THE SOILS OF CALIFORNIA 31 



The depth of error into which the first Americans 

 fell in their misconception of the agricultural capac- 

 ity of California soils was well matched by the speed 

 with which they arose from it. Only a year or two 

 elapsed before daring adventures on the part of a 

 few discerning men, in both coast and interior val- 

 ley locations in the central part of the State, demon- 

 strated that the soil was unusually rich and capable 

 of incredible production of plants which would make 

 their growth at the temperatures prevailing during 

 the rainy season and could be carried along to full 

 maturity after the rains had ceased; that tender 

 plants requiring frost freedom and summer heat could 

 be grown without a drop of rain from seed-sowing 

 to harvesting, if the moisture of the rainy season were 

 conserved in the soil by tillage. It was the first 

 demonstration of the efficiency of dry-farming prin- 

 ciples and policies in the United States, a whole gen- 

 eration before dry-farming prophets began their 

 work, both for good and evil, in the prairie states. 



When the pioneers observed more closely the soils 

 with which they had to deal and the behavior of 

 plants upon them, they soon reached several impor- 

 tant practical conclusions: 



First: That the soils were, as a rule, different from 

 those in the states and countries whence they came. 



Second: That there was great variation in the soils 

 of different locations and that in many cases these 

 locations were so near together that there might be 

 several diverse soils within the limits of an ordinary 

 farm just as, judged by the behavior of the same 



