Page 20 



BETTER FRUIT 



April 



A large part of the water used by the 

 Riverside Water Company is pumped 

 from the gravelly bed of the Santa Ana 

 River. From thence it is conveyed in a 

 main canal to the orchard lands and dis- 

 tributed to the groves in cement and 

 vitrified clay pipes. The owner of a 

 tract, whether it be ten, twenty, thirty 

 or forty acres in extent, receives his 

 supply at the highest corner through a 

 hydrant box. Each hydrant box not only 

 allows the water to pass from the end 

 of a lateral pipe to the head flume of the 

 tract to be irrigated, but also measures 

 the amount in miner's inches under a 

 four-inch pressure head as it passes 

 through. A section of the hydrant box, 

 showing the adjustable steel slides to 

 regulate the opening, is given in Figure 4. 



On the Gage canal system in Riverside, 

 California, the water supply for the tiers 

 of forty-acre tracts is taken from the 

 canal in riveted steel pipes, varying from 

 six to ten inches in diameter. These 

 larger mains are connected with four, 

 five and six-inch lateral pipes of the same 

 material, which convey the water to the 

 highest point of each ten-acre tract. This 

 general arrangement is shown in the 

 sketch, Figure 5. 



As a rule fruit trees are planted on 

 land previously cultivated and cropped. 

 One of the best preparatory crops for 

 orchards is alfalfa. This vigorous plant 

 breaks up the soil and sub-soil by its 

 roots, collects and stores valuable plant 

 foods, and when it is turned under at the 

 end of the second or third year leaves 



the soil in much better condition for the 

 rentention of moisture and the growth 

 of young trees. 



In the Bitter Root Valley, Montana, 

 new land is first plowed eight to twelve 

 inches deep, then carefully graded and 

 smoothed and seeded to red clover for 

 one or two seasons. On the west side of 

 this valley pine trees and pine stumps 

 are encountered. These cm best be 

 removed by burning. A hole one and 

 one-half inches in diameter is bored 

 through the base of the stump or tree in 

 a slanting direction. It is near the sur- 

 face of the ground on the windward side 

 and about eighteen inches above the 

 surface on the leeward side. A fire is 

 then built in the hole, usjng small twigs 

 to start it. As the fire burns the opening 

 is increased and larger limbs are inserted. 

 In two or three days the stump will have 

 burned out, the fire burning down into 

 the roots to a depth of twelve to four- 

 teen inches. The cost of such clearing 

 varies with the character of the land 

 and the density of the growth. From $10 

 to $15 an acre will clear the land of 

 stumps, and it then costs $5 to $10 to get 

 the unburnt roots plowed out and the 

 land ready for planting. 



In recent years large areas of wooded 

 lands in both the Hood River and Rogue 

 River Valleys of Oregon have been 

 cleared in order to plant apple trees. 

 One of the methods employed in the 

 Hood River district to rid the land of 

 its growth of fir, pine, scrub oak and 

 laurel is similar to that just described. 



Another method consists in splitting 

 open the stumps with giant powder and 

 then pulling out the roots with a stump 

 puller. Stump pullers of various kinds 

 are used in California for a like purpose. 

 The most powerful of these consists of a 

 portable engine, windlass and cable sim- 

 ilar to an ordinary hoisting plant. A 

 heavy chain is fastened to the tree at the 

 proper height above the ground. To 

 this chain the pulling cable is hooked, 

 and when the power is applied the tree 

 is pulled out by the roots. 



In New Mexico and Texas the mes- 

 quite is usually grubbed out by Mexicans, 

 but in California, where labor costs more, 

 such shrubs as mesquite, manzanita and 

 chaparral can be more cheaply removed 

 by a stout pair of horses and a log- 

 ging chain. 



An effort should be made to establish 

 a fairly uniform grade from top to bot- 

 tom of each tract. This is done by cut- 

 ting off the high points and depositing 

 the earth thus obtained in the depres- 

 sions. The length of the furrows should 

 not exceed one-eigth of a mile, and in 

 sandy soil they should be shorter. As a 

 rule it is not difficult to grade the surface 

 of an orchard so that small streams of 

 water will readily flow in furrows from 

 top to bottom. 



In setting out orchards which are to 

 be irrigated the elevation of the surface 

 of the ground should first be ascertained. 

 This is usually done by making a con- 

 tour survey by which each tract is 

 divided up into a number of curved strips 

 or belts by level lines. Such contours 

 are shown in Figure 1, the vertical dis- 

 tance between them in this particular 

 case being one foot. With these as a 

 guide the direction of the tree rows can 

 readily be determined. Where the trees 

 are watered in basins or checks flat 

 slopes are not so objectionable, but in 

 furrow irrigation a slope of about two 

 inches to the one hundred feet is neces- 

 sary to insure an even distribution of 

 water. When streams are to be run in 

 the furrows the slope of the furrows may 

 be increased to eight, ten and even to 

 twelve inches to the 100 feet. On slopes 

 varying from ten to forty feet to the 

 mile the tree rows may, therefore, be 

 located at the proper distance apart down 

 the steepest slope. Under such condi- 

 tions the trees are most commonly 

 planted in squares. The location of the 

 trees can be best fixed by the use of a 

 surveyor's transit and steel tape. When 

 these are not available a woven wire 

 cable about three-sixteenths of an inch 

 in diameter will answer the purpose. If 

 apple trees are to be set out, ;ind it is 

 desired to have them thirty-two feet 

 apart tags are inserted between ilie 

 strands of the cable to mark ihis exact 

 distance. A base line at the proper dis- 

 tance from the fejice r^r one margin of 

 the field is then laivl down and long 

 sighting stakes driven at «ach tag. The 

 corner is then turned and a similar line 

 is laid out. This process is continued 

 until the location of the trees around 

 each of the four sides of the tract has 

 been fixed. The corners can best be 

 turned with a 100-foot tape or link chain. 



