Irrigating the Trees 



35 



San Dimas, California 



IRRIGATING A HILLSIDE ORCHARD BY CONTOUR FURROWING. 



consists in the orchard being first cross-furrowed, then ridged 

 lengthwise, as indicated in illustration (shown on page 34 ) . Its 

 chief advantages consist in obviating a baking of the soil by not 

 covering the entire surface of the ground with water, thus afford- 

 ing sufficient dry earth to make a mulch when cultivated over the 

 entire irrigated surface (an operation which can be done sooner 

 after irrigation than in the basin system.) This leaves the soil 

 friable and at the same time conserves the moisture in the ground, 

 which obviously is a great advantage over the basin system. 



Irrigation on rolling or hilly ground is of itself quite an art, 

 and is practiced by running furrows on the contour so as to guide 



the water without overflowing and thus flooding the soil. The 

 artificial application of water to side hill orchards is only feasible 

 by the furrow system in the manner indicated in the illustration. 

 It is an axiom among fruit growers in Southern California to 

 first find your water and then look for a good piece of land|on 

 which to put it. This illustrates the importance of a reliable sup- 

 ply of water for irrigation purposes when planting and cultivating 

 an orange grove. Indeed, in the climate of California, portions of 

 Old Mexico and far-off Australia and South Africa, citrus culture 

 is only feasible where there is an available water supply with 

 which to carry the trees over the dry season. 



A THOMSON NAVEL GROVE. 



A EUREKA LEMON GROVE. 



