igii 



BETTER FRUIT 



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Figure 4— SECTION OF HVnRANT BOX, RIVERSIDE ' 1 



WATER COMPANY, SHOWING DEVICE FOR Figure 5— ORCHARD TRACT UNDER GAGE CANAL 



MEASURING MINER'S INCHES RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA 



First measure from the end of the base 

 line a distance of thirty feet. Hold the 

 one hundred end of the chain at this 

 point, and the ten-foot link at the cor- 

 ner; take the tape or chain at the fifty- 

 foot mark or link and pull both lines 

 taut. A stake driven at this vertex will 

 establish a point on a line at right angles 

 to the first. When stakes have been set 

 on all four sides the intermediate loca- 

 tions for the trees can readily be ascer- 

 tained by sighting between correspond- 

 ing marginal stakes. 



Where the slope is steep and diffi- 

 culties are likely to be encountered in 

 distributing water the equilateral, hex- 

 agonal or septuple method of planting, 

 as it is variously termed, should be 

 adopted. The manner of marking the 

 ground for this method is indicated in 

 Figure 6. It will be observed that in this 

 method the ground is divided up into 

 equilateral triangles, with a tree at each 

 vertex. The trees likewise form hex- 

 agons, and when one includes the center 

 tree at each hexagon they form groups 

 of ' sevens. Hence the name equilateral, 

 hexagonal and septuple. 



The chief advantage of this mode of 

 planting in irrigated districts is that it 

 provides three, and often four, different 

 directions in which furrows may be run. 

 Having the choice of so many it is not 

 difficult to select one which is best for 

 any particular tract. The ground can 

 likewise be cultivated in more ways, and 

 about one-seventh more trees can be 



planted to a given area than is possible 

 in the square method. 



In the past the trees of irrigated 

 orchards have been planted too close. 

 This is made clear to even the casual 

 observer who visits the old orange 

 groves of Riverside, California, the decid- 

 uous orchards of the Santa Clara Valley, 

 California, or the apple orchards of the 

 Hood River district in Oregon. Under 

 irrigation systems peach trees should be 

 spaced twenty to twenty-two feet, olive,- 

 pear, apricot and cherry trees from 

 twenty-two to twenty-eigth and thirty 

 feet, orange trees twenty-two to twenty- 

 four feet, apple trees thirty to thirty-six 

 feet and walnut trees from forty-eight to 

 fifty-six feet apart. 



On the Pacific Coast the tendency 

 toward wide spacing has induced many 

 growers to insert peach fillers between 

 other slower maturing trees, such as the 

 apple and walnut. A common practice in 

 this direction is shown in Figure 7, which 

 represents the arrangement of trees in 

 a young orchard in Douglas County, 

 Washington. Here the trees are set in 

 squares eighteeji feet each way, but in 

 every other row peach trees alternate 

 with the standard apple trees. In the 

 remaining rows Winesap apple trees are 

 used for fillers. As the apple trees grow 

 and begin to crowd the fillers the peach 

 trees are removed. If more space is 

 required the Winesaps can be taken out, 

 leaving the apple trees in squares thirty- 

 six feet apart both ways. 



The usual way of irrigating orchards 

 is by means of furrows. These vary in 

 depth, length and distance apart, but 

 this diversity does not tend to create 

 different kinds of furrow irrigation. The 

 division of this subject is rather due to 

 the means employed in distributing the 

 water from the supply ditch to the fur- 

 rows. In some cases the distribution is 

 effected by making openings in an 

 earthen ditch, in others by inserting 

 wooden or iron spouts in the ditch banks, 

 while in many others flumes having the 

 desired number of openings, or pipes 

 with standpipes, divide the supply among 

 the requisite number of furrows. These 

 designs and methods will be described 

 under their respective headings. 



Permanent ditches at the head of 

 orchard tracts should be located by a 

 surveyor. The proper grade depends 

 chiefly on the soil. If the soil is loose 

 and easily eroded a slow velocity is best. 

 On the other hand, the velocity must be 

 sufficiently rapid to prevent the deposi- 

 tion of silt and the growth of water 

 plants. In ordinary soils a grade of two 

 and one-half inches to one hundred feet 

 for a ditch carrying two cubic feet per 

 second is not far out of the way. The 

 amount of water to be carried varies 

 from one-half to two or more cubic feet 

 per second. A ditch having a bottom 

 width of twenty-four inches, a depth of 

 six inches and sloping sides ought to 

 carry one and one-half cubic feet per 

 second on a grade of half an inch to the 



