CHAPTER. IL, 
THE FRUIT SOILS OF CALIFORNIA. 
The favoring characteristics of the California climates, 
which have been described, find their fitting complement in the 
adaptation of the California soils to the perfect development of 
fruit-bearing tree and vine. In their wonderful variety and con- 
sequent great range of special adaptations within narrow limits 
of area, our soils also resemble our climates. As a man may 
sometimes find within the boundaries of an ordinary-sized farm 
such a difference of atmospheric conditions that the same fruit 
will thrive in one spot and not in another, so he may find ditfer- 
ences in soil which will tend to produce the same results. For 
this reason the precise spot in which to plant any given fruit 
must be chosen with regard to both soil and exposure. In the 
chapters devoted to the several fruits, there will be an attempt 
tnade to describe the soil requirements of each, so that the inex- 
perienced planter may not err seriously in choosing the location 
for each kind of fruit he desires to grow. While this is true, it 
will also appear in these special chapters that the choice of roots 
upon which to bud or graft gives the planter a certain latitude 
and independence. This is of greatest value in the planting of 
home orchards, or orchards for local markets, in regions where 
the soil is not what is usually preferred for fruit production. 
With proper choice of stocks and wisdom and diligence in cultt- 
vation, one need hardly despair of growing good fruit on any 
soil which will support any laudable plant growth. And yet in 
commercial orcharding, the secret of which is producing most 
abundantly and cheaply, too great attention can not be paid to 
choice of specially-adapted soils. 
It is an interesting fact that more complete and exact knowl- 
edge exists of the soils of California than of any other State of 
the Union, and for this knowledge the public is indebted to E. 
W. Hilgard, Professor of Agriculture, and Director of the Agri- 
cultural Experiment Stations of the University of California. 
For the last twenty-five years he has given all the time he could 
spare from many other and pressing duties, to the examination, 
and, when needed, the analysis, of representative soil specimens, 
and to practical expositions of their nature, adaptations, and re- 
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