1364 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



been used in any commercial extent in 

 this valley, although they may at times 

 be of great value in preventing losses, 

 especially to cherry crops and other ten- 

 der kinds of fruit. 



Humidity 



The following table gives the monthly 

 precipitation for the period 1903 to 1912 

 inclusive: 



aronthly Precipitation for Hamilton, Mont 



Year 



Jan. 



Feb. 



Mar. 



April 



May 



June 



July 



Aug. 



Sept. 



Oct. 



Nov. 



Dec. 



Total 



1903.. 



1.08 



0.46 



0.45 



0.67 



0.70 



1.41 



0.87 



0.72 



0.96 



1.00 



0.63 



0.22 



8.77 



1904.. 



0.07 



41 



1.26 



0.68 



1.31 



0.67 



0.18 



0.24 



0.26 



1 29 



0.40 



0.97 



7.74 



1905. . 



0.17 



0.30 



0.51 



1.21 



0.84 



2.37 



0.38 



0.27 



0.43 



0.33 



0.53 



0.35 



7.69 



1906. . 



0.99 



0.66 



0.99 



1,00 



2.37 



1.24 



0.50 



1.45 



1.04 



0.72 



1.60 



1.50 



14.42 



1907 



1.51 



0.93 



1.03 



0.44 



0.46 



4.35 



0.62 



1.61 



1.07 



0.37 



0.40 



0.99 



13.68 



1908.. 



0.43 



0.16 



0.93 



0.90 



3 83 



2.62 



0.88 



1.10 



1.43 



1.10 



0.07 



03 



13.48 



1909.. 



3.69 



0.41 



1.01 



1.50 



0.84 



1.85 



2.45 



0.17 



1.99 



0.48 



1.86 



0.33 



16.68 



1910. . 



0.93 



2.24 



0.74 



0.20 



1.19 



0.59 



1.05 



0.80 



3.35 



1.26 



2.11 



0.49 



14.95 



1911.. 



1.01 



0.23 



0.00 



1.16 



0.76 



2.99 



0.87 



1.62 



1.90 



1.99 



1.05 



0.53 



14.11 



1912.. 



0.51 



0.37 



0.23 



2.38 



3.53 



0.55 



1.28 



1.18 



1.10 



0.63 



1.22 













It will be noted that the most rain 

 falls during the months of May and June, 

 or during the rapid growing season, and 

 while the rainfall is not sufficient for 

 crop production, these spring and sum- 

 mer rains are a great help in the work of 

 irrigation. 



Precipitation records have been kept at 

 one place only — ^Hamilton — for a period 

 long enough to warrant drawing any con- 

 clusions. It is known, however, from 

 general observation that there is much 

 difference in the rainfall in different parts 

 of the valley, being less on the east side 

 of the valley than on the west side, and 

 being less farther away from the moun- 

 tains than near the mountains or on the 

 foothills. 



Considerable more snow falls on the 

 west side of the valley and it lies on the 

 ground longer than on the east side. In 

 fact there is usually very little snow on 

 the east side of the valley at any time. 



Soils 



Most of the orchard land on the west 

 side of the valley is cut-over timber land. 

 This land was formerly covered with mer- 

 chantable timber, mostly Western yellow 

 pine, which has been logged off and sawed 

 into lumber. The cost of clearing such 

 land varies from $25 per acre to $50 or 

 $75, according to the amount of tree 

 stumps to be removed. 



The soil is a decomposed granite, and 

 where the rocks are entirely decomposed 



makes a very rich and substantial or- 

 chard soil. 



One can find clay, loam, sandy loam, 

 gravel and soils so rocky that it is im- 

 possible to plow them. Chemical analyses 

 show that these soils are well supplied 

 with all elements of plant growth, but 

 in places the soil is much benefited by 

 an application of lime. 



The east-side land was formerly a sage- 

 brush country, and in past years has pro- 

 vided pasturage for an enormous number 

 of sheep. The land is more of a volcanic 

 origin, and rough-edged rocks and stones 

 are found on most of the soil. The cost 

 of clearing land of sage brush is much 

 less than the stump land on the west 

 side, the cost ranging from a few cents 

 per acre up to $3 or $4. In cases where 

 the land is covered with many rocks the 

 cost may be as much for clearing as the 

 stump land of the west side free from 

 rocks. 



An analysis of a typical east-side soil 



shows that it contains — 



Per Cent 



CaO or lime 7f)5 



K^O or potash 4725 



p205 QY phosphoric acid 09 



Nitrogen 81 



Assuming that the weight of eight acre- 

 inches of soil, that being the depth of 

 soil from which the above analysis was 

 made, is 2,375,000 pounds, the analysis 

 shows that there is 17,931 pounds of lime, 

 11,220 pounds of potash, 2,137 pounds of 

 phosphoric acid and 1,947 pounds of nitro- 

 gen in each eight acre-inch of soil. 



