THIRTY-FOURTH FRUIT-GROWERS^ CONVENTION. 



12T 



bother/ and if the fruit would sell without sulphuring, it would be an 

 advantage. The impression seems to have gone out somehow or other 

 that fruit growers rather enjoy sulphuring and dislike to give it up. 

 That is altogether a false impression. If the fruit would sell and go 

 on to the world's markets as it is doing at the present time, and it 

 could be done without sulphuring, I guess the fruit growers would 

 enjoy it more than anything else. 



So to close with a word, the endeavor which ]\Ir. Briggs made near 

 the close of his paper, that this matter be kept alive and constantly 

 studied into from the point of view of commerce of our fruits, is 

 eminently proper. Every one interested in the advancement of the 

 fruit interests of California should make it his particular business to 

 understand this question, of what importance it is economically, how 

 interesting it is from the point of health, and to appoint himself a 

 connnittee of one to get wise on this question of sulphuring, so we will 

 have something then that will be a fund of information to draw upon 

 as the matter may come up subsequently. For the next Uvo years I 

 think it will be all right, but it needs a campaign of education, and 

 a popularization so that the importance of the matter to California 

 may be enforced upon the attention of the whole people. (Applause.) 



PRESIDENT JEFFREY. I am glad to introduce Professor Mackie. 

 of the Soil Survey, acting for the Department of Agriculture, and he 

 will present to you a paper as indicated by the programme to-day. to 

 be followed by ]\Ir. ]Mills in a discussion of a few minutes. 



SOME RELATIONS BETWEEN SOILS AND FRUITS. 



By prof. W. W. MACKIE, of the U. S. Bureau of Soils, Washington. D. C. 



Although the relations between soils and fruit crops are extremely 

 important, these relations have been generally overlooked on account 

 of the very apparent influence of climate. Thus, without any direct 

 reference to soil conditions, we have divided our State into climatic fruit 

 belts. AVe have citrus belts, prune belts, raisin belts, etc., each with its 

 own peculiar climatic feature, and have assumed that these areas were 

 eminently fitted for these especial crops. This is true, in a measure, 

 but within each of these fruit belts exist many kinds of soils, some, of 

 which are unfit for the fruit crop to which the region is mainly devoted. 



^lany failures could have been avoided by proper attention to this 

 feature of soil selection alone. In our citrus belts may occur soils too 

 sanch' or too gravelly for proper groAvth of trees. Again, the subsoils 

 may contain hardpan. which would seriously interfere with the per- 

 colation of water or penetration of roots. The water table may be too 

 close and drainage poor. Prune districts may contain soils with 

 gravelly subsoils, which allow the moisture necessary for maturing the 

 crop to escape during the growing season, thus reducing the size of 

 the fruit and crop. The peach orchard may be planted in heavy or 

 hardpan soil, where cold spring rains sour and destroy their roots, 

 finally ruining the orchard. Many such effects of soil variation within 

 a well recognized fruit belt could be given. 



