COST OF PRODUCING APPLES IN HOOD RIVER VALLEY. 



33 



Table XI. — Relation of area of orchard on farms studied to time devoted to 



thinning. 



Size of orchard. 



Number 



of 

 orchards. 



Man 



hours per 



acre. 



Cost. 



Per acre. 



Per tree. 



Per box. 



Under 6 acres 



4 

 25 

 11 

 14 

 54 



44.75 

 24.57 

 22.25 

 20.87 

 24.63 



$10.07 

 5.53 

 5.01 

 4.70 

 5.54 



$0.13 



.08 

 .07 

 .07 

 .08 



- 



$0. 0358 

 .0243 

 0221 





Over 15 acres 



0244 





.0250 





There is abundant evidence that it pays to thin the fruit and do it 

 well. Not only is the yield of marketable fruit increased, but its 

 quality is greatly improved, thus giving a high percentage of extra 

 fancy fruit which brings correspondingly high returns. The average 

 annual time consumed in thinning on the 54 orchards is 24.63 hours 

 per acre, at a cost of $5.54 per acre, $0.08 per tree, and $0,025 per 

 box. It should be borne in mind that thisls an average cost. Where 

 9 tree is well loaded with fruit the cost of thinning may reach $0.25 

 or more per tree, but the cost per box will tend to be lowered. 



PROPPING. 



Propping the trees to prevent the limbs from breaking under the 

 weight of fruit is a practice followed by all growers. (See fig. 14.) 

 The labor for propping on the farms studied amounts to practically 

 the same as that for pruning. Several methods of propping are 

 practiced; first, that of propping the trees with notched or cleated 

 boards ; and, second, that of " tying up " the limbs of the trees, elimi- 

 nating the use of board props. In tying, some growers use the " may- 

 pole prop," from the top of which wires or strings are strung and tied 

 to the limbs requiring support. In many cases, however, the tying 

 is done from limb to limb. 



The material used in making the board props is often 1 by 2 

 inches or 1 by 3 inches, varying in length from 8 to 14 feet. Double- 

 ply jute twine, costing about 10 cents a pound, is used in tying. 

 Wire, also used for this purpose, is much more expensive, but lasts 

 a correspondingly longer time. The labor connected with tying 

 up the limbs is considerable; indeed, it is often a very expensive 

 operation. 



Board props are usually set during July. The orchardist generally 

 hauls them out with a wagon and two horses, setting them as he 

 hauls. Sometimes they are distributed to be set later. Where the 

 limbs are tied to the props additional labor is entailed. Props have 

 to be tended and reset from time to time during. the summer and 



