Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-10-10
/" BEDROCK" FRUIT LANDS.
INFORMATION CONCERNING THOSE
In SACRAMENTO COUNTY.
Professor HiIgard's Examination Of
the Subject-Analysis of Speci-
mems of Hardpan and Soil.

The following information, which will
be of interest to our readers, is given by
Professor Hilgard in Bulletin A, issued
from the agricultural experiment station
of the State University:
The high quality of the fruit produced in
the foothill lands of the Sierra is well rec
ogniZed, and as time progresses q large
proportion of these lands will undoubtedly
be given to orchards and vineyards. The
border lands of the great valley lying
along their foot that have thus far been
mostly devoted to wheat-growing, are
likely to share the same fate, provided the
expansion of the market for California
fruits, now forming the subject of much
anxiety and discussion, shall justify cor
responding enlargement of the area of
fruit culture The soil of these border
lands varies from a grayish loan of allu-
vial character, occupying the lower ground,
to yellow or reddish soil, which usually
forms low, broad ridges running from the
foothills proper into the valley; the inten-
sity of the tint increasing as the hills are
approached, where the prevailing color is
the proverbial red" of the placer mines
On the foothills from Butte south to
Amador the adaptation of the soil to fruit
and vine culture seems to be little more
than question of depth above the bed
rock; although in numerous cases the lat
ter is itself so soft that the roots of the
harder kinds, such as the vine, fig, olive
and carob, can without difficulty make
their way into, and draw both moisture
and sustenance from it. In the rolling
border lands of the valley the soil, or rather
subsoil, is usually of sufficient depth and
penetrability for all purposes; but to this
rule there are exceptions, in the local oc-
currence of tracts ranging from 4 few acres
upwards, where an apparently impene-
trable material underlies ut depths VARYING
from one TO several feet; and although this
material is altogether different from the
states underlying the foothill lands, the
fact that it produces the same effect on the
welfare of fruit trees has caused the local
name of bedrock lands to be given to
such lands.
Referring to samples of soil, subsoil, bed
rock and underlying strata furnished by
W. a. Lawson, of Sacramento, and James
Rutter, of Florin, from near the latter
place, and by David Lubin, from the vicin-
ity of Mayhem Station, Professor Hilgard
says:
Although derived from localities several
miles apart, the two sets agree very closely,
and show the following arrangement of
layers:
l. Pale orange surface loan, four to
forty-eight inches thick.
.. Stiff brownish adobe three to twelve
inches thick.
3. Brown or whitish hardpan, one to ten
feet thick
t. Brown or white coarse sand, depth not
known.
No. l, the loan forming the soil and
ordinarily the subsoil of the region is APP
parently identical in the two localities, and
is scarcely distinguished from the soils pre-
vailing, c. g., near Wheatland Yuba coun-
ty, in corresponding position it also
agrees very nearly in the essentials of
chemical composition.
The brown adobe, No. 2, which forms an
almost uniform layer over the bedrock
everywhere, has evidently been formed out
OF the latter in the course of time by the
usual process of soil-formation and. as will
be seen below, the two scarcely differ in
composition more than might different
portions of either. from each other.
The bedrock" hardpan, No. 8, differs
somewhat in aspect in the two localities.
At Mayhem Station it is yellowish- white,
almost chalky, uniform mass, covered on
top by blackish, smooth, almost shiny
crust an eighth of an inch thick, manifest
ly formed by the deposition of brown iron
ore Qimonite) it would, alone, effectually
prevent the penetration of roots into the
hardpan. The latter is quite compact and
free from grit above, but downward gradu-
ally becomes more friable and sandy, and
finally seems to pass into almost pure,
sharp sand, 1T times of a strong rusty tint.
but mostly white. Mr.. Lubin states that
this rock cruinbles on exposure to the air
AT Florin the % bedrock is less compact
of a rusty tint and instead of the hard
shining crust ON the surface, it is penetrated
in all directions by blackish streaks of the
iron ore. 1t seems more nearly ready to
form the adobe than the material at Nav
hew, and is more readily penetrated by
roots but in general character is very
nearly alike.
These differences account for some differ
ences in the exp erience had in this bedrock
land III regard TO the success OF orchard
trees planted on it. 1t is stated that they
flourish for few years. varying with the
depth of the soil but about the time that
the roots reach aid would need to penetrate
the hardpan layer, they cease growing and
often finally die The question arises
whether this is due simply to the impene-
trability Of the Bedrock" which prevents
the roots from gaining accessto sufficient
supply of moist IRE and plant food or
whether any injurious ingredients, or other
conditions, play part in the failure of the
trees.
The analysis of le samples from Florin
of the three successive layers-.he surface
loan Furnished byfMr Rutter), adobe and
hardpan, or bedruck, gave the following
rnl r.