yg CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



ground is the next operation. Everything should be done with a 

 view to the use of the horse in cultivation. The rows should be 

 laid out as straight as possible. Some use a plow furrow ; some an 

 arrangement like a corn-marker, with two cultivator teeth set four 

 feet apart; some stretch a line, to get the pits or root grafts as 

 true to it as possible, and some trust to the furrow for straightness. 

 No rule can be laid down for means to be employed ; the result 

 must depend upon the eye and skill of the individual. Some people 

 can hardly shoot a straight line with a gun. Each must do the 

 best he can in this respect. 



There is difference in practice as to distance between the rows 

 in nursery. The usual distance is four feet, but others claim that 

 it is better to make the rows six feet apart, especially where no 

 irrigation is practiced, as this gives the young trees more room, 

 and if the ground is kept thoroughly cultivated, as it should be, 

 it gives the roots a greater supply of moisture to draw upon. In 

 growing a small lot of trees, where there is plenty of land, it is, of 

 course, desirable to give them every advantage in the way of 

 facilities for growth, but on the other hand, an overgrown tree is 

 not desirable. Thrift and strength must be sought rather than size. 



At the ends of the rows spaces of about twelve feet should be 

 left as turning-ground for the horse when cultivating, and as a 

 roadway. The length of nursery rows depends upon the taste of 

 the grower. It is convenient to have alleys wide enough for a 

 horse and cart at intervals of one hundred to three hundred feet, 

 but in small nurseries the head-lands would probably give all the 

 access required. 



^+ The depth for planting seeds and pits must be regulated by 

 the size of the seed and the character of the soil, as is always laid 

 down by the authorities, and in this State another condition must 

 be made, and that is the climate or weather conditions prevailing 

 in the locality. Where the rainfall is generally light and the soil 

 loose, seed must be planted deeper than where good spring showers 

 are to be expected. In fine soils seeds must be planted shallower 

 than in coarse, even with the same rainfall. Judgment and experi- 

 ence must dictate in this matter, and if a man has no experience, 

 he is pretty apt to get it. 



During the spring months the cultivator must be used as often 

 as may be required to keep the weeds from getting too high, or the 

 soil from becoming to densely packed by heavy rains, but the 

 ground should never be worked when too wet. It requires some 

 watchfulness and promptitude to use the cultivator just at the right 

 time. 



Nursery Irrigation. In parts of the State where the rainfall 

 is adequate, cultivation thorough, the soil sufficiently retentive, 

 and atmospheric conditions favorable, the seedling will make its 



