THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 415 



of making them, and all other factors that will in any way affect the 

 location as a desirable homesite should be considered. 



Suitability for the Desired Purpose. — Climate, soil and water condi- 

 tions must be approximately as given above. The topography of the 

 land should be considered. Orchards on rolling or hilly land cost more 

 to plant and maintain than those on level or nearly level tracts. 



ORCHARD WORK. 



Clearing. — New lands must of course be cleared of all stumps, trees 

 and brush. Where oak trees or oak stumps are present, especial care 

 should be used to take them out as deeply as possible, because of the 

 danger from oak-root fungus whicb in some instances has proven a 

 serious menace in olive orchards. 



Deep Plowing.— After clearing, the ground should be plowed as 

 deeply as possible, certainly not less than 12 inches. A greater depth 

 M^ould be better. A Spaulding plow will break the ground to a depth 

 of 16 or 18 inches. If this is not available use a subsoiler. Deep plow- 

 ing breaks up the plow sole and buries most weed seeds so deeply that 

 they will not grow ; it also loosens the ground for leveling. 



Leveling, Grading, Terracing. — Where the ground is fairly level, a 

 little grading will be necessary to facilitate irrigation. Where the land 

 is more irregular or hilly, terracing may be necessary for the best 

 results. By terracing we do not mean the ordinary terracing done on 

 ornamental lawns or the form most usual in Europe. A simpler 

 system of contour terracing will be much cheaper and thoroughly satis- 

 factory if carefully done. The inside of the terrace may be left 

 somewhat higher than the opposite side, but the outer rim of each ter- 

 race should be slightly elevated, so that the rain run-off may be carried 

 , away at designated intervals by means of tiles or flumes. The spacing 

 of these drains and their diameter should be such that they will take 

 care of any probable run-off. This will avoid breaking the embank- 

 ments and washing gulleys across the terraces. In most years, such 

 drains will not be needed. They should be put in, however, for 

 seasons of heavy rainfall and occasional torrential showers. Where 

 they are put in, they should be continued down each embankment and 

 across each terrace to the lower side of the orchard or to the bottom of 

 the hill. Across the terrace they should be buried deeply enough to be 

 out of the way of cultivation ; on the embanlanent they may or may not 

 be buried. 



This preliminary preparation of soil — that is, grading and terrac- 

 ing — makes cultivation and irrigation cheaper and better: cheaper 

 because one man can get over a greater amount of orchard per diem in 

 irrigating and cultivating, and better because the distribution of the 

 water under such conditions is more uniform and the after cultivation 

 is much easier. Such preparation also makes it possible to handle inter- 

 calary crops to better advantage, for it admits of the separate cultiva- 

 tion and irrigation of such crops. 



Plowing after Leveling and Grading. — This second plowing breaks 

 up such places as are laid bare by grading and terracing, aerates the 

 soil, and prepares the land for the reception of the trees. 



