

40 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



undeveloped resources and are a surety of future advance- 

 ment. 



For the very gratifying amount of accurate knowledge of 

 California soils which is now available a debt of honor 

 is due to Dr. E. W. Hilgard, formerly Professor of Agri- 

 culture and Director of the Experiment Stations of the 

 University of California, who has given a lifetime to ad- 

 vanced investigations in soil physics and chemistry. It 

 is from his publications 1 that we shall condense some ac- 

 count of the specific character of those soils which are 

 most nearly related to local production of vegetables, leav- 

 ing out of account the heavy adobe, which is little used 

 for these crops except by gardeners who radically change 

 its physical character. 



Prevailing Character of California Soils. In his inter- 

 esting contrast of the soils of arid and humid regions, Dr. 

 Hilgard makes some generalizations, which we collate to 

 serve our present purpose. 



The character of the soils of the arid regions is predomi- 

 nantly sandy or silty, with but a small portion of clay un- 

 less derived directly or indirectly from pre-existing for- 

 mations of clay or clay shales. 



The idea of inherent fertility has been associated so 

 generally with soils of a more or less clayey character, 

 that the newcomer will frequently be suspicious of the 

 productiveness and desirability of the sandy or silty soils 

 of the arid region that experience has shown to be of the 

 highest type in both respects. 



Another point of great importance .is that the differ- 

 ence between soil and subsoil, which is so striking and 

 important in regions of abundant rainfall, is largely ob- 

 literated in arid climates. Very commonly hardly a per- 

 ceptible change of tint or texture is found for depths of 



^'Soils: Their Formation, Properties, Composition and Relations 

 to Climate and Plant Growth"; also "Agriculture for Schools of 

 the Pacific Slope," by Hilgard and Osterhout. These works can 

 be furnished by the PACIFIC RURAL PRESS of San Francisco.- 



