The herald., 1894-04-11
THE OLIVE, ORANGE AND WINE,
What the COlOrs of La Fiesta
Seem to Suggest.
The Important Part Irrigation Has
Taken ia This Land.
No Other Element Has Brought tho
WeaIth and Population which
Has Made This Carni-
val Possible.


products of California-the orange, the
olive and the vine-it lie only natural
that we should give some thought to
the production of these things. But our
thought is OF the soil and the climate
which permits and aids their culture,
and then, in direct line, we come to
irrigation.
No other element has done more than
the practice of irrigation to build up the
wealth and population of this state, and
especially OF Southern California, while
it is equally certain that the progress OF
the past is but a mere indication OF
what will be accomplished during the
next few years.
Irrigation has wrought changes more
rapid and radical than any before seen
on earth. Within the past % years it
has reclaimed what seemed to many
hopeless desert. 1t has reversed all land
values and standards of value; taught
that there is no sucn thing as poor land,
if it ia warm, wall drained and can be ir'
rigated, and has developed possibilities
in fruit culture and general tillage that
would have otherwise lain for ages uI-
suspected and unutilized. Southern
California proven conclusively that. on
all land sufficiently we'll drained to be
available Tor trees. vines or other valua-
bic crops, in seasons of excessive rain,
whatever may be done without irrigation
may be doubled, tripled or even quad
rupled, with it. In some places, in this
section, three crops year are raised for
several seasons in the young orchards,
making practically four crops year.
The term one inch in water measure
ment means a steady flow of water
through an aperture one inch square,
under four-inch pressure, and is iden-
ticRl with the term miners inch" as
commonly used in California. This q w
yields, in round numbers, nine gallons
per minute.
The preparation of virgin soil for an
orchard or vineyard to be irrigated after
planting varies little from that OF land
which depends on rainfall. If the soil
is light and porous it is desirable to have
quite fall to the land 60 that water in
the furrows may be run swiftly over the
soil, while on a heavy soil it is necessary
to have the ground nearly level, so that
the water may be run very slowly, thus
thoroughly soaking the ground; Trees sgl
|
between these trees by taking of
the teeth from eix-foot cultivator
and placing small shovel at
each end and one in the center, thus
making three burrows, each two feet
apart, at one trip. The growing limbs
usually extend so far out from the trees
that two sets of burrows are all that can
he made. Into these six shallow
burrows the water lie turned from the
fumes or head ditch and is allowed to
run "a to 48 hours, according to the ma
ture of the soil, until the ground 10 per-
fectly soaked. The cultivator is started
as soon as the horses can get on the
ground after the irrigation and the soil
is kept perfectly pulverized until an
other irrigation is deemed necessary.
In Southern California orange trees
are usually irrigated about six times
annually, apricots, peaches, prunes and
muscat (raisin) grapes three times, and
olives and corn once, while alfalfa is
generally flooded after every cutting,
which is from six to eight times every
season.
Irrigation for grain is never resorted
to in Southern California, the climate
making it possible for the grain farmer
to plow in December, SOW in January
and harvest in May, the usual winter
rains from Decem Der to April being or
dinarily amply sufficient to make first
class crop of wheat or barley. Sugar
beets are not Irrigated.
Five of the seven counties OF Southern
California are the only ones in which ir-
rigation is practiced to any extent. In
Ventura and Santa Barbara counties,
owing to propinquity to the ocean, al
most all varieties of crops have hitherto
been raised without irrigation. A
beginning has, however, been made in
that direction, and there are projects
under consideration for the construction
of systems that will supply large areas
in the interior of these counties with
water.
Southern California is one OF the pio-
neer irrigation secti ons of the United
States. Irrigation has been practiced
here ever since the founding of the
missions. Crops were raised by irrigs-
tion in Southern California under the
direction of white men. before the Dec
laration of Independence was read. One
of the first things to be done by the
priests, when mission was established
was to construct an aqueduct. or ace.
quia, for the purpose OF conveying water
to the growing crops and the orchard
aud vineyard, that were planted from
seeds and cuttings brought from Mex
leo. Ruins of the old systems, built by
the Indians under direction of the
priests, may yet be seen about some OF
the old missions. There ia no proof
that irrigation was practiced by prehis-
toric races here, as was the case in Ari-
zona. except, perhaps, in few valleys
near the Arizona limo.
For many years there was no attempt
to improve on the primitive irrigation
methods OF early days Settlement was
sparse and water plenltiful, for the small
area which was cultivated. Instead of
regulating the flow by burrows or other
wise, the land was simply flooded, and |
there WAS naturally much waste. This
undoubtedly led to the early decay of
the mission orchards and vineyards. It |
ia within the last 20 years that all the
important irrigation enterprises of |
Southern California have been estaD.
liahed, while most of them have been in
operation less than half that time.
The area available in the seven south |
ern counties. not including what is
known as the desert region, that may be |
cultivated for fruit by means of irrigation |
is not less than 100000 acres. Plans
now under way for the reclamation of
the so-ealled desert will largely in |
crease this area At an average profit |
OF only 800 per acre. in fruits and other
sDecial crona the reclamation of thasa