62 SECOND THOUSAND QUESTIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



parts of the State. But the probability is that your trees did not die 

 from drouth. They died too suddenly and uniformly for that. Some of 

 them would surely have pulled through with the hose irrigation you gave 

 them, even if inadequate for good growth. It is altogether likely that 

 there is too much alkali. You can have that determined by sending a 

 sample of the lower soil to the Experiment Station at Berkeley, and 

 sending a letter with it describing what your experience has been. It 

 may be that the land would carry pears even if too alkaline, when you 

 get water on it, for peaches and apricots. 



Lime and Chicken Manure on Clover Lawn. 



Can I fertilize my lawn (mostly clover) with fresh chicken fertilizer, 

 in which there is a generous sprinkling of lime. Will the lime prove 

 detrimental instead of enriching the soil? I intend to apply it, and if 

 it isn't raining will turn the sprinklers on, to get it close to the roots. 



Lime is one of the best things for clover, for clover will not do well 

 unless there is plenty of lime in the soil. Too much fresh lime might do 

 harm, but being exposed to the air takes out the bite. Mixing lime with 

 manure, however, is not good, as lime drives off nitrogen the best 

 part of it and you should use gypsum rather than lime for the hen 

 houses. 



Danger in Fertilizing at Planting Seeds. 



When I planted rhubarb seed I put a little commercial fertilizer 

 in each hill, but in the hills I put it in only a few seeds came up. So when 

 I planted some peanuts I put about a teaspoonful in each hill and 

 mixed it with the ground, but only a few of the hills that I put it in 

 came up. Did I get it too strong? 



It is always dangerous to use a quickly soluble fertilizer in contact 

 with seed, and it is otherwise undesirable. No thrifty plant keeps its 

 roots where the seed starts ; they go forth considerable distances after 

 moisture and plant food. If, however, you still wish to get right on 

 the spot, mix the fertilizer with several times its bulk of fine sandy 

 loam well pulverized, and it will work on the plants and not get too much 

 in one place. On the whole, however, it is better to get the fertilizer 

 into moist earth between the rows and invite the roots to go after it. 



Do They Need Irrigation? 



Will it pay to fall irrigate a prune orchard (where the water 

 stands 10 feet below the surface) for the fruit buds for the next crop? 



Take a look at the trees and see if the leaves at the growing tips 

 are well nourished and the general aspect of the foliage indicative of 

 vigor or otherwise. Then dig down to a depth of three or four feet 

 and see if the soil in which the roots are growing is moist enough to 

 ball in the hand with pressure. If the soil is manifestly too dry at that 

 depth, irrigate as soon as the fruit is gathered. Another condition indi- 

 cating desirability of irrigating your trees would be the coming of the 



