34 Clay Loams. 
loam varying from heavy to light, but for the most part easily 
tilled and exceedingly rich. Considerable fruit has been grown 
for years on these situations, and some kinds do well on these 
bottoms which do not show adaptation to the plains. Some 
even of the higher lying portions of these “black lands” support 
thrifty orchards without irrigation. The wider stretches of allu- 
vial soils in the upper part of the valley, as in the Mussel Slough 
country and the Visalia region, for instance, are notably well 
adapted to fruit growing. The occasional intrusion of alkali, 
which must be carefully avoided, is the chief obstacle to the gen- 
eral approval of these alluvial lands for fruit purposes. 
Soil of similar character is found in some small valleys con- 
sisting of an alluvial wash from the bordering hills which in some 
places reaches a depth of thirty feet or more without notable 
change in character. Such soils have proved very fertile and 
durable. 
In the coast valleys of the State there are also very exten- 
sive areas of alluvial soils which are largely used in fruit produc- 
tion, as well as upland loams formed in place by the disintegra- 
tion of local rock formations. The famous fruit region extending 
from Oakland southward nearly one hundred miles, including 
the Alameda and Santa Clara Valleys, has very large areas of 
alluvial soil, ranging from deep, rich blackish loams used for 
vegetables and small fruits, to lighter loams resulting from inter- 
mixture of sediment brought by streams from adjacent hill- 
sides with the clay of the valley bottom. It is to these deep, 
rich alluvial deposits that the region owes its great reputation 
in fruit lines. 
Below the “river banks” sedimentary soils, which is another 
name for the soils previously considered, lies the rich river bot- 
tom, adjacent to the beds of the main rivers and sloughs of the 
valley. It is usually a dark, rich, and moist soil, easily tilled and 
not subject to baking and cracking. It is largely used for the 
growth of vegetables and alfalfa, but considerable areas have 
been planted with fruit trees, especially with pears, which do 
not suffer from submergence of their roots for considerable time. 
CLAY LOAMS. 
Of loams containing sufficient clay to render them some- 
what heavy and tenacious, there is also a great variety in Cal- 
ifornia. Their suitability for different fruits depends upon selec- 
tion of roots adapted to their character and upon the depth and 
degree of retentiveness of the soils themselves. They are more 
difficult of tillage than the free loams, but offer some compénsa- 
tion therefor in their richness and durability. 
