The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-24

In the future we must farm more with
our heads and less with our hands than
we have in the past.
The Dutch have worked out the tramp
question to what they consider final con-
clusion. The state maintains farm of
five thousand acres, and every man APP
plying for relief is sent there to
earn his living. If the man will not
work he is sent to labor colony, where he
has to work; but if he shows disposition
to get ahead and learns to cultivate the
soil the state rents small farm to him,
where he is left to his own resources.
Here is suggestion from the Bakers
field Californian which should be remem-
bered by irrigation farmers: "Trees
and vines which are irrigated fire.
quently and with small quantities
of water develop tendency to keep
their roots close to the surface, and in
order to keep the plants in good condition
frequent irrigation becomes essential. If
the water be applied at wide intervals
and in great abundance, so that the soil
becomes saturated to a great depth, the
roots are obliged to go downward IN the
search for moisture, and the result is a
tree or vine of great drought-resisting
power"
The Los Angeles Times advocates the Or
ganization of growers of deciduous fruits
in Southern California on the exchange
plan. The paper says:
The deciduous fruit industry has grown
rapidly in Southern California during the
past four or five years, and promises to
grow still more rapidly in the near future.
1t has been found that such fruits as april
cots, peaches, prunes and walnuts, when
carefully cultivated and properly attended
to, are capable of yielding almost as large
profits as the average orange orchard, with
the additional advantage that they can be
grown on cheaper land and that it Is not
necessary to wait so long for returns; also
that they need not be marketed at once il
prices are unfavorable, but can be dried
and kept for good market. The growers
OF these fruits should not wait until the
product is too large to be handled success
fully, but should organize at once and meet
regularly to discuss the question of mar
kets. The fruit exchange in Santa Clara
County has accomplished a vast amount of
good for the growers of that section and
has undoubtedly saved them many thou
sands of dollars.
Farmers, orchardists and vineyardists
should take care of refuse manure, straw,
pomace, etc, and have them properly COM
posted In order to make the best COM
post heap, one should have cement re-
ceptacle with sides about two feet high. In
it should be put layer of straw, manure,
weeds, pomace, or anything and every
thing in the way of vegetable matter ex-
cept woody fiber, to depth of about
twelve inches. After it has been thor
oughly wetted, layer of land plaster
(sulphate of Eme) finely ground, upon
which may be placed another layer of Or
ganic matter, covered also with plaster.
Then if the whole heap is covered with
good heavy soil six or eight inches thick,
the lime will decompose the vegetable
matter and retain the ammonia and moist
ure. Grape pomace and alfalfa are espe-
cially good for composing. The elements
in ton of manure would cost about So, if
supplied arti6cially, while those contained
in a ton of grape pomace could not be pur-
chased for less than $40.
Theoretically, one should apply as much
of the expensive elements as the crops
raised will remove. If less is applied, the
soil will finally be exhausted. AS there is
always some loss, due to natural causes,
little more than the amount consumed by
the crops should be supplied. On the basis
of giving to the soil as much plant food as
a crop will remove, according to the best
authorities, one should apply per acre the
amounts which appear in the following
table when the crop is uot greater or less
than the amount mentioned. Otherwise,
proportionately.
In this table an average is assumed con-
corning soil, climate and plants. Circum-
stances are likely to alter individual cases
to very great extent, but the table will
nevertheless be found approximately cor
rect.