MKTIIODS OF APPLYING WATKK. 139 



another from the two o'clock sun, which in winter espe- 

 cially is very damaging to young trees. Always set 

 orchard or small fruit rows to conform to the proper 

 irrigating grade, as this precaution will save much suit- 

 sequent trouble. 



A new furrow in orchards or vineyards should be 

 plowed every time an irrigation is to occur, for the 

 closely following cultivation which is the most important 

 part of this work will close over and obliterate the fur- 

 rows. Make a furrow on each side of the trees and give 

 an irrigation that is calculated to carry the water well 

 down into the soil lower than the roots if possible, and 

 for this reason the writer advises sub-soiling before the 

 planting is done. The first year after planting, the rill 

 may be run within a foot of the trees, but the water 

 should never be allowed to touch the trunks. Some 

 horticulturists set out small fruits in rows four or n . 

 feet apart longitudinally with the trees, while others 

 put such plants as raspberries and blackberries in the 

 tree rows themselves. The advantage of the latter plan 

 is that it affords more shade to the cane fruits, but at the 

 same time they are more apt to receive less water than 

 they need, as cane fruits require more water than is given 

 to trees. By planting in the open between the tree rows 

 cane fruits may be irrigated more frequently, and this 

 can be done independently of the trees themselves. 



As trees grow older year by year their furrows 

 should be carried farther away from the trunks, a good 

 rule being to keep them in a vertical line with the outer 

 tips of the branches. With full-grown trees the irrigat- 

 ing should be done with several parallel intermediary 

 rills, as pictured in Figure 49. 



This system is much in use in the citrus groves of 

 Southern California. When the orchard is steep then 

 plant, not in straight rows, but lay out ditches with a 

 fall of one-quarter of an inch to every rod, and plant the 



