P A C I I' I C T R E p: and VINE 



Interesting to Farmers 



It should not be supposed that 

 because we have bad good rainfall 

 so far, and because the trees are not 

 growing, that iriigation is not ad- 

 visable. Winter irrigation is un- 

 doubtedly beneficial under anj- con- 

 ditions. If we get plenty of rpin- 

 fall, the ground will not be more 

 than full, and if there is a shortage, 

 it will be full in any event. The 

 great need of the land is abundance 

 of water during the winter months. 

 There should be sufficient to 611 it 

 fiom the surface down to the sub- 

 terranean flow, so that there is no 

 dry stratum between the top and 



\\'ater Irrigation 



it will hold and the excess drains 

 off This is the great advantage of 

 winter irrigation. The land is 

 filled with water for suiuniei use, 

 and the orchardists who resort to it 

 are comparatively sure uf a crop. 

 We have suffered from a long series 

 of years of insufficient rainfall. The 

 level of the subterranean water- 

 table has been gradually lowering, 

 and while the surlace has been wet 

 down a short distance each season, 

 there has been a thick stratum of 

 dry soil underneath. In the suni- 

 ii.er the surface moisture was soon 

 consumed, and the roots of the 



rus fruit grower has to battle 

 against, writes a correspondent of 

 the Cultivator. The ingenuity of 

 man has been taxed to provide 

 means for its extermination, as evi- 

 denced by the great variety of go- 

 pher traps seen on sale, and we sel- 

 dom hear of the natural enemies of 

 the pest among our native animals 

 or birds. To bring this matter to 

 the attention of your readers is my 

 excuse for the following remarks. 

 Early last spring I discovered that 

 a pair of monkey-faced owls had 

 pre-empted a section of my dove 

 cote, built in the upper part of our 



the bottom water level, in which 

 deep rooted trees may perish. This 

 is naturally filled up during a wet 

 winter, and furnishes a reservoir 

 during the dry summer, being 

 brought to the surface by capillary 

 attraction; but in dry seasons, the 

 moisture is not there, and a dry 

 stratum cuts off the lower water 

 water from the surface and the trees 

 suffer. Now, if we take advantage 

 of the abundance of winter water 

 and fill up the soil, we aie safe for 

 a summer supply, even if the : ea- 

 sonal rainfall is short. If, on the 

 other hand, the rainfall is exces- 

 sive, the ground has all the water 



trees being in dry soil had nothing 

 to draw upon, and hence very many 

 trees died, while in other cases 

 where the trees still lived, the fruit 

 borne by them was inferior both in 

 size and quality. It is then a good 

 plan, where water is available, to 

 thoroughly soak the soil in the 

 winter and fill it with the necessary 

 moisture tor the snmniet use oi the 

 orchard. 



Owls as (iopher Destroyers 



It is a conceded fact that the 

 gopher is one of the most persistent 

 and troublesome pests that the cit- 



barn, for a nest. Our first impulse 

 on making the discovery was to de- 

 stroy the intruders, to ensure the 

 safety of our doves, but the prin- 

 ciple of treating the accused as in- 

 nocent until proven guilty saved 

 the owls from molestation, and 

 gained for us friends for which we 

 have many times since been truly 

 thankful The nest was so situ- 

 ated that it was ea.sy of inspection, 

 and daily visits were made to it 

 during the weeks of hatching and 

 until the young were grown. The 

 amount of animal life that was car- 

 ried in to those youngsters was a 

 constant wonder to us. The bill of 



