THIRTY-FOURTH FRl^IT-GROWERS CONVENTION. 



129 



twigs, and early or unusual dropping of the leaves and fruit. Poor 

 drainage and the presence of alkali also injure those orchards. The 

 effect of changes in soil types upon the various deciduous, orchard trees 

 is often plainly marked. It has been observed in the case of apple 

 orchards grown in the same valley, with similar climatic and topo- 

 graphic features, that a change in soil texture produced a striking 

 change in quantity and quality of the crop. A variety grown on sandy 

 loam soil produced a large crop of bright, highly colored fruit, while the 

 same variety in the same orchard but on clay loam soil produced almost 

 no crop at all, and this of an inferior color. 



The peach shows similar variations due to change in the soil. A 

 superior shipping peach is produced on the coarse granite sandy loam 

 in certain districts in the Sierra foothills, Avhile the better grades of 

 canning peaches are grown on alluvial river and valley soils. The light 

 sandy plains soils produce a better drying peach. The cherry, aside 

 from its climatic preferences, demands a deep loose soil, free from 

 heavy subsoil, hardpan, or close ground water. 



The prune thrives best in a inellow soil of mediiiin to lir;ivy texture, 

 varying from sandy loam to clay loam. A uniform silt loam Avhich 

 holds moisture easily is its ideal. Other deciduous fruits sliow like 

 preferences. 



Citrus fruits show similar preference in soil types. They prefer soils 

 with good surface and subsoil drainage with favorable exposures. Rich 

 soils when low and too moist produce fruit low in acid and sugar, 

 practically eliminating them from the citrus class. The citrus fruit 

 does not show the same degree of aversion to shallow soils as do some of 

 the deciduous fruits, like the cherry, peach, and apricot. When drain- 

 age is good, oranges and lemons often do well in four feet of soil over 

 very impervious hardpan. Where blasting is pi-ncliccd, even less 

 depth has grown good orchards. Such bnid slionld be planted, however, 

 only when all other suital)le soil lias ])een occupied. 



The olive which is now attracting so much atti^itioii in portions of 

 California grows on a wide range of soils, growing in either sandy or 

 heavy soils, shallow or deep ones, and will -tolerate a considerable amount 

 of alkali and drought. The ripening of this fruit, however, varies 

 greatly with the change in soil. The red sandy loam and light loams 

 ripen the fruit sometimes many weeks ahead of the heavy dark colored 

 soils which are often so cold that the fruit never full^- colors. This 

 makes it imperative to select early ripening varieties for the heavy soils, 

 while late ripening sorts, like the ^Mission, can be planted on the early 

 maturing soils. 



It can be said of most orchard fruits that the soils suitable for suc- 

 cessful growing are somewhat restricted. These soils are usually of the 

 highest class, clearly placing the orchard districts in the first rank 

 of soils. 



GRAPE SOILS. 



The grape shows a much wider range of soils than orchard trees. 

 Vineyards have followed the clearing of brush upon the hillsides, have 

 again covered the abandoned grainfields with profitable crops, and 

 have even covered wind blown sands and desert areas. As California 

 has almost a natural monopoly of the vinifera or European grape, the 



9 FGC 



