St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1921-09-10
ORCHARDlNG is
PROFITABLE in
PARISH WITH
DRAINAGE
Many of Profitable Crops
Cannot Be Raised On =
Undrained Soils.
SATSUMA ORANGES
AND MUSCADINES
Market Is Unlimited For
These Fruits and
Their Products.
(By A. E. Briggs)


One of the advantages of drainage
for orchards, Prof. |. z. ROBERTS
saws, in Cyciopaedia or American
Horticl .ature: '.Undergrodnu or
subdralns serve to relieve the lana
OF free water, which is harmful 10
most plants il left to stagnate III
the aurhace soil or subsoll. Ihey
serve not only to dry the land
in early spr.ng and winter, Dul
indirectly to warm it, for If the water
is removed the suns heat warns the
soil instead of cooling it by evap
Grating the surplus water. Tena-
cious lands devoted to gardening ana
small fruits are made more produc-
tive, warmer and earlier Dy SUP
drainage Drains promote nitrlhca-
ton, assist in liberating mineral
plant food, and deepen tillage. They
serve not only to remove deleterlous
stagnant water, but they promote
aeration as we'll, and this hastent'
beneficial mechanical changes in the
soil. Drainage promotes the vlgor,
healthfulness, and fruitfulness OF
plants. Tenacious soils ARE made
more friable by drains, thereby CIV
ing easier access to plant roots,
while the percolation through the
soil of rainwater, which carries some
nlant food, is fastened RainWate"
in the spring is warmer than the
soil; in midsummer it is cooler than
the soil, therefore,, percolatlon OF
rainwater warns the soil IN spring
and cools it in extremely hot wealth
er. Drains serve not only to re-
lieve land Of free water, but they
impart to it power to hold add1-
tional available moisture, which ma
terially benefits plants during the
d1oughts.' "In undrained soil the
roots do not penetrate deep; and
when droughts come the plants SUI
fer" "Trees, many shrubs, ana even
some garden crops send their roots
deeper into the subsoil than most OF
the cereas s, hence they require
greater depth of drained feeding
ground" at is only rarely that
surface drainage fully prevents serl-
Gus damage from surplus moisture.
He also calls attention to the tact
that excessive wet and droughls
cause much more serious damage TO
orchards, because it takes SO mucn
longer to grow an orchard and re-
pair the damage than with other
crops.
There is of course a difference III
the need for drainage between dli-
ferent tree crops, but besides the
pecan there are almost none which
are not in great need of good drain
.oa And since the interplanting OF
truck crops and cultivation is need
full in the young orchard, aside from
the special need of any tree, drain
age is paid for by the profits when
trucking returns while the orchard
is growing and which the pecans
may be continued in winter season
even after the orchard is well estaD-
lished.
Orchards Profitable Here.
The profit from growing oranges
in this locality is indicated by the
statement of w. c. Stubbs in Cyclic
pedia of Horticultuer, as follows:
"Thc budded tree (satsuma orange)
bear early and yield profitable re-
turns in three to five years after be
ing transplanted in the grove. The
city of New Orleans furnishes home
market for all. that can be raised, ana
the Louisiana orange is about one
month ahead of those of Florida and
several months ahead of California
in ripening, and therefore reaches
the market when on account OF the
scarcity good prices prevail"
(Continued on page -