IRLF

SB 307

1

GIFT OF
Prof. E.J.Wickson

MAIN LIBRARY-AGKIC'JL-TURE DEJ-T.

FRUITGROWING

UNDER
IRRIGATION

UNDER THE CLIMATIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL

CONDITIONS PERTAINING TO THE

MURRAY VALLEY

BY

F. R. ARNDT

ADELAIDE
G. HASSELL & SON, CURRIE STREET

1918

f\7

COPYRIGHT BY THE AUTHOR

PREFACE

The absence of any Australian work of a general nature
dealing with the subject of fruitgrowing under irrigation
is the author's apology for placing this work before the
public.

Much of the subject matter of some of the chapters
herein dealt with appeared in the form of articles
written by the author during the past four years, which
were printed in the pages of the Murray Pioneer.

It is the author's hope that the following pages may
be of some service as a guide to prospective irrigationists
or to settlers new to irrigation enterprise, in helping them
to acquire the chief principles of Australian irrigation
practice, and thus to enable them to avoid the mistakes
made by many of the older irrigationists, who, for
want of information upon this subject, had often to
acquire their irrigation knowledge as the result of pain-
ful and costly experience.

F. R. ARNDT.

Berri, River Murray,

South Australia,

14th October, 1918.

526644

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I The Climatic and Geographical Condi-
tions of the Murray Valley 1
II Selecting the Land - ' 7

III Getting the Land Ready for Planting - 10

IV Laying out the Land for Watering - 12
V What to Plant - 18

VI Where to Plant 25

VII How to Plant - 31

VIII Cover Crops 37

IX Irrigation 40

X Cultivation 48

XI Trellising the Vine 52

XII Pruning the Vine 58

XIII Pruning of Deciduous Trees - 64

XIV Fertilizing the Orchard 73

XV Fruit Drying - 88

XVI Alkali and Seepage Problems - 95

XVII Fungoid and Insect Pests 101

XVIII Cost of bringing an Orchard or Vineyard
into Bearing . on State Irrigation

Areas of South Australia - 108

CHAPTER I

THE CLIMATIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL
CONDITIONS OF THE MURRAY VALLEY

THE MURRAY.

The Murray, the largest river in Australia, has its
source in the Snowy Mountains, near Mt. Kos-
ciusko. With the help of its chief tributaries, the
Darling, the Murrumbidgee, Goulburn, Mitta,
Ovens, Campaspe, and Lodden, the Murray attains
a river of large dimensions in its lower course, being
at high river navigable for river boats for a distance
of about one thousand miles from its mouth. With
the completion of the inter-State locking scheme, the
Murray will be rendered permanently navigable for
the greater portion of its length. Along its banks
are situated the two most successful irrigation
colonies in Australia — Mildura and Renmark ; while
the newer irrigation settlements of Merebein, Berri,
and Waikerie, are showing every indication of a
successful future.

NATURE OF MURRAY LANDS.

The land suitable for fruit growing along the
Murray consists of two distinct sections : the river
flats and the high lands.

The river flats consist of alluvial soil deposited
by the river in the course of ages. These flats are,
on the whole, fairly level, but usually contain
numerous small local irregularities, which have to
be graded off before the land can be planted. The

* • • **• • • r * •••*
****** • * * * '*''••

'2" "Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

soil usually consists of a variety of clays and loams
of a fairly heavy nature, which are often overlaid
with a layer of sand.

The high lands generally consist of loose, sandy
rises, which in their native state are often thickly
timbered with pine, mallee, and other bushes. The
soil is generally a red, sandy loam. The depth of
soil varies from about 2 feet to 5 feet, and is usually
underlaid with a loose, light-brownish marl. Land
of this nature exists by the thousands of acres along
the Murray Valley.

WATER SUPPLY.

The prosperity of an irrigation settlement neces-
sarily depends upon an assured water supply. With
the exception of two abnormal years, the water
supply from the Murray has been both pure and
plentiful for the irrigation requirements of the river
settlements. But during the droughts of 1902 and
1914 the Murray flow practically ceased, and the
water turned saline. The irrigation colonies
situated along its banks were thereby faced with a
situation of extreme danger, and such was the
salinity of the water that many plantations were
seriously injured by its application. To prevent the
recurrence of such a state of affairs in future dry
seasons it is necessary for the States of New South
Wales, Victoria, and South Australia (as is provided
for in the Murray Waters Agreement) to immediately
enter upon a joint scheme of Water Storage by the
construction of weirs at Lake Victoria and at other
places, whereby some of the surplus water that
flows in such enormous volumes into the sea in
normal years would be impounded, and liberated for
the use of the irrigation settlements in years of
drought.

Climatic and Geographical Conditions 3

CLIMATE.

The climate of the Murray Valley is hot and dry. The
rainfall, which averages about ten inches per annum,
is insufficient for fruit culture without the aid of
irrigation. The months of November, December,
January, February, and March are usually hot, the
temperature often exceeding 100 degrees Fahr., and
sometimes reaching 110 degrees during severe heat
waves. Hot, northerly winds often accompany
these heat waves. The nights during the summer
months are usually cool.

The climate during the autumn, winter, and early
spring is mild. The days are usually fine and
sunny. The night temperature sometimes sinks a
few degrees below freezing point, but any consider-
able damage to plant life from frost is rare.

During September and October the equinoxial
gales often blow with considerable force and per-
sistence, making it necessary to take precautions
against the drifting of the surface soil of the looser
sandy slopes.

FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS FOR FRUIT
CULTURE.

The conditions favourable for fruit culture consist
of:

Fertile Soil. Soil of the highest fertility, both
alluvial and high land, exists along the Murray Val-
ley by the thousands of acres. The sites of the
various irrigation settlements have naturally been
chosen where fertile land and a plentiful water sup-
ply exist in close proximity. This, however, owing
to the impossibility of large tracts of land all being
of a uniform nature, does not prevent there being-
patches of hard-pan or shallow soil scattered among
the more fertile land.

4 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

One of the chief factors making for soil fertility is
due to the dryness of the climate, as owing to the
absence of heavy rains the various plant foods of a
readily soluble form have not been leeched out of
the ground on the virgin lands.

Water Supply. Water is applied on most of the
Murray irrigation settlements in four or five irriga-
tions, ranging from August to March. Owing to
the chief waterings taking place during the period
of greatest plant activity, trees and vines grow with
a rapidity and vigour iinknowrn to most horticul-
tural districts of Australia, where they have to
depend upon the natural rainfall. For the same
reason once the fruit has set a crop is practically
assured, absence of rain making no difference to
the crop when water is artificially applied at the
right time. .

Heavy Average Yields. Owing to the favourable
conditions of water, soil, and climate, it is safe to say
that trees and vines reach maturity two years earlier
than they do in the temperate regions of Australia
where they are dependent upon the natural rainfall.
As the summer irrigations can be arranged at the
right periods to fill out the fruit, heavy average
yields are the rule. The average yield of grape
fruits in about one ton to twenty-five cwt. of dried
fruit to the acre, and of stone fruits about ten to
fifteen cwt. dried to the acre, which are equivalent
to about four tons of fresh fruits of these kinds.

MARKETS.

Dried Fruits. Owing to the difficulties of trans-
portation in the past, most of the fruit grown in the
Murray Valley has been dried, in which state it
could be kept until conditions of navigation were
favourable for shipment.
. The fruits, which in the dried state have proved a

Climatic and Geographical Conditions 5

commercial success, are apricots, peaches, nectar-
ines, pears, currants, sultanas, and gordos (raisins).
The Australian markets for dried stone fruits are at
present fair, while conditions seem favourable for
the opening up of a good export trade with Great
Britain in dried apricots.

The supply of locally-grown currants has for some
time been in excess of Commonwealth demands,
and owing to the tremendous output of cheap cur-
rants from Greece there is at present no prospect of
being able to compete with the product of that
country on a footing of equality in the markets of
the world. Gordos (pudding raisins) have also long
passed the Commonwealth consumption.

The sultana has been the most extensively planted
of all the different varieties of vine along the Mur-
ray. Its product has also passed Australian re-
quirements; but there, appears more probability
that high-class fruit will be able to compete with
Mediterranean sultanas on the European markets
with a greater degree of success than would be the
case with currants or gordos.

Canned Fruits. Very little fruit is at present
canned at the various irrigation settlements. Where
railway facilities are available a considerable amount
of fresh fruit from the river has during the past few
years found its way to the Melbourne and Adelaide
canneries. Owing to the large quantity of high-
class fruit that can be grown on the irrigation settle-
ments it seems probable that the canning industry
will, in the future, become an established fact at
most of the irrigation centres along the river.

Fresh Fruits. Apricots, peaches, and pears are at
present being sent away from the irrigation areas in
some quantities for consumption fresh to the chief
centres of population ; but to do this successfully
railway facilities must exist. The most important

6 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

of all the fruits sent away from the Murray Valley
in the fresh state is the Washington Navel orange,
which thrives here better than anywhere else in the
Commonwealth. Very heavy plantings of this
variety have been made on the Murray irrigation
settlements during recent years, which, as the new
groves come into bearing, must have a steadying
influence on its price in the Commonwealth mar-
kets. As, however, there appear good prospects for
the sale of this fruit on the markets of the world,
the overseas demand should prevent the Australian
market from becoming glutted.

FUTURE PROSPECTS.

The fruit-growing industry of the Murray Valley
is at present in a sound condition. For it to remain
so it is necessary for the growers to retain control
of the marketing of their fruit. As the Common-
wealth's demand has been 'reached in most lines, a
great boom in fruit-growing, resulting in very heavy
plantings, is to be deprecated, as tending to result in
over-production, and ultimate loss to the growers.
There is enough good land in the Murray Valley
and enough water available when the river is locked
and weired, which would, were it all planted in
fruit, be sufficient to supply the present needs of
the Commonwealth more than ten times over. But
with a steadily increasing population, and with an
expanding overseas market there is room for a
rational expansion of the area under the majority of
fruits grown on the Murray irrigation settlements.

CHAPTER II
SELECTING THE LAND

Although on the whole the great proportion of
the land on the various irrigation settlements is of
first-class quality, there are still patches of second-
class soil scattered about among the better land, as
nature seems to have ordained , that no large tract
of land shall be of an absolutely uniform character.
Prospective fruit-growers would therefore be well
advised, before taking up a piece of land from the
perusal of a plan, to take a trip up the river and view
the land for themselves. There is nothing like see-
ing the country to judge the possibilities of it, which
no mere looking at plans can give.

Should the would-be settler not be able to inspect
the land at the time, the next best thing for him to
do is to get an experienced irrigationist — one with
local experience for preference — to examine the land
for him, and follow his advice. By this means,
should the prospective settler be destitute of irri-
gation experience, it is possible for him to make a
better choice of a piece of land than if left to his
own judgment. The best plan, however, would be
for him to view the land in company with an expe-
rienced local irrigationist, who could point out to
him the merits or defects of any blocks, and he
could then make his choice.

CHOICE OF SITE.

As one of the greatest drawbacks on an irrigation
area is the menace of seepage, land that is full of hol-
lows, or that has a heavy sub-soil, should not be

8 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

chosen. Seepage is brought about by the irrigation
water running along the sub-soil and coming to the
surface where this sub-soil is shallow or where it
meets the surface of the ground. Blocks situated on
sandy rises which peter out on to clay flats are liable
to develop seepage, which will show itself along the
line just above where the clay and sand meet. Land
that contains hollow, basin-shaped, depressions
should also be avoided, for unless the sub-soil of
such depressions consists of deep sand, the water
from the surrounding higher lands will soak into
the hollows and kill the plants it contains. A block
'of land having deep soil of a uniform nature, with a
not too tenacious sub-soil, and having an even slope,
is about as good a proposition as can be obtained.

SIZE OF BLOCK.

Another thing the prospective settler must con-
sider, before finally making his choice, is the size of
the block. Providing he wishes to work his land by
his own labour, this will greatly depend on what he
intends to grow. For fruit-growing, a block from
10 to 15 acres is quite large enough for one man to
manage, successfully. New-comers selecting land
for fruit-growing almost invariably make the mis-
take of choosing too large holdings. It is a big pro-
position for one man to successfully look after more
than 15 acres of fruit trees and vines on an irrigation
area, especially as the trees attain age. Good livings
have been made at fruit-growing on 10 to 12 acres
of land, and for the man of limited capital a block of
such an area will be found most convenient.

Given efficient management, more can be accom-
plished on a large holding, for the labour applied to
it, than on a smaller one. On a large plantation,
labour-saving implements, such as multiple ploughs,
larger cultivators, tramlines on drying grounds, can

Selecting the Land 9

be profitably employed, which would not be the
case on a small plantation, as there would not be
sufficient work for such implements, which would
therefore be mostly standing idle and thereby earn-
ing but little on their purchase price. Also on the
laying-out of a plantation considerable economy in
fencing and channelling can often be effected in a
larger holding as compared with a smaller one.

However, as long as our present system of small
individual holdings obtains, and growers make but
little effort to co-operate with each other in their
work, it will not be possible for any rural commun-
ity to obtain as much of the benefit of their efforts
as more united action would bring.

CHAPTER III

GETTING THE LAND READY FOR
PLANTING

CLEARING, FENCING, PLOUGHING.

The expenses of clearing will, of course, vary
according to the nature and density of the natural
vegetation. Blue-bush land is easily cleared, and
will cost about £1 per acre to clear. Box lands, as
well as pine and mallee country, are considerably
more expensive to grub, varying from about £2 to
£6 per acre, according to the size and density of the
natural growth. For the grubbing of the more
heavily timbered lands grubbing machines and tree-
pullers are usually used, and on some of the Govern-
ment irrigation areas steam traction engines are
employed in pulling out the trees and stumps.

To protect the orchard from the ravages of rabbits
and stock it is necessary to enclose the plantation
with a good substantial wire fence, with 3 feet wire
netting. At normal prices for material, a 4 ft. high
fence, posts 12 ft. apart, four wires, and wire-netted,
will cost about £60 per mile. After the land has
been cleared it should be deeply ploughed to loosen
the soil and to get rid of the roots of the native
tree which occupied the land. The cost of a~ first
deep ploughing will be about £1 per acre.

GRADING.

As it is essential for the success of an irrigated
orchard that there should be an uninterrupted flow
of the irrigation water, all irregularities of the sur-

Getting the Land Ready 1 1

face of the ground which would interfere with the
water flow should be graded off.

Lands having any considerable fall, such as the
greater portion of the high lands, require but little
grading, which will be mostly restricted to. the
removing of small bumps or rises. On no considera-
tion should more soil be removed than is absolutely
necessary, as experience has shown that where from
six inches to one foot of the surface soil has been
graded off and trees planted on the exposed sub-
soil, that their growth has been slow and unsatis-
factory for years. On the blue-bush and box flats
and on other lands where there is. but little fall, the
grading has to be more thorough, as the slightest
rise will stop, the flow of the irrigation water.

Lucerne and fodder plots are usually graded quite
level, and are surrounded by an earth check-bank to
keep enclosed the irrigation water.

INITIAL COST.

The cost of preparing the land for planting will,
of course, vary with the nature of the land. On the
State irrigation areas of South Australia, the Gov-
ernment make advances to settlers for grubbing,
fencing, grading, and channelling up to £15 per
acre. Not every block, however, will cost as much
as this to prepare for planting, and £12 per acre
may be taken as a rough average.

CHAPTER IV

LAYING OUT THE LAND FOR WATERING
DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF IRRIGATION

Irrigation methods naturally vary according to
the country, climate, and nature of the land.
Broadly speaking, there are three distinct systems
of watering: the overhead or sprinkler system, the
"check" or flooding system, and the furrow system.

For irrigation on a large scale the overhead or
sprinkler system is yet largely in the experimental
stage. Theoretically, this method of watering is the
most perfect of the various systems, as it approaches
most nearly to nature's method of watering — rain,
and gives a far more even distribution of water than
is possible on the furrow system. Land watered on
this system would not require nearly as much grad-
ing as would be the case if the flooding or furrow
systems were used ; and as the water would be
applied evenly on the surface of the ground, water-
logging of the sub-soil, with the danger of seepage
resulting therefrom, would be reduced to a minimum
if the water were at all intelligently applied.

To water by sprinkler it is necessary that the
water should be conveyed, by means of cement or
iron pipes, to the place where it is required. By
burying the pipes in the ground, over which plough-
ing and cultivation could take place, more land
could be utilized for planting purposes than where
open channels intersected the land.

The sprinkler method of watering has so many
advantages in its favour that it seems reasonable to

Laying out the Land 13

suppose that irrigation experience will, at a no dis-
tant future, devise an inexpensive and efficient sys-
tem of overhead watering that will to a great extent
supersede our present methods of orchard irri-
gation, j .

On the "check system" a piece of land is graded
perfectly level and is then surrounded by a check
bank. Water is let in at one end and the whole
piece flooded, the check bank confining the water to
the enclosed piece of land. Owing to the cost of
grading, the check system of irrigation is chiefly
confined to fairly level country; but where this
method of watering is used on sloping ground, the
land is graded into terraces, each with an encircling
check bank. Watering by flooding the land with an
even sheet of water was the favourite method of
irrigation practised by the ancients, and is also the
system adopted on a great many of the modern
irrigation areas.

For the growing of cereals, such as rice, barley,
wheat, as well as for such classes of fodder as
lucerne and clovers, flooding is the best method of
watering. Theoretically, the check system of water-
ing is a good system of irrigation, as all the land
obtains the same amount of water. In practical
application, however, the flooding of land has its
drawbacks, as it consolidates the surface of the
ground. Where this system of irrigation is practised
in orchards, the land has to be thoroughly cultivated
after each irrigation to prevent it from setting into a
hard mass.

The "furrow" system of irrigation is the one
usually practised in orchards, .and often also for the
more vigorous growing varieties of fodders, such as
sorghum or maize. A furrow is ploughed along each
side of the rows of the plants to be watered, and the
water is allowed to run along them until the end

14 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

plants have had sufficient. The great advantage of
this method of watering is that it can be used upon
land that is too steep to grade into level checks,
'except at enormous expense, and that the water,
being confined to the furrows, does not flow over
the land and consolidate the surface. The disadvan-
tage of this system is that the first plant of a row
must necessarily get more water than the last one,
and for that reason the rows should be so laid out
that the water does not take too long to reach the
end.

LAYING OUT THE LAND FOR WATERING.

For the best results to be obtained from the
irrigation of a piece of land it is necessary that the
land should be correctly laid out for watering from
the start. This will greatly depend upon the nature
and contour of the land and the kind of crop it is
intended to grow.

IRRIGATION CHANNELS.

Let us first consider the watering of fruit trees,
which are usually watered by the furrow system.
After the land has been cleared and graded it is
necessary that the irrigation channels are put down,
from which the land is to be watered. Where the
soil is of a loose, sandy nature, the irrigation chan-
nels are usually made of lime concrete; but where
the land is hard and level, earth ditches are often
successfully used.

CEMENT PIPING.

Irrigation by means of reinforced cement piping
instead of the usual open lime concrete channels is
one of the latest products of irrigation development.
The chief advantages claimed for cement piping are
their great strength and durability, their great re-

Laying out the Land 1 5

sistance, as compared with the lime concrete chan-
neling, to the attacks of such alkalies as are often
dissolved by irrigation water; and to the fact that
if buried in the ground so that cultivation may take
place over them, less land is wasted for headlands
than is the case with open channels.

During the last few years some hundreds of
chains of reinforced cement piping have been put
down at Berri for irrigation purposes, and where
these have been well laid the results have been very
satisfactory.

POSITION OF CHANNELS.

The greatest care should be exercised as to where
the channels are put down. Upon the position of
the channels depends the length of the rows of trees
and vines to be watered. Experience has shown
that in loose, sandy loam, rows five chains long are
enough, and that on no consideration should rows
over six chains long be watered in one section. On
hard flat land it "is possible to water with longer
rows than on sandy rises, but even here it is not wise
to have rows over 10 chains long.

As by the furrow system of irrigation the water
is flowing for a considerable time past the first trees
of a row before it reaches the last one, therefore, the
longer the rows, the longer will the water take to
reach the end. On very long rows the first tree will
have had too much water before the last tree has
had enough, and the top of the land will in time
become water-logged, to the injury of the trees. In
any case, the surplus water will soak down the
slopes along the sub-soil, and should this in any case
come close to the surface of the ground, the water
will come up there in the form of seepage, bringing
the alkalies contained in the soil with it, and killing
the plants in its vicinity. Having short rows means,

1 6 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

of course, much channeling, which greatly adds to
the first cost of the place, but it will pay in the long
run in the ease with which the land can be watered,
and in the satisfactory growth of the trees.

Another matter in which care has to be exercised
is to see that the channels are so situated that the
grade of watering is not too steep or too level. On
sandy rises a fall of one foot to the chain is sufficient,
while anything under four inches to the chain is too
little. It is a mistake to water straight down steep
slopes, as the force of the water washes deep gutters
in the land at the top. The washed-out soil carried
down by the water silts up the furrows further down
the slope, causing the water to spread over the land
at that place, so that very little water reaches the
end of the rows.

Where the land is hard, as on most of the flats,
the grade along which to irrigate may be consider-
ably less than upon sandy rises, as the soil absorbs
the water far more slowly than is -the case with the
looser land. The danger of watering along an
almost level grade on loose, sandy land is that,
through the porous nature of the soil, the water
sinks in so rapidly that the top ends of the rows get
too much water before the bottom ends have had
sufficient. Unless the drainage of the land is excel-
lent, such a system of watering will, sooner or later,
cause seepage to appear lower down the slopes.
Thus it is not safe to water with a fall of less than
four inches to the chain on sandy rises, from six
inches to nine inches being the most convenient
grades, while on hard flats a considerably smaller
grade, of even an inch to the chain, may be used
with safety.

Where the contour of the ground is such that the
only way to water is to irrigate down a steep slope,
then the rows should be very short. Rows that

Laying out the Land 17

have a grade of one in thirty or less, should not be
longer than three to four chains, the principle to
follow being: the steeper the grade the shorter the
rows. By this means the land can be watered by a
small stream running down the rows, which, while
strong enough to reach the end, is still not too
strong to cause much washing of soil from on top.
Long rows require a strong stream to flow along
them to reach the end, and this, on the steep slope,
washes deep gutters into the top portion of the land.
Where earth irrigation ditches are used it is
advisable that these should be on the lower part of
the holding. A certain amount of water, depending
on the nature of the soil, soaking out of an earth
channel on top of a rise, may, in time, cause seepage
to appear lower down the slopes. Hence an earth
channel should be situated on the lower portion of
the slope, and, to prevent washing out, should be
run along a level contour.

CHAPTER V

WHAT TO PLANT

DRYING VARIETIES. -

The chief fruits usually grown on the irrigation
areas along the Murray are currants, sultanas,
apricots, peaches, nectarines, pears, and oranges.

The Vine. Of all the varieties of fruits grown
along the Murray Valley the vine is the most im-
portant, both in acreage planted and in the annual
value of its crop. Soil, climate, and water have made
the Murray Valley an ideal home for the vine.
Nowhere else in Australia does the vine come so
early into profitable bearing, and nowhere does it
bear such consistently heavy crops.

For this reason every fruitgrower who desires an
early return should plant some considerable portion
of his land to vines. Vines that have been well
cared for should yield atout one ton of dried fruit
to the acre in their fourth year, and thereby come
into full bearing about three years before any other
class of fruit. Regarding currants, as there is
already an over-production of the local grown pro-
duct it is not advisable to plant much land to this
class of fruit until the local, demand has again
caught up to the supply.

As previously stated, the sultana, which is the
most extensively grown of all the varieties of vine
along the Murray, has also passed the limits of the
Commonwealth's consumption, but as there appears
a possibility of the Australian article being able to
compete with the Mediterranean product on the

What to Plant 19

English markets, a moderate planting of this variety
should prove a safe investment. The gordo bianco
(pudding raisin) has also been extensively planted
on the river irrigation areas, and the Malaga raisin
to a lesser extent. The supply of "gordos" has long
passed the Australian consumption, the surplus
being used for distillation purposes.

As there has been for some time a good demand
for spirits, a number of the riverside growers are
planting some of their land to doradillos. These are
very heavy croppers, crops of ten tons of fresh fruit
to the acre being not unknown.

The Apricot. After having been condemned for
some years, the apricot seems once more to be com-
ing into favour. This is largely due to the fact that
local prices have been good, and that a good demand
is arising for Australian dried apricots in England.
It is not advisable, however, for the average grower
to plant many acres of apricots, as this fruit ripens
•during the hottest part of the year, often so rapidly
that, unless many hands are employed in harvesting,
a great portion of the crop is lost. As it is not
always possible to procure the necessary labour at
the right time, the average grower should not plant
more land to apricots than he and his family, with
perhaps an occasional hand or two, could manage to
harvest; say, from two to three acres. The Moor-
park variety is the best drying kind to plant.

The Royal is also planted to some extent and,
although hanging better, is not of such good quality
as the Moorpark.

The Peach. Peaches and nectarines are grown to
a considerable extent on the irrigation settlements.
Up to the present the Australian markets for these
have been fair. But there does not appear to be
room for great expansion with these fruits, as
Californian dried peaches are at present sold on the

2O Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

European markets at prices with which the Austra-
lian grower could not successfully compete.

The best drying peach is undoubtedly the
Elberta, its great size entailing less labour in cutting
than smaller varieties of peaches, and it has the
additional advantage — as peaches are classed ac-
cording to size— woi obtaining the best prices when
dried. The Elberta, which is an early and heavy
cropper, is also in good demand for canning. Other
varieties used for drying are: Foster, Muir, Lady
Palmerston (late), and Salway (late).

The varieties of nectarines usually dried are Gold-
mine and Stanwick. Owing to its smaller size the
nectarine curtails more labour in harvesting, and up
to the present has not proved as profitable to grow
as the peach.

The Pear. The pear also does well along the
Murray. The Bartlett (Bon Chretien or Williams')
has been the chief variety grown so far, and is
equally well suited for drying or canning. As this
variety has been very extensively planted at the
various irrigation settlements, probably more than
its present market prospects warrant, it is hardly
advisable at present to plant this kind to any con-
siderable extent.

As late export pears have for some time realized
good prices in the overseas markets, it is probable
that this class of fruit has a good future before it.

Some good export varieties which have proved
good croppers and keepers along the Murray are:
Glou Morceau, Josephine De Malines, and
LTnconnue.

Another variety, which is a very good keeper, but
is not of such good quality as the kinds above men-
tioned, which would perhaps do well in land too
heavily water-logged for other classes of fruits, is
the Vicar of Winkfield. The writer has known this

What to Plant 21

variety to bear good average crops in very wet land
in the Adelaide hills.

The Prune. Another variety of fruit not so ex-
tensively tried as the foregoing varieties, but which
may yet prove to be a profitable kind, is the prune.
As 'most of the prunes at present consumed in
Australia are imported, there is a profitable local
market for this class of fruit, providing that a satis-
factory sample can be produced. After being neg-
lected for some time, the prune is now being planted
to some extent at Mildura, Yanco, and Berri.

Some of the best varieties are Fellemberg, Prune
d' Agen, Robe de Sargent, Splendour, and Tragedy.
Experience has taught that a single variety of
prunes does not fruit well if planted by itself, as
most of the varieties are self-sterile. Two or three
kinds should therefore be planted together. After
the first two or three years the trees should be
pruned but little, as it has been proved that along
the river the prune will not bear satisfactory crops
if cut back to any considerable extent.

CANNING VARIETIES.

Although very little fruit canning is yet done at
the various irrigation settlements, there is every
reason to suppose that in the course of time this
will yet become an important industry, as the size
and quality of the river-grown fruit is superior to
that produced on most of the other Australian
fruit-growing areas. Where railway facilities are
available a considerable quantity of river-grown
fruit is annually sent away to city canneries, but
where neither railways nor canning works exist
heavy plantings of canning varieties should not be
made unless there is an early promise of a local
canning factory being erected.

The following are good canning varieties :

22 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

Apricots. Moorpark and Mansfield Seedling
(end December and early January).

Peaches. Elberta (end January), Foster (middle
January), Muir (February), Lovell (February),
Lady Palmerston (end February), Salway (March),
Pullar's Cling (February) — a great canning favour-
ite at present.

Pears. Bartlett, or Williams' Bon Chretien (Feb-
ruary).

Fruitgrowers intending to plant for canning pur-
poses should aim at a succession of varieties ripen-
ing at different periods so as to avoid a rush of
harvesting work at a particular time, and also to
prevent a glut occurring at the canneries from the
over-supply of any variety.

The Orange. Of all fruits, the orange has, per-
haps, been the most extensively planted along the
Murray Valley during the last few years. The
Washington Navel is the variety usually chosen,
but Thompson's Improved Navel, Valencia Late,
and Mandarins have also been tried. Orange trees
should be planted on the best land of the holding,
where there is good drainage. As it takes about
seven years from the time of planting for the orange
tree to produce profitable crops, the grower would
do well, unless supplied with sufficient capital, not
to plant too large a portion of his holding with this
fruit. Through the enormous plantings that have
taken place, navel oranges must certainly come
down in price in a few years, but if a big export,
trade can be worked up with Europe, there is every
reason to think that this branch of the industry has
a good future.

OTHER VARIETIES.

Should the fruitgrower wish to go in for a few
side lines, apples and almonds may be tried. The

What to Plant 23

climatic conditions of the Murray Valley, which
agree so well with the pear, do not appear to be
suitable to most varieties of apples. The whole
subject of apple culture along the Murray is still in
its experimental stage. The Jonathan and Cleopa-
tra have not proved a success, being deficient in
flavour, but Dutch Mignon and Gravenstein are
varieties that are of more promise.

The almost has proved a fairly hardy doer under
irrigation, but likes a fairly loose and dry soil, and
should not be over-watered. Almonds are usually
planted as breakwinds along the fences, and with
reasonable care and attention yield a profitable
return. As almonds are benefited by cross pollina-
tion, different kinds which flower at the same time
should be planted together. Ne Plus Ultra and
I.X.L. fulfil this condition, as do Nonpareil and
Peerless. The variety Brandis, although making a
beautiful breakwind, is through its shy bearing
habit not a profitable variety to plant.

ADVANTAGES OF VARIETY.

Although a fruitgrower well supplied with capital
often does best by specializing in one line of pro-
duce, chiefly by being able to do everything on a
comprehensive scale, nevertheless the average set-
tler would be wise not to put all his eggs in one
basket by planting all his land to one kind of fruit.
By having a block of mixed fruits, the grower will
not be rushed by having everything ripening at the
same time. The harvesting apparatus (drying
racks, trays, cases, etc.), need not be so extensive as
if only one class of fruit were grown, as the same
material may be used over again for each different
kind of fruit.

The grower who cannot plant all his land in the
first year would do well, unless he has a liberal

24 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

supply of capital, to plant those varieties which
come into bearing soonest — such as vines, apricots,
and peaches — the first planting season, leaving the
slower bearing varieties — oranges, pears, and
prunes — for the second year. By this means his
land will yield him some return while the other
trees are coming into bearing.

LUCERNE.

As it is necessary to keep the orchard well
worked and cultivated, the fruitgrower must be
supplied with sufficient horse-power to do this work
satisfactorily, and the problem of feed, therefore, is
an important one. As lucerne has proved itself to
be the best of all fodders grown under irrigation,
the fruitgrower should, right from the beginning,
set apart as a lucerne patch at least one acre for
each horse he intends to keep, which should not be
under two.

For the successful growing of this fodder the land
should be graded into level checks, so that it can
be flooded with an even sheet of water. The best
place for a lucerne patch is on the lowest part of the
holding, where it can catch all the overflow water
from the rest of the land. Owing to the great
amount of water that is required for their successful
culture, vegetables can also with advantage be
grown in level plots graded even, like a lucerne bed,
so that plenty of water can be poured into the land ;
and to avoid danger from seepage, these plots, like
those for lucerne, are best situated on the lowest
part of the holding. With two acres of lucerne, and
with a little hay that can be grown on his dry land,
the fruitgrower should have sufficient feed to keep
a couple of horses.

CHAPTER VI
WHERE TO PLANT

Owing to their various habits all classes of fruit
do not do equally well in every kind of soil or situa-
tion, and as the lands of the Murray Valley consist
of many different classes of soil, it is necessary to
the success of an orchard that every kind of fruit
should be planted in land best suited to its require-
ments.

The whole subject of the adaptability of plants to
soils is a difficult one, and a lot more of experience
will have to be gathered and experiment made
before any degree of finality is reached. Still, the.
experience of the Murray irrigation areas seems to
have demonstrated one or two facts which should
be of use to the new fruitgrower.

In the first place it should be laid down as a prin-
ciple that the nature of a piece of land should deter-
mine the class of fruit that is planted upon it. Self-
evident as such a course may appear, nevertheless
it is not always acted upon. Many settlers in start-
ing a new orchard have made up their minds from
the beginning what they intend to plant, and so the
land is set out irrespective of the suitability of the
soil to the varieties planted.

Even on a ten-acre block there are often two or
three different types of soil, so that in all prob-
ability no one class of fruit would succeed equally
w^ell on every part of it. Newcomers wishing to
plant any particular variety should first find out the
soil requirements necessary for its best develop-

26 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

ment, and then choose a piece of land having as
nearly as possible the required characteristics.

Those new fruitgrowers who, in their anxiety to
make a financial success of their undertaking, only
wish to plant those varieties wrhich they think will
"pay" them the best, have to remember that no kind
of fruits will "pay" unless they bear good average
crops, and that these can only be produced if the
trees are planted in soils and situations best suited
to their requirements.

The chief types of soil used for fruitgrowing
along the Murray Valley, and their suitability to
various fruit varieties, as far as present experience
seems to indicate, are as follows :

Box and Blue Bush River Flats. This class of
land, which evidently consists of ancient river de-
posits, is mostly made up of a variety of loamy
clays, often with a layer of sand on top. On the
whole the soil is heavy, sets hard with irrigation,
but is made much looser and friable by the appli-
cation of gypsum. As drift-sand is usually found
within twelve feet from the surface of the ground,
the under-drainage is good, and no danger from
seepage exists. This land requires much cultiva-
tion, with the systematic use of gypsum to make it
loose for the root requirements of the trees.

All varieties of vines do well on this class of
land and yield heavy crops, but their growth is not
so rapid during the first three or four years, as is
the case on the high lands.

Pears, which bear best on heavy soil, also do well ;
and the prune, although not yet much grown along
the Murray, does best on a clay soil elsewhere.

The apricot also thrives well on a fairly heavy
soil, but must have good under-drainage, and should
therefore be planted where the drift-sand is fairly
close to the surface.

Where to Plant 27

Peaches and oranges, which naturally prefer a
loose loamy soil, will, however, also do well on the
best river flat land, provided that the under-drainage
is perfect, and that no irrigation water stagnates
around the roots.

On the whole the good lands of the river flats are
a safe proposition for most varieties of fruits, al-
though their initial growth is not so rapid as it is on
the higher lands.

River Flat Hardpan. Running through great
portions of the better class of river flat lands are
patches of hardpan, or claypan,, originally without
vegetation, and on which it is only with the greatest
difficulty anything is induced to grow. With much
cultivation and heavy dressings of gypsum, pears
and vines may be made to grow on this land, but
can hardly be said to thrive.

Pine and Needlebush Rises. Of all the Murray
uplands these usually contain the deepest soil. The
first two feet to four feet consist of a red, sandy
loam, and below this is generally a loose, greyish-
brown, calcareous marl. Where such soil exists on
even, sloping ground, ensuring good drainage, it
may be considered as first-class orange land. The
orange thrives best in a fairly rich and loose soil,
and the conditions favourable to its growth on the
deeper class of soils of the Murray uplands may be
said to be practically ideal.

The peach, which of all the fruits grown along
the Murray appears to be the most delicate, with-
standing less salt and moisture than any other class
of fruit, seems to do better on this soil than it does
on any other class of land of the uplands.

Almonds, apricots, and all classes of vines grow
luxuriantly on this type of land, and come into bear-
ing earlier than when planted on the river flats. The

28 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

pine rises may be said to be the "safest" of all the
river highlands, being practically free from salt.

Deep Mallee Soils. The mallee lands of the
Murray may be conveniently grouped into two
classes — deep and shallow. The deep soils are
often indicated by trees of the largest size having
big individual stumps. The land varies from about
18 inches to 3 feet in depth, is generally well sup-
plied with vegetable mould from decayed and semi-
decayed mallee leaves and stumps, and is usually
underlaid with a loose, greyish-brown calcareous
marl, as are the pine lands.

The currant, sultana, malaga, doradillo, and prac-
tically all varieties of vines luxuriate in this class of
land, bear early, and carry heavy crops. Provided
the land has an even slope for under-drainage,
the orange also does well, and, if anything, grows
even faster here than it does on the pine lands.

Owing to this land having probably more salt in
its composition than the pine and needlebush rises,
it is "safer" not to plant it with peaches, nectarines,
or apricots.

In the writer's opinion stone fruits have been
greatly over-planted in the newly-settled irrigation
areas, and to make matters worse a large proportion
of the plantings appear to have been made on un-
suitable land. The writer's own experience has
been that it is useless to attempt to grow stone
fruits on mallee soils that are under two feet in
depth before the sub-soil is reached, or in situations
where the drainage is not perfect. On such lands
or position the trees grow well for some years, but
are generally overtaken by salt or seepage before
they are in full bearing. It is therefore advisable
that for the planting of stone fruits mallee soils
should be avoided unless the surface soil is of ex-
ceptional depth, say, four feet, and is situated on

Where to Plant 29

steep, sloping land so as to ensure good drainage.

Shallow Mallee Soils. These vary from about
nine to eighteen inches in depth. The sub-soil is
either the usual light-brownish marl, a whitish cal-
careous clay, or limestone rubble underlaid with
marl. The natural vegetation is often dense, with
medium to small individual trees. This is the most
difficult of all the upland soils to deal with. Where
the sub-soil is the usual loose brownish marl, which
allows the irrigation water to pass through it fairly
rapidly, the trouble is not so great. Where, how-
ever, the sub-soil is greatly impervious to water, as
is generally the case with the whitish calcareous
marl (which when irrigated gets into a tenacious
putty-like mass), then injury from salt may be
expected.

Therefore on soil of this nature it is not advis-
able to plant peaches, nectarines, apricots, almonds,
or oranges. Of all classes of trees the pear is
the hardiest in its resistance to both salt and seep-
age; but most varieties of vines are even hardier.
The sultana, currant, and doradillo have been found
toi>e able to withstand salt and seepage better than
other varieties of fruits, and are the "safest" pro-
position to plant in this kind of soil.

Level and Gently Undulating Mallee Lands.
These lands are of various depths, but having little
or no fall have practically no get-away for the irri-
gation water excepting straight downwards. As
the sub-soil of the mallee lands is often impervious
to water, water-logging may result. Salt also often
makes its appearance on this kind of land, and is
probably due to the natural salinity of the soil,
aided by defective drainage.

Neither citrus nor stone fruits should be planted on
this type of land, the vine being the only safe pro-
position.

30 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

Other Classes of Land. Other kinds of highlands
used for fruitgrowing include : Sandalwood rises —
soil loose, medium depth, good for vines, fair for
citrus. Hop Bush Flats: The firmest of all the up-
land soils ; good for apricots, prunes, pears ; also
peaches, oranges and vines. Porcupine rises : Loose
surface soil, generally firm sub-soil; vines, pears,
apples, prunes.

SUMMARY.

Apricots like fairly firm soil with good drainage.

Peaches, Nectarines, Almonds prefer loose, deep
soil ; must have good drainage.

Prunes like fairly firm soil ; will stand more mois-
ture than most varieties.

Pears prefer firm soil ; hardy almost anywhere ;
will withstand more salt and moisture than other
trees.

Citrus like loose, deep soil ; must have good
drainage.

Vines will grow practically anywhere, but do best
on good soil.

CHAPTER VII

HOW TO PLANT

After the land has been grubbed, ploughed,
graded, harrowed, channeled, and it has been
decided what to plant, the ground is next set out for
planting.

The length and grade of the rows of trees and
vines necessary for their satisfactory irrigation has
already been dealt with in Chapter IV. Where the
land is hilly or undulating it is often impossible to
water all trie land of a holding with the same grade,
therefore the orchard has often to be laid out in two
or more sections, each section having a different
grade along which to water. This somewhat spoils
the appearance of uniformity of the plantation, but
with our furrow system of watering this is often
unavoidable, as the success of the orchard depends
upon its efficient irrigation, so all other considera-
tions must give place to this.

DISTANCES.

Trees are set out in orchard form in anything from
18 feet to 24 feet apart. Such varieties as pears,
Rome Beauty apples, and some kinds of almonds,
being of upright habit, do not take up as much room
as the more spreading peaches, nectarines, arid
oranges. But for the practical working of the
orchard, both in irrigation and cultivation, it is
essential that the trees of the same irrigated section,
and preferably of the whole orchard, should be the
same distance apart.

32 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

The standard distance at which trees are planted
in orchard form may be taken as 20 feet by 20 feet
apart on the square. This gives, roughly, 100 trees
to the acre, allowing for space for headlands,
and this is generally found a convenient all-round
distance. Some growers, however, prefer 22 feet
by 22 feet, and even 24 feet by 24 feet, for peaches
and oranges on deep rich land. A headland of 20
feet to 24 feet should be left along the channel and
along the end of the rows to allow space for turning
in horse cultivation.

Regarding vines, sultanas may be planted in
rows 12 feet apart, with vines from 7 feet to 8 feet
apart in the rows ; currants and doradillos in rows
12 feet apart, with vines 10 to 12 feet apart in the
rows, and gordos in rows 10 feet to 12 feet apart,
with vines from 6 feet to 8 feet in the rows.

PEGGING OUT.

After the grade and length of the rows, as well as
the distance at which it is intended to plant has been
decided upon, the ground has next to be pegged out
for planting. This is usually done by means of a
wire planting line that has either metal or cloth tags
inserted' at regular intervals at the distance at which
the trees or vines are to be planted. In using, the
line is drawn tight and a peg is driven into the
ground at every tag.

Where the land is fairly level or has but a gentle
fall, the channel may be used as a base line and the
rows go off at right angles from it; but where the
rows, in order to have the correct grade, branch off
from the channel at other than right angles, then the
line drawn from the channel at the angle it is in-
tended to water should serve as the base line, and
all other measurements should be taken from this.

Owing to mistakes made in the laying out of a

How to Plant 33

plantation remaining for the orchard's existence,
those without previous experience should obtain the
aid of an experienced man to help them with this
work.

PLANTING DECIDUOUS TREES AND VINES.

As soon as the young trees have been received
from the nursery they should be unpacked and
"heeled in" in a trench. Water should be given
immediately, and the ground kept damp until the
trees are removed for planting. If the soil is damp,
deciduous trees and vines may be planted with
safety any time in August; should, however, the
land be dry, it is best to plant with an irrigation, or
at most a day before an irrigation.

In digging the holes for planting the trees, the
pegs should not be removed, but the holes should
be dug at the side of the pegs and quite close to
them. By this means the pegs serve as a guide and
show* if the trees are being planted in line, but care
must be exercised in digging the holes all on the
same side of the pegs, or else the rows will not be
straight. On the average sandy lands it is not
necessary to dig large holes, which should be just
wide and deep enough to receive the roots of the
trees without cramping them, from 1 foot to 15
inches square, and from 9 inches to 1 foot deep will
be found about the right size.

Before planting, all broken roots should be cut
off and all other roots trimmed back. The average
sized deciduous tree after being root-pruned should
have a root-spread of 1 foot to 15 inches in a hori-
zontal direction and be from 9 inches to 1 foot in
depth. The top of the tree should be pruned back to
1 foot to 15 inches from the ground, either to a
single stick or to three forks, according to the buds
upon it.

34 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

In planting, spread out the roots evenly, giving
them a slanting, downward direction, fill in carefully
with earth, and press the ground firmly about the
roots. When planted the trees should stand at the
same depth as they stood in the nursery rows. If
the trees are planted with an irrigation it will not
be necessary to tread the ground around the roots,
for if the 'water is led into the hole while the plant-
ing takes place it will firm the earth more thor-
oughly than by any other means.

In planting vines the tops are cut back to one
spur carrying two or three buds, and the roots
shortened back to two or three inches. The depth
of planting is the same as when in the nursery, and
the soil is firmed by water or treading as in the case
of the trees.

PLANTING CITRUS.

Citrus trees are generally planted along the
Murray Valley during the first two weeks of Sep-
tember. Planting during the month of May has
something to recommend it, as it gives the trees
ample time to make new roots before the hot
weather sets in. Trees planted in May have to
receive a planting irrigation, should be protected by
hessian or other means from the winter frosts, and
if the winter is dry, as is often the case, will have to
receive a winter watering. As the pumping plants
of most of the irrigation areas are not at work during
the winter months, the difficulty of obtaining a late
autumn or winter irrigation has militated against
the autumn planting of citrus, and makes September
planting the easiest and safest proposition.

Citrus trees are received from the nursery in
boxes packed in earth or damp sawdust, with the
tops covered with hessian. If it is intended to plant
within a few days of their arrival, the trees, if they

How to Plant 35

are in good condition, may be left in the boxes until
planting time, care being taken to place the boxes
in a cool and shady place, the tops kept covered up,
and ample supplies of water given to the roots ^and
tops. If it is not intended to plant for some time,
or if the leaves of the trees are limp, the trees
should be taken out of the cases and heeled in in a
shady place. Plenty of water should be given to
both the roots and foliage, and the tops left covered
with hessian.

Before planting, the roots should be shortened
back and all broken roots removed. In cutting back
the tops it is not advisable to head the trees too low.
Clean stems of about 18 inches are more desirable
than shorter stems, on account of the limbs of low-
headed trees, being nearer the ground, getting in the
way of the cultivator. Besides this, the fruit of
low-headed trees is apt to come in contact with the
earth, and is therefore liable to be spoiled. Trees
having long clean stems should have their stems
protected by straw or hessian loosely tied around
them for the first summer to prevent injury from
sun scald, which covering may be removed in early
autumn. Trees that have been headed low in the
nursery should have all drooping growth removed,
and pruned to upward growing branches, and under
all circumstances all unripe shoots should be cut
off.

Citrus are best planted with an irrigation, the
water running along the furrows and being led into
the holes while the trees are being planted. Care
must be taken that the trees are not planted deeper
than they stood in the nursery — if anything a little
higher to allow for settling — as citrus do not do well
if deeply planted.

When taking the trees out to be planted, the roots
should be kept covered with a damp bag or piece

36 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

of hessian, or carried with the roots in a tub of
puddle until they are planted. Nothing is so in-
jurious to young citrus than to have their roots
exposed, even for a few minutes, to the influence of
sun or wind.

If the trees are planted before an irrigation they
must be each given a bucket of water immediately
after planting, and the irrigation should follow in
a couple of days. A good cultivation should follow,
especially close to the trees, which should be done
with a forked hoe or rake to avoid cutting the roots.

CHAPTER VIII

COVER CROPS

Crops of annual plants, such as cereals and
legumes, are often grown in the orchard or vine-
yard, and are usually designated as cover crops.
Cover crops are generally grown for shelter or for
green manure, or for both. If situated on sandy
land the soil of a newly planted or young orchard is
liable to be blown about by the wind, especially
after it has been freshly ploughed or cultivated, as
the young plants have insufficient foliage to protect
the ground from the full force of the wind. During
a gale the sand is often blown with considerable
force against the stems and foliage of the trees to
their great injury.

Along the Murray Valley the weather is usually
fairly calm during the summer and autumn months,
but during September and October the equinoxial
gales often blow with great force and persistence.
During these storms, on newly-ploughed and
freshly-planted orchards situated on sandy land, the
damage done is sometimes severe — the drifting
sand barking the trees, destroying their foliage, and
even covering the irrigation channels with sand. To
avoid losses from sand-drift in newly-planted or-
chards it is necessary that the soil should be held
together by a mass of plant growth. TJiis can be
accomplished by sowing strips of cereals or
legumes in the rows the way it is intended to water.
If the trees are planted 20 feet apart a 9 feet strip
will be sufficient for the first season, and a 6 feet

38 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

strip for the second and third years. In every case
the cover crops should be sown during the autumn
or early winter months, so that the crop is of some
considerable height by September, when the windy
weather begins.

On newly-planted lands containing a fair supply
of humus, such as on (Jeep mallee soils, where it is
not necessary to plough in green crops for manure
for some years, the cover crops may consist of
cereals, such as wheat, oats, or barley. Wheat has
proved to be a very satisfactory cover crop for the
first three years among young trees, if drilled in
with manure in strips from 6 feet to 9 feet wide.
Enough hay can in this way be grown to keep the
grower's horses for some years, and provided the
crop is manured on a liberal scale, no injury to the
land or the trees should result. After the trees are
three or four years old they should have developed
sufficient growth to shelter the ground from the
worst effects of the wind, and cover crops for shelter
will no longer be required.

Trees or vines planted in land having a deficiency
of humus will not make satisfactory growth, and
that compound must be added to the soil if the
orchard is to be a success. The cheapest way to get
humus into the soil is by ploughing in green crops.
The crops grown for this purpose are generally
legumes, such as peas, clovers, vetches, which
acquire, through the agency of the root-inhabiting
bacteria, the necessary nitrogen for their growth
out of the air, so that when they are ploughed in
both humus and nitrogen are added to the soil. Like
cereals, legumes are best sown or drilled in with a
good dressing of phosphates, say, 2 cwts., in the
autumn, so as to be well established before the cold
weather sets in.

The best time to plough in is when the crop is in

Cover Crops 39

flower, and it should first be rolled down by short
intervals abreast of the plough, so that the plough
is able to turn the crop under.

As the clean system of summer cultivation that is
necessary to practise under irrigation burns up the
humus in the soil, it is advisable to plough in green
crops in established orchards at regular intervals.

CHAPTER IX

IRRIGATION

As previously stated trees and vines are usually
irrigated on the furrow system, that is, one or more
furrows are ploughed on each side of the rows, and
the water is allowed to run along them until the
orchard has had sufficient. The check system —
flooding the land with an even sheet of water — is
sometimes practised on level land of a rather stiff
nature ; but owing to the heavy cost of grading
where the land is at all hilly or undulating, this
method is not practised to any considerable extent.

As it is necessary for the success of the orchard
that every tree should have as nearly as possible
the same amount of water, the watering should be
so managed that the water does not take too long
to reach the last trees of the row, nor should it be
so rapid as to cause a washing away of the soil at
the beginning of the row. As far as circumstances
will permit, this end may be attained by the appli-
cation of the following principles to the varying
conditions of soil and grade.

Firstly: Fairly level land of a stiff nature. This
class of land, whether watered by flooding or by
furrow, may be irrigated with a large stream of
water running into the checks or along the furrows,
as the grade (if any) is insufficient to cause a wash-
ing away of soil, and the soil too tenacious to absorb
the water quickly. On the river flat land it is, on
the whole, not quite so essential to economize in the
use of water as it is on the highlands, as the under-

Irrigation 41

drainage is usually good ; but heavy watering may
result in water-logging the land for a time to the
injury of the trees.

Secondly : Short steep rows on sandy land. These
should be watered with a small stream running
along the furrows for a comparatively long time.
Watering with a large stream down steep slopes
soon washes the top soil away, causing deep gutters
to form, while the washed-out soil silts up the' fur-
rows further down the slope, so that the water
spreads there, and very little reaches the end of the
rows. A small stream will not cause this trouble,
but as by this means the quantity of water going
into the soil is not very great at any time ; the time
of watering must be extended to allow for this.

Thirdly: Rows of moderate length and grade on
sandy slopes. Rows of 5 chains in length, with a
grade of about 9 inches to the chain, give very satis-
factory results in irrigating. These are best watered
with a moderate to large stream along the furrows,
and will give little or no trouble through silting.
The size of the stream to use depends not only on
the grade but also on the nature of. the land. The
sandier the land is, the more will it be absorbent of
moisture, and the longer will the water take to get
to the end of the rows. Therefore to get as nearly
as possible an even distribution of water over the
whole orchard it is necessary, other things being
equal, to make it a rule in irrigating to follow the
principle of the sandier the land the larger the
stream.

Fourthly: Rows of moderate length with but
little grade on sandy land. These should be watered
with a large stream running along the furrows for
a comparatively short time, for to water such rows
with a moderate to small stream would cause the

42 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

top trees of the row to receive too much water
before the last ones have had sufficient.

As stated in previous chapters, nothing is so detri-
mental to the welfare of the orchard as to water
along an almost level grade on sandy land ; for the
great quantity of water it is necessary to use before
the end of the rows are watered may cause seepage
to appear on the lower portion of the holding
should the urider-drainage of the land not be perfect.
But seepage may also be brought about, even on
land that has been well laid out, both as regards
channeling and planting, if the watering is careless
or excessive. One of the quickest ways to ruin a
piece of land is to water along a gentle grade with
a small stream, or along a fairly steep grade with a
large stream. In both instances the upper portion
of the rows gets too much water and the lower
portion too little, with the likelihood of seepage
appearing on the lower part of the holding at some
time.

The chief work in connection with the irrigation
of the orchard is to see that the furrows are kept
running. Weeds and leaves will occasionally block
the outlet pipes, and these must be removed. Fur-
rows that are silting up must be cleared, and those
that have burst must be repaired. Where the land
has been well laid out for watering not much -work
is experienced in its irrigation ; still it is necessary
for a man to be in attendance for the greater portion
of the time to see that all goes well.

AMOUNT OF WATER TO USE.

The art of irrigation may be said to consist of
securing the maximum of crop from the minimum
of water. The advantages of not using more water
than is absolutely necessary is apparent for three
reasons : firstly, that irrigation, which is at best a
mussy occupation, should not be unduly prolonged,

Irrigation 43

as this results in a waste of time and labour;
secondly, that the economical use of water lessens
the danger from seepage ; and thirdly, that excessive
watering leaches out the most expensive plant foods
such as nitrates, contained in the soil, and carries
them down deep into the sub-soil out of the reach of
the roots of the plants.

Provided that the land is kept well cultivated,
newly-planted trees and vines do not require more
than from 15 inches to 20 inches of irrigation water
the first season. When once established and before
they come into bearing, fruit trees and vines planted
on sandy land can be kept in vigorous health on 15
inches and under of irrigation water per annum.
One of the greatest mistakes often made by new-
comers on irrigation areas is in watering too
heavily. On most of the irrigation settlements the
regulations formulated by the governing authorities
permit the individual irrigationist to use up to 24
inches of water per acre ; but these regulations are
not always enforced, with the result that inexpe-
rienced irrigationists often put far more water on to
their land than is good for it. Seepage, the greatest
foe the irrigationist has to fear, is more often
brought about by excessive or careless watering
than by any other means. Experience has shown
that 24 acre inches per annum is amply sufficient for
vines and trees in full bearing, and that with good
cultivation it is possible to obtain the heaviest crops
with considerably less water than this.

SOME EXPERIMENTS IN IRRIGATION.

To give practical illustrations of the results that
may be obtained by an economical use of water
combined' with thorough cultivation, the writer
hopes that he may be pardoned by here introducing
the results of a few experiments made at his orchard,
•which is situated on the uplands of Berri.

44 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

Young Deciduous Trees. These, consisting of
peaches, nectarines and pears, did not have their
meter readings kept until their third year. Consid-
ering the irrigation season as commencing on July
1 and extending until the end of the following June
30, the irrigation records consist of:

1913-14 season : 12 inches of irrigation water per
acre ; rainfall during same period, 8-J inches ; total
water received per acre, 20-| inches.

1914-15 season : 11J inches of irrigation water per
acre ; rainfall during same period, 5.3 inches ; total
water received per acre, 16.8 inches.

1915-16 season : 15 inches of irrigation water per
acre ; rainfall during same period, 7.73 inches ; total
water received per acre, 22.73 inches.

The growth of the trees during these three years
was good, but as the land later on developed alkali
trouble in places, the trees were removed and the
land planted with vines.

Young Citrus. Owing to their evergreen nature,
citrus trees require more water than most varieties
of deciduous trees. For irrigation purposes the
citrus plantation was divided into three different
sections, each section receiving different amounts
of water. Meter readings were not kept until the
trees were in their third year. Naming the three
sections as A, B, and C, the irrigation records are
as follows :

SECTION A (Five Acres).
Six years old 1918.

Season Acre inches Rainfall 1st Total Water

of Irrigation July to received, in

water used 30th June acre inches

1914-15 17 5.3 22.3

1915-16 18 7.73 25.73

1916-17 10 16.64 26.64

1917-18 13 13.93 2693

Season

1914-15

Acre inches
of Irrigation
water used

20

Eainfall 1st
July to
30th June

5.3

1915-16

24

7.73

1916-17

15

16.64

1917-18.

21

13.93

Irrigation 45

SECTION B (Five Acres).
Six years old 1918.

Total Water
received, in
acre inches

25.3
31.73
31.64
34.93

SECTION C (Five Acres).
Seven years old 1918.

Season Acre inches Eainfall 1st Total Water

of Irrigation July to received, in

water used 30th June acre inches

1914-15 15 5.3 20.3

1915-16 18 7.73 25.73

1916-17 11 16.64 27.64

1917-18 14 13.93 27.93

Although during these four years Section B
received 80 acre inches of irrigation water as against
58 acre inches received by Section A, yet the growth
and general health of the trees on both sections,
which are situated on similar soil, was, as far as all
appearances went, identical. However, during the
1917-18 season, as shown by the occasional wilting
of some of the trees, it was evident that Section A,
with 13 inches of irrigation water, had received the
minimum amount, lower than which it was not safe
to go if the crop was not to be lost. Nevertheless,
on Section C, during the 1917-18 season, the appli-
cation of 14 inches of irrigation water proved suffi-
cient to mature an average crop of four cases of
fruit per tree from a section of mandarins situated
on land of a similar nature to Sections A and B.

The argument is sometimes advanced by fruit-
growers that although it is possible for young trees
and vines to make satisfactory growth on small

46 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

quantities of water, yet when these have reached
maturity and are carrying heavy crops it is neces-
sary to water very heavily to ensure the filling out
of the fruit and to make good fruit-wood for the
next season.

To test this point experiments were carried out
with bearing currant and sultana vines. The cur-
rants were situated on the highest part of the hold-
ing on a sandy rise with no irrigable land above
them, and could therefore receive no water by seep-
age from other portions of the orchard. The irri-
gation results were as follows :

CURRANTS.

Season Crop Dried Acre inches Baiufall 1st Total Water

Fruit per of Irrigation July to received, in

acre water used 30th June acr« invites

1913-14 16cwt. 15 8.5 23.5

1914-15 1 ton 14 5.3 19.3

1915-16 2itons 18 7.73 25.73

1916-17 2itons 9 16.64 25.64

1917-18 2itons 14 13.93 27.93

Sultanas situated just below the currant planta-
tion received the same amount of water, and during
the four years of 1915 to 1918 (inclusive) gave a
yield of 1 ton, 1| tons, If tons, and 1J tons of dried
fruit per acre respectively.

These figures seem to indicate that over a period
of up to five years — the first three years of which
were seasons of drought — that on sandy land,
underlaid by the usual calcareous marl, it is pos-
sible to harvest the heaviest crops on less than 20
inches of irrigation water per annum.

IRRIGATION SEASON.

In practice the irrigation season extends from
August until about May in normal years. If the
spring is wet or cool the first two irrigations need

Irrigation 47

only be light. The heaviest waterings should be
made during the hottest, months, when the evapora-
tion both through the foliage of the plants and from
out of the ground is at its greatest; but they should
also vary according to the different classes of fruit.
Thus, for the filling out of their fruit, apricots
should receive their heaviest -watering at the end of
November; mid-season peaches in mid-December;
currants and sultanas during December and Janu-
ary. Citrus should receive good waterings during
the summer months, and are benefited by an April
irrigation in the filling out of their fruit.

Perhaps some indication of how water may be
applied with good results during a dry summer may
be obtained from the perusal of the figures relating
to the amount of water given to the vines before
referred to during the 1915-16 season, which were :
September, 3 inches ; November, 3J inches ; Decem-
ber, 6^ inches ; February, 5 inches ; making a total
of 18 inches for the season.

After the crop has been harvested, little, if any,
water should be applied, as heavy waterings at this
period force out late sappy growth which, being
useless as fruit wood, has to be removed at the
winter pruning. Apricots and mid-season peaches,
which ripen their fruit during January, may receive
a moderate 'watering after their fruit is off, as the
time from January to the following August is too
long a period to be without water during a dry
summer.

CHAPTER X

CULTIVATION

So closely connected with irrigation as to be
practically a part of it is the subject of cultivation.
The irrigation of a piece of land is of little use
unless it is followed by cultivation, as the water
poured into the soil soon evaporates unless the
surface of the ground is kept well stirred. Cultiva-
tion destroys the small capillary tubes along which
the moisture passes through the soil into the atmos-
phere, and by thus forming a blanket of loose earth
on top, through which evaporation can only imper-
fectly take place, the lower layers of the soil are
kept moist.

Another result of cultivation is that by checking
evaporation the formation of alkalis on the surface
of the ground is prevented.

In arid regions, such as the greater portion of the
Murray Valley consists of, the rainfall has never
been sufficient to leach much of the natural salts
out of the land and to carry them away in the river
water. When this land is irrigated some of the
salts are dissolved by the water. Capillary action
draws the salt-impregnated water to the surface of
the ground, where the water is evaporated and the
salts left as a residue. As some of these salts are
highly detrimental to plant- life, being especially
injurious when concentrated on or near the surface
of the ground to the crown and surface roots of
fruit trees, it is necessary, were it only for this
reason alone, that the work of cultivation in the
orchard should be of a thorough nature.

Cultivation 49

During the early part of the season, while the
weather is still cool, the cultivation of the whole of
the orchard is not quite so essential as it is during
the summer months. If cover crops intended for
hay, such as wheat or oats, are grown in between
the rows of young trees, these should occupy strips
of not more than 6 feet wide, so that a two-horse
cultivator can be driven along each side of the rows
of trees. After such cover crops are mown, which
will be either in October or November, the whole
orchard should be cultivated or disc-harrowed, and
kept well-worked and free from weeds for the rest
of the season.

Where the land cannot be stirred by horse-culti-
vation, such as near the stems of trees and vines,
the land must be kept loose and the weeds destroyed
with the hoe. Young trees should receive special
cultivation close to the tree, as the roots are not far
from the stem, and the forked hoe, which does not
cut the roots, if by accident it is inserted too deeply
into the soil, is a very useful implement for this
work. To ensure satisfactory growth in a young
orchard too much care cannot be exercised in this
work of close cultivation, as every weed is a pump
drawing the moisture into the air that the young
tree requires for its needs.

One of the greatest mistakes often made by new-
comers on irrigation settlements is in the lack of
sufficient cultivation. How often are not newly-
planted orchards met with with but a 2 feet to 3
feet strip of .cultivated land along each side of the
rows of trees, while the rest of the land is given
over to the production of a* crop of. luxuriant weeds,
which rapidly pump the moisture out of the land,
and by creating a dry belt alongside the cultivated
one, rob the latter of most of its moisture. Under
such circumstances it is impossible for the trees to

50 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

make satisfactory growth, and the development of
the orchard is retarded.

The cultivation of a piece of land, by checking
evaporation from out of the ground, causes most of
the moisture to remain in the soil for the use of the
plants occupying the land. Therefore the more
thorough and more often the cultivation of the
orchard takes place the less will be the evaporation,
and consequently the smaller will be the quantity
of wrater required to maintain the plants in good
condition. The golden rule for the irrigationist to
adopt is to apply the minimum of irrigation with
the maximum of cultivation consistent with the
satisfactory growth of his plants. To follow the
opposite principle — to make up for lack of cultiva-
tion with excessive irrigation — is to court disaster,
for such a policy, if persisted- in, causes either the
formation of surface alkalies or the water-logging
of the sub-soil, or both, and ultimately results in the
death of the plants and in the ruin of the land.

A cultivation of the orchard should follow every
irrigation after the ground has been allowed to dry
a little, so as not to puddle the soil, and also after
every rain of any consequence. Where the ground
is naturally hard or turns up in lumps, an additional
cultivation in between each irrigation is desirable.
During the late autumn and winter months, if no
cover crops have been planted, weeds may be per-
mitted to come up, but should be ploughed in green
in the early spring. Cover crops intended for green
manure should be rolled down and ploughed in when
in flower, and the whple plantation should be
ploughed up every season during the late 'winter or
early spring months, after which no more weeds
should be permitted to grow for the rest of the
season.

Cultivation , 51

TWO-HORSE IMPLEMENTS.

One of the reasons why settlers new to fruit-
growing do not cultivate their land enough is that
they often do not keep sufficient horses to do their
work thoroughly. To do the work of cultivation
well and expeditiously, two or three horse cultiva-
tors or disc harrows should be used. With the
exception of the closing in of furrows, the one-horse
cultivator, "scuffler," , is of little use for orchard
work. Not only do two-horse implements do the
work in half the time that one-horse implements do,
but they also do by far the better work. To culti-
vate all the land of even a ten-acre block with a
one-horse cultivator is a slow and tedious task, and
the result is only a mere scratching of the surface
soil.

CHAPTER XI

TRELLISING THE VINE

Vine Trellis should consist of stout posts, split
gum or box for preference. Mallee and sandalwood
posts cannot be recommended, as the white ants
usually destroy these in a few years, but they will
not touch the river gum or box. The posts should
be of 6 feet length, and inserted about 1 foot 10
inches into the ground, leaving them about 4 feet 2
inches above the ground.

It is not advisable for the posts of the trellis to be
more than 24 feet apart, as if further apart than this
the wires are apt to sag too near to the ground when
under the strain of a heavy crop of fruit, and for
some of the fruit to come in contact with the earth
and be spoiled in consequence. Thus, if the vines
are planted 8- feet apart the posts should be inserted
midway between every third and fourth vine, there-
by making the posts 24 feet apart and 4 feet from
each of the vines between which they are inserted.

To further prevent undue sagging of the wires
when carrying a heavy crop, the bottom wire of a
trellis should not be closer than 2 feet 6 inches to
the ground. If the trellis is to have three wires,
then the second wire should be about 9 inches above
the bottom wire, and the top wire about 9 inches
above the middle one.

On a two-wire trellis the bottom wire could be
raised to 2 feet 9 inches from the ground, and the
top wire to about 4 feet. Threa-wire trellises are cer-
tainly more convenient for pruning, but owing to

Trellising the Vine 53

the high cost of wire many growers are using but
two wires to their trellis, and this class of trellis has,
on the whole, proved fairly satisfactory.

THE SULTANA.

Grown on suitable land, the young sultana vine
should have made sufficient growth to be in a fit
state to trellis twelve months after planting.

The trellis should be put in during the winter or
early spring, so that when the vine makes its second
season's growth it may at once be trained along
the wire and all its energy utilized to the best
advantage.

A well-grown vine will generally have made
numerous canes of varying length during its first
season's growth. The best one of these should be
taken up to the bottom wire, cut off above this
height, the top bud of the cane thus treated blinded,
and the cane from just beneath this blinded bud tied
to the wire with stout string or binder twine. The
other canes of the vine, should be cut right off, as
only one stem is wanted. When tying the cane
selected for the stem on to the wire it should be
pulled up tightly, even if the wire is bent down
somewhat in consequence, so that the stem is quite
straightened out, and in this taut condition tied to
the wire.

Where none of the canes of a vine are long enough
or of sufficient strength to be able to be treated in
this manner, the vine may be reduced to its strongest
cane as in the former case, but one of the canes that
is not wanted should not be cut clean off but left
with a stub of a few inches in length. On to this
stub a piece of binder twine is tied, and the other
end tied tightly on to the bottom wire of the trellis.
The cane it is intended to use as the stem is then
twisted around this piece of twine, which it uses as

54 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

a support, and as the cane grows it is further
twisted around the twine until it reaches the height
of the trellis, when its top is pinched off.

Some growers favour cutting the young vines
down to a few eyes on a single rod at the first win-
ter's pruning, so as to make new vigorous canes
that can be utilized as stems in the spring time.
This method may be successfully used if calm
•weather prevails during the spring months; but as
the equinoxial gales often blow with great force for
days — and even weeks — at a time, the tender young
shoots are apt to be broken off by the force of the
wind, and the development of the vine retarded.
Therefore, on the whole it is advisable to utilize for
stems canes that have made good growth during
the first season, and only to cut back for new rods
where the growth has been unsatisfactory.

The sultana vine is trained on the T system, that
is, with a straight stem and two short arms, one on
each side of the stem running along the bottom
wire.

After the stem of the young vine has been stopped
at the bottom wire side shoots 'will grow out from
the stem. Two of these, those nearest the wire, are
laid or lightly twisted, or, better still, lightly tied on
to the wire, one on each side of the vine. These
rods form the permanent arms of the vine, and all
other growth coming from the stem should be cut
off.

The arm's should be restricted to about 1 foot in
length ; but there is some difference of opinion
among growers as to what should constitute the
ideal length of arm. Some years ago it was the
fashion to train sultanas with long arms, 2 feet in
length or over; but now the pendulum has swung
around to the opposite extreme, and in many in-
stances vines are trained with exceedingly short

Trellising the Vine 55

arms of from four to six inches in length. Upon
land where the growth of the vines is not vigorous,
such as upon the harder class of river flat land,
long arms are certainly not desirable, as the sap is
not sufficient to form strong fruiting rods from the
numerous buds on the arm, and so only numerous
small, weakly shoots are often the result, whereas
if the arm is kept short the sap, being distributed
through fewer buds, forces out stronger canes. On
very rich land again, such as on deep mallee soils,
where the growth is exceedingly vigorous, if vines
are trained with arms reduced to mere stubs of a
few inches in length, the resultant canes often grow
to the thickness of young bamboos, and as such are
not suitable for fruiting wood. However, arms left
to about one foot in length at the second winter's
pruning should suit sultanas grown on fertile soil,
but where the soil is inferior and the growth poor,
it is advisable to reduce the arms to six inches in
length.

THE CURRANT. , .

The Zante currant is trained either on the "cor-
don" or "espalier" system.

The cordon has one arm only trained on one side
of the stem, while with the espalier there is at least
one arm on each side of the stem. •

The currant trellis is generally constructed with
two wires, although as a support for the foliage a
third wire is an advantage, but adds considerably
to the cost of the trellis.

If the vines are to be trellised on the cordon
system, the young vine is reduced to its best cane,
as in the case of the sultana, and this cane is then
twisted or tied on to the bottom (or middle) wire
and trained along it. Sometimes the alternate vines
of a row are trained along alternate wires ; thus one
vine will be trained along the bottom wire and the

56 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

next vine along the middle wire, and so on alter-
nately all along the row, and the cordon year by
year extended until it reaches the cordon of the next
vine trained upon the same wire. The advantages
claimed for the cordon system is that as all the
growth is upon one plane there will be a more even
flowr of sap, and consequently a more even growth,
than is the case where vines are trellised with a
multiplicity of arms one above the other.

On the South Australian irrigation areas currant
vines are usually trellised on the espalier system,
sometimes with two, but generally with four arms.
A vine trained as a two-armed espalier has all its
fruiting wood on one plane, as in the case of the
cordon, and consequently obtains the advantages
resulting from this method of growth.

A currant vine trained to four arms, one along
each side of the stem following the bottom and
second wires, will, when young, have more fruiting
wood for the first two or three years of bearing
than is the case if trained with fewer arms, and
consequently heavier early crops can be expected. This
is probably the reason why this method of trellising
the currant is so popular; but the objection that is
advanced against this system is that in later years
the upper arms will gradually obtain most of the
sap and devejop at the expense of the lower ones.
Where this is seen to take place it is necessary to
cut off one of the pair of arms and turn the vine
into a two-armed espalier; but while both sets of
arms are making good growth and bearing well it
is as well to leave well done alone.

To train a young currant vine on to the trellis, if
it is intended to shape it into a two-armed espalier,
it is treated in similar manner as a young sultana,
only the arms are left longer for a start — up to 18
inches or 2 feet on a well-grown vine at the winter's
pruning during the second season.

Trellising the Vine 57

To form a four-armed espalier the stem should be
trained up to the second wire .straight away, and if
not long enough to reach this for a start it should
be trained along a piece of binder twine, one end of
which is firmly tied to the second wire, and the other
end to a stub of the vine and twisted once around
the bottom wire; or if the vine is long enough to
reach the bottom wire the twines need only connect
the bottom and second wires.

At the second wire the top of the stem should be
pinched off, and with the exception of the four
shoots, two below each wire which are to form the
arms of the vine, all other growth should be sup-
pressed, and the arms lightly twisted or tied on to
the wires.

OTHER VARIETIES.

Muscat Gordo Blanco. This variety is usually
trained on the gooseberry-bush system, but many
growers are now trellising these vines, as heavier
crops are thereby generally secured, and the fruit
is kept well off the ground.

Gordo trellis usually consist of posts about 2 feet
out of the ground, having a single wire running
through them near the top. The vine is trained
like the sultana, with two short permanent arms of
6 inches to 1 foot in length, and spur-pruned like
the currant.

White Malaga. This kind is usually treated like
the sultana, with two short permanent arms trained
along the bottom wire, and the fruiting rods twisted
on to the wire above.

The Doradillo. The doradillo when trellised may
be trained with two permanent arms along the bot-
tom wire somewhat like the sultana, but with longer
arms, about 3 feet in length, and spur-pruned. The
second wire is there to support the dense foliage and
keep it off the ground.

CHAPTER XII
PRUNING THE VINE

The pruning of vines is confined to two different
systems, the rod-and-spur-pruned and the spur-
pruned systems. The varieties that are rod-and-
spur pruned have at their pruning their old rods —
that is, their rods that have once fruited — as well
as any canes of the new season's growth that are
not wanted for fruiting, either removed or cut back
to one bud ; while the selected canes, all of which
must be of the previous season's growth, are either
tied or twisted on to the wires, and it is the young
shoots that burst from t'hese canes at the following
spring that bear the next season's crop.

With the spur-pruned varieties the previous sea-
son's growth is usually cut back to two buds, and it
is from the growth shooting out from these "spurs"
that the following crop is borne.

As the sultana, currant, gordo, malaga, and dora-
dillo are at present practically the only varieties of
vine grown on a commercial scale on our irrigation
areas, it is not necessary to touch upon the pruning
of other varieties than these.

ROD-AND-SPUR PRUNED VARIETIES.
The Sultana. If the sultana has been trained on
to the trellis during the second summer, and the
arms pinched back to about a foot in length, rods
will probably have grown out from some of the
buds upon the arms ; and upon a well-grown vine a
few of these canes can be left for fruiting purposes
at the second winter's pruning.

Pruning the Vine 59

At the third winter's pruning the sultana vine
should be fully formed. The arms should range
from 6 inches to 1 foot in length, the most vigorous-
growing vines having the longest arms.

The canes selected for fruiting wood should con-
sist of fairly strong but not over rank rods, which,
as a rule, should not be left longer than three feet,
and if the canes have any lateral growth on them
this should be removed. Six canes will generally be
sufficient for vines of average strength, but vines
that have grown very vigorously may be left with
eight canes.

The canes are usually twisted on to the bottom
and second wires, but some growers prefer to twist
them all on to the bottom wire, thereby having all
the fruiting wood on one plane. In putting on
to the wires the canes should be vigorously twisted,
so as to give them a decided kink near their junction
to the main arm, and should then be strongly wound
around the wires so as to practically fracture the
cane — without breaking it — between each set of
nodes.

This twisting and partial fracturing of the canes
between the nodes is done for the purpose of check-
ing the rush of sap in the spring time of mostly
getting to the end of the rods, and thereby forcing
out the buds nearer to the main arm.

To provide fruiting wood for the next season's
crop, some of the canes that are not wanted for the
present season's fruiting are cut back to one or two
buds. As a rule it will not be found necessary to
leave as many spurs as canes, as strong rods usually
shoot out where the old cane has been strongly
twisted, either near its base at the main arm or
where it has been twisted on to the wire, and these
canes can be utilized for fruiting wood. If suitable
rods are found near the end of the main arms it is

60 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

better to use these as fruiting wood and to spur the
rods closer in to the middle of the vine. By this
means the sap is prevented from all rushing to the
end of the arms, forcing out vigorous growth there,
and by starving the buds near the centre of the
vine, tending to make that portion of the vine bar-
ren. For a similar reason the rods at the end of an
arm should never be spurred, as the sap would be
enticed to flow there ; but if not wanted for fruiting
the end rods should be cut right off.

White Malaga. The white malaga is usually
pruned like the sultana, but with somewhat shorter
rods of about 2 feet in length. Some growers have
also achieved very satisfactory results by leaving
numerous short rods, or rather long spurs of about
four buds in length besides the usual single-bud
spurs to supply fruiting wood for the following-
season.

SPUR-PRUNED VARIETIES.

The Currant. At the first winter's pruning after
it has been put upon the trellis the arms of the
young currant vine are cut back to one to two feet
from the stem, according to the strength of the
vine. If the young growth has been twisted on to
the wire during the summer, it should now be un-
twisted and lightly tied to the wire with strong
twine. No growth of any vine should ever be left
twisted around the wire for more than one season,
as the arm in thickening is prevented from expand-
ing where it touches the wire, and is therefore
indented at such places and greatly injured in
consequence.

At each winter's pruning the arms of the vine are
lengthened until they reach the arms of the vines
next to it. It is usually not advisable to extend the
length of the arms too rapidly, and a foot per year
is generally found sufficient in most instances.

Pruning the Vine 61

At the annual pruning the growth arising from
the arms of the currant vine is cut back to form
either single or double spurs. To form a single
spur the previous season's growth is cut back to
two buds. During the following spring and sum-
mer these buds will each produce a cane upon which
the season's crop is borne. At the following win-
ter's pruning the top bud with its growth is cut
right off, and the cane growing from the bottom one
is cut back to two buds. This treatment is repeated
annually.

To form a double spur the rod is cut back to two
buds the first season, as in the case of the single
spur. During the next season's pruning of the two
rods growing from these buds, the top rod is cut
back to two buds and the base bud, while the lower
rod is reduced to one bud and the base bud. At the
following winter's pruning the upper spur with its
growth is cut right off, and the two canes growing
from the previous season's lower spur are cut back
—the uppermost of these canes to two buds and
base bud, and the lower one to one bud and base
bud. This constitutes the annual winter's treat-
ment for this system of pruning. As the leaving of
numerous buds for fruiting wood is a great strain
upon a vine, owing to the crop therefrom resulting,
the double-spur system of pruning is best adapted
for vines of very vigorous habits, while the single
spur system will give satisfactory results with vines
of medium growth.

In addition to the usual single or double spurs
small rods or long spurs are sometimes left on
vigorous vines. This system was first introduced
into the South Australian portion of the Murray
Valley by Mr. Beverley, of Pyap Estate, and called
by him the "drooping spur." The "spurs," of from
four to six buds, are usually left at the ends of the

62 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

permanent arms, and removed at the following-
winter's pruning. After trying this system upon
vigorously-growing vines for three consecutive
seasons, the writer has found this method of prun-
ing to yield very satisfactory results in the way of
crop returns. For vines that are growing very
strongly, especially if they have been planted some-
what closely to each other in the rows, the leaving
of "drooping spurs" at the extremities of the per-
manent arms has a tendency of checking the vines
from growing too strongly into each other, as the
sap, which generally rushes to the end of the vine,
is chiefly utilized in the formation of fruit, rather
than in making useless, rampant growth.

Currant vines that have made very vigorous
growth during the spring and summer, and that
have their foliage trailing over the ground, thereby
interfering with cultivation, have some of their growth
removed by means of secateurs, a heavy knife, or
even with a sharp sickle; but this pruning should
not be so severe as to expose the fruit, especially in
its early stages before the sugar has begun to form,
to the direct rays of the sun.

To ensure the setting of their fruit, currant vines
are cinctured in the spring when they are shedding
their flowers. This is done by running a sharp knife
around the stem. On weak vines the knife is just
run once around the stem, but on the average strong-
growing vine two cinctures are made into the bark
of the stem concentric to each other of about one-
eighth of an inch apart, and the piece of bark in
between these two incisions entirely removed.

The Gordo. When trellised the Muscat Gordo
Blanco is spur-pruned in a similar manner to the
currant vine. The permanent arms, however, are
not extended for more than 15 inches on either side
of the stem, and the spurs are generally not allowed

Pruning the Vine 63

to exceed six to eight in number upon each of the
arms.

The Doradillo. This variety is spur-pruned in a
similar manner to the currant when it is trellised.
On very vigorous vines canes are sometimes used
for fruiting wood in addition to the spurs, and
removed at the following winter's pruning.

CHAPTER XIII

PRUNING OF DECIDUOUS TREES

To go into detail in regard to the whole theory
and practice of pruning would require a volume to
do full justice to this subject. All that can be
attempted here is to give a brief outline of the
practice adopted by riverside growers in dealing
with the chief varieties of deciduous trees grown
under irrigation.

Briefly stated, the main objects of pruning may
be said to be :

(a) For young trees: to create strong, sturdy,

well-balanced trees.

(b) For bearing trees: to 'obtain regular crops of

good quality fruit for the term of the tree's
existence.

For the stimulation of wood growth the practice
of pruning has always been to cut back the top
growth, as the sap of the tree, being distributed
over fewer buds, will cause more vigorous growth
to be made for each new shoot thrown out than
would be the case if all the old wood had been left
and more new shoots had grown.

The application of this principle of the weaker
the growth the severer the pruning, and the stronger
the growth the lesser the cutting back, has an im-
portant bearing upon the pruning of deciduous
trees as practised upon the irrigation areas where
the general growth of trees is generally more vigor-
ous than in other districts.

Pruning of Deciduous Trees 65

THE APRICOT.

At the first winter's pruning the object of the
primer is to lay out the framework for a sturdy,
well-balanced tree.

If when at planting the young tree had been cut
back to a single stick, and has grown well during
the spring and summer, numerous branches will
have grown out of the old wood. Of these, provided
they are well-grown and are favourably situated,
only three will be required to form the main arms
of the tree, and all other growth is cut right out.

The three branches that are selected to form the
framework of the tree should be from shoots that
have grown away from the centre of the tree, and
should be as nearly as possible equidistant from
each other, or that a hollow-centre, cone-shaped
form may be attained. The height of these arms
where they junction on to the^stem should be from
9 inches to 15 inches from the ground, and it is
advisable, owing to the liability of the branches to
split where there are forks when carrying heavy
crops, that the main arms are not selected from
shoots issuing from the stem at the same place, but
are situated on it some distance away from each
other. The branches selected for the main arms
should be cut back to about 6 to 9 inches in the
case of an average well-grown tree, with the ter-
minal bud pointing away from the middle of the
tree, so that an open centre may be attained.

Where the young tree has made four healthy,
well-spaced branches these may be utilized in form-
ing the framework of the tree, but it is not advisable
to leave more than four main arms to a tree at its
first pruning.

If at planting trees have been felt with three short
arms pruned back to a few buds, then at the first

66 Fruitgrowing»under Irrigation

winter's pruning two short secondary arms should
be left to each arm, pruned back, as in the case just
mentioned, to about 6 inches to outward-pointing
buds, and all other growth removed.

The chief object of the second winter's pruning
is to further shape the permanent framework of the
tree by the selection of wood to form the secondary
arms, which in most instances will not have been
accomplished at the first winter's pruning.

Trees that have grown well will generally have
thrown two or more strong shoots from each of the
arms left at the previous season's pruning. Two of
these strong shoots, selected for their outward-
growing habits, are left on each of the arms, and all
other growth removed. Care must be taken that
the selected branches are as nearly as possible
equidistant from each other, so that the framework
of the tree is well balanced. The branches left for
secondary arms are cut back to 9 to 18 inches to
outward-pointing buds, more wood being left upon
the strong than upon weak trees. After the second
winter's pruning the framework of the young tree
should have the appearance, when viewed from
above, of a hollow inverted cone, .with all its
branches equally spaced from each other.

At the third winter's pruning inside growth is
again cut right out and the leaders growing from
the secondary arms cut back. The more vigorous
the tree the longer are the leaders left; but from 18
inches to 2 feet of new wood will about suit the
average well-grown tree.

As an apricot tree produces its main crop from
spurs growing out of the leaders, it is necessary to
have sufficient of these to ensure good average
crops, and from 10 to 12 leaders, situated as nearly
as possible equidistant from each other, makes a
good permanent framework of the tree.

Pruning of Deciduous Trees 67

After their third winter's pruning apricot trees
are either cut back annually at their winter's prun-
ing, according to time-honoured custom, or simply
have their surplus growth cut clean away and the
tops of the branches left entirely uncut, according
to the newer pruning theory of the "Uncut Ter-
minal." As this latter method of pruning the apricot
and other deciduous trees is coming into favour in
the irrigation areas, a separate section of this chap-
ter is devoted to explaining its main principles.

THE PEACE AND NECTARINE.

For the first few years the peach and nectarine
are pruned in a manner similar to that of the
apricot. The young tree is trained with a hollow
centre with main and secondary arms, having these
as nearly as possible equidistant from each other,
and pointing away from the centre of the tree.

As the peach is usually a stronger grower than
the apricot, more wood may be allowed to remain
at pruning time, and the stronger-growing trees
being, of course, less severely cut back than the
weaker ones.

After the third year the top of the tree is either
annually cut back to a healthy leaf bud or the
growth is turned to an outward-pointing lateral.
All strong shoots arising in the middle of the tree
are removed, although some of the weaker inside
laterals may be left to shade the limbs of the tree
and protect the bark from sun scald.

As the peach tree fruits from shoots made during
the previous summer, it is necessary that a succes-
sion of such shoots should be maintained. These
shoots usually take the form of laterals arising out
of the larger limbs of the tree. Where the laterals
are evenly supplied with good flower buds for their
entire length they may be safely cut back to a

68 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

healthy leaf bud. This, by decreasing the number
of fruit buds on the lateral, will result in the forma-
tion of larger-sized fruits than if all the fruit buds
had been left, and the cutting back to a leaf bud will
probably force out new lateral growth at that place,
which may be utilized as fruiting wood at the next
winter's pruning.

Some varieties of peaches have the habit of having
their flower buds at the end of the laterals. If these
are all shortened back the succeeding crop will be
lost. If they are all left long there will probably be
a heavy crop of small-sized fruit, but owing to the
. sap flowing along the laterals being practically all
taken up in crop production, there will probably be
but a poor growth of fresh wood arising from the
laterals for the formation of the following season's
fruit. In such case, to obtain an average crop of
good-sized fruit for a succession of years, it is
necessary that a number of these laterals should be
cut back to strong healthy leaf buds or to their base
buds, so as to force out new shoots that may be
utilized for the production of the following season's
crop.

THE PEAR.

As with the apricot and the peach, the pear is
usually trained as an inverted cone, having a fringe
of outer limbs and a hollow centre.

For the first three years the object of pruning is
to give the tree a broad base. This is done by cut-
ting out all upright growth and pruning the lateral
limbs to outward-pointing buds, leaving a piece of
the old wood above the top bud, which is removed
at the following winter's pruning.

At the first winter's pruning three to four short
main arms should be left; at the second winter's
pruning a well-grown tree should have from six to

Pruning of Deciduous Trees 69

eight secondary arms, and at the third winter's
pruning strong leading shoots arising from the
secondary arms may be left, but pruned back to
outward-pointing buds. A well-trained pear tree
should have about a dozen leaders, spaced as nearly
as possible equidistant from each other, and such a
shape should be attained by the third, or at the
latest, by the fourth winter's pruning.

At subsequent winter's pruning the tops of the
leaders are either cut back, turned to a suitable out-
ward-pointing lateral, or if pruned according to the
system of the "uncut terminal," left entirely un-
pruned, the amount of cutting back depending upon
the nature of the wood growth — the weaker the
growth the severer the cutting back, and the
stronger the growth the lighter the pruning.

The pear bears its fruit on permanent spurs aris-
ing either directly from the leaders or from laterals
growing out from the leaders. Laterals of 1 foot
to 18 inches in length growing out of the leaders in
a horizontal direction should be left uncut at the
winter's pruning until they are covered in fruit
spurs, when they should be shortened back slightly
each year until they have been reduced to sturdy,
well-branched fruit spurs.

THE UNCUT TERMINAL.

As trees grown under Australian irrigation con-
ditions receive their greatest supply of moisture
when they are at their period of most active growth
—that is, during the spring and summer moiiths—
it follows that the amount of 'wood growth made is
much in excess of trees of like variety that are
grown under conditions of normal rainfall, which
chiefly falls in the winter months when the trees are
dormant.

70 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

To deal with this rampant growth a new system
of pruning has been evolved by irrigationists, which
is usually known as the "Long Pruning System,"
but which may more correctly be described as the
system of the "Uncut Terminal."

Briefly stated, the main points of this system may
be summed up as follows : When the top of a
strongly-grown branch is cut off, the sap of the tree
will rush to the top buds left on the branch, and
there again force out similar vigorous growth dur-
ing the following year. This annual removal of
large quantities of surplus wood wastes the vitality
of the tree, which could be more profitably employed
in the production of fruit. Moreover, the sap, in
being drawn to the top of the tree, fails to a great
extent to burst the buds lower down the limb, so
that these in time become dormant, and the growth
annually mounts higher up the tree, leaving the
botto'm branches comparatively bare of new wood.

To prevent this the main branches are left
with their tops entirely uncut, or if cut back, the
growth is turned to a suitable lateral, which
is left uncut. This through the top-most buds
of the tree being left uncut, there is no incen-
tive for the sap to rush to the top of the tree, and is
therefore more evenly distributed over all the buds
of the tree, resulting by the bursting of many of
these buds in the formation of a greater supply of
moderately-grown fruiting laterals evenly situated
all over the tree, than would be the case if the
growth had been mostly forced to the top by the
cutting back of the top growth.

Rationally applied, the system of pruning to an
uncut terminal has much to commend it on vigor-
ously-growing trees ; but some growers, in their
eagerness to quickly get large trees and harvest
heavy crops, have, in adopting this method of

Pruning of Deciduous Trees 71

pruning, left too much wood in their trees, chiefly
in not sufficiently cutting back the fruiting laterals,
and have therefore given their trees too much work
to do, with the result that in a few years their
growth becomes stunted through having too much
old wood to support.

After having tried this system of pruning for
some years, the writer has come to the conclusion
that good results may be obtained from its appli-
cation upon vigorously-growing trees if the follow-
ing points are kept in view.

Firstly. For the first three years all classes of
deciduous trees should be shaped and pruned back
according to the usual system of pruning, the object
being the formation of sturdy trees, with strong,
well-balanced limbs.

Secondly. At the fourth winter's pruning strong-
growing trees should have their main limbs turned
to outward-pointing laterals, leaving their tips un-
cut, or if no such laterals are available the leaders
may be left with their tops unshortened. All
strongly-growing shoots not required as leaders
should be cut clean out, and a proportion of the
laterals either shortened or cut back to base buds.
This latter operation is most important, especially
with peach and nectarine trees, as it tends to keep
the fruiting wood close to the main arms by their
forcing out a succession of fruiting laterals which
prevent the lower portions of the limbs from becom-
ing bare.

The varieties of trees that respond the best to the
system of "long pruning" are the almond, the prune,
the pear, and the apricot; while the peach and nec-
tarine will only give satisfactory results if the tops
are turned, wherever possible, to suitable laterals,
and have their fruiting laterals either cut back or
thinned out.

72 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

Thirdly. After trees have been left with their
terminals uncut for some years their vigour is
sometimes so severely checked through the mass of
•wood they have to support and through the heavy
crops they have borne that but little new growth
is made. When this occurs the trees should be cut
severely back to stimulate new growth, which at
the following winter's pruning should be treated
according to its vigour — if very strong again pruned
to the uncut terminal, and if moderate to weak,
shortened back.

By varying the pruning of each variety according
to the vigour of the trees, pruning the weaker-
growing trees more severely than the stronger-
growing ones, balance is attained in both wood
growth and in fruiting, and the trees are kept
healthv and fruitful.

CHAPTER XIV

FERTILIZING THE ORCHARD

The substances that all plants need to carry on
their existence are air, water, phosphoric acid,
potash, nitrogen, lime, and to a small degree such
minerals as magnesium and iron.

Air is, of course, plentiful and free to all, but it is
the only requisite of plant life that is. Water is
also a most important factor governing the develop-
ment of the plant, as the greater portion of the living
plant consists of water.

Water, moreover, by dissolving many of the plant
foods contained in the soil, reduces these to a con-
dition in which they can be easily assimilated by the
roots of the plants. This action of water in making
available large quantities of plant food is the reason
for the increased fertility shown by all classes of
land when irrigated ; but if watered in excess of
plant requirements, the available plant foods are
apt to be washed too deeply into the sub-soil for the
roots to reach, and so are lost to the plants. Water,
therefore, although not a fertilizer in the ordinary
sense. of the word, is nevertheless, on account of its
forming the greater portion of tire substance of
living plants, the first requisite that must be added
to the soil to promote plant growth. Hence the first
essential to successful crop production is an ample
rainfall — or where this does not exist, then the land
must be supplied with sufficient water by means of
irrigation.

74 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

SOIL FERTILITY.

Soils having in the first place been formed out of
various classes of rock, it is evident that all mineral
salts necessary to sustain plant life must have been
existing in the original rock, but were not available
for plant food until the weathering influences of the
sun, air, frost, and rain had reduced them to a form
in which they could be absorbed by the roots of the
plants.

A soil may be ever so rich in potash, phosphates,
and other salts that are necessary to build up plant
tissues, yet unless a proportion of these salts exists
in a form that is soluble to the roots of the plants,
vegetation 'will not thrive, and the soil will appear
as unfertile. However, the action of sun, air, and
water on the sail, being always in operation, has the
effect of gradually changing most mineral salts into
forms that are more soluble, and thereby more
readily absorbed by plant rqots. Therefore, left to
purely natural agency, an unfertile soil may, in the
course of time, be changed into a fertile one, and by
the operation of familiar causes, especially by very
heavy rains, the soluble salts may be mostly washed
out of an erstwhile fertile soil and so rendered
barren.

Soil experts are now generally agreed that the
fertility of a soil does not depend upon the total
amount of phosphates, potash, nitrogen, or lime it
contains, but upon the amount of these ingredients
that are existing in a form that the plants can
assimilate. This theory would explain the reason
why some of our light Australian soils, such as the
Pinnaroo lands, which, when chemically analyzed
by chemists were pronounced too poor for successful
wheat culture, were nevertheless on trial found to
produce good crops of wheat, as the small proper-

Fertilizing the Orchard 75

tion of plant food contained in the soil was evidently
existing in a form that was readily available to the
roots of the plants.

Again, some soils such as heavy clays, appear to
contain a considerable amount of potash, the greater
portion of which is in a form that is not easily taken
up by the plants, and so vegetation does not thrive.
Experience has shown that soils such as these are
rendered more fertile by applications of gypsum,
which liberates a portion of this potash, and make it
available for plant growth.

The more a soil comes under the direct influence
of sun, air, frost, and rain the more will its ingredi-
ents be broken up, and be made more readily avail-
able to plant roots. Hence the value of ploughing
and cultivating land lies not only in the general
loosening effects resulting therefrom, but from the
exposure of the soil to the elements, more of the
plant food contained in the soil being available to
the plants.

The beneficial effects often following a few sea-
sons of bare fallow on wheat-sick lands appear to be
greatly due to these causes, but other influences,
such as the stimulation of the soil bacteria, have
also to be taken into consideration. Therefore
ploughing, or other methods of land cultivation,
although not adding to the ingredients contained in
the soil, have nevertheless, by making the sub-
stances already in the land more available to plants,
become factors controlling soil fertility.

HUMUS.

Besides their mineral ingredients practically all
soils contain an amount of decayed vegetable matter
or humus. When in their natural state they are
covered with forest, shrubs, or grasses, and all lands
are continually receiving fresh deposits of humus,

76 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

and where this has been going on for ages large
deposits of decayed vegetable matter have accumu-
lated. Humus, consisting of elements drawn from
the air and soil, and having formed the substance of
living plants must necessarily contain all the ingre-
dients of plant life. A soil rich in humus must
therefore be a fertile one, and few of the higher
classes of plants will thrive if this is deficient in the
soil.

As the fertility of a soil is determined by the
availability of its ingredients to the action of plant
roots, humus, as containing all plant requirements
in a readily available form, must therefore be one of
the chief factors controlling soil fertility.

SOIL BACTERIA.

In addition to its direct value as plant food, humus
is the home of numerous small organisms called
soil bacteria. These bacteria have the property of
taking up the nitrogen from the air that penetrates
the soil into their own bodies, and thereby increasing
the nitrate contents of the soil.

These bacteria seem to be most numerous in the
top layers of the soil, and are seldom found deeper
than two feet from the surface of the ground. They
also appear to like a considerable amount of heat,
and are more active — that is, increase more quickly
— during summer than winter, and in a hot climate
than in a cold one. This is probably one of the rea-
sons why the soils of hot, dry climates generally
appear to be better supplied with nitrogen than the
soils of wetter and colder countries.

Cultivation, by allowing the heat and air to freely
enter the ground, has the effect of greatly stimulat-
ing the growth of these bacteria, and thereby in-
creasing the nitrogen contents of the soil, provided
always that the land is sufficiently supplied with

Fertilizing the Orchard 77

humus for the satisfactory development of these
organisms.

HUMUS AS A FERTILIZER.

Owing to the aid of the nitrifying bacteria humus
contains all the ingredients necessary to promote
plant life, and may be considered as the one sub-
stance having in itself all the necessities of plant
life in a complete form. Therefore as long as humus
is plentiful in the soil vegetation will thrive. On
cultivated lands where quantities of plant food are
removed from the soil by the crop, the land is apt
to become poorer to the extent of the plant ingre-
dients removed, unless these are in some form again
restored to the soil.

Humus may be added to the soil either by bring-
ing vegetable matter on to the land or by means of
cover crops.

The cover crops which are usually grown in
orchards consist of various varieties of leguminous
plants, such as peas, beans, vetches, lupins, etc.
These plants have the property of taking up the
nitrogen from the air with the aid of the nitrogen-
fixing bacteria, and if they are again ploughed in
this valuable plant food is added to the soil.

Peas are at present the favourite class of legumins
grown for cover crops on the Murray irrigation
settlements. They are usually drilled in -with super-
phosphate between the rowrs in the early autumn
after the land has been watered. Usually only
alternate rows are sown each season, the implanted
rows being sown the previous years are kept bare,
so as to allow for one set of rows being used for the
removal of fruit or prunings.

Peas are usually ploughed in during late winter
or early spring after having been allowed to flower.

The weight of humus that may be added to a soil

78 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

by means of a cover crop will of course depend upon
the nature of the crop. A ton of wheaten hay to the
acre is considered an average crop on our Australian
wheat fields, and it is unlikely that the amount of
dry matter added to the land by an average cover
crop of peas will exceed this weight, more especially
as the whole of the land is not taken up by the crop,
as strips near the trees and vines are usually
implanted. Where only alternate rows are sown,
and these moreover in strips along the middle of
the rows, the weight of humus added to the soil will
probably not exceed half a ton in weight to the acre.

The amount of nitrogen that is added to the soil
by the ploughing in of green crops varies of course
with the kind of plants grown and the weight of the
crop. Experiments made at various experimental
stations in Australia, United States, and elsewhere
seem to indicate that about half per cent, of the
total green weight, or roughly three per cent, of the
total dry weight of a leguminous crop consists of
nitrogen. A leguminous crop which would increase
the dry vegetable matter in the soil to the extent of
a ton would therefore add to the soil about 66 Ibs.
of nitrogen, which would be equal to a nitrate value
of 3 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia or 5 cwt. of blood
manure.

Another way of adding to the humus contents of
the soil is by bringing farmyard manure, dry veget-
able matter, such as straw or grasses, or vegetable
mould on to the land. Where this class of matter is
available in sufficient quantities, this method of
manuring has many advantages over the growing
of cover crops in among trees, as in the first place
it does not interfere with the cultivation of the
orchard, does away with the need of an extra irri-
gation in a dry autumn, and allows for the heaviest
dressings to be applied on the ' land that is most

Fertilizing the Orchard 79

deficient in humus, whereas a cover crop will give
the poorest return on the land that is most in need
of an increased humus supply.

Stable Manure is one of the best of fertilizers to
apply to the soil, having a fairly high nitrate con-
tent as well as being valuable for adding humus to
the land. Four one-horse drays will hold about one
ton of this matter in a dry state, which if spread
over an acre of land will enrich the soil with humus
to about the same extent as an average cover crop,
although its nitrogen-enriching properties are con-
siderably less. A ton of stable manure to the acre
would be a very light dressing to give, so light, in
fact, that it would be a somewhat difficult matter
to spread it over the land thinly enough to go round.
A dressing of four or five tons to the acre applied
every third year would give satisfactory results,
and keep up the humus content of the soil.

The writer has known as much as thirty tons of
stable manure to have been applied to the acre at
one dressing on portion of an orchard which was
poor in humus. This added in one year as much
humus to the soil as would probably have resulted
from the growing of cover crops on it for thirty
years, with the additional advantage that the trees
received the benefit of it immediately instead of
having to wait for it for thirty years.

The fertilizing elements in a ton of rotted stable
manure have been variously computed to consist of
from 6 to 7 Ibs. phosphoric acid, 6 to 12 Ibs. of
potash, and from 8 to 15 Ibs. of nitrogen. This
would be equal to about 21 Ibs. of superphosphates,
12 to 24 Ibs. of sulphate of potash, and from 75 Ibs.
to 120 Ibs. of blood manure. This is from manures
in a partly rotted state, hence containing consider-
able quantities of water, but the quantities of these
ingredients from a perfectly dry sample would
probably exceed this amount to some extent.

8o Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

Dry vegetable matter such as straw, grass, or dry
lucerne will repay the trouble for bringing on to the
land.

This is especially the case with lucerne, which is
a legume and is rich in nitrogen. According to
recent American advices, many Californian fruit-
growers are now beginning to give up the growing
of cover crops among their trees, and are instead
reserving portions of their land for lucerne pad-
docks. The lucerne is cut before it begins to seed,
allowed to wilt or partly dry, and carted on to the
orchard. It is then either spread into furrows and
ploughed in or broad-casted, chaffed up with the
disc harrow, and then ploughed in. By this method
the drawbacks resulting from the growing of crops
among trees are avoided, clean cultivation can, if
need be, followed all the year through, and humus
and nitrogen are added to the soil.

Vegetable Mould is also a most desirable ingre-
dient to bring on the orchard. Although difficult to
obtain in quantities in the old settled districts, it is
fairly plentiful w^here trees and shrubs are still
growing in their native state. Where horticultural
districts are surrounded by great tracts of forest and
scrub lands, such as is the case with the newly-
settled irrigation districts of the Murray Valley,
large desopits of vegetable mould may be found
under box, gum, and pine trees, as well as surround-
ing large mallee clumps ; and the writer has seen as
many as two dray loads of humus removed from a
single mallee clump.

The profitable utilization of these deposits of
vegetable mould depends upon their distance from
the orchard, as the chief cost of getting this matter
on the land is the expense of cartage. Where the
cartage is half a mile this substance can be delivered
on the orchard for about ten shillings per ton.

Fertilizing the Orchard 81

Allowing for a dressing of four tons to the acre
every second year, this makes an average cost of
one pound per acre per annum, which is a very
reasonable price to pay for keeping up the humus
content of the soil.

CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS.

As in many instances it is not possible to obtain
sufficient quantities of organic matter to bring on
to the land to make up for all the nourishment re-
moved from the soil by continuous cropping,
chemical fertilizers have to be used to make up the
deficiency. As Australian soils generally appear to
be somewhat weak in phosphoric acid, phosphates
are usually the first kind of manures used to main-
tain the crop returns from the land. Commercial
varieties of phosphates are of two kinds, the organic
classes, such as bone dust and bone superphosphate,
and the inorganic forms made from various kinds of
phosphatic rock. Of these bone dust is the slowest
in its action, lasting about two seasons in the soil
before being entirely dissolved. By not being so
water soluble as other kinds of phosphates, the
manurial properties of bone dust are not so readily
leached out of the soil by heavy rains or irrigation,
and therefore, although slower, lasts longer in the
soil for the roots of plants to feed on. The mineral
superphosphates are usually water soluble to a great
extent, hence their action on plant growth is rapid,
and for this reason their effect is not lasting, there-
fore must be applied annually to keep up growth
and crop returns.

Potash as a fertilizer is also needed on most soils
that are being continuously cropped. As has been
previously mentioned, potash is usually contained
in considerable quantities on many classes of clay

82 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

lands, but it often needs applications of gypsum to
make it available for plant growth.

Lime may also be applied on many soils with great
benefit, especially on heavy clay lands which are
rendered looser and generally more productive by
the action of the lime in making more available
many of the plant foods contained in the soil.

DEPLETION OF SOIL BY CROPPING.

The depletion of a soil by cropping depends, of
course, upon the nature and extent of the crop.
According to Hume, in his work on "Citrus Fruits,"
800 Ibs. 'of oranges will remove from the soil \ Ib.
phosphoric acid, 2 Ibs. potash, and 1 Ib. nitrogen.
A crop of 400 Australian cases, weighing about
20,000 Ibs., would at this rate deplete the soil to the
extent of 12^ Ibs. phosphoric acid, 50 Ibs. potash,
and 25 Ibs. nitrogen. In addition to this, allowance
must be made for a quantity of plant food necessary
to make good leaf, branch and root growth, and for
the amount of these ingredients leached out of the
soil by rain or irrigation. Assuming the total
amount of plant food removed from the soil by
these agencies to be three times that taken out by
the fruit alone (Hume's estimate) then the quantity
of these substances lost to the land -would be :
37J Ibs. phosphoric acid, 150 Ibs. potash, and 75 Ibs.
nitrogen. Allowing for an 18 per centage of phos-
phoric acid, a 50 percentage of potash, and a 20 per-
centage of nitrogen, this is equivalent to 2 cwt. of
superphosphate, almost 3 cwt. of sulphate of potash,
and 4 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia, or to a total of
about 9 cwt. of chemical fertilizers.

Supposing such a crop of 400 cases of fruit were
removed from one acre of ground, 9 cwt. of chemical
manures would therefore be required to make good

Fertilizing the Orchard 83

the deficiency in the soil caused by the production
of this quantity of fruit.

QUANTITIES OF FERTILIZERS TO APPLY.

The amount of fertilizers tp apply on any piece
of land to give the best results is largely a matter
of experience, owing to the variations that exist in
the nature of the soils. Some soils are naturally
rich in potash, others in nitrates, while others again
may be somewhat weak in these ingredients. There-
fore soils should be supplied with the fertilizing
elements they are most lacking in, if manure is to be
applied in the most satisfactory and economical
manner. Again the quantity and the nature of the
manure to apply wTill also depend upon the age of
the trees. For instance, young trees generally
require greater proportionate amounts of nitrogen
than trees in full bearing, as they should be kept in
vigorous growth, and nitrogen greatly promotes
wood and leaf growth.

On the fertile virgin soils of the Murray Valley
young trees or vines require little, if any, artificial
fertilizer until they begin to bear crops. The only
exception are citrus trees, which are benefited for
the first few years by light dressings of nitrogen or
superphosphate hoed into the ground in rings
around the trees two or three feet away from the
stems.

Vines in bearing, being very heavy croppers, need
considerable quantities of fertilizers to assist bal-
ance the plant food removed by the crops. A mix-
ture of 2 cwt. superphosphate, 1 cwt. potash and
about J cwt. sulphate of ammonia to the acre should
about make good the plant ingredients removed
from the soil by a crop of one ton of dried fruit, but
besides this the irrigation water will probably leach
an additional amount of plant food down into the

84 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

sub-soil out of the reach of the plants, so a rather
heavier dressing than this should be applied if the
fertility of the soil is to be maintained. Last season
the writer applied 6 cwt. of vine manure to the acre
on his vineyard, and the result, aided by a fertile
soil and favourable season, was a two-ton crop of
dried fruit to the acre. • This season it is intended to
use 8 cwt. to the acre, as it is doubtful if 6 cwt. of
this vine manure contains sufficient ingredients to
make up for a two-ton crop.

The argument is sometimes advanced that as fer-
tilizers have the effect of increasing the size of the
fruit, they should be sparingly applied, especially
to such a fruit as currants where very large berries
are not desirable. But surely it is a better proposi-
tion to manure heavily and harvest a two-ton crop,
even if some of the berries are large, than to manure
sparingly and obtain a one-ton crop of medium-sized
fruit.

Deciduous Trees in Bearing. Grown on similar
soils, deciduous trees require practically the same
class of fertilizers as vines. As on the whole these
are not nearly as heavy croppers as are vines —
yielding on an average only about one-half the
weight of dried fruit to the acre that vines do,
considerably less manure need be applied to the
acre. For general purposes, such varieties as
apricots, peaches, and nectarines, yielding from 10
cwt. to 15 cwt. to the acre dried, would require, to
keep up the fertility of the soil, about 1 cwt. mineral
superphosphate, 1 cwt. bone dust, 1 cwt. potash, and
^ cwt. sulphate of ammonia.

Citrus Trees in Bearing. As has been previously
pointed out, about 9 cwt. of fertilizers made up of
2 cwt. phosphates, 3 cwt. potash and -i cwt. sulphate
of ammonia would be sufficient to cover the food
stuffs removed by a crop of 400 cases, allowing for

Fertilizing the Orchard 85

ingredients removed by fruit, leaf growth, and for
the leaching due to irrigation and rain. Citrus in
their young state require a considerable amount of
nitrogen, hence they are benefited by dressings of
such nitrogenous manures as sulphate of ammonia,
blood manure, nitrate of soda and stable manure ;
when they come into bearing greater applications
of potash and phosphates are necessary. As citrus
trees are evergreen a considerable amount of root
activity is always going on, therefore there should
always be sufficient available plant food in the soil
for the roots to feed on. One of the best manures
for this purpose is bone dust, which gives up its
plant food slowly and will generally last for a year
or longer, before all its manurial properties have
been given off.

Theoretically, although citrus, as well as other
classes of fruit do not remove a very large quantity
of phosphoric acid from the soil, nevertheless in
practice it is found one of the most beneficial man-
ures to use, even in considerable quantities. This
is probably partly due to the fact that many of our
soils are comparatively poor in phosphates, and so
need this substance to give good returns, and also
partly to the fact that if one plant food is present in
the soil in large quantities so as to be easily assimi-
lated by the roots of the plants, the energy of the
roots is thereby set free to gather in the other ingre-
dients they require. And as phosphate is the cheap-
est of all our artificial fertilizers, the soil can be kept
well supplied with this substance at comparatively
little cost.

For this reason citrus plantations can with ad-
vantage be given a good dressing of phosphates, and
an annual application of 3 cwt. bone dust, 2 cwt.
superphosphate, with 2 cwt. potash would not be
too much to give trees when in full bearing. In

86 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

addition to this, nitrogen is required. If the soil is
well supplied with humus, the nitrifying bacteria in
the soil will supply a considerable amount of the
nitrogen that is needed, and in that case the large
amount of nitrogen that chemical analysis shows is
necessary for the successful growth and fruiting of
citrus, need not all be put back into the land in the
form of artificial fertilizers. Still, it is doubtful if
this sort of nitrogen supplies the trees with all the
food of this class that they require ; even on soils
containing a fair humus supply, and a dressing of a
couple of cwt. to the acre of nitrogenous manures
every second year will probably be needed on most
soils.

METHODS OF APPLICATION.

Different classes of fertilizers, may be applied at
various times of the year. Such slow-acting
manures as vegetable mould or bone dust, which
contain ingredients not easily leached out of the soil
by rain or irrigation, may be applied during winter
or early spring, as but little plant food would be lost
before the root activity commences. On the other
hand fertilizers containing highly soluble ingredi-
ents, such as most mineral superphosphates and
the various classes of nitrates, are best applied dur-
ing early spring or summer when the roots of plants
are active. Generally speaking, phosphates should
not be put into the ground later than October if the
current crop is to receive their full benefit, but
nitrates may often be advantageously applied, as in
the case of citrus, during summer as well as spring-
time.

Manures may be put into the ground either by
being drilled in, broadcasted and ploughed in, or by
being scattered along the bottom of plough furrows
and ploughed in. Drilling in manures with the

Fertilizing the Orchard 87

wheat seed drill cannot be recommended, unless the
land is ploughed deeply afterwards, as the drill only
penetrates the soil for a few inches, and the manure
is placed thereby too near the surface of the soil for
the roots to obtain, especially where the furrow
system of irrigation is practised and the water does
not leach the manure down to the roots.

Broadcasting and Ploughing in the fertilizer is
theoretically the best way to apply manures, as
every portion of the orchard is then evenly supplied.
In practice, however, unless the land is cleanly and
deeply ploughed, all the fertilizer will not be turned
into the bottom of the furrow, and, moreover, where
the furrow system of watering is used, a great por-
tion of the manure will not receive sufficient mois-
ture to carry it down to the roots of the plants
because it is not evenly distributed.

Manuring in Furrows, despite its disadvantages,,
is the best way to apply fertilizer where the furrow
system of irrigation is used. One or more deep
furrows should be ploughed along the rows of trees
or vines, not closer than four feet to the stems of
bearing trees, and the manure scattered in the bot-
tom of the furrows — the furrows then ploughed in
and the new furrow thus formed used to water the
plantation at the next irrigation. By this method
the fertilizer is put deeply into the soil, thereby
tending to keep the roots down in their search for
plant food. By being in close proximity to the
irrigation water the fertilizer is easily dissolved for
the use of the roots of the plants ; but for this reason
an extra heavy irrigation should not follow the
application of manures, as some of its properties
may be washed too deeply into the sub-soil for the
plants to reach.

CHAPTER XV

FRUIT DRYING

With the exception of oranges the great bulk of
the fruit grown on our irrigation areas is disposed
of in the dried state. As the two main classes of
fruit dried, stone and grape fruits, require totally
different treatment, each section is here treated
separately.

STONE FRUIT.

Stone fruits, such as apricots, nectarines, and
peaches, are sun-dried, after having been placed on
trays and treated with sulphur fumes in a sulphur
house or box.

The trays used for drying stone fruits are made
from various kinds of soft-wood timber, and vary
in size from 3 feet x 2 feet to 3 feet x 4 feet, having
a flange of timber 2 inches to 3 inches in width
nailed to each end, whereby one tray may rest upon
another without the remainder of the tray coming
into contact with the one beneath it.

Fruit that is to be dried is harvested when it is
perfectly ripe, the fruit is then cut in halves, the
stone removed, and placed cup upwards upon the
tray.

When sufficient fruit has been thusly prepared,
the trays with their fruit are placed in a sulphur box
or house. Sulphur boxes are usually constructed
with a wooden framework covered with ruberoid,
malthoid, or hessian that has been whitewashed, so
as to be practically airtight. The trays with their
fruit are stacked one on top of the other, and the

Fruit Drying 89

sulphur box is placed over them, but so that the-
reof does not come in contact with the top tray.

A small cavity or pit is beforehand prepared at
the side or just underneath the spot which the
sulphur box is to occupy, and a piece of galvanized
iron or other fireproof material placed on top of it,,
but with sufficient air space left to allow for the
sulphur fumes to ascend to the trays above. The
sulphur is placed in an iron vessel, and a piece of
old dry bag or hessian is placed in the centre of the
vessel to act as a wick and the sulphur placed all
around it. The vessel containing the sulphur is
then placed within the cavity, the sulphur lit, and
sheets of iron or other fireproof material placed
over it and sand put on top of it so as to prevent
the escape of the sulphur fumes into the air. Sand
is also placed all around the bottom of the sulphur
box to further prevent the escape of the sulphur
fumes ; but as the burning sulphur must have suffi-
cient oxygen to carry on its combustion, two small
air-holes are left in the sulphur box for that purpose.

The amount of sulphur used varies from about 2
Ibs. to 4 Ibs. to one hundred 2 feet x 3 feet trays,,
not so much sulphur being required in hot as in
cool weather. The fruit is left in the sulphur fumes
until the cups are full of juice, which in hot weather
will be about five hours ; or if the fruit is put into
the .sulphur box late in the afternoon it should be
left in all night, and removed early in the morning.

After being taken from the sulphur house the
trays with their fruit are spread singly on an even
piece of land that is free from dust,, such as a newly-
mown lucerne plot. There they are left until they
are dry, which will vary with the various classes of
fruit, and with the conditions of the weather. If
the temperature rises above 95 to 100 degrees it is
best to stock the trays until cooler, as excessive

9O Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

heat has a tendency to shrivel the fruit and to
somewhat darken its colour.

THE PRUNE.

When thoroughly ripe the prune is either picked
or shaken (as in California) from the tree. The
chief work in preparing the prune for market lies in
dipping and cracking the skin of the fruit and then
drying it.

The fruit is placed in perforated dipping tins and
immersed in boiling lye of a strength of from one
pound of caustic soda to 10 to 20 gallons of 'water,
and kept immersed from 10 to 20 seconds, the
length of immersion varying according to the
strength of the dip — the stronger the dip the shorter
the time of immersion, and vice versa, the object of
such immersion being to crack the skin of the fruit.

After being immersed, the fruit is tipped out on
to a draining board or tray for the water to drain
off, after which it is usually passed on to a board
having sharp-pointed needles about a quarter of an
inch long, which further perforate the skin, so that
the moisture may more readily escape whilst the
fruit is drying. The fruit is sun-dried upon trays,
and when finished is placed in sweat boxes for a few
weeks to sweat and even up, after which it is sent
to the packing shed.

THE PEAR.

The variety of pear that at present is by far the
most popular drying kind is the Bartlett or
Williams'.

The fruit is picked off the trees when still hard,
usually some time in February, and placed in sweat
boxes in the storage shed. When the fruit is ripen-
ing the sweat boxes are frequently examined, and
the ripe fruit taken out and placed in separate

Fruit Drying 9 1

boxes. The ripe fruit is cut in halves, from the
stem to the calyx, placed on trays, and sulphured.
After being taken from the sulphur house the trays
are usually stacked, and when nearly dry are spread
out in the sun for a few days to finish off, and then
packed in sweat boxes before their delivery to the
packing shed.

THE CURRANT.

Currants, like other fruit, should not be picked
before they are thoroughly ripe ; that is, when they
are black and sweet, as otherwise there will be a loss
in both weight and colour of the dried product.

Currants are shade dried, either on wooden or
wire trays, or on wire-netting drying racks. The
fruit is spread evenly on the trays or wire netting in
a single layer ; that is, not more than one bunch in
depth, and it is then covered up to keep off the
direct rays of the sun, either with empty trays
where the fruit is on trays, or with hessian if on a
rack.

When dry, clean hessian is placed underneath the
wire trays or drying rack, the fruit is rubbed off on
to the hessian, and then put in sweat boxes ; but if
on wooden trays the fruit is rubbed off into the
sweat boxes direct.

THE SULTANA.

The sultana is generally dried on the rack or on
wooden trays.

Drying racks may be constructed of various
kinds, but the principle underlying all of them is the
same. Stout posts are put into the ground in two
parallel rows, the rows being usually from 4 feet to
6 feet apart, according to the width of the wire-
netting used, and the posts from 8 feet to 10 feet
apart in the rows. The height of the posts will

92 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

vary according to the height it is intended to have
the top tier of the rack, which for practical purposes
should not be higher than the height of a man, or
about 6 feet.

The bottom tier should be from 16 inches to 18
inches from the ground, and the various tiers the
same distance from each other. A rack of four tiers
would thus have its top tier from 5 feet 4 inches to
6 feet from the ground.

At the heights it is intended to have the various
tiers, pieces of straight sawn timber are mortised
into the posts opposite each other, being thus placed
at right angles to the length of the row, and the tops
of the posts have likewise pieces of timber mortised
into them running parallel with the length of the
rack, so that the posts may not shift when the rack
is laden with fruit.

At the height of the tiers stout pieces of sawn
hardwood, 3 inches x 3 inches to 4 inches x 4 inches
in thickness, and stretching across the breadth of
the rack, are lightly let into both outside sets of
posts. Into these cross-pieces holes are bored, and
wires stretched across to each other in such manner
as to rest on top of the cross-pieces connecting each
set of posts.

Wire-netting of 2 inch mesh is' then stretched
along each tier on top of the wires and fastened to
them by means of tie-wire. Racks are usually sup-
plied with covers, either of the movable type con-
sisting of canvas, duck or hessian, or with a per-
manent roof made of galvanized iron.

Picking. The fruit should be quite ripe before
it is picked, as otherwise there will be a big loss in
weight of the dried product. From a labour-saving
point of view it is the most economical to pick
direct into perforated dipping tins, and to cut up
the larger bunches as they are being picked. If

Fruit Drying 93

picked into ordinary tins the fruit has to be trans-
ferred into the dipping tins before being dipped.

Dipping. Sultanas are dipped in a solution of lye
consisting of hot or boiling water into which has
been dissolved a quantity of caustic soda. The
object of dipping is to slightly crack the skin of the
fruit, so that the moisture can the more readily
escape while the fruit is drying.

The strength of the dip used varies according to
the nature of the fruit ;%fruit with hard, thick skin
requiring a stronger dip than fruit having thinner
skin. Sunburnt fruit, or fruit that has been much
exposed to the direct rays of sun while ripening, is
often dipped at a strength of 1 Ib. of soda to 15
gallons of water; while thin-skinned fruit that has
ripened in the shade requires a much lighter dip if
the fruit is not to be too severely cracked in dipping,
of a strength of from 1 Ib. of soda to 25 to 30 gallons
of water. However, for all-round general purposes
a dip of about 1 Ib. of soda to 20 gallons of water is
usually found sufficient for the average class of
fruit.

The temperature of the dip is usually varied
according to the temperature of the day. Thus, in
the morning, when the fruit is cold, the temperature
is kept higher than in the afternoon when the fruit
is warm. A temperature of 204 degrees in the morn-
ing, 200 degrees at midday, and 196 degrees in the
afternoon is used by many growers in hot weather,
and a good sample of fruit is usually obtained by
this method of varying the temperature.

On immersing the fruit the nose of the dipping
bucket is dipped in first and the lye thrown back
over the grapes. The bucket should never be dipped
straight down and up, as the grapes on the bottom
of the tin will get more dip than is necessary, and
will generally be badly split in consequence. The

94 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

time of immersion should just be sufficient to cover
the fruit with lye, after which the bucket should be
quickly withdrawn.

Spreading. After being dipped the fruit is spread
in a single layer upon the rack or drying trays. As
much sun as possible is allowed to reach the fruit;
so if spread upon trays these are placed in a single
layer upon the drying green, or if spread upon a
rack this is kept uncovered during fine weather.

The time of drying will vary according to the
weather, which if hot will 'generally dry the fruit
in a week or ten days' time on a rack, or a little less
if upon wooden trays. When dry, clean hessian is
placed underneath the rack, the fruit is rubbed off
and falls upon the hessian, and is from there placed
into sweat boxes. If dried upon wooden trays the
fruit is rubbed off into the sweat boxes direct.

THE GORDO.

For drying purposes the gordo is treated in a
somewhat similar manner to the sultana, the chief
difference being in the strength of the dip, which,
on account of the thick skin of the fruit, should
consist of about 1 Ib. of soda to 10 gallons of water.
In drying, wooden trays are usually preferred, as
the rack-drying of gordos, with the fruit being more
or less in partial shade, is a rather slow process for
such a large fruit as the gordo.

9
CHAPTER XVI

ALKALI AND SEEPAGE PROBLEMS

In previous pages passing reference has already
been made to the alkali and seepage problems,
which comprise two of the greatest difficulties that
the irrigationist has to contend with. Seepage
troubles are caused by the concentration of drainage
waters in excess of plant requirements at places
where there is defective under-drainage ; while, the
alkali problem is due to the rising of alkalies or salts
injurious to plant life to the surface layers of the
soil.

SALTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETABLE LIFE.

Of the various chemical compounds contained
in the soil, the salts of chlorine, sodium, and mag-
nesium are usually the ones that cause injury to
plant life if present in any quantity.

Of these, according to American experience,
sodium carbonate is the most injurious to vegeta-
tion, and less than 0.1 per cent, in the soil is detri-
mental to plant life. Fortunately this compound
has not, so far, been met with in excess on
Australian irrigation areas, and the salts that have
done the most damage are sodium chloride (com-
mon salt), sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt), and
magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts).

ORIGIN OF SALTS IN SOIL.

It is a widely accepted theory of science that
many — if not all — of the soluble salts found in soils,
rivers, lakes, and in sea water have in the course of

g6 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

ages been gradually formed by the decay and
weathering of the earth's surface rocks and soil
particles, many of which contain traces of the
elements of chlorine and magnesium. In regions
where there is a heavy rainfall these salts are dis-
solved by the water in soaking through the soil,
and are carried with them into streams and rivers,
which in their turn deposit them into the sea.

In countries of low rainfall, however, the case is
different, as the rain is very seldom sufficient to
penetrate the soil to any great depth and to carry
the soluble salts with it into streams that would
ultimately discharge them into the sea. Con-
sequently in arid regions, through the gradual
weathering of the surface rocks and the chemical
changes therefrom resulting, salts of various kinds
tend slowly to increase in quantity; or where
chemical activity has come to a standstill the salts
that have been formed will remain in the soil.

Such rains as fall in arid regions, in penetrating
the soil, dissolve some of these salts, and carry them
downward. Through the influence of evaporation,
however, caused by the intense heat usual to such
regions — especially during the summer — the salt-
impregnated water returns to the surface of the
ground, where the water evaporates and the salts
remain as a residue. Subsequent rains will again
tend to wash these salts downwards, and evapora-
tion again draw them upwards, there thus being a
constant movement downwards and upwards of the
soluble salts in the soil.

When irrigation is practised upon the soils of
such regions, similar phenomena take place, with
the exception of land resting upon an extensive bed
of sand or gravel, which, having perfect under-
drainage, allows for a considerable amount of the
water and such salts as are dissolved in it to pass

Alkali and Seepage Problems 97

away from that particular locality. Such conditions
of natural under-drainage are, however, rare. On
the great majority of soils the irrigation water,
acting in conjunction with the natural rainfall,
naturally penetrates further into the soil than is
the case with the rainfall alone, and consequently
more salts are dissolved. Through the influence of
heat a considerable portion of this salt-impregnated
water is drawn to the surface of the ground, where
through evaporation the salt is left deposited. The
amount of salts thus brought to the surface of
the ground through the influence of evaporation
is therefore, under otherwise similar conditions,
greater on irrigated than on non-irrigated land.

. On irrigated land that has not perfect under-
drainage there is, therefore, always a tendency for
such soluble salts as are contained in the land to
accumulate in the surface layers of the soil. Salts
that are the most detrimental to plant life, such as
salts of chlorine and magnesia, may not cause any
damage to vegetation if they are fairly evenly
distributed throughout five to six feet of soil ; but
when concentrated in the first foot of soil may be of
such strength as to make plant life impossible.

Hence the object of good irrigation practice must
be to prevent the accumulation of injurious salts in
the top layers of the soil ; or, where that has already
taken place, to get rid of the salts there accumu-
lated.

DRAINAGE.

As has previously been mentioned, accumula-
tion of surface salts does not take place on irrigated
land that has perfect under-drainage. Therefore
where the natural drainage of a piece of land is not
good, artificial drainage has to be reverted to if salt
trouble is to be avoided, or where that has already

98 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

taken place, to do away with the accumulation of
salt already there.

The first essential for a successful drainage
scheme is an assured get-away for the drainage
waters. If near a river or lagoon, drainage can take
place into these direct, or into a drainage system
leading into these. To cope with the drainage
problem on irrigation areas, shafts are often sunk
until a layer of drift sand is struck, and the water
led .into these. The drawback to this method of
drainage is that unless the layer of drift sand leads
directly into the river bed, into a lake, or into the
sea,, the "sand pocket" must in time fill up with
water, and consequently become useless for drain-
age purposes.

After having secured a get-away for the drainage
waters by means of a well, dam, or drainage channel,
trenches, being given an even fall are dug through
the affected land leading into such drainage system,
and earthenware pipes laid in the bottom of them.
To ensure good drainage the pipes should be laid on
top of the layer of water-impervious subsoil that
prevents the water from passing downward, or as
nearly as possible to it. Local practice has proved
that pipes inserted at a depth from 4 ft. to 6 ft.
give good results in most instances.

The trench is in the first place given an even
fall into the well or main drainage system, the pipes
are laid as evenly and as closely together as possible,
and the joints are then covered writh a small piece of
oiled or tarred paper, which, while preventing the
loose earth from getting into the pipes when the
trench is being filled in, yet does not prevent the
water from entering in at the joints.

To remove the salts from alkali-impregnated
land, it is necessary, after the drainage pipes have
been put in, to give the land a heavy flooding of

Alkali and Seepage Problems 99

water. As most of the salts in this class of land
are contained in the top layers of the soil — often in
the first six inches — the furrow system of watering
is not of much use in leaching the salts into the
drainage pipes, as by this method of watering the
top of the soil only receives such moisture as soaks
upward out of the furrows.

Where the sprinkler system of watering is in-
stalled the leaching of a piece of ground, whether
of a level or of an undulating nature, is a compara-
tively simple matter, as the whole of the surface of
the land can- be heavily soaked with water. Where
sprinkler irrigation is not available the land has to
be graded into level checks and then given a heavy
flooding of water. By this means a large proportion
of the soluble salts will be leached into the drainage
pipes.

CULTIVATION.

As has been previously pointed out in Chapter X,
one of the most effective ways of preventing the
rise of injurious salts to the surface of the ground is
by means of deep ploughing and cultivation. Cul-
tivation destroys the capillary tubes through which
the salt-impregnated water finds its way to the top
layers of the soil, where, through the4 evaporation of
the water, the salt is deposited.

The deeper, then, that the land is cultivated the
thicker is the blanket of loose, dry soil mulch shield-
ing the moister soil beneath, and the farther from
the surface of the ground is the salt kept from
rising. Cultivation should be most frequent and
thorough during the hottest months of the year, and
to be effective should not be less than six inches
in depth.

SEEPAGE.

Seepage has already been defined as the concen-
tration of drainage waters at or near the surface of

ioo Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

the soil at places where there is defective under-
drainage, due to a subsoil that is more or less
impervious to water. Seepage is often brought about
by the excessive use of irrigation water, in saturat-
ing the subsoil with water at a quicker rate than it
can drain away ; therefore water should always be
applied with moderation and should never be in
excess of the requirements of the plants.

The remedy for seepage troubles is an effective
system of under-drainage by means of earthenware
pipes. These should be put down in a similar man-
ner as described in the remarks made upon the
drainage of alkaline lands ; but in this case no
leaching of the top soil is necessary, as there is
already a surplus of water, and all that is wanted is
an efficient drainage system to carry the water
away.

CHAPTER XVII

FUNGOID AND INSECT PESTS

Owing to most varieties of fungi and many varie-
ties of insects thriving better in a humid climate
than in an atmosphere that is both hot and dry, the
fruitgrowers of the Murray Valley have to contend
with fewer orchard and vineyard pests than do the
horticulturists of many other parts of the Com-
monwealth.

It is not necessary to touch upon the various
classes of pests that are but seldom met with on the
Murray irrigation settlements, and all that is needed
here is to describe those varieties that are most
prevalent on' our irrigation areas, and the methods
usually adopted in combating their ravages.

OIDIUM IN VINES.

This fungus, in the form of a mildew, attacks the
leaves and fruit of the vine, and under conditions
favourable to its growth spreads with great rapidity,
and causes the destruction of both fruit and foliage.
It increases most rapidly in a damp and muggy
atmosphere, and thrives best in the shade where
the foliage is dense. The currant is more suscep-
tible to oidium than most other varieties of vine.

Treatment. The approved method of combating
this pest is by dusting the vines with powdered sul-
phur. The sulphur is most economically applied by
means of a "sulphur bellows," which appliance
usually consists of a receptacle for the sulphur, a
pump, and a piece of indiarubber hose. The machine
is worked by one man (strapped to his back), while

< KO2: ^c^cF|tiit^r^wrr under Irrigation

the pump is worked w.ith one hand and the other
hand guides the hose, through which the sulphur is
ejected. All the foliage and fruit should receive a
dusting with the sulphur, and where the foliage is
densest the heaviest dressing should be given.

From 20 Ibs. to 25 Ibs. of sulphur per acre is
usually considered an effective dressing, although
on badly affected vines twice this quantity is often
used. In treating vines that have been badly
attacked, portion of the densest foliage should first
of all be cut away, to allow the sun's rays to enter
and destroy as much of the fungus as possible,
and a dressing with sulphur should then take place.

A first dressing of sulphur, especially in places
much given to oidium, is often applied just as the
buds are bursting; a second dressing when the
foliage is about six inches long — or when the vines
are in flower; and a third dressing later on, if neces-
sary. Each of these applications will, of course,
take more sulphur than the preceding one, as there
is more foliage to treat as the season advances. The
number of applications depends upon the nature of
the season, a wet and muggy spring being favour-
able to the spread of oidium, while in a spring that
is both hot and dry little, if any, oidium will
develop.

ANTHRACNOSE, OR BLACK SPOT, IN VINES.

This is another fungoid pest that attacks the vine
and which has done great damage at various times.
As water, either in the form of rain or dew, is abso-
lutely essential to the germination of the spores,
anthracnose is only prevalent in seasons having
frequent rains during spring and early summer.
The disease usually first makes it appearance in the
spring on the leaves and young wood of the vine,
where it is seen in the form of small dark or black
spots. As the disease developes, the spots eat holes

Fungoid and Fnsect; P^is, ' . , rr ^ , ^P3

in the bark and leaves of the young wood, and if
in an aggravated form cause the young growth to
wilt and perish. The ravages of the fungus are not
confined to the leaves or wood, but attack the young
bunches as well, often causing these to perish before
the fruit has set; while if the fruit is infested at a
later stage, the berries become spotted and are
either destroyed or badly injured in consequence.

Treatment. The only effective way that has up
to the present been discovered to combat the attacks
of black spots is by swabbing or spraying the vines
in winter with a solution made from a mixture of
sulphate of iron, sulphuric acid, and water. Mix-
tures of various strengths are in use, the proportion
favoured by European growers being 35 Ibs. sul-
phate of iron, 5 Ibs. sulphuric acid, and 10 gallons
of water, while the mixture most popular at Mildura
is 10 Ibs. sulphate of iron, 8 to 10 Ibs. sulphuric acid,
and 10 gallons of water.

In mixing, the sulphate of iron is put into a
wooden or earthen vessel, the sulphuric acid is
poured on and stirred with a stick. The boiling
water is then added, and the mixture kept stirred
until the iron is dissolved. When the iron is dis-
solved the solution is ready for use. Owing to
the corrosive action of the acids upon iron, all
vessels used for mixing or for conveying the solu-
tion through the vineyard should be made from
wood, earthenware, or other non-corrosive material.

The solution is either applied by means of swab-
bing or spraying. In swabbing, a "swab" is made
from a piece of cloth or canvas which is fastened
to the end of a stick, the cloth is inserted into the
solution, and the vine is then rubbed over with
the swab until all the bark of the stem, arms, rods,
and spurs is well wetted. As swabbing is a rather
slow and expensive process, spraying against black

ft ;Pfui^gr,owi fig. under Irrigation

spot is now generally taking its place, and spraying
outfits made of more or less non-corrosive materials
are being used for this purpose.

To prevent injury to the buds, the swabbing or
spraying should take place before these start to
swell, and in an average season should not be later
than the middle of August. Badly affected vines
should be given two sprayings, one in July and the
other at the beginning of August.

Of the varieties of the vine the one most suscep-
tible to the black spot is the sultana, while the
Malaga, Gordo, and Dorodilla are also often badly
attacked by this disease. The Zante currant, how-
ever, is very seldom severely affected.

CURL LEAF IN PEACHES.

This fungoid disease often attacks the leaves of
the peach and nectarine tree, causing them to curl
or "blister." When present in a severe form, the
disease causes the first leaves of the season to be-
come thickened and discoloured, and then to fall
off, while the second set of leaves is often produced
too late to fully mature the fruit.

Treatment. Spraying the trees with Bordeaux
Mixture, just as the buds are opening.

Bordeaux Mixture consists of a mixture made up
in the proportion of 6 Ibs. bluestone (copper sul-
phate), -1 Ibs. quicklime, and 50 gallons of water.
In making, first dissolve the bluestone in a wooden
vessel by suspending it in a piece of hessian. and
allowing the water to just cover it. When the
bluestone has all dissolved, which will take some
hours, dilute the solution down to 25 gallons. The
lime is dissolved in a separate vessel. The solution
is then strained through a fine sieve or piece of hes-
sian into a larger vessel or cask, and is diluted down
to 25 gallons. The two solutions are then mixed

Fungoid and Insect Pests 105

together, being kept well stirred while the mixing
takes place. Besides being used for destroying the
the curl leaf fungus of the peach and nectarine,
Bordeaux Mixture is also useful for suppressing the
black spot of the apple and pear and the shot hole
of the apricot, by spraying just as the flower buds
are opening.

ORANGE SCALE.

Red Scale is a small circular insect of a reddish
brown colour, which increases very rapidly under
circumstances favouring its growth, which are moist
and muggy atmospheric conditions. The only effec-
tive way of getting rid of it is by fumigating the
trees with hydrocyanic acid gas, which is generated
by treating potassium cyanide with a diluted solu-
tion of sulphuric acid. Fumigation is done in the
night time, the gas being liberated under a tent,
which covers the tree. For 100 to 150 cubic feet of
tent space the amount of ingredients generally used
is 1 oz. potassium cyanide, 1 oz. sulphuric acid,,
and 3 ozs. of water.

The red scale, which is the most harmful of all
insect pests to the orange tree, has up to the
present time not made its appearance among the
orange groves of the South Australian portion of
the Upper Murray Valley.

Brown Scale. This variety of the genus of
Lecanium, or unarmoured scales, is fairly well
known to the citrus growers of the Murray Valley.
The full-grown insect is about one-eighth of an inch
long, broadly oval, convex upon the disc, surrounded
by a thin flat margin, and of a brownish colour.
The scale thrives upon the bark and leaves of the
branches of the tree by sucking out the sap, and is
generally found in the greatest numbers in situa-
tions not directly exposed to the sun.

io6 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

The usual methods used for combating this scale
are by means of sprays made of oils of various kinds
and of resin compounds.

Red Oil. Various brands of "red oil" mixture are
upon the market. The usual methods of mixing are
to take equal quantities of rainwater and red oil,
place the oil in a bucket or spray pump, add the
water slowly, stirring or churning vigorously the
while. When, the oil and water have thoroughly
emulsified, add twenty times as much water as there
is emulsion — that is, forty times the amount of oil
used — and mix up well in the barrel of the spraying
outfit. This mixture may be considered as full
strength, and a stronger solution than this is not
advisable. The chief thing to see to at mixing is
that the oil and water emulsify thoroughly, which
will not be the case if the water is at all hard, and
should it be in this condition it should first be
softened by dissolving a handful of washing soda in
it before mixing it with the oil.

The usual time for using red oil spray is in the
summer months, generally during the months of
January and February, and to guard against sun-
scald of the leaves and fruit is best applied during
a cool spell during these months. Should the
weather be warm to hot when the spraying is being
done, a solution of one gallon of oil to 50 gallons of
water will be found strong enough to kill the scale.

Kerosene Emulsion is preferred by some growers
for spraying purposes. This is made up in the pro-
portion of 2 gallons of kerosene, -J Ib. soap, 1 gallon
water. The soap is dissolved by boiling in the
gallon of water. The water is taken off the
fire, and the kerosene added slowly, the mixture
being churned with a spray pump for ten minutes
or so, until a stable emulsion is formed. Another

Fungoid and Insect Pests 107

gallon of warm water is then added, bringing the
solution up to 4 gallons.

Spraying is usually done in the summer months
in between the growths, that is, when one growth
has finished and before the next starts. For spray-
ing at such times each gallon of the emulsion is
diluted with ten gallons of water ; but for trees that
are in active growth fifteen gallons of water to one
of the emulsion will be strong enough for the young
foliage to withstand. For badly affected trees two
sprayings about a fortnight apart may be necessary
to eradicate the scale.

Resin Wash. Owing to the scalding effect upon
the leaves and fruit that sometimes follow the
use of the various oil sprays, some growers prefer
spraying their citrus trees with a resin wash made
up in the proportion of 1 Ib. resin, 1 Ib. washing
soda, |- Ib. soap, to 5 gallons of water. This is
applied in a similar manner as the oil sprays, and
usually but little damage to trie foliage of the trees
is done.

No spraying of citrus trees should be attempted
if the trees are in want of moisture, as when in this
condition the leaves of the trees have often not
sufficient vitality to withstand the suffocating
effects of the spray, and so fall off; whereas if the
spraying takes place when the leaves are full of
moisture, such as after an irrigation, and other con-
ditions are favourable, ill-effects seldom follow.

CHAPTER XVIII

COST OF BRINGING AN ORCHARD OR VINE-
YARD INTO BEARING ON STATE IRRI-
GATION AREAS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

To estimate the amount of capital required to
bring an orchard or vineyard into bearing is a some-
what difficult subject, as the price of material and of
labour is a fluctuating quantity, and further, owing
to the fact that the expenses per acre will vary with
every holding, as no two pieces of land will cost the
same to clear, grub, grade, and to maintain in good
condition. However, a rough average, both on the
capital outlay and upon the income per acre, can be
struck, and the estimates here drawn up have been
chiefly compiled from BerYi data. In the following
calculations the £ ost of labour and material have
been estimated at normal pre-war prices, as the pre-
sent abnormal prices — especially for material — can-
not be taken as a standard upon which to base fair
average costs.

As this chapter is chiefly written for new settlers
on the State irrigation areas along the Murray
Valley in South Australia, it has been taken for
granted that the assistance of the Irrigation De-
partment in fencing, grading, grubbing, and chan-
neling has been availed of. Where this has not
been done the initial outlay will probably be
increased by £10 per acre.

The subject has been divided into three headings
of vines, deciduous trees, and oranges, vines being
dealt with first.

Cost of Bringing into Bearing 109

Vines (Sultana).
Capital Outlay on One Acre of Vines.

Initial Outlay.

£ s. d.

15 per cent, deposit to Irrigation De-
partment for channeling, grubbing,
etc., at £12 per acre . . . . * . . 1 16 0

Ploughing ;. .. 100

400 vines 200

Pegging out and planting 1 10 0

Total initial outlay £660

Secondary Outlay. £ s. d.

Trellis .. .. 12 10 0

Drying rack, 35 ft., 6 ft. wide, 4 tiers . . 10 0 0

12 sweat boxes 300

Dipping tank, picking and dipping tins 300

Total secondary outlay .. . •-. . £28 0 0

Upkeep. £ s. d.

Cultivation for 3 years .. .. .. 15 0 0

Pruning and tying-up . . . . . . 300

Water rates and rent for 3 years . . 212 6

Total for upkeep £20 12 6

Expenditure for three years . . £54 18 6
Interest on initial outlay, trellis, and up-
keep, at 5 per cent. . . . . . . 450

Total for three years. . . . . £59 3 6
Owing Irrigation Department after five

years for channelling, grubbing, etc. . 1000

Total capital outlay £69 3 6

1 10 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

The initial outlay for planting, including clear-
ing and preparing the acre of vines, is not great,
and including clearing and preparing the land for
irrigation, only amounts to £6 6s.

The chief expense with vines is generally con-
sidered the trellis. Vine trellises have been erected
at Berri varying in cost from £10 to £15 an acre,
according to the quality and distance apart of the
posts. The average cost will be about £12 10s.

The annual cost of cultivation and irrigation has
been estimated at £5 per acre, and tying and
pruning for the first three years at £1 per acre per
annum. This is as cheap as this work can be done,
and if anything is below rather than above its actual
value.

Before the first crop can be harvested a drying
rack has to be erected. It will pay best to put down
a good substantial rack from the start. A rack 35
ft. long, 6 ft. wide, with 4 tiers of netting, as above
suggested, will cost about £10, and will hold a
third of a ton of fruit at a time. Allowing for a
ton of dried fruit to the acre, this rack would have
to be filled up three times.

At first sight it may appear that interest on ex-
penditure should not be charged on to the capital
account. But it is readily seen that in the case
of a settler who has received financial assistance, the
total outlay will consist of the amount spent upon
the holding, plus the interest on the capital bor-
rowed. Also, in the case of a settler who has been
his own financier it is clear that the money spent
in channels, cultivation, trellis, etc., which for some
years does not yield a return, would have been
earning revenue had it been elsewhere invested at
interest. On calculating interest in this and the
following estimates, it has only been counted from
the time when the money has been spent, and not

Cost of Bringing into Bearing i 1 1

indiscriminately for the whole period under con-
sideration.

After five years those settlers who have availed
themselves of the assistance of the Irrigation De-
partment for clearing, fencing, grading, and chan-
nelling their blocks, will have to begin the repay-
ment of their loans. The Irrigation Department
advances up to £15 per acre for this kind of work,
but allowing that the average cost is £12 per acre,
about £2 of which has been paid away the first,
year as deposit, the £10 still owing to the Govern-
ment will have to be added on to the £59 3s. 6d.
already spent, making a total of £69 3s. 6d. all told.

Probable Income from One Acre of Vines.

Vines that have been planted in deep, rich soil,
and have been carefully pruned, irrigated, and cul-
tivated should yield a paying crop in their fourth
year. The average annual yield of sultana vines in
full bearing may be considered one ton of dried fruit
per acre.

The probable income and expenses are estimated
as follows :

Probable Income One Acre Sultanas.

£ s. d.

1 ton Sultanas at 4£d. per Ib. net . . 42 0 0

1 ton Sultanas at -id. per Ib. net . . . . 37 6 8

1 ton Sultanas at 3|d. per Ib. net . . 35 0 0.

Expenses. £ s. d.

Cultivation, ploughing, watering . . 700

Pruning . . . . 300

Manures 200

Water rates and rent . . . . . . 1 1.5 0

Harvesting expenses . . . . . . 700

Management and supervision expenses. 200

Annual expenses .. .. .. £22 15 0

ii2 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

Depreciation.

£ s. d.
On drying plant .. .. v. . ,. 2 10 0

On channels and otherwise .... . . 130

On vineyard at 3 per cent, of capital
outlay . . . . . . . . . . 220

Total depreciation . . . . . . 5 15 0

Total expenses .,. -..' .. £28 10 0

£ s. d.

Net profit per acre at 4£d. per Ib. net . . 13 10 0
Net profit per acre at 4d. per Ib. net . , 8 16 8
Net profit per acre.. at 3f d. per Ib. net . . 6 10 0

The annual working and harvesting expenses are
estimated at £22 15s. per acre for sultanas, in-
cluding a charge of £2 per acre for management
and supervision expenses.

Regarding depreciation, it is notorious that the
depreciation on drying plant — hessian, sweat boxes,
and dipping tins is great. Channels will also have
to be looked after, and lime or cement washed
occasionally. Holdings situated on the sandy
slopes, of which the greater portion of the Murray
lands consists, will probably require draining at
some time or another, and a portion of the income
from the land be used for that purpose.

In the irrigation colonies of America the profit-
able life of a vineyard is usually put down as a little
over thirty years, after which period the vines start
to go off, and are no longer a paying proposition.
Allowing for a bearing life of thirty-three years,
the depreciation on the vineyard amounts to 3 per
cent, per year on the capital outlay.

Cost of Bringing into Bearing i 13

Deciduous Trees.
Capital Outlay on One Acre Stone Fruits.

Initial Outlay.

£ s. d.

15 per cent, deposit to Irrigation De-
partment for channeling, grubbing,

at £12 per acre 1 16 0

Ploughing 100

100 trees 400

Pegging out and planting . . . . 100

Total initial outlay £7 16 0

Secondary Outlay.

Drying plant .. .. *v . . £15 0 0

Upkeep.

& . j ' £ s. d.

Cultivation for 4 years . . . . . . 20 0 0

Pruning for 4 years . . .'. . . 300

Water rates and rent, 4 years . . . . 426

Net expenses for fifth year after de-
ducting net income . . . . . . 3100

Total upkeep £30 12 6

Interest on initial outlay and upkeep at

5 per cent. .. .. .. ..£690

Owing Irrigation Department after 5

years for channeling, grubbing, etc.. . 10 0* 0

Total capital outlay £69 17 6

The capital outlay on an acre of peaches, nec-
tarines, or apricots is about that of an acre of vines.
The actual cost of the trees is certainly greater than
that of the vines. But there the monetary advan-
tages of the initial costs of the vines end. Trees

114 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

require no expensive trellis, and their cultivation
and priming for the first year is also somewhat
easier than is the case with vines.

Deciduous trees, however, take a few years longer
to come into profitable bearing than do vines ; and
seven years is generally considered the time before
peaches and apricots are in full bearing, although
some fruit is usually obtained in their fourth year.

If the trees have been well looked after they
should yield 400 Ib. dried per acre in their fifth
year. At 7Jd. per Ib. net this shows an income of
£12 10s. per acre. Allowing for harvesting ex-
penses at £5 5s., and expenses for cultivation,
ploughing, pruning, and water rates at £10 15s.,
this makes a total expenditure of £15, or a loss of
£3 10s. per acre on the fifth year's crop, which
has to be added to the capital account.

Probable Income One Acre Stone Fruits.

£ s. d.

13 cwt. dried fruit at ?£d. net per Ib. . . 45 10 0

13 cwt. dried fruit at 7d. net per Ib. .. 42 9 4

Annual Expenses.

£ s. d.

Cultivation, ploughing, watering . . 7 0 0

Pruning and spraying . . . . . . 3 15 0

Manures . . . . . .' . . . . 2 0 0

Water rates and rent . . . . . . 1 15 0

Harvesting expenses . . . . . . 16 0 0

Management and supervision expenses 200

Total .' .. £32 10 0

Depreciation.

£ s. d.
On channels, trays, provision for

drainage 2 10* 0

Cost of Bringing into Bearing 1 15

On orchard, at 6 per cent, on capital
outlay .-. . , . . . -: - . -.-• .>• ' 440

Total depreciation '.. .. . . £6 14 0

Total annual expenses . . . . £39 4 0

£ s. d.

Net profit per acre at T^d. per Ib. net . . 660
Netprofitperacreat7d.perlb.net .. 35 4

The harvesting expenses will vary with the class
of fruit, peaches being more cheaply picked and
pitted, oh account of their larger size, than apricots-
arid nectarines.

As regards depreciation, it is obvious that the
going off in value of drying trays and sulphur boxes
is fairly rapid. As such trees as peaches, nectarines,
and apricots are usually not long-lived, the annual
depreciation of an orchard of- such trees is consi-
derable, and allowing for a bearing life of 16 years
this works out at about 6 per cent, per annum.

Oranges (Washington Navels).
Capital Outlay on One Acre.

Initial Outlay. £ s. d.

15 per cent, deposit Irrigation Depart-
ment for channeling, grubbing, at

£12 per acre .. .. v, ., ' 1 16 0

Ploughing .. .: .; .. . . ~ 1 0 0

100 orange trees .. ..'. .'. .. ' 10 0 rO

Pegging out and planting . . ... 1 10 0

Total initial outlay ..'.' .. .. £14 6 0

Upkeep. £ s. d.

Cultivation for 5 years .. .. ^.,-v 25 0 0

Water rates and rent, 5 years . , . . , , 626

ii6 Fruitgrowing uuder Irrigation

Pruning and spraying, 5 years . . . . 500
Net expenses for sixth year, after de-
ducting net income . . . , . . 300

Total upkeep.. .. .. .. £39 2 6

Harvesting Plant.

£ s. d.
Picking or sweat boxes . . . . . . 200

Proportionate expenditure on storing

or curing shed . . . . . . . . 800

Total £10 0 0

£ s. d.
Interest on initial outlay and upkeep for

six years. . . . . . . . . . 10 10 0

Owing Irrigation Department after five

years 10 0 0

Total capital outlay £83 18 6

The initial outlay for planting an acre of oranges
is greater than that of any other class of fruit,
owing chiefly to the greater cost of the trees them-
selves. In planting, also, greater care than is neces-
sary with other trees has to be taken, and if the
season is dry a special irrigation will be needed at
planting time.

On calculating the annual expenses of cultivation
and irrigation at £5 per acre a low estimate has
been taken. A glance at the young orange planta-
tions at Berri at once reveals the blocks that have
received the best cultivation. So readily do orange
trees respond to good cultivation that a first class
looked after orange grove will come into profitable
bearing at least a year before a block that has re-
ceived but average attention,

Cost of Bringing" into Bearing i 17

Orange trees ought to produce some fruit in their
fifth and sixth years. Allowing for half a case per
tree at six years, at the price of 5s. per. case net
(at which price I have based my calculations),
this would still mean a net expense of £3 per acre,
after deducting all working expenses for the year.

As well as other fruit, oranges require a harvest-
ing plant. In addition to picking cases or sweat
boxes, a storeroom or curing shed will have to be
erected, as oranges, after being picked, are generally
stored or "cured" on shelves or shallow boxes for a
week or so, to allow the skin to shrink' and become
leathery before being sent on a long journey.

Through orange trees taking so long to come into
bearing, the loss of interest on the capital invested
is considerable, and after six years amounts to
£10 10s., thereby adding that sum to the cost per
acre.

A total capital outlay of almost £84 per acre for
six years appears, no doubt, a large sum ; but on
careful consideration I cannot see how it can be
reduced. In the above estimate no loss is allowed
for trees dying in their first year before they are
established, neither for special irrigations at plant-
ing or other times, or for carting water to young
trees during dry spells in between irrigations. So,
if anything, the total expenditure could easily be
increased.

Probable Income from an Acre of Oranges.

Oranges planted in good, deep soil usually com-
mence to bear in their fourth year. The crop, how-
ever, will be inconsiderable ; and the fifth year's crop
will also be small. At six years half a case to the
tree may be expected, while at seven years the
trees should be bearing a case or more to the tree,
and should therefore be showing a profit on the
money invested. A well-grown orange tree on

ii8 Fruitgrowing under Irrigation

reaching its tenth year should yield at least two
cases, and from that time may be considered as in
full bearing.

In the following estimate I have calculated the
average crop at 200 cases per acre, commencing in
the tenth year, of the orchard's existence, and con-
tinuing at that rate for the following twenty, years:

Probable Income One Acre Washington Navels.

£ s. d.

200 cases at' 5/- per case net . . . . 50 0 0

200 cases at 4/6 per case net . . . . 45 0 0

200 cases at 4/- per case net . . . . . 40 0 0

200 cases at 3/6 per case net .. .. 35 0 0

Annual Expenses.

£ s. d.

Cultivation, ploughing, irrigation . . 700
Pruning and spraying .. .. . . 400

Water rates and rent .. 1 15 0

Manures . . . . . . . . ..-400

Harvesting and curing expenses . . 800

Expenses of management and superin-
tendence. . 200

Total .. .. . . .. .,: £26 15 0

Depreciation.

£ s. d.
On harvesting plant, channels, provision

for drainage . . . . . . . . 200

On orangery on 5 per cent, of capital

outlay (just on) . . . . . . 450

Total depreciation .. .. ..£65 0

Total annual expenses.. .. . . £33 0 0

Cost of Bringing into Bearing i 19

£ s. d.

Net profit per acre at 5/- net per case . . 1700
Net profit per acre at 4/6 net per case . . 12 0 0
Net profit per acre at 4/- net per acre . . 700
Net profit per acre at 3/6 net per case . . 200

According to the above figures, oranges will pay
to grow if 200 cases of saleable fruit averaging 4s.
per case net — or over — to the grower are harvested
per acre. At less than this price, however, oranges
cease to be profitable ; and if only 3s. 6d. per case net
is realized, showing a profit of £2 per acre per year
on a capital outlay of £84, then less than 2-J per
cent, interest per annum is secured, which is not a
paying proposition.

OOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DA
STAMPED BELOW

AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS

WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN
THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY
WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH
DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY
OVERDUE.

Apfl 16 1934

526644

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