178 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



Fenugreek as a Cover Crop. 



Fenugreek has been recommended to be as a nitrogen-gathering plant, 

 but I cannot Hud information as to the amount of nitrogen it gathers 

 in its roots and tops, nor the amount of crop per acre. 



Fenugreek is a good nitrogen gatherer and is desirable for green 

 manuring wherever you can get a good growth of the plant. You 

 can count it worth as much as peas, vetches, etc., if you can get as 

 much growth of the plant. It is most largely used in the lemon dis- 

 trict near Santa Paula. The best way to proceed would be to try 

 a small area of all the nitrogen gathering plants of which you can 

 get the seed easily, and determine by your own observation which 

 makes the best growth under your conditions. 



Improvement of Cementing Soils. 



/ would like some advice in handling the "conenty" gravel soil. 

 Manure is beneficial in loosening up the soil, but there is not enough 

 available. Would the Canadian field pea make a satisfactory growth 

 here if soivn as soon as the rains begin? I would try to grow either 

 peas or vetch and plozv under in February or March and then set trees 

 or vines on the land. 



The way to mellow your soil is certainly to use stable manure 

 or to plow under green stufif, as you propose. This increases the 

 humus which the soil needs and imparts all the desirable characters 

 and qualities which humus carries. You ought to get a good growth 

 of Canadian field peas or common California field peas or the common 

 Oregon vetch by sowing in the fall, as soon as the ground can be 

 moistened by rain or irrigation, and, if the season is favorable, secure 

 enough growth for plowing under in February to make it worth 

 while. Be careful, however, not to defer planting trees and vines too 

 late in order to let the green stuff grow, because this would hazard 

 the success of your planting by the reduction of the moisture supply 

 during the following summer by the amount which might be required 

 to keep the covered-in stuff decaying, plus loss of moisture from the 

 fact that the covered stuff prevented you from getting thorough sur- 

 face cultivation during the dry season. For these reasons one is to 

 be careful about planting on covered-in stufif which has not had a 

 chance to decay. This consideration, of course, becomes negligible 

 if you have water for summer irrigation, but if you expect to get the 

 growth of your trees and vines with the rainfall of the previous winter, 

 be careful not to waste it in either of the ways which have been 

 indicated, and above all, do not plant trees and vines too late. 

 Theoretically, your position is perfect. The application of it, how- 

 ever, requires some care and judgment. Rather than plant too late, 

 you had better grow the green stufif the winter after the trees have 

 been planted. 



Needs Organic Matter. 



/ have what I believe to be decomposed sandstone. Many rocks 

 are still projecting out of land zvhich I blast and break up. The soil 



