IKUIGATIOX FOR THE ORCHARD. 206 



tendency, which is to be discountenanced in all irrigated 

 fruits. Cherry trees drop blossoms and fruit sometimes 

 because of a deficiency of lime in the soil ; sometimes 

 drouth may cause them to drop, and if the trees have 

 been growing strongly by too much irrigation, unripe 

 wood may have had something to do with it. In the 

 latter case lime worked into the soil would liaVe an in- 

 fluence for the better. Much good may be done in a 

 dry season by irrigating the trees every ten days after 

 the blossoming period and up to the ripening of the 

 fruit. Once thereafter is usually all the w r ater they will 

 need in a season. ' Irrigations should generally be of 

 quick duration, so that the land shall not become soaked 

 or water-logged. Great caution is advised in applying 

 water to cherry trees of Russian origin, and they actually 

 require but slight moisture to grow and fruit at their 

 best. This from the fact that they come from the high 

 and dry steppes of Russia and naturally need but little 

 water. 



The Orange. The orange tree requires an abun- 

 dance of moisture, and its need of more water is indi- 

 cated by the curling of its leaves ; but excessive irrigation 

 gives rise to diseased conditions, manifested by gum, 

 yellowing of the leaves and other troubles. The system 

 of irrigation mostly practiced consists in running the 

 water in finely divided streams through furrows three 

 feet apart between the rows of trees from a head ditch, 

 using about twenty inches at a time for ten acres, and 

 continuing the irrigation until the ground is wet to a 

 depth of three or four feet. The irrigation should 

 always be followed by cultivation as soon as the condi- 

 tion of the soil will permit, and cultivation be continued 

 at intervals for six or eight weeks before another irriga- 

 tion is given. 



The first year of planting very little irrigation is 

 required. In some orchards, after the trees are se.t out 



