STATE AGRICULTURAL S0CIP:TY. 



Red Soii> and Subsoil, Cajon Vallky. 



195 



Soil. No. 791. 



Sulisoil. No. 71)2. 



Coarse sand 



Fine earth 



Analysis of Fine Earth. 



Insoluble matter 



Soluble silica 



Potash 



Soda 



Lime 



Magnesia 



Br. oxide of manganese 



Peroxideof iron 



Alumina 



Phosphoric acid 



Sul])huric acid — 



Water and organic matter 



Totals 



Available inorganic ... 



Hygroscopic moisture 



Absorbed at 10° C 



20.00 

 80.00 



25.5 

 74.5 



83.404 



3.S05 



.729 



.290 



.775 



.692 



.01)3 



4..'55a 



4.167 



.053 



.069 



1.913 



87.209 



71.900 



8.143 



.670 



.188 



1.02S 



1.340 



.054 



7.392 



5.988 



.054 



.011 



3.081 



80.043 



100.318 



99.849 



.334 

 2.312 



7.456 



The " coarse sand " shown in the above table ranges from one twen- 

 tieth to one fiftieth inch, and consists mainly of various kinds of 

 quartz, with a little feldspar and some hornblende, evidently of 

 granitic origin. Most of the grains are partly rounded, as though 

 they had been transported some distance. While the subsoil contains 

 somewhat more of this sand or debris, it also contains more clay than 

 the surface soil, as is plainly shown in its higher attraction for moist- 

 ure (7.5 instead of 2.3 per cent), and in its stiffer working when wetted. 

 Being deeply covered by the light soil, this subsoil will be slow to lose 

 its moisture in the dry season, and, being readily reached and pene- 

 trated by the roots, the remarkable fact, that these lands can, to a 

 great extent, be cultivated without irrigation, finds its explanation. 



Chemically, the difference between soil and subsoil is but slight, so 

 far as the supply of _ plant food is concerned. In potash they are 

 nearly alike, and the supply ample; the phosphoric acid percentage 

 is identical, and quite low, yet, in presence of a good supply of lime, 

 especially in the subsoil, which is of such unusual depth, a deficiency 

 in this respect will not be felt for some time to come by deep-rooted 

 crops. Phosphates will doubtless, however, be the hrst fertilizers 

 needed to be supplied when the time comes. As in nearly all upland 

 soils of the southern region, the supply of vegetable matter is quite 

 small, and should in cultivation be increased by every possible means. 



All the characters of this soil point to its preeminent adaptation to 

 the cultivation of fruits, especially of those which, like the grape, can 

 readily be so managed as to draw but lightly upon the phosphates and 

 nitrogen of the soil, by a return of the pomace and other offal. 

 High quality rather than exuberant quantity of product is foreshad- 

 owed by the soil characters; yet the experience had sliows that even 

 in the latter respect, the Cajon lands are not behind, the great thrifti- 

 ness of vine and tree growth being a matter of record; as is, also, the 



