42O 



SOILS. 



and browsing grounds. Apart from these, however, all efforts to find 

 culture plants for these lands generally acceptable, or at least profitable, 

 in their natural condition, have not been very successful. 



Figure 60 illustrates the usual aspect of alkali lands in the San 

 Joaquin valley of California. It will be noted that the alkali-covered 

 surface is only in spots, with clumps of vegetation between, so that 

 cattle can find both pasture and browsing on a portion of such lands, 

 even though the plants so growing are not usually of the most desirable 

 kind. We find in all arid regions, however, considerable areas either 

 wholly destitute of vegetation, or bearing only such saline growth as is 

 rejected by all kinds of domestic animals. 



Effects of Alkali upon culture plants. In land very strongly 

 impregnated with alkali salts, most culture plants, if their seed 

 germinates at all, will show a sickly growth for a short time, 

 " spindle up " and then die without fruiting. In soils less 

 heavily charged the plants may simply become dwarfed, and 

 fruit scantily. The effect on grown trees around which alkali 

 has come up. is first, scanty leafage and short growth of shoots, 

 themselves but sparsely clothed with leaves. This state of 

 things is well shown in figures 6r and 62, which represent 

 apricot trees growing but a short distance apart, but one com- 

 ing within range of an expanding alkali spot. The characteris- 

 tic sparseness of the foliage of the " alkalied " tree as compared 

 with the adjacent one is well shown. 



Nature of the injury to plants from Alkali. \Yhen we 

 examine plants that have been injured by alkali, we will mostly 

 find that the visible damage has been done near the base of the 

 trunk, or root crotai ; rarely at any considerable depth in the 

 soil itself. In the case f green herbaceous stems, the bark is 

 found to have been turned to a brownish tinge for half an inch 

 or more, so as to be soft and easily peeled off. In the case of 

 trees, the rough bark is found to be of a dark, almost black, 

 tint, and the green layer underneath has, as in the case of 

 herbaceous stems, been turned bn >\vn t< > a greater or less extent. 

 Tn either case the plant has been practically ' girdled," the 

 effect being aggravated by the diseased sap poisoning more or 

 less the whole stem and roots. The plant may not die, but it 

 will be quite certain to become unprofitable to the grower. 



It is mainly in the case of land very heavily charged with 



