SALINE AND ALKALI LANDS. 



535 



monly spoken of almost everywhere; but the meaning of this 

 term /. c., the kind of plant designated thereby varies ma- 

 terially from place to place, according to climate as well as the 

 quality of the soil. It is obvious that if these characteristic 

 plants were definitely observed, described and named, while 

 also ascertaining the amount and kind of alkali they indicate 

 as existing in the land, lists could be formed for the several 

 regions, which would indicate, in a manner intelligible to the 

 farmer himself, the kind and degree of impregnation with 

 which he would have to deal in the reclamation work; thus 

 enabling him to go to work on the basis of his own judgment, 

 without previous chemical examination. 



A study of the lands of California having this purpose in 

 view, was undertaken in the years 1898 and 1899 by the Cali- 

 fornia Station ; but lack of funds prevented its prosecution 

 beyond the ascertainment of those plants the abundant oc- 

 currence of which prove the land to be irreclaimable without 

 the use of the universal remedy, viz, underdrainage, which on 

 the large scale is usually beyond the means of the land-seeker. 

 The botanical field work and collection of soil samples was 

 carried out by Mr. Jos. Burtt Davy; the chemical work, as 

 heretofore, being done by Dr. R. H. Long-bridge. The re- 

 sults here reported are therefore essentially their joint work. 

 It is hoped that in the future, a more comprehensive study and 

 close comparison of the native vegetation with the chemical 

 determination of the quality and kind of alkali corresponding 

 to certain plants, or groups of plants, naturally occurring on 

 the land, may enable us to come to a sufficiently close estimate 

 of the nature and capabilities of the latter from the native 

 vegetation alone, or with the aid of test plants purposely 

 grown, for the farmers' purposes. 



Plants Indicating Irreclaimable Lands. The plants herein- 

 after mentioned and figured are, then, to be understood as 

 indicating, whenever tlicy occupy the ground as an abundant 

 and luxuriant growth, that such land is irreclaimable for ordi- 

 nary crops, unless underdrained for the purpose of washing 

 out surplus salts. The occurrence merely of scattered, more or 

 less stunted individuals of these plants, while a sure indi- 

 cation of the presence of alkali salts, does not necessarily show 

 that the land is irreclaimable. 



