Soils. Fertilizers and Irrigation 185 



soil which does this, and a coarse sandy loam which takes water down 

 out of reach of shallow-rooting plants too rapidly and lacks capillarity 

 to draw it up again, are ill adapted to underground distribution. 



Irrigation of Potatoes. 



IVill you kindly tell ntc when is the fro/^er time to irrigate potatoes, 

 before they bloom or after they bloom, and do they require much ivater? 



It should seldom be necessary to irrigate potatoes after the 

 bloom appears. Potatoes do not need much water, and there is 

 danger of giving them too much. It is absolutely essential to see 

 that there is no check in the growth of the plant, for once the 

 growth is at all checked by drought, and irrigation is done, a new 

 lot of potatoes start and new and old growth of tubers are worthless. 

 Give what irrigation is needed and make cultivation do the rest. 

 The secret of success is keeping the soil continually at the right 

 moisture, so that the first growth of the plant may continue regularly 

 until the tubers are brought to maturity. 



Irrigated or Non-Irrigated Apples. 



Where soil and climatic conditions are favorable to the raising of 

 apples, what effect has irrigation on them? 



The commercial product of California apples is chiefly made upon 

 deep soils in districts of ample rainfall so that the fruit can be 

 perfected and the trees maintained in thrift by thorough cultivation 

 and without irrigation. In the foothill and mountain regions, how- 

 ever, apple trees are irrigated and first-class fruit produced by the 

 process. There is no particular virtue in the absence of irrigation 

 nor in the presence of it. All that the tree requires is that the 

 moisture supply should be adequate and timely. There are un- 

 doubtedly many apple orchards grown without irrigation where a 

 little water during the latter part of the summer would be a great 

 advantage for the perfection of winter varieties. 



Irrigating Walnuts — Checks or Furrows. 



Which is the best method to irrigate a tract of ZS acres of sandy 

 sediment soil, nearly level, preparatory to planting walnuts? 



By all means use the furrow system of irrigation unless your 

 land should be so light that the water would sink in the furrows 

 and distribution would be very unequal without covering the whole 

 surface as is done by filling checks. When the land cannot be 

 covered well by the furrow system, checking is resorted to, but not 

 otherwise. 



Summer and Fall Irrigation. 



Is it desirable to irrigate peach trees in the fall after the crop is 

 gathered? 



The popularity of autumn irrigation for peaches in the San 

 Joaquin valley is based upon the experience of the last few years 



