (C, fig. 3) screw eyes are placed 

 in the main limbs, to which are attached long strands of wire. At 



