The herald., 1895-03-29
SOIL ANALYSES AND FERTILIZERS

The season is at hand when the fruit
grower finds it advisable to fertilze his
orchard, and from ten to fifteen per cent
of his gross income is expended in feed
ing the trees which have yielded him a
generous crop during the season. And
while the fruit grower is doing this it is
a serious question in the minds of many
of them as to whether they are doing
the right thing or the wrong thing in
their method of fertilizing. Few of them
know exactly what elements the particu
| lar fruit they are growing has taken from
the soil, nor do they know just what re-
turn to make in order to keep up the fer
tilty OF their land. AS in all other kinds
Of business a diversity of opinion exists
us to Just what is the best thing to do.
and the processes followed look very
much like a race in which every man
pulls for himself. The use of sheep ma
nure and stable manure is the simplest
form in which fertilizers are applied,
Riverside alone using some two thousand
carloads of the former annually in her
orange groves. But many so-called COM
mercial fertilizers are now manufactured
and used, and in some instances good re-
suits are obtained from them.
1t is evident to the observing man that
the entire plan of orchard fertlizing as
now followed in Southern California needs
remodeling, mainly because it is not
system at all. There is no more reas on
for carrying on this haphazard method
OF feeding trees with plant elements than
there would be in following similar
reckless plan in irrigating or in handling
the fruit for market. We ought to have
careful analyses of the various soils,
made by competent experts, attached
possibly to the State University at Berke
ley, who could tell the orchardist every
year exactly what chemical changes have
taken place in his soil during the year, so
that an intelligent man would know ex-
actly what to supply to make up for the
loss produced by the growing crop and in
what form to best supply it. There is
certainly very little good sense in putting
fertilizer rich in phosphate on a soil
which is sadly deficient in nitrates. but
which already possesses an abundance of
phosphates. Different fruits require
different foods, naturally, just as much as
different animals do. Different soils con-
tain certain elements of widely diverging
value as fruit producers, and their relative
value should be determined by chemical
analysis. A stiff adobe soil is most ex-
cellent for some kinds of fruits but it
does not contain at all the elements
which go to make up light and sandy
soil although the latter is also rich in GER
tain other elements.
There is wide field for work in this
direction for competent division of the
university experts. and it would probably
be good thing for the fruit growers OF
Southern California if the fruit exchanges
would take up the matter. In this or
ganized capacity, as representatives of
the fruit growing interests of the state,
they could command attention in much
larger measure than could be done by in.
dividual effort.
AS an instance of what may be done by
soil analysis we recall the fact that Pro-
fessor c.. Ii. Dwinelle. formerly of the
State University. some twelve years ago
made careful analysis of the various
soils found at Ontario, then just being
subdivided, and stated as a result of h
observations that Ontario possessed the
best soils for lemons that he had found
in the state. A. an endorsement OF his
opinion lemons We're largely planted by
all the early settlers III that model colony
and those people who were fortunate
enough to see the mayificent display of
lemons made by Ontario at the recent
citrus fair in Los Angeles, must concede
that Professor Dwinele was correct.