^ CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



quick removal of surplus water, and to promote seed germination 

 and plant growth. 



The aeration of adobe by drainage and tillage accomplishes 

 a considerable improvement but still more radical reform meas- 

 ures are desirable. The soil particles are naturally too small. 

 They must be separated by interposition of coarser grains. Plow 

 into the soil as much coarse material as possible. Farmyard ma- 

 nure, straw, sand, old plaster, coal ashes, sawdust, almost anything 

 coarse or gritty which will break up the close adherence of the fine 

 clay particles, release the surplus water and let in the air, will 

 produce a marked effect in reducing the hateful baking and crack- 

 ing, root-tearing and moisture-losing behavior of the adobe. 

 Scrape the corrals, rake up the leaves and fine litter of all kinds, 

 make the adobe garden patch the graveyard for all the rubbish 

 which is susceptible of decay. The farm will be neater and the 

 garden will pay the expense in its easier working and better 

 growth. Do this every year before the rains come and you. will 

 rejoice that you had an adobe foundation for the farm garden. 



The Improvement of Light, Sandy Soils. This effort is in 

 some cases more difficult than conquering adobe. It all depends 

 upon the coarseness of the sand and the subsoil upon which it 

 rests. If soil and subsoil are coarse sand or gravel to a consider- 

 able depth, some fruit trees may thrive, but shallow rooting plants 

 will fail unless they can finish their growth during the rainy 

 season. Summer growth is impossible because water will flow 

 through their sieve-like structure and carry away plant food with 

 it. With moisture leaching away below and flying away above, 

 and with intense sun heat burning the foliage by direct contact 

 and reflection, such wash soils are indescribably worse than adobe. 

 But this condemnation should not be rashly applied. The reference is 

 to soils very coarse in character which have the appearance of 

 washed sand and gravel. Otherwise it may be a soil carried from 

 the surface of the hillsides by the eroding streams, and, if com- 

 posed of reasonably fine materials, in addition to sand and 

 gravel, should have plenty of plant food for a time at least. The 

 chief difficulty will lie in maintaining moisture for shallow rooting 

 plants. Obviously such soils are best suited for winter growth, 

 for they are "warm and early" when situated out of frosty places.- 



Sandy soils which are imposed upon clay or hardpan, pro- 

 viding the underlying stratum is not alkaline, furnish very prom- 



