The Columbus journal., 1903-11-18

zE aN
Orchard Suboolla.
ProG. r W. Hilgard, Director Of ne
California Experiment station IN M
last annual rspoet, says:
Few persons outside Of the expeff
meat station can have IN idea Of the
extent to which the planting o. or
ehards on shallow soils underiaid by
aardpen q heavy clays has caused -
euntasy los. often almost ruin. 10 OLD
timers - wen - to newcomer %
The state. Every few days there come
% - 1t Berkeley letters transmittino
samples Of tree-branches having the
"d1e-hack." and asking about the
means Of RELIEF. We might usefuIly
stereotype the Arst letter In reply %
such inquiries. briefly to the eject:
Examine your subsoil!" In nine
cases out Of ten. Il IL either hardpan'
or IN impervi0as clay substrafum'
which defects the roots sideways after
the second or third year, and Of course
prevents . healthy. normal develop
ment toward the moist depths OF the
sotl. where abundant plant-fo0d awaits
them In al good orchard lands. More
rarely It u . layer Of coarse sand. or
gravel. which prevents the rise OF
moisture from below: sometimes It 10
the rise Of the bottom water. which
causes disease OF the deeper roots.
and also starves the tree. Almost in
variably the question 10 asked: what
fertilizer must I apply to remedy the
trouble?" Well, in most cases no fer
tilizer Of any kind viii remedy the
dificulty: the existence Of which
should have been ascertained before
planting the orchard. or better. be-
fore buying the land at al. Even
In the East and In Europe. careful
farmers scrutinize the subsoil before
investing. In the arid region this 70
tenfold moro needful, because Of the
critical importance Of the subsotl.
overshadowing that Of the surface soil.
~ already explained. The irrigator
who pays 20 dearly for his water -
doubly interested in 1t, and ought A.
ways to know how long It takes water
to soak to . certain depth In his land.
30 ~ to be sure that It does not run
on the surface Of natural or artificial
hardpan. and Tow to the neighbor b.
low. instead OF soaking down.
This seems to be such elementary
common sense that 1t II dimcult to un-
derstand how 1t Is 50 widely neglected.
despite the warnings 20 emphatically
conveyed by experience. and published
by the experiment station for twenty
years past No farmer should be with
out that simple and cheap. though
murderouslooking implement, the soil
prod. which II 20 readily used. It is .
steel rod three-sixteenths to one-iourth
inch square. well pointed at one end.
and provided at the other with . stout
ring for . wooden crossrhandle, like .
common anger. Length from four to
i've feet, preferably the latter: cost,
seventy-nve cents. This II forced into
the ground with . slight turning mo.
ton hack and forth. hanging to It 1t
nrst II one - Of low stature. The
farmer win be surprised at the new
information conveyed BY this simple
process within the two or three min
utes it takes to make one sounding;
and II any doubt remains at some
point, the common posthole anger may
be made to supplement the prod. But
with . little experience, the prod alone
will sufice to tell the farmer, by the
change in resistance. even how deep
the irrigation water has penetrated In
his land. And In many cases such
information win 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 plant-food ingredients in the
soil, the fundamentally needful point
IL the PROPER physical condition, with
out which no amount Of fertilization.
or natural productiveness. is Of any
avail. All understand the need Of
but unless care is taken to
see that 1t gets where 1t will do the
most good. and that the roots can per.
form their functions In the depths Of
the soil, water, work, and fertilizers
may alike be wasted.
Water and Transplanted Trees.
: The above subject has been dis
cussed at . good many horticultural
meetings and always develops Q off.