ORANGE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 49 



agreed as to the necessity of irrigation in the production of 

 citrus fruits, with scarcely enough exceptions to mark the gen- 

 eral rule ; while nearly all agree theoretically on the subject, it 

 has been found that when we come to the actual use of water 

 in irrigation, a great variety of opinion is evolved as to the time, 

 frequency and amount of irrigation necessary to the most nearly 

 perfect tree growth and fruit production. So great is the diver- 

 sity of opinion on this subject, as well as on many others con- 

 nected with fruit-growing, that it is the subject of remarks by 

 strangers making inquiries into the business, and many claim 

 they can obtain no reliable and uncontradicted information on 

 the subject. Many a beginner in the business, anxiously seek- 

 ing facts by which he may be guided, finds himself in a maze of 

 conflicting advice. It is probable that, in a very great measure, 

 this contrariety of opinion grows out of the great variety of soils 

 in this part of the State, some requiring much heavier and more 

 frequent irrigation than others, thereby rendering impossible the 

 laying down of any general rule applicable alike to all. 



"The purpose of irrigation being to supply the want of nat- 

 ural moisture in the soil in dry seasons like the present, or 

 during the dry months of any year, so as to obtain the best tree 

 growth, and the production of the best and largest crops of 

 fruit, the question arises, how may these be obtained? The 

 free and unrestricted use of the waters of our streams and 

 springs for winter irrigation, is, in my opinion, the remedy to 

 be applied to guard against the effects of a dry season like the 

 present, when there has been a deficiency in the usual rainfall, 

 and the ground has not received the thorough saturation to 

 which it is accustomed. Our water sources are ample for this 

 purpose, supplied as they doubtless are from the snow and ice 

 of the lofty Sierras, and stored away by the hand of Him who 

 'holds the winds in His fist.' They require a succession of hot, 

 dry seasons, like the present, to unlock their aqueous treasures 

 fully, and send them trickling down the rugged mountain sides 

 and on through their subterranean outlets to this sunny plain 

 of ours. 



'If we but consider what a small fraction of the water for a 

 year is actually used on our lands, that our water supply is 



