CALIFORNIA CITRUS CULTURE. 9 



It is also necessary to have a soil that is deep and with a good 

 subsoil. An artificial hardpan from six to eight inches from the sur- 

 face is not uncommon in any kind of soil. A natural hardpan still 

 deeper down is often found. In purchasing a location for citrus trees, 

 we should never fail to dig down and find out just the condition of 

 the subsoil the soil just below the plane reached by the plow. King's 

 soil tester makes it easy to learn the character of the subsoil to a depth 

 of five or six feet. Any hardpan is prejudicial to success. It is also 

 very essential to avoid black alkali or carbonate of soda. We have 

 only to keep these points in mind to choose wisely in the purchase of 

 lands for citrus fruits, so far as the soil is concerned. 



WATER. 



The purchaser must be even more wary regarding the ability to 

 secure sufficient water for irrigation, as nearly every California soil 

 will, with proper care and cultivation, give remunerative crops. Water 

 is the very life of the grove. No one should ever purchase a grove, 

 or land for a grove, unless he is absolutely sure that abundant water 

 is always at his command. In planting, we must not forget that the 

 older the trees the more water required. The government experts, who 

 have investigated along these lines, caution those who are planting 

 new groves, and state emphatically that in many localities in Cali- 

 fornia, though not in all, we have now reached the limit of safety 

 in planting. In some sections we have, however, come far short of 

 developing the amount of water that may be secured from underground 

 reservoirs by boring wells and pumping. Very much more water will 

 be pumped for irrigation in the near future than is now secured. In 

 a few places reservoirs above the surface may be formed to add to our 

 water resources, and in these the winter run-off may be stored and held 

 for use. It is also demonstrated by actual experience that by wisely 

 distributing the water during the copious rains of winter , what would 

 else go in the winter run-off to the sea, can be stored up in the sub- 

 earth gravels and be utilized in the long dry season of summer. Yet 

 we may still urge that since water is the great desideratum and the 

 absolute necessity in citrus culture, the securing a full supply for the 

 coming time when the groves are all mature and in full bearing, and 

 for years of least rainfall, should engage the chief and most thorough 

 consideration of him who is contemplating the purchase or planting of 

 citrus orchards. We must also always be cautious that the water we 

 use is free from alkali. 



