SOIL, ETC. 21 



At a recent convention of, walnut-growers, the consensus of opinion as 

 to the best soil for the walnut was in favor of a rich', deep, sandy loam, 

 affording good drainage, and from_ 16 to 18 feet to surface wat^r. This, 

 however, met with opposition from some growers, who claimed to have 

 attained equally good results with walnuts growing in soils principally 

 adobe and with copious irrigation. It was also claimed that a rich 

 alluvial soil, with a slight mixture of adobe, with water about from 15 

 to 20 feet from the surface, was one of the best and strongest soils for the 

 walnut. Mr. Ford, of Santa Ana, has some twenty-year-old walnut trees 

 very thrifty and bearing heavy crops every year, in land where the 

 surface water is only 3 feet below; but time can only determine how long 

 they will thrive under such conditions. 



*" The walnut should be planted for profit and best results on deep, rich loam, with 

 no hard pan, stiff clay, or impenetrable soil nearer than 12 feet. I would select locations 

 naturally moist in preference to land requiring irrigation, A temperature of 60° to 80° 

 in summer, I regard as more favorable than other localities, although they thrive and 

 are profitable in much hotter places." 



+ " In this part of the State (San Joaquin County), the walnut requires a deep, rich 

 soil, one in which the roots will strike deep, so that there can be no pinch in the hot 

 summer mouths." 



Mr. West has grown the "English" walnut and various French 

 varieties for over twenty years. No irrigation is practiced by him, and 

 unless the walnut finds the conditions mentioned, it is subject to a 

 sudden check of the flow of sap during the summer, which has frequently 

 occurred. The leaves fall and the nuts are left exposed to the hot rays 

 of the sun, and invariably sunburn. 



t "In planting trees in orchard, first of all plow the ground deep and then go over it 

 with a harrow or pulverizer. Forty feet apart, giving twenty-seven trees to the acre, is 

 the best distance to plant the Improved Soft-Shell walnut. Dig large and deep holes ; 

 plant 2 or 3 inches deeper than tne trees grew in the nursery ; lean them to the pre- 

 vailing summer winds, and you will not have to stake your trees to make them grow 

 straight. Press the soil firmly around the roots, and if not very moist, give each tree 

 about ten gallons of water, which is sufficient to settle the soil around the roots. Culti- 

 vate your orchard to the depth of 5 or 6 inches. If your soil is moist enough to keep 

 the trees in good growing condition during the summer months, irrigation is unneces- 

 sary, but to make a first-class walnut, in size and fullness of kernel, if the ground is not 

 naturally moist enough, irrigation will have to be adopted. Small grain should not be 

 planted in a walnut or any other orchard. Jf corn is grown, leave 8 feet on each side 

 of your trees clear, though I am of the opinion that potatoes, peanuts, or beans are less 

 injurious to the trees." » 



§ "The usual custom has been, until the last few years, to set two-year-old trees 40 

 feet apart each way, and plant com among them as long as it would make a paying 

 crop ; experience, however, has demonstrated the fact that it is better to set the trees 50 

 feet apart each way and reduce the number of rows of corn planted between them each 

 year until it is finally omitted altogether, giving the trees full possession of the soil. 

 This mode of culture usually includes irrigation as long as corn is planted. I think 

 that if the corn and irrigation were left out after the first five years, and the land given 

 clean and thorough cultivation, it would be more profitable for the owners. Shallow 

 cultivation is advocated by the most successful walnut-growers in the valley after the 

 trees have arrived at a bearing age. The old orchards are nearly all planted too close 

 together, and it is reasonable to expect that they will fail to produce good crops sooner 

 than they would if they had been given more room. An examination of any old 

 orchard will show that the outside rows are larger and bear better crops of nuts 

 than the inside ones. Trees twenty years old often have a spread of branches 50 feet 

 across, and I think it safe to say that the roots extend twice as far as the limbs. I have 

 broken roofs as large as a pipestem in plowing 25 feet from a tree that has been set seven 

 years. In setting out young trees they should be inclined toward the coast or prevail- 

 ing winds, and with a little care they can be kept in that position. By using these pre- 

 cautions and insisting on having the tap-root left at least 3 feet long when the trees are 



*Hon. Russell Heath, of Carpinteria 

 f George B. West, of Stockton. 

 t George W. Ford, of Santa Ana. 

 I A. Dorman, of Rivera. 



