April, '10] BALL AND OTHERS: ARSENICAL POISONING 191 



of hardpan at varying depths. These valleys are older than those in 

 the lower Snake River district and the seepage conditions have grown 

 worse from year to year until now large parts of a number of orchards 

 on the lower levels, have been killed by alkaline ground water. On 

 the higher levels the soil shows traces of alkali, but where the drain- 

 age is good no injury as yet has appeared on the trees. The orchards 

 of Capt. J. H. Shawhan and of Bower and Hunter near Payette, 

 of Hon. Edgar Wilson at Meridian, and Judge Fremont Woods near 

 Boise, were studied as typical of the better class of orchard soils in 

 these valleys. These orchards have all been heavily sprayed for a 

 number of years, representing the oldest of the commercial orchards 

 in their districts and those that have received the greatest amount of 

 spraying and yet they showed no sign of any injury attributable to 

 that cause. These orchards all show distinct traces of alkali and it 

 would seem to be a favorable condition for arsenic injury, if such 

 occurs. 



In Utah a number of new orchards have been examined in which 

 Ben Davis and Gano trees are dying of collar rot, the greater number 

 of them, however, being cases occurring in family orchards and on 

 town lots where no spraying has ever been done. In Mr. Lars Nord- 

 ing's orchard at Hyrum, five Black Ben Davis trees, planted five years 

 ago, began to die this season. This was the first season that they had 

 borne and only one of them was sprayed, and even at the time that 

 the spray was applied, the characteristic darkened area with oozing 

 sap was seen at the base of the trees. 



In the Grande Valley in Colorado a number of orchards pointed 

 out as being typical cases of arsenical poisoning were examined, and 

 in every case except one, unmistakable seep conditions were encoun- 

 tered within five to seven feet of the surface and in some cases even 

 closer. Mr. F. T. Smith's orchard was typical of this class of orchards 

 and in this case a considerable area showed a decided burning of the 

 leaves in the early part of the summer. Mr. Smith reported that upon 

 examination, at that time, he found the soil to be very dry and free 

 from seepage conditions to a depth of six feet. When bored with a 

 nine-foot augur later in the summer, the first six feet were found to 

 be as dry as before but before reaching the seventh foot, the augur 

 sank of its own weight into a soft, sticky ooze that extended as far as 

 the augur would reach. In another place in which a strip had died 

 near one end of an orchard, a soil boring made at the same time, only 

 proceeded a little over two feet before the augur could be pushed 

 clear down to the handle in a material similar to that found before. 

 Mr. M. P. Hickman 's orchard which was upon one of the higher mesas 



