24 Fruit-growing in Arid Regions 



mechanical analyses of soils, the determining of the nature 

 of subsoils, the cause of seepage, as well as other features of 

 a similar nature. The questions of climate, physiography, 

 and geology are also considered. A fairly accurate map 

 accompanies the descriptions, in which is given the location 

 of the different types of soil and other important features. 

 Such work requires a great deal of time; consequently, 

 but a comparatively small amount of the total area of the 

 United States has as yet been surveyed. But fortunately 

 a few regions in the Rocky Mountain states have been sur- 

 veyed, and any one who is interested in fruit-growing or in 

 farming in general will profit by reading these reports. By 

 making a study of such a survey one can readily determine, 

 within limits, to be sure, the kind of land that is best 

 adapted to different crops, and where it is located. 



Windbreaks 



The fruit districts of the Rocky Mountain region are 

 not subject to severe winds, and in the best fruit sections a 

 windbreak would be a nuisance. But in some of the lesser 

 fruit regions conditions are such that a protection from 

 wind will usually be a great help. The winters are com- 

 monly dry, and no provision has yet been made for winter 

 irrigation. Consequently, when winds occur, even though 

 they are not severe, their effects are severely felt. Scarcely 

 a winter passes but that many young trees perish under 

 such conditions simply by becoming dry, the common 

 cause of most of the so-called "freezing dry." Wind- 

 breaks will certainty be a great aid in preventing this loss, 

 at the same time being beneficial in many other respects. 

 If fruit is to be grown at any considerable distance from 



