American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1916-12-14
JNIRRIGATED ORCHARDS OF CALIFORNIA.
Wonderful Success in Fruit and Grain Growing in Califor-
MIA Without Irrigation.

nad no ram IOT IOuT OF I'VE mOntHS
look as fresh as though they had just
been irrigated.
We believe that wine grapes can be
successfully raised on a precipitation
as low as s or 10 inches.
In the same class, as a great drouth
resister. is the olive. the French olive
orchards on the African coast of the
Mediterranean are often quoted as q
wonderful example Of dry orchard
work when the trees are planted only
rs to 30 to the acre, but in southern
California are several magnificent
olive orchards also just as fine which
have never been irrigated.
A most important item in unirri-
gated orchard work Is the spacing
More space. moisture to the tree,
for more precipitation falls on a large
square. say 40x40, than on a small one
Of about 10x10. On the former with
a 15-inch precipitation about so tons
will be absorbed during the season.
on the latter only about 4; thus we
can understand how In allowing trees
more space we can cause an S-inch
precipitation to do the work Of one
OF Is or 16.
or course IL might be argued that
the roots OF a tree can never thorough
ly exploit such large cubes OF soil for
moisture; but in practice they do. In
many orchards where the trees are
planted 80 and 40 feet apart we find
the roots reaching out for the center
Of the rows In less than s years-they
meet long before the tops.
The walnut crop OF the United
States is produced in southern Cali
fornia. Many OF the orchards receive
no irrigation. but some contend that
the trees do not thrive, and produce
large crops without artificial watering
unless there is some permanent sub
soil moisture within 20 feet of the
surface OF the soil, meaning a capil-
larry rise OF some sort from a water
table. Nevertheless We know OF trees
in orchards. parks. avenues. and on
the roadsides, etc. where there is
supposed TO be no water for 100 feet
that are doing we'll. and producing
fruit without any irrigation whatever.
The dry orchard men. however. have
TO draw the line at the citrus fruits
the oranges. lemons. grapefruits. etc.
which all need irrigation for profit
able commercial purposes. These are
all e~yergreens and since they are
transpiring moisture from their leaves
both summer and winter they require
nearly twice as much water as deci.
duous trees
The development OF the C~alifornis
semi-arid lands and the reclamation
OF the deserts ~ one time almost
entirely without irrigation has beer
the mo remarkable achievement In
the history Of American agriculture.
These lands today without any
Eater facilities when planted e
prunes. apncots. grapes. etc. brinl
from $500 10 $500 an acre. and gooC
DRY farm wheat land in the interior
valleys where the precipitation is only
10 inches brings 5000 an acre.
The great dry central desert tina
Eas is nov called the San Joaquin
Valley. and ~itb 10 inches Of rainfall
produced this year on deep plowec
summer failowed land 40 to IS bushel,
OF barley and 35 bushels OF wheat tc
the acre.
The Santa Clara Valley which a
u time was all grain Is now all IN
fruit. and In all the valleys there Il
a tendency az the top soil becomes
exhausted by the raising OF Grain e
plant fruit trees. the roots OF which
go much deeper than those OF grair
and are able TO exploit the lower sub
soil layers which being largely com
posed OF different strata OF sediment
and rich wash from the mountains
and foothills are as good for fruit
production as the original top soil
After a number OF years In trees
this depleted top soil will again ac.
Quire humus from the fall OF tn,
leaves. and II fruit raising should
prove Improbable the circle may b,
completed by again planting these