SOILS DEFECTIVE FOR FRUITS 33 



The soil is a reddish, more or less sandy, loam, changing little in its 

 aspect for several feet. Its adaptation to fruit is shown by the products 

 of the Lindsay region. 



CLAY SOILS 



Thus far a very small area of true adobe* soil has been employed 

 in horticulture. There is a great difference in the character of what 

 is known as adobe in different localities. Its color varies, as the 

 popular terms "black waxy," "black," "brown," and "gray" adobe 

 indicate. Its physical condition and chemical composition also vary 

 greatly. The black adobe of the east side of the Sacramento Valley 

 is easily tilled as compared with the gray adobe on the west side, 

 which is very refractory and often largely impregnated with alkali. 

 To render soil of adobe character useful for fruit growing, this 

 tendency to dry out and crack, thus allowing evaporation from below 

 as well as from the surface, must be overcome. The discussion of this 

 point belongs to the chapter on cultivation. Adobe soils are, as a rule, 

 rich and durable and therefore promise long fruitfulness to trees and 

 vines with roots adapted to heavy soils, but difficulty of cultivation, 

 excessive retention of water, and other evils are always present. Some 

 suggestions on the treatment of such soils will be given in the chapter 

 on fertilization. 



DEFECTIVE SOILS 



Although California soils are predominantly of the depth, light- 

 ness and richness best suited to the growth and bearing of fruit trees 

 and vines, it should always be borne in mind that there are marked 

 exceptions, and failure to observe this fact has resulted in considerable 

 disappointment and loss. There is in California much land which is 

 bad from a horticultural point of view and it is apt to occur even in the 

 vicinity of lands of the highest excellence. It is, therefore, necessary 

 to advise that the closest examination to be made before investment be 

 made in the planting of fruits. 



Although there are instances of deficiency in plant food in 'Cali- 

 fornia soils and considerable areas of land sterile through excess of 

 saline and alkaline salts, these are usually indicated by the local reputa- 

 tion of the tracts, if the newcomer will take pains to make inquiry. 

 It is rather the more obscure, subsoil conditions which lead to loss or 

 failure, and they may be unknown even to men who have owned or 

 farmed the land for years for ordinary field crops. These defects are, 

 in the main, three: 



Leachy Subsoils. While it is best in all cases to choose deep 

 soils for cropping purposes, it is frequently profitable to grow fruit 

 on soils with defective subsoils. Among these defective subsoils there 

 is frequently encountered, underlying good alluvial loams, a very per- 

 vious sand or gravel which allows of a too rapid escape of moisture 

 and plant food. This may result in starving the tree or killing it for 



*This name has been erroneously applied to the loam commonly used in the construction 

 of adobe houses. Agriculturally, it means "a heavy clay soil," such as could not be used in 

 building. 



