ORANGE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 45 



the various modes of putting water on land. I have found the 

 following rules applicable under all circumstances : 



"First Irrigate before the growth of trees or plants is checked 

 for want of sufficient moisture to sustain a healthy, vigorous 

 life. If the land be permitted to become so dry that the leaves 

 of orchard trees wither or curl up, then the small surface roots 

 will be already dried out, and cannot be resuscitated. Water 

 will prevent such trees from dying, but their growth will be ma- 

 terially retarded. If a bearing tree be permitted to become 

 very dry, it will shed its fruit after an application of water. 



"Second Wet the land thoroughly, down to moist earth, but 

 do not drown it with water for two or three days. Surface irri- 

 gation (I mean passing the water rapidly over the land) has a 

 tendency to attract the roots to the surface for moisture, instead 

 of causing them to seek it deep down in the earth, as they will 

 when land is evenly wet all the way down. The roots will fol- 

 low the moisture down as the land dries out from the surface. 

 We often see a man irrigate his land for the first time ten weeks 

 after the last rain in the spring, and perhaps his land will not 

 even then be too dry. He will irrigate every ten days there- 

 after during the summer, and his land will be very dry every 

 time. Reason why: The land was thoroughly wet in the 

 spring, since which time only the surface has been irrigated. 



"Third Work the land thoroughly from two to five days after 

 irrigation, or when it is sufficiently dry to crumble and is not 

 sticky. If the soil be well pulverized from four to six inches in 

 depth, with plow, spade or cultivator, and the surface be then 

 smoothed down with a rubber, it will retain moisture twice as 

 long as if irrigated and left without working. I believe this rule 

 will apply to every variety of soil, and that land that will retain 

 moisture four weeks when not worked after irrigating, will re- 

 tain sufficient moisture ten weeks if the soil be properly culti- 

 vated. 



"Fourth It is injurious to run water immediately over the 

 roots and around the trunk of the tree when there is not suffi- 

 cient water to flood the entire surface. I plow a furrow about 

 three feet from the trees, on each side of the row, and let the 

 water run in these furrows from twelve to twenty-four hours. 



