THE ALMOND INDUSTRY IN SPAIN. 9 



THE ALMOND INDUSTRY IN SPAIN. 



Almond growing in Spain is a local industry, its main centers being 

 Malaga and Alicante, although other regions along the coast and even 

 the Balearic Islands, it is said, produce small quantities of the nut. 

 The culture is carried on with various degrees of carefulness. Large 

 plantations on the plains about Alicante, carefully tilled and well taken 

 care of, remind one of American orchards, with their straight rows of 

 well pruned trees and cultivated soil (PI. I. figs. 2 and 3). In many 

 fields the almond, olive, fig, and carob trees are mixed, with no attempt 

 at regularity, while in the region about Malaga the foothills are cov- 

 ered with almond trees, between the rows of which grapevines are 

 planted. Whether owing to this mixed culture or for tradition's sake, 

 the trees are planted far apart, 20-foot intervals being frequent. This 

 does not appear excessive; as the trees reach a large size and live to a 

 ripe old age, fifty years not being uncommon. 



While the kind of soil no doubt pla} T s a certain part in the produc- 

 tion of a fine almond, the writer does not believe it decides in any way 

 the form of the variety. 



The best land for almonds in Spain is that of the foothills or sierras. 

 This is a gravelly loam, which during August becomes as dry as dust 

 and breaks up into irregular but not very hard lumps (PL I, fig. 3). 

 It is of a light yellowish-gray, sometimes reddish color, and is under- 

 laid b} T a bed of gravel and rock so firm that it is difficult to get a soil 

 auger into it. Such soil, according to Prof. Milton Whitney, Chief of 

 the Bureau of Soils, to whom samples have been submitted, resembles 

 that of the foothills of California. a 



The climate of this almond region is a very mild one. Freezes occur 

 in winter and ice a half inch in thickness often forms on the water 

 butts, but a minimum of less than 20° must be uncommon, even in the 

 northernmost limit of almond culture, about Alicante. How severe 

 weather the trees will endure while in dormant bud remains, therefore, 

 to be tested in this country. As regards rainfall in this semiarid 

 region, it is difficult to ascertain the facts, as no reliable published data 

 can be found. From the statements of growers and old inhabitants, 



«The following is the report of a mechanical analysis of the soil from an almond 

 orchard near Malaga, Spain, made by the Bureau of Soils : 



Per cent. 



Organic matter 11. 42 



Gravel, 2 to 1 mm 6. 96 



Gravel, 1 to 0.5 mm 6. 56 



Medium sand, 0. 5 to 0. 25 mm 3.12 



Fine sand, 0.25 to 0.1 mm 10. 74 



Very fine sand, 0.1 to 0.05 mm 7. 64 



Silt, 0.05 to 0.005 mm 33. 54 



Clay, 0.005 to 0.0001 mm 20. 22 " 



The water-soluble material is "0.13 per cent in form of bicarbonates. " 



