THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 27 



iiiaiinre. each of which is produced on lands not devoted to fruit culture, 

 iu tlie last analysis, roli.s these lands of fertility to which they arc 

 entitled. The system reminds us of the experiences of China, where the 

 upper central tablelands have been largely denuded of vegetation and 

 depleted of fertility by the leaching and eroding action of the streams 

 which In-ing down silt and delu'is, depositing it on the lower lands. It 

 is the lowlands of China ;dong the river l)nsins that are so fertile today, 

 and not the uplands. 



As stated above, this State needs diversification, and this has been the 

 case at cue time or another in almost every extensive agricultural section 

 of the world. The fertility of the soils as a whole can not be maintained 

 without it. Years ago the black prairie soil of Illinois was thought to 

 be inexhaustible, but the ccntinuous culture of corn reduced the crop 

 producing powers until today crop rotation is coming to be generally 

 practiced. Diversification and crop rotation are advantageous not alone 

 because they contribute towards the distribution of chance and make 

 stable markets, but because a higher type of soil maintenance is made 

 possible than under any single crop system. The maintenance of humus 

 in soils is an extremely difficult matter if the system employed be 

 divorced from live stock farming. The use of farm manures lies at the 

 very foundation of permanent soil maintenance, and in the east is con- 

 sidered a fundamental essential to the upkeep of the soil. 



Imagine the security and stability of agriculture that would ensue in 

 this State if, instead of there being large tracts of land devoted exclu- 

 sively to grain or fruits, as at present, w^e had a type of mixed farming 

 in which different crops, including fruits, grains and legumes, with live 

 stock, were grown on each farm. With such a system the purchase of 

 manure and straw would become largely unnecessary and the amounts 

 of manure could be regulated according to the needs. 



It has been said that about three generations of farmers are necessary 

 to the development of a stable agriculture in any community, and it is 

 certain that the fertility of virgin soils in many sections has been greatly 

 reduced before a permanent system was evolved. We are likely to 

 think that in fruit culture, commercial fertilizers can take the place of 

 organic matter; but I venture to assert that such will hardly be found 

 to be the case. In fact, there is no extensive area in any portion of the 

 world on which a single cultivated crop has been produced continually 

 without a reduction either in the fertility of the soil, or that of other 

 lands near by. In Hawaii, for instance, the sugar growers thought for 

 years that their yields could be maintained by fertilization, but the time 

 has already arrived when the demand for fresh supplies of organic 

 matter has been so keenly felt that today their greatest problem is con- 

 cerning this matter. Much of the energy of their staff of scientists is 

 being devoted to this problem. Their soils, however, contain much 

 greater quantities of humus than California soils. In spite of this fact, 

 fresh sui)p]ies greatly increase the yields. i\Iuch of the difficulty met 

 with in the maintenance of our soils Avould be obviated l)y mixed farm- 

 ing, and greater economic stability would certainly result. 



