CALIFORNIA CITRUS CULTURE. 9 
It is also necessary to have a soil that is deep and with a good 
subsoil. An artificial hardpan from six to eight inches from the sur- 
face is not uncommon in any kind of soil. A natural hardpan still 
deeper down is often found. In purchasing a location for citrus trees, 
we should never fail to dig down and find cut just the condition of 
the subsoil—the soil just below the plane reached by the plow. King’s 
soil tester makes it easy to learn the character of the subsoil to a depth 
of five or six feet. Any hardpan is prejudicial to success. It is also 
very essential to avoid black alkali or carbonate of soda. We have 
only to keep these points in mind to choose wisely in the purchase of 
lands for citrus fruits, so far as the soil is concerned. 
WATER. 
The purchaser must be even more wary regarding the ability to 
secure sufficient water for irrigation, as nearly every California soil 
will, with proper care and cultivation, give remunerative crops. Water 
is the very life of the grove. No one should ever purchase a grove, 
or land for a grove, unless he is absolutely sure that abundant water 
is always at his command. In planting, we must not forget that the 
older the trees the more water required. The government experts, who 
have investigated along these lines, caution those who are planting 
new groves, and state emphatically that in many localities in Cali- 
fornia, though not in all, we have now reached the lmit of safety 
in planting. In some sections we have, however, come far short of 
developing the amount of water that may be secured from underground 
reservoirs by boring wells and-pumping. Very much more water will 
be pumped for irrigation in the near future than is now secured. In 
a few places reservoirs above the surface may be formed to add to our 
water resources, and in these the winter run-off may be stored and held 
for use. It is also demonstrated by actual experience that by wisely 
distributing the water during the copious rains of winter, what would 
else go in the winter run-off to the sea, can be stored up in the sub- 
earth gravels and be utilized in the long dry season of summer. Yet 
we may still urge that since water is the great desideratum and the 
absolute necessity in citrus culture, the securing a full supply for the 
coming time when the groves are all mature and in full bearing, and 
for years of least rainfall, should engage the chief and most thorough 
consideration of him who is contemplating the purchase or planting of 
citrus orchards. We must also always be cautious that the water we 
use is free from alkali. 
