106 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



what will suffer the greatest loss if it fails 

 to get water at the proper time. 



The difference between the orange and 

 the lemon is a good study, for it repre- 

 sents a difference that exists more or less 

 between all kinds of vegetation. 



Either tree worked to full capacity for 

 the largest and most uniform yield of 

 first-class fruit demands more water than 

 any other tree grown for profit in the 

 United States. Yet either will live for 

 months and even years in ground and air 

 dry enough to kill almost any of the for- 

 est trees of the Atlantic States in a few 

 weeks. I see daily (in Los Augeles, Gal.), 

 and can see out of my window now as I 

 write, lemon and orange trees living and 

 bearing this 26th day of December that 

 since the last rain, in April last, have not 

 had a drop of water from any source, 

 stand in hard, uncultivated ground and 

 are utterly neglected. And the entire 

 rainfall of the preceding winter was but 

 sixteen inches, and that of the winter be- 

 fore but nine. 



QUALITY AND QUANTITY. 



So far both are alike. But now comes 

 a very important distinction. With the 

 orange in California neglect of any kind 

 shows itself immediately in the quality of 

 the fruit. You may have a tree well 

 loaded without an orange on it fit to eat. 

 And when you come to market the crop 

 you may find it a dead loss. For the 

 oranges on the trees above mentioned you 

 could not get a cent a box from any one. 

 But the lemon will generally show neglect 

 only in the amount of the crop and the 

 size of the tree. The flavor of the lemons 

 on a neglected tree will differ little if any 

 from those on a tree well cared for. And 

 if properly cured they will be about as 

 juicy for their size. They will be smaller 

 than on a well tended tree, but then size 

 in a lemon is not as material as it is in 

 case of the orange. In fact the market 

 does not want lemons too large. Conse- 

 quently you may have crops of lemons 

 that are very profitable from trees that 

 would bankrupt you if they were oranges, 

 a difference very plainly seen in many 

 parts of Southern California. 



The same difference is seen in many 

 other things, and though it may be less in 

 degree is none the less worthy of consid- 

 eration in deciding what you will plant 

 under a water system that is not quite as 



perfect as it should be. The English 

 walnut will live in almost as dry ground 

 as the almond, but the meat of the nuts 

 will be shriveled, and one side often lack- 

 ing entirely, while the almonds will be as 

 solid as ever and merely reduced in size 

 to a point little affecting the market value. 

 The oil olive, the only olive eaten in 

 Europe, is not perceptibly affected in 

 quality by suffering from water and the 

 difference is only in the yield, while the 

 big, insipid olive grown to sell to green- 

 horns who buy for size and color and eat 

 it for style will be a failure for lack of 

 attractive size. The flavor of a peach is 

 much more easily damaged by shortage of 

 water than that of an apricot, while the 

 latter ripens so much earlier than most 

 varieties of the peach that there is little 

 danger of being caught in a spell of the 

 very hot weather that makes fruit suffer 

 very quickly if not given enough drink. 

 Runty grapes are generally fair in flavor and 

 are generally more valuable for wine than 

 if made big with water, but runty cherries 

 will make even a well-bred hog mad. 

 Scrubby apples will make good cider and 

 do to bake or cook, but scrubby plums are 

 an abomination, and abortive nectarines 

 are unutterably vile. 



VEGETABLES. 



There are similar differences in vegeta- 

 bles. You may be very stingy of water 

 to your tomatoes before they seem to suf- 

 fer and when they do they will only be 

 smaller, more watery and not so good to 

 eat raw. But the flavor will be little im- 

 paired, if at all, and for cooking you may 

 see the difference. But you cannot stint 

 celery in the least if you want to sell it, 

 and unless it has plenty of water you will 

 want little of it yourself. Nubbins of 

 sweet corn still taste pretty well and pota- 

 toe may be reduced considerably by 

 drouth and still be mealy. But don't try 

 the same experiment with egg-plant or cu- 

 cumbers. Pumpkins and squashes will 

 generally show the difference in amount of 

 water only in size, but if melons lack the 

 right quantity they will be flat and often 

 sour. These differences are too extensive 

 for further discussion here, but those 

 given will serve as guides for farther 

 study. You can soon learn what things in 

 your locality and on your soil suffer the 

 least under bad treatment and if you are 

 compelled to limit your irrigation in any 



