88 IRRIGATION. 



that the vigor of growth that would result from a suffici- 

 ent supply of moisture to the roots would greatly mitigate 

 the effects of these attacks. The apple trees that never 

 have an " off-year" are those grown near bodies of water. 

 A California vineyardist who irrigated his vines imme- 

 diately raised his product to eight tons of grapes per acre, 

 and greatly improved the quality. The newly planted 

 orange groves of Florida are frequently destroyed by 

 drouth, and methods of irrigation are eagerly sought to 

 render their culture more safe and certain. 



But if it were necessary to enforce the advantages of 

 the irrigation of orchards, abundant evidence could be 

 gathered in the south of France, Italy, and other coun- 

 tries of Southern Europe, where the olive, orange, lime, 

 almond, fig, apple, and other orchard trees, as well as the 

 vineyards, are systematically brought under irrigation. As 

 to the vine, it is a question which so far has not been 

 thoroughly investigated, whether or not irrigation might 

 be made the means of vanquishing the destructive phyl- 

 loxera. An experienced vineyardist of Avignon (France) 

 submitted his vines during the Winter, which in that lo- 

 cality is mild and free from severe frosts, to a lengthened 

 irrigation of 30 days, during which a depth of four inches 

 of water was constantly maintained in the vineyard. 

 This operation has been found to considerably diminish 

 the injurious effects of the phylloxera, and to greatly im- 

 prove the condition of the vines. This practice might 

 be found somewhat dangerous where early Spring frosts 

 occur, by which the vines brought prematurely into 

 growth might suffer. But no cautious cultivator will 

 make serious innovations upon his practice without pre- 

 vious careful experiment. In Southern California the 

 vineyards are copiously irrigated four times only at the 

 starting of the first growth, at the blossoming, at the 

 setting of the fruit, and at the period when the fruit 

 commences to color. 



