468 IRRIGATION FARMING. 



the spring. It is needless to say that no objedlion can 

 be raised against withholding water while the young 

 wood is ripening, but that by keeping water from the 

 trees in the spring the blossoms are held back has been 

 shown to be a fallacious idea. The fadl is that the 

 bursting of the bud is entirely dependent upon the 

 state of the outside and surrounding atmosphere. It 

 is a well-established fa<5l that the application of water 

 to the roots puts off rather than hastens the blossom- 

 ing period by the chill that has been introduced to the 

 ground. 



The mistaken notion about trees needing no irri- 

 gation during winter has no doubt arisen from two 

 sources: There is a popular delusion that the tree is 

 dormant during winter. Any one who has heeled in 

 young trees in the fall and lifted them again in spring 

 cannot have failed to notice that the roots have made 

 growth during the interval. Moreover, by careful 

 measurement it has been proved that even the trunks 

 of trees, and doubtless also the branches, adlually 

 increase in girth during the winter months. It is 

 therefore evident that the tree is in acftive growth dur- 

 ing winter and is laying up a store of energy for the 

 coming summer. If the tree during that period 

 suffers from drouth, its vitality must necessarily be 

 weakened. 



People have been told that in California it is not 

 customary to irrigate orchards during winter. They, 

 however, have not taken into consideration the fadl 

 that heavy rains fall over the greater part of the Pacific 

 coast, whereas in the region of the Rocky mountains 

 the winter months are the dry season. Furthermore, 



