ORANGE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 53 



of its monuments and temples, that have withstood the ravages 

 of forty centuries. Let us point them to the orange groves that 

 fringe the Mediterranean, and whose green and gold are re- 

 flected by every wave that washes the shores of that inland 

 sea to those of Palestine, Spain, Italy and the adjacent isles, 

 which for generations have been the source of the world's supply 

 of the golden fruit, all of which is produced by irrigation. The 

 superiority of this fruit, grown in a dry climate like ours, in its 

 solidity and keeping qualities, and our ability to transport our 

 fruit around the world, if necessary, without material loss, more 

 than compensate for the extra labor in its production. If ours 

 is a more laborious lot than that of others, let us be thankful 

 that a healthful and invigorating climate vouchsafes unto us the 

 physical ability for the task we have voluntarily taken upon our- 

 selves that of establishing and building up the choicest fruit- 

 producing region in the world." 



Mr. Holt gave his experience in irrigating at Pomona. He 

 had charge of the Pomona Orchard Company's orchard. He 

 had planted nearly 16,000 trees since May, 1876, most of which 

 are orange, lemon and lime. The orange orchard covers two 

 hundred acres. It is located on a sandy, loamy soil. About 

 6,000 trees were put out last season. He gave the entire tract 

 a thorough irrigation last winter, by running water for twenty- 

 four hours down each row of trees and each place in which a 

 row of trees was to be planted this season. He estimated that 

 the quantity of water thus run upon the tract, during the winter 

 season, would cover the entire tract to a depth of fifteen inches. 

 He had found irrigation necessary this season, but he was not 

 prepared to say that with good winter rains it would be impos- 

 sible to raise an orchard successfully without any irrigation. 

 He rather inclined to the opinion that it could be done. A por- 

 tion of the trees put out by him last season and thus treated to 

 winter irrigation received no additional water until the middle 

 of August, and about fifteen hundred of them would probably 

 need no more irrigation this season; yet they are in a very 

 thrifty growing condition at this time. He did not quite agree 

 with Mr. Green, that rapid-growing trees require more irrigation 

 than those that grow more slowly. It is true that the more 

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