138 AGRICULTURE ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 



The surface must be kept very loose, and the water applied 

 plentifully in deep furrows, so that it will not wet the surface 

 at all. By using ' a great deal of such water, the alkali is 

 prevented from accumulating in the subsoil. 



Sensitiveness to alkali. Different plants differ very much 

 in their sensitiveness to alkali. The lemon and orange are 

 very sensitive to common salt. Most legumes and grasses 

 also cannot stand much. Grapes, olives, pears, and apples 

 are much less tender. Deep-rooting plants like alfalfa, car- 

 rots, and beets are quite tender when young, but much less 

 so after their feeding roots (see page 15) get deep into the 

 ground. Asparagus will stand a good deal of common salt. 



Alkali weeds are wild plants that grow even where there 

 is much alkali, and one should, know these plants in order 

 to recognize alkali soils. 



" Alkali grass " (figure 73) is one of the commonest and best- 

 known alkali weeds. There are many others quite as good for 

 showing where there is alkali. Such are the " greasewoods " 

 (figure 74) , whose leaves are mostly round instead of flat, and 

 several " saltbushes," some of which look very inviting but 

 are so salty that the cattle will not eat them. Bui .alkali 

 weeds are different in kind in different regions, and must be 

 studied for each locality. We may thus often know before- 

 hand what kind oTaTKali land it will pay to reclaim for culti- 

 vation, and how it should be done. 



