Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 181 



carries too much undesirable material. That could only be determined 

 by analysis, and the analysis must be made when the water is rather 

 low, because during the rainy season, or soon after it, the water 

 may have less mineral impurity than later in the season when it 

 may be more concentrated. 



Shall He Irrigate or Cultivate? 



Our soil is of an excellent quality, and I feel if the moisture ivcre 



properly conserved by suitable methods it could be made to produce 



fruits or some other z'cry much more profitable than from hay and grain 

 crops. 



Whether you can grow deciduous fruits successfully without irri- 

 gation depends not only upon how well you conserve the moisture 

 by cultivation, but also whether the total rainfall conveys water 

 enough, even if as much as possible of it is conserved. Again, you 

 might find that thorough cultivation will give you satisfactory young 

 trees, but would not conserve moisture enough for the same trees 

 when they come into bearing. This proposition should be studied 

 locally. If you can find trees in the vicinity which do give satis- 

 factory fruit under the rainfall, you would have a practical demon- 

 stration which would be more trustworthy than any forecast which 

 could be prepared upon theoretical grounds. 



Condensation for Irrigation. 



If a circular funnel of zvaterproofed building paper, or some better 

 cheap dcz'ice, Zi'cre fastened about the base of the tree in such a manner as 

 to catch and concentrate most of the drippings from the leaves, and 

 that water made to run dozvn through a tube leading a suitable depth 

 into the earth, it seems to me that the number of foggy nights that 

 occur in many localities during the season might thus supply ample zvater 

 for a tree's needs. 



The probability is that water would not be secured in sufficient 

 quantities to serve any notable irrigation purposes, or if the fogs 

 were so thick as to yield water enough, the sunshine would be too 

 scant for the success of the plant. Put your idea to the test and 

 see how much water you could get from a tree of definite leaf area, 

 which could be readily estimated. 



Winter Irrigation. 



Last May I irrigated my prune trees for the first time, again during 

 the first tzco zveeks of last December. If no rain should come zvithin the 

 next tzvo zveeks, zvould you advise me to irrigate then? Should I plozv 

 before irrigating, or should irrigation be done before the buds szvellf 



Unless your ground is deeply wet down by the rains which are 

 now coming, irrigate it once, and do not plow before irrigating. The 

 point is to get as much water into the ground and as much grass 



