Or)^£tnic ^t>ttcr F'rovcs Effactivd in Frcvan t ing Surface Runoff 



A parugr-^ph from Nubrasku Research Bullcjtin llii is vvort}i rupo^.ting, 

 "Soil covor^d Vi/ith str-w or othtr organic mc-tcriul, gave un infiltration r.ito 

 sirail-r to or possibly higher th^n th^t obtained whon protoctted by u dons« grow- 

 ing crop. The tot-.l into^ko of wtitor wh«n the soil was thus ^rotact«d '.vas very 

 grt>„t on i.11 tha soil types t-sstud cind the high rat*; of intake vif^^s ra^iutuined 

 over an wxtended p(iriod. In fact it was sufficient to t^ko carw of an amount of 



w^t^r greater than that likely to be received during any rainy period in Neb- 

 raska." This statement bOars directly on the use of mulch in our hillside or- 

 chards. Such orchards, heavily mulched, have a much better water supply oecc.use 

 less of the rainfall flows down into the valley. 



Sub-marginal Orchards Being; Replaced in '<Vashingt on 



4500 acres of apple trees have gone out of production in the wenatchee- 

 Okanogftn district within the past year. The total reduction over a 6-year period 

 is about 6,000 acres. Among the orchards already pulled out or abandoned there 

 are very few bast areas. It is reported that these apple orchards are being 

 replaced by soft fruits, including peaches, cherries and apricots, --nd in some 

 cases general diversification and small sideline industries. Some of these 

 abandoned areas had been planted by inexperienced growers, and given less than 

 competent Care and only a periodic watering. As a result they h^d drifted into 

 an unprofitable condition. 



"Yi/ater Supply for Orchards" 



This publication, Cornell iixtension Bulletin ^367 by B. A. Jennings, 

 covers the subject completely and is well illustrated. Here is one of the . ■' 

 author's conclusions. "On many fruit farms more than one-half of the time of 

 spraying is spent in travelling to and from the orchard and in filling the tunk, 

 A total of from 30 to 40 minutes is required if it takes from 10 to 15 minutes 

 to travel to the water supply, 10 minutes to fill the tank, and from 10 to 15 

 minutes to return. A convenient water supply may Save 20 minutes of tiiis time. 

 Twenty minutes saved for each tankful of spray applied me^ns, if two men are 

 spraying, the s^^ving of 7 hours of m^n labor for each day of spraying. Also, 

 from 4 to 6 more tankfuls of spray per day may be applied," 



Cross Pollination of Great Importance 



Vi/ith planting time only a few months away, a thought or two about ur- 

 rangement of Varieties may be in order. Cornell i^xtension Bulletin No. 390, 

 "Fruits Recommended for New York," contains this statement "An important cause 

 of crop failure in Nev»r York orchards is the lack of cross pollination. In 

 general, it can b^ s.^id that all varieties fruit better in mixed plantings of 

 two or more varieties than in plantings of one sort. Mcintosh, Delicious and 

 Northern Spy, because of their extreme self-unfruitfulness, need special pro- 

 vision for cross pollination. While most varieties serva as good sources of 

 pollen, some do not. Among these are Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, and Graven- 

 stein." 



Soil Color as an Indicator of Adaptability 



J. Oskamp makes this pointed statement in Cornell iiJxtension Bulletin 

 No. 254, "Vi/here dr..in:*ge is reasonably rapid and free water stands hardly .-t all 

 in the surface four feet of soil, the soil colors are rather uniform, usually 



