76 tHE DAfE PALM. 



greater depths it is essential that the requisite amount of irrigation 

 water should be available. According to the data yet at hand a 

 rise of water-level above 9 feet, or even flooding of adult trees 

 for a short time in the fruiting season, does no great harm. Proper 

 aeration of the roots and a plentiful supply of fresh water in the 

 fruit developing season are the ideal conditions. Floods will, 

 of course, kill newly planted off-shoots by destroying their 

 terminal buds if the water covers these for any length of time. 



As regards texture of the soil, a sandy loam is perhaps 

 best (see page 19, para. 13). Such a soil is open enough to allow 

 good drainage and close enough not to allow manurial ingredients 

 to wash out unduly rapidly. 



If the land is virgin and is suspected of containing excess 

 of alkali, it should be tested for this. The land may be divided 

 by small banks into suitable sized beds, and the whole surface 

 well flooded. The water will soak into the subsoil, dissolve the 

 salts and that quantity of it which returns to, and is evaporated 

 from, the soil surface will leave its deposit of salts there. If 

 there are water channels across the soil at suitable distances 

 apart ; if these are then filled with water, and the water is simply 

 allowed to soak from these into the subsoil, it will diffuse laterally 

 as it descends, and that part of it which rises to the surface between 

 the channels will evaporate and add its load of salts to those 

 of the first irrigation. Repeated soakage of the land by way of 

 these channels only will soon show an accumulation of salt at 

 the soil surface if excess exists in the land and no rain occurs to 

 wash it in again. Even where a chemical analysis of a virgin 

 soil is to be made for alkali in a rainless tract, more representative 

 samples will be got after a few irrigations, as the irrigations 

 will disseminate any pockets or layers of salts. In many cases 

 the simplest way of testing the soil for excess of alkali, however, 

 is to grow some of the crops mentioned on page 83, para. 46, on it. 



The irrigations given to the crop disseminate pockets or layers 

 of salts, and the condition of the crop is an excellent indication 



