The San Francisco call., 1909-06-06
UNCLE SAM MAKES
REPORT ON COLUSA
Bureau of Soils Experts Find
Irrigation Area a Good
One
Awakening to Possibilities of
Land Taking Place, Says
Official Bulletin
[Seecial Di,pateh 10 The. CoHl


California. by Messrs. Lapham. Sweet.
Strahorn and Holmes of the bureau of
soils. United states department OF
agriculture, has just been Issued by
the bureau The area embraces 756
square miles lying west OF the Sacra-
mento river and In the north central
part OF the Sacramento valley. The
report says IN part:
THE area, although somewhat
sparsely settled, is undergoing period
of development Transportation is af-
forded by two lines of railway, with
various branches, and by Sacramento
river steamboats,. The climate is char
aeterized by an annual mean tempera-
ture of so to 65 degrees, an average
annual rainfall of 10 to 20 inches,
nearly all of which occurs during the
winter months, and by mild winters,
with frequent light frosts and sum-
mers of low relative humidity, high
temperatures and cloudless skies. The
wind is frequently brisk and sometimes
hot and dry. There is a general alb
sence OF snow. violent storms, thunder
storms or hail. The climatic condi-
tions in general are healthful and ia
vorable to the production of ordinary
temperate and some subtropical crops.
An extensive system of dry farm
ing of grain has been the general type
OF agriculture. This has resulted in
a sparse population, decrease in pro-
ductivity of lands, failure upon the
part of the owners of the smaller
tracts and concentration OF the land
in large holdings and in Indifference
or opposition TO the development of
irrigation and intensive agriculture.
IRRIGATION SUCCESSFUL
Large areas of land are well adapt
ed TO irrigation. and where practiced
with the production of fruits or field
crops it has proven successful. An
awakening to the possibilities of irri-
cation is now taking place, as shown
by the construction and extension of
irrigation systems the gradual break
ing UP Of the great estates into small
tracts under irrigation and the devel-
opment of the sugar beet, alfalfa,
dairying and fruit growing Industries.
With the exception of the nonagri-
cultural types. the soils are classified
under Ave series. The San Joaquin Sc
ries occurs in the more elevated and
better drained parts Of the valley floor,
and the soils are usually Of a reddish
color. often gravelly and generally un-
derlain by heavy. impervious, dark red
clayey subsoils or indurated clay hard
pan. OF this series the San Joaquin
loan is the most extensive and pro-
ductive. covering large sections in the
northern and north central parts of the
area. 1t is devoted to dry farm grain
growing. Owing 10 the common occur
renee of hardpan the soils of this series
are often not adapted to deep rooted or
ordinary irrigated crops.
The Sacramento series consists of
deposits of the Sacramento river and
its tributaries, covering bottoms or
lower valley slopes. The soils of this
series vary in texture from loose grav-
els to fine river silts and clay loans or
clays and in color from light gray to
nearly black. The Sacramento silty
clay loan is the most extensive and i'm
portant type of this series. 1t is espe-
cially well adapted to sugar beets, hops.
alfalfa. prunes and other fruits and
vegetables.
THE WILLOWS SERIES
The Willows series covers a wide
extent OF country ranging from the
upper valley plain at the base of the
foothills to the lower sinks Of the val
ley floor The soils of this series are
the products of washings from higher
soils and of sedimentation from foot
-
cultural value They range in color
from reddish to dark brown or nearly
black. The clay loan, the clay adobe
and the clay are the most extensive
soils Of this series. The former is near
. ly always productive. the second pro-
ductive when we'll drained and free
from alkali and the last mentioned
generally poorly drained and carrying
large quantities of alkali salts
"The OrIand series copeiSfS of ofd
or recent stream sediments with an
admixture of washings from adjacent
soil types. The Orland fine, sandy loan
Is the most extensive of this series
IT is an important soil type and well
adapted to irrigated crops.
The Sites series consists of colluvfal
and residual soils occurring in the foot
hills. Owing to position and to irreg-
uiar character of the surface they are
not adapted TO irrigated crops. The
Sites clay loam adobe is the most ex-
tensive.
Development in extensive irrigation
has been retarded by the system of dry
farming in vogue, the necessary cost
Of extensive and adequate headworks
and canals. and by the opposition of
waters OF the Sacramento river
The total amount Of land irrigated
consists Of few relatively small areas
in the vicinity of Colusa, Princeton.
Hamilton City and Orland. in all but
few thousand acres, but the irri-
gated area is now being extended in
the vicinity Of willows. Colusa and
Princeton by the completion of a COM
prehensive system of canals and
bitches. utilizing the water of the
Sacramento river. and by the install
lation OF many smaller pumping plants
The establishing OF an irrigation
project upon Stony creek by the United
States reclamation service for irriga-
ton Of a considerable body of land
in the vicinity of Orland is under con-
sideration, and the irrigation Of other
large areas seems possible by storing
flood waters in mountain reservoirs