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

"One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered"

If they are not too far gone, they will come
out later if you give them regular moisture and cultivation.

Water from Wells or Streams.

One of our neighbors insists that water from a well is, in the long run,
very hard on the land, and that irrigation water is much to be
preferred.
There is no characteristic and permanent difference between waters from
wells and waters from streams so far as irrigation is concerned. The
character depends upon the sources from which both are derived. Some
wells may carry too much mineral matter in the form of salt, alkali,
etc., and some stream waters sometimes carry considerable alkali. For
this reason some wells may be better than streams and some streams
better than wells. There is no general rule in the matter. Your neighbor
may be right as applied to your location, and may know from his
experience that the well water carries too much undesirable material.
That could only be determined by analysis, and the analysis must be made
when the water is rather low, because during the rainy season, or soon
after it, the water may have less mineral impurity than later in the
season when it may be more concentrated.

Shall He Irrigate or Cultivate?

Our soil is of an excellent quality, and I feel if the moisture were
properly conserved by suitable methods it could be made to produce
fruits or some other very much more profitable than from hay and grain
crops.


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