26 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation 



ment, and then choose a piece of land having as 

 nearly as possible the required characteristics. 



Those new fruitgrowers who, in their anxiety to 

 make a financial success of their undertaking, only 

 wish to plant those varieties w r hich they think will 

 "pay" them the best, have to remember that no kind 

 of fruits will "pay" unless they bear good average 

 crops, and that these can only be produced if the 

 trees are planted in soils and situations best suited 

 to their requirements. 



The chief types of soil used for fruitgrowing 

 along the Murray Valley, and their suitability to 

 various fruit varieties, as far as present experience 

 seems to indicate, are as follows : 



Box and Blue Bush River Flats. This class of 

 land, which evidently consists of ancient river de- 

 posits, is mostly made up of a variety of loamy 

 clays, often with a layer of sand on top. On the 

 whole the soil is heavy, sets hard with irrigation, 

 but is made much looser and friable by the appli- 

 cation of gypsum. As drift-sand is usually found 

 within twelve feet from the surface of the ground, 

 the under-drainage is good, and no danger from 

 seepage exists. This land requires much cultiva- 

 tion, with the systematic use of gypsum to make it 

 loose for the root requirements of the trees. 



All varieties of vines do well on this class of 

 land and yield heavy crops, but their growth is not 

 so rapid during the first three or four years, as is 

 the case on the high lands. 



Pears, which bear best on heavy soil, also do well ; 

 and the prune, although not yet much grown along 

 the Murray, does best on a clay soil elsewhere. 



The apricot also thrives well on a fairly heavy 

 soil, but must have good under-drainage, and should 

 therefore be planted where the drift-sand is fairly 

 close to the surface. 



