Page 22 



BETTER FRUIT 



February 



Orchard Work 



This Tractor's Specialty 



Reasons in TrackPULL Book 



MOST makers make a gen- 

 eral-use tractor. We make 

 a special kind, after 34 years' 

 experience in building orchard 

 machinery to meet special 

 needs. 



The Bean TrackPULL Tractor 

 will be as famous as the noted Bean 

 Power Sprayer when as many are 

 in use. 



Don't buy merely "a tractor" un- 

 til you know the TrackPULL's spe- 

 cial orchard features. When you 

 learn all the facts you'll decide at 

 once that a "general-purpose trac- 

 tor" will not do. 



DEAN TrackPULL Tractor 



The TrackPULL turns in a 10- 

 foot circle with full power — tools 

 deep in the soil. You turn back in 

 the same row. No getting out. No 

 stopping. 



Its low height gets under branches 

 four feet off ground. 



Makes no difference how far off- 

 center tools are hitched. 

 New "After -the -War" Proposition 



We have a new "After-the-War" 

 proposition which includes a bond 

 covering a liberal guarantee on one 

 season's work of 90 days, without 

 expense for repair parts. This 

 guarantee bond is furnished each 

 purchaser of a BEAN. A reduc- 

 tion in price is also effective at once 

 and guaranteed up until June 30, 

 1919. 



Also manufacturers of famous 

 Bean Power Sprayers 



Bean Spray Pump Co., 

 284 W. Julian St.. 

 San Jose, CaL 



Send rae TrackPULL catalog and full Informa- 

 tion without obligation on my part. 



County 



No. of Acres ., 



State.. 



..Kinil nf f'rops Grown.. 



the land is practically level, the water 

 is handled by flooding little basins or 

 checks made by throwing up plow fur- 

 rows to form ridges between the trees, 

 plowing in both directions, so that each 

 tree stands in a little square by itself. 

 Occasionally, when a good head of 

 water is available or percolation is 

 slow, every other row is skipped, thus 

 throwing four trees in a group. The 

 ridges usually rise to a height of eight 

 or nine inches above the general level 

 of the land, being made high enough to 

 confine whatever depth of water is de- 

 sired. Water is supplied to each basin, 

 either by supply ditches which tap each 

 basin or by operating the basins in 

 series, filling the highest one until it 

 overflows into the next, and so on down 

 the series. When the last one is full 

 the irrigator repairs all breaks, begin- 

 ning with the last of the series, and 

 works back to the ditch, leaving each 

 basin full of water. 



Whenever possible, the furrow sys- 

 tem of irrigation is more generally 

 favored. The furrows vary in length, 

 depth and distance apart, but in general 

 consist of four, five or six or more 

 furrows plowed out between the rows, 

 info which water in small heads is 

 turned and allowed to slowly pass down 

 to the end of the furrow. Shallow fur- 

 rows are usually spaced two and a half 

 feet apart and eight-inch furrows three 

 to four feet apart. A slope of two to 

 twelve inches is necessary in each one 

 hundred feet of furrow, with three to 

 six inches a general average. Soils of 

 slow absorption, as clays or loams, re- 

 quire the lesser rate of slope, while 

 open soils, as gravels and sands, are 

 satisfactorily served where the slopes 

 are more abrupt. Where fields have a 

 greater fall than fifty feet to the mile, 

 or if the soil texture indicates a lesser 

 slope as more desirable, furrows should 

 run diagonally across the direction of 

 greatest fall. The length of the furrows 

 will range from 200 feet for the open, 

 more porous soil types, to 600 feet in 

 heavier soils. Furrows are easily and 

 quickly made each time by using two or 

 three ordinary double moldboard plows 

 attached to a sulky frame, a 12-inch 

 corn lister, or with furrowing shovels 

 attached to a cultivator frame. For 

 best results some cross furrowing from 

 the outside furrows is necessary be- 

 tween trees to cover what would other- 

 wise be dry areas. The supply ditches, 

 since these are permanent, should be 

 located by a surveyor. The rate of fall 

 should be about two to four inches. 



The method of distributing water 

 from a supply ditch into the furrows de- 

 serves some consideration. If the ditch 

 banks are firm and not liable to wash, 

 open cuts in the banks will serve. These 

 may be further protected by using a 

 piece of sacking or canvas to break the 

 eroding action of the water, or pieces 

 of shingles. Some irrigators use stable 

 manure to close the cut, removing it 

 each time as needed. In porous or open 

 soils, or if close attention to the distri- 

 bution of the water is not always possi- 

 ble, short tubes or spouts of metal or 

 wood should be arranged, with a cheap 

 gate to shut off the water. These may 



be made of lath or of four pieces of 

 %x3-inch battens, according to the 

 amount of water received, with a gate 

 of galvanized iron fastened over one 

 end by means of a wire nail and leather 

 washer. The method of raising the 

 water to a height necessary to turn it 

 into the furrows by means of wooden 

 checks, dams of earth or canves, or 

 metal tappoons, is just the same as in 

 any irrigation scheme, requiring no 

 special variations for orchard work. 



Practice of Irrigation. The need for 

 irrigation is best determined by a fre- 

 quent examination of branches, foilage, 

 fruits, roots and soil. The first need is 

 the determination as to where the bulk 

 of the feed roots are located. Ascertain 

 the nature of the soil around them and 

 make frequent examinations to note the 

 condition of the moisture. Usually a 

 test of the moisture content, made by 

 weighing out a given sample, drying it, 

 and calculating the original moisture 

 content, is safest. Six per cent by 

 weight of free water is deemed suffi- 

 cient to keep trees in a vigorous condi- 

 tion. This study should be thorough 

 and complete for a season or two, from 

 the results of which a general irriga- 

 tion policy can be worked out for the 

 orchard under consideration. 



While it is necessary to know the 

 prevailing conditions surrounding a 

 given orchard, some idea of general 

 practices may be instructive. The apple 

 districts of Washington irrigate about 

 May 1st, followed by three or four ap- 

 plications at intervals of three to four 

 weeks. In Colorado three to five irri- 

 gations are given during the season. 

 Orchardists at Lewiston, Idaho, water 

 three times, beginning June 15th. In 

 California, citrus trees are irrigated six 

 or seven times at regular intervals dur- 

 ing the summer, while deciduous fruits 

 receive two to four irrigations. Con- 

 scientious and thorough cultivation to 

 follow as soon as the land can be prop- 

 erly worked is a necessary component 

 of irrigation. If best results are to be 

 obtained, releveling the land and regu- 

 lar cultivation must follow each appli- 

 cation of water. 



Thus far in this article no mention of 

 drainage has been made. Rise of the 

 water table through oversupply of irri- 

 gation water, or natural peculiarities of 

 the soil structure, may necessitate pro- 

 vision for removing waste water. This 

 is a sub.ject to be considered in connec- 

 tion with the supplying of irrigation in 

 lands having a high water table, under- 

 ground seepage pockets, or extensive 

 layers of hardpan or impervious clay. 

 Clearing natural open channels, use of 

 intercepting drains, and underground 

 drainage offer, however, a means of 

 relief if an outlet can be provided 

 whenever a remedy is necessary. 



Cranberry-Apple Jelly — Apple juice, 

 1 pint; cranberry juice, 1 pint; sugar, 

 % cup; sorghum or syrup, 1% cups. 

 Prepare apple juice as for apple jelly. 

 Add prepared cranberry juice and boil 

 five minutes. Add sweetening; boil 

 until it gives the jelly test. Turn into 

 glasses. A larger proportion of cran- 

 berry may be used if desired. 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



