328 Adventures in Scenery 



onions grown on so tremendous a scale in the Coachella Valley 

 and not in Fresno or the Napa Valley? Why raisins from 

 grapes at Fresno, and wine from grapes in the Napa Valley, but 

 not raisins? With sunshine and moisture what they are it is 

 clear that the nature of the soil determines the character of the 

 crops that can be most successfully grown. In other words, 

 the husbandman must needs know soils; he must be a practical 

 geologist (though he may not know it by that name) . When 

 in some locality prune trees are seen being destroyed; apple 

 trees in another being pulled out to be replaced by something 

 different; grape vineyards destroyed because they are unprofit- 

 able; peach trees removed to give place to strawberries or other 

 crop; because these various plantings proved to be on soils not 

 suited, this is heartbreaking. It represents years of hard labor 

 and untold investment totally lost. Experiment stations sup- 

 ported by public taxation have done much to determine what 

 can and cannot be successfully done on given types of soils 

 under known conditions of sunshine and moisture. But not all 

 men listen to the advice of specialists, and indeed specialists may 

 err. The unscrupulous sales agent paints a glowing picture 

 that skillfully avoids any reference to the geology of soils. 

 Hence grief has come to honest investors, not only in California 

 but wherever new enterprises in the production of special crops 

 have been launched and promoted without due regard to what 

 nature has done in the geological processes of soil making. 



Who has not witnessed the painful struggle of the attempt 

 to grow oranges on land that, with a sensible knowledge of the 

 geology of soils and of climatic conditions, should never have 

 been planted to orange trees? But somebody wanted to sell 

 land and somebody wanted to raise oranges! 



The Farmer a Practical Geologist 



Farmers, those who till the soil, are practical geologists. 

 They may not know it. They may not "believe" in geology. 

 In the Napa Valley grapes are widely grown for the production 



