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Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James), 1848-1923

"One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered"

Of course, it will
take some time to accomplish this improvement, and it is necessary that
there be moisture enough present to cause the material to decay in order
that the improvement may be secured.

Sand for Clay Soils.

Will beach sand do adobe or clay soil any good? It gets hard at times
and I thought that if I was to put beach sand in the ground the salt in
the sand would do the ground harm.
It is certainly desirable to mix sand with heavy soil for the purpose of
making it lighter - that is, better drained and more friable and
therefore improving it for the growth of plants. Sometimes beach sand
contains a good deal of salt, which, however, is readily removed by
fresh water, and sand hauled and exposed to the rains rapidly loses any
excess of salt it may contain. Probably with such an amount of sand as
you are likely to use to mix with your adobe, there is no danger at all
from salt. Even if such sand should contain considerable salt, if
applied at the beginning of the rainy season it would be so quickly
distributed as to not constitute a menace to the growth of plants. The
worst adobe can be transformed into a most beautiful garden soil by the
application of sand and stable manure.

Plowing from or Towards.

Which is the proper way to plow an orchard? First to plow to the trees
and then to plow from them, or to plow from the trees and then to them,
and your reasons? I have had many arguments with my neighbor farmers.


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