Rocky Ford enterprise., 1903-11-13
HOPTICUIlUH
Orchard cubsoih.


California Experiment station, In his
last annual report. says:
Few persons outside OF tho expert.
ment station can have an idea OF the
extent to which the planting OF or.
chards on shallow soils underlaid by
hardpan or heavy clays has Caused pc
cuniary loss. often almost ruin. to old
timers as well rs to newcomers to
the state. Every few days there come
to US at Berkeley ietters transmitting
samples Of tree-branohes having the
"die-back." and asking about the
means OF relief. We might usefdlly
stereotype tho Arst letter In reply to
such inquiries. briefly to the effect:
Examine your subsoil!" In nine
cases out Of ten, II Is either hardpan.
or an impervious clay substratum.
which defects the roots sideways after
the second or third year. and OF course
prevents . healthy. normal develop
ment toward tho moist depths Of the
soil. whero abundant plant.food awaits
them In nll good orchard lands. Moro
rarely II Is n layer Of coarse sand. or
gravel. which prevents the rise OF
moisture from below: sometimes II In
the rise Of tho bottom water. which
causes disease OF tho deeper roots.
and also stnrves tho tree. Almost In.
variably tho question Is asked: What
fertilizer must I apply to remedy the
troubie?" Well, In most cases no fer
tiiizer Of any kind will remedy tho
dificulty: tho existence OF which
should have been ascertnincd before
planting the orchard. or better. be-
fore buying the land at all. Even
In tho East and In Europe. careful
farmers scrutinixc tho subsoil before
Investing. In tho nrid region this In
tcnfold more nccdfui. because Of the
critical Importance of tho subsoil.
overshadowinS that OF the surface soil.
as already explained. Tho irrisator
who pays so dearly for his water II
doubiy interested In II. and ought al
ways to know how long II takes water
TO soak to n certain depth In his land.
30 rs to be sure that II does not run
on tho surface Of natural or artificial
hardpan. and now to tho nclghbor be-
low. instead Of soaking down.
This seems TO be such elementary
common sense that II Is dinicult to un-
dcrstand how II is SO widely neglected.
despite tho warnings so emphatically
conveyed by experience. and published
by tho experiment station for twenty
years past. No farmer should be with.
out that simple and cheap. though
murderous.looklng implement, the soil
prod. which is so readily used. II Is .
steel rod thrcc-sixteenths to one.fourth
inch square. well pointed at one end,
and provided At the other with . stout
ring for . wooden cross.handle. like .
common augcr. Length from four to
nve feet, preferably tho latter; cost,
seventy.flve cents. This II forced into
tho ground with q slight turning mo-
ton back and forth. hanging to Il at
nrst II one II Of low stature. The
farmer will be surprised at the new
information conveyed by this simple
process within tho two or three min.
utes II takes to make ono sounding:
and II any doubt remains at some
point, the common posthole auger may
be made to supplement the prod. But
with little experience. the prod alone
will sufflce to tell the farmer, by the
change In resistance. even how deep
tho irrigation water has penetrated In
his land. And in many cases such
information will astound him by Its
unexpectedness and make him under
stand why certain trees In his orchard
have done SO poorly. or SO well.
However important is the presence
Of the plantfood ingredients in the
soil. the fundamentally needful point
is tho proper physical condition. with
out which no amount OF fertilization,
or natural productiveness, is Of any
avail. All understand the need OF
moisture; but unless care is taken to
see that It gets where It will do the
most good. and that the roots can per.
form their functions in the depths Of
tho soil. water. work, and fertilizers
may alike be wasted.