50 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation 



make satisfactory growth, and the development of 

 the orchard is retarded. 



The cultivation of a piece of land, by checking 

 evaporation from out of the ground, causes most of 

 the moisture to remain in the soil for the use of the 

 plants occupying the land. Therefore the more 

 thorough and more often the cultivation of the 

 orchard takes place the less will be the evaporation, 

 and consequently the smaller will be the quantity 

 of w r ater required to maintain the plants in good 

 condition. The golden rule for the irrigationist to 

 adopt is to apply the minimum of irrigation with 

 the maximum of cultivation consistent with the 

 satisfactory growth of his plants. To follow the 

 opposite principle to make up for lack of cultiva- 

 tion with excessive irrigation is to court disaster, 

 for such a policy, if persisted- in, causes either the 

 formation of surface alkalies or the water-logging 

 of the sub-soil, or both, and ultimately results in the 

 death of the plants and in the ruin of the land. 



A cultivation of the orchard should follow every 

 irrigation after the ground has been allowed to dry 

 a little, so as not to puddle the soil, and also after 

 every rain of any consequence. Where the ground 

 is naturally hard or turns up in lumps, an additional 

 cultivation in between each irrigation is desirable. 

 During the late autumn and winter months, if no 

 cover crops have been planted, weeds may be per- 

 mitted to come up, but should be ploughed in green 

 in the early spring. Cover crops intended for green 

 manure should be rolled down and ploughed in when 

 in flower, and the whple plantation should be 

 ploughed up every season during the late 'winter or 

 early spring months, after which no more weeds 

 should be permitted to grow for the rest of the 

 season. 



