The use of sand on the surface of a heavier
soil may save plants from damping-off, because the sand passes the water
quickly and dries, while a heavier surface soil would remain soggy. Lime
may be of advantage if not used in too great quantities because it
disintegrates the surface of the soil and helps to produce a dryness
which is desirable. Keeping the surface dry enough and yet providing the
seedlings with moisture for a free and satisfactory growth is a matter
which must be determined by experience and good judgment.
Irrigated or Non-Irrigated Trees.
Is there any difference between the same kind of fruit trees grown
without irrigation and with it?
It does not make a particle of difference, if the trees are grown well
and matured well. Overirrigated trees or trees growing on land naturally
moist may be equally bad. Excessively large trees and stunted trees are
both bad; with irrigation you may be more likely to get the first kind;
without it you are more likely to get the latter. There is, however, a
difference between a stunted tree and a wellgrown small tree, and as a
rule medium-sized trees are most desirable than overgrown trees. The
mere fact of irrigation does not make either good trees or bad trees: it
is the man at the ditch.
Too Little Rather Than Too Much Water.
Looking through an orchard of 18-year-old prune trees on riverbottom
land, I found a number of the trees had died.
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