The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-06-15


supply sufficient moisture at the critical
time when droughts are likely to oc-
cur, are the factors that give our irri-
gated fruits such high color.
Y
word more about the functions of
iron in plant growth and the coloring
of fruit. Iron is an indispensable fac
tor in both of these. But my contention
has been that the soil furnishes it
abundantly and we need not be worry
ing about it. Van Deman holds to the
same position. Our soil chemists hold
that there is an inexhaustable supply
of iron in all ordinary soils. The best
book on soils I have ever read is a work
by Prof. F. H. King, professor of agri-
cultural physics in the University of
Wisconsin, the title Of which is "The
Soil" On page SO of this admirable
work Prof. King says: eft is plain,
therefore, that iron is a very important
soil ingredient, although it's universal
presence in the soil, ana the small
amount needed makes it unnecessary
to pay heed to it as plant food which
should be supplied as a Fertilizer under
natural field conditions"
+
Once upon a time" somebody dream
ed a dream and then he went about it
and wrote out pretty story to the
effect that irrigation water in coming
down from the mountains over
pebbly bottoms takes up iron, magnesia
and some other minerals and in this
way supplies nutriment to our grow
ing crops and especially furnishes iron
to color our apples. This seemed so
a hnY n "a YY11
papers published the story. The only
trouble about the dream was that it
was not true but that is nothing
common when one dreams instead of
Investigating. Various analyses of
mountain waters show them to be very
pure and not freighted with the min
erals referred to- There may be a
trace now and then but what spoils the
story is the fact that our soils are so
abundantly supplied with these min
erals and especially iron that there is
need of supplying them in fertilizers
or having them carried in irrigation
waters. King in the above extract shows
this conc1usively and so does Prof. John
Percival in his great work on "Agri-
cultural Botany" Van Deman is I'M
doubtedly right in saying that nature
has provided ample proportions Of iron
TO the soil of all arabic regions"
+
/ have lying before me a paper that
states that a Mr. Blank, of -, re-
Gently bought ten acre peach or
chard, paying $4,000 for the same
The account concludes by saying that
He expects to get profits of $500 an
acre from his purchase this year." That
sounds very encouraging. But very re-
Gently I read in my evening paper that
the frosts on the nights of April 81
and % completely destroyed the peach
crop in that section of country. I do
not mention this matter to gloat over
this mans misfortune, for trust that
I am not made of the kind Of material
that would rejoice over any ones
losses. There is, however, a note of
warning that such q lesson presents
that ought not to go unheeded. Men
constantly engaged in publishing
statements about what men have done
in fruit raising and then the inference
is given that such things may be ex-
pected every year and no account is
taken Of short crops and entire fail
ures as in this case. Let any one look
over the trade journals and farm pa
pers of the country as I have been do
ing for some time past and he will
find many accounts where expectation
was very high "but there came frost
a killing frost" and their prospects
were destroyed.
&
Any one who goes into the fruit bust
ness should expect certain things 'sure
as death and taxes" These are occa-
sionally short crops, sometimes big