UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.

BULLETIN NO. Op** ^) Q

Concerning Specimens Sent for Exam-
ination.

Many samples of various kinds, forwarded to
the Agricultural Department for examination,
come unaccompanied by any mark or label by
which they can at once be identified win those
alluded to in letters sent by mail. Sometimes
such packages remain untouched for months for
want of such identification, and at all times a
great deal of unnecessary trouble results from
th« omission to place full labels with soil bags,
etc.

Red Subsoil, Ione.

Insoluble Matter 48.98 1 A ~ an

Soluble Silica 18.70 j 57 07

Potash .22

Soda .10

Lime 2.77

Magnesia 1 . 80

Br. Oxide of Manganese .09

Peroxide of Iron 7.91

Alumina 14.98

Phosphoric Acid .04

Sulphuric Acid .06

Water and Organic Matter 4.11

Total

Humus in Surface Soil
Available Inorganic.

99.76
6.07
5.67
7.09

Itis specially requested that every sample ^

sent, of whatever kind, should be fully marked, Absorbed at 10.5° C.

at least with the name of the locality and The percentages of potash and phosphoric

sender, besides such numbers or letters as acid in this subsoil are quite low for California,

may be placed upon it for reference; and that the latter ingredient being rather deficient.

.« f . . ' « Doubtless the analysis of the surface soil would

the express tag should, in every case, bear the have given higher ^ ercenta g e8 of both; but the

name and address of the consignor, in the blank high figure for lime offsets in a measure the de-

provided for the purpose.

Examinations of Various Upland Soils.

No. 788. — Red subsoil from the foothills near
lone, Amador County, sent in byThos. S. Crafts,
of lone, with request for an opinion as to fitness
for fruit culture. The samples sent were the soils
and sub-soils of two kinds of land — the red soil of
the higher lands, and the light, chocolate- tinted
loam of the valleys. Only the subsoil of the
first has thus far been analyzed, and suffices to
show the general character of the lands. The
surface soil of the red land to the depth of 12 to
13 inches, is relatively light, so that dry lumps
can be readily crushed between the fingers — an
easily-tilled loam. The subsoil, 13 to 25 inches,
is a good deal heavier; the lump not to be
crushed between the fingers, and quite adhesive
when wetted. This subsoil varies in thickness;
from a depth ranging from about 33 to 55
inches the red color changes to a yellowish tint;
then immediately upon the bedrock, which lies
at variable depths, the color is bluish. The
bedrock is slate traversed by ledges of "round,
very heavy rock."— Ninety -five per cent of the
subsoil passes the sieve of 1-50- inch meshes,
and the analysis of the fine earth gave the follow-
ing result:

feet, in rendering the other ingredients active.
While the soil would not endure long without
fertilizers under grain culture, it is certainly
well adapted for fruit, and whenever production
shall become stinted, phosphate fertilizers will
first be needed. High quality rather than
quantity is to be expected from this land.

The chocolate-colored valley soil is doubtless
richer in plant food, and would probably
answer excellently well for apricots and pears,
while the red land is more especially adapted
to vines, almonds, peaches and olives.

No. 643. — Black waxy adobe, from the Colton
ranch, at the foot of Mt. Diablo, on the Alamo
road. This is an adobe soil of the most extreme
characters thus far met with. It bears a
growth of tine white oaks, in rare places large
sunflowers, but little or no grass. When dry
it is of a dark slate color, and of stony hard-
ness. When wet it is as adhesive as birdlime,
and vehicles running on it soon have their tires
thickly covered with a firmly adhering, uneven
ring of adobe, which must be from time to time
removed by means of a cutting tool, in order
to ease the team and occupants. Like the other
adobe soils, it "slakes" quickly on wet-
ting the stony, hard dry lumps; but it is diffi-
cult to find any condition of moisture at which
it is easily tillable. It is free from all coarse

particles, "all passing through a sieve having
meshes of 1 50 of an inch. The mechanical
analysis gave the following result :

JNo. 643— Black Waxy Adobe.

Fine Earth AU

Mechanical Analysis of Fine Earth.

(jlay 43 .54

Sediment of <J0.25 mm. hydraulic value . 34 . 05
1 . 59

0.25 mm

i (

{(

8.0 mm..

16.0 mm.

32.0 mm.

64.0 mm.

Total

Carbonic Acid

Water and Organic Matter.

Trace
8.30

.76

2.23

Few tillable soils thus far analyzed show a
higher clay percentage than this, which is not
unlike the ' 'buckshot soil" of the Mississippi
bottom, in the proportion of its finest ingredi-
ents; but differs in that in the latter there is
a gradual, regular "tapering- off" from the fin-
est toward the coarsest, while in the California
soil there is one of those sudden breaks in the
percentages, which seems in all cases to imply
heaviness in tillage. The chemical analysis re-
sulted thus:

No. 643— Chemical Analysis.

Insoluble Matter 50 . 96 \ - Q Q o

Soluble Silica 9.02 j

Potash 19

Soda 74

Lime 2.47

Magnesia .89

Br. Oxide of Manganese 07

Peroxide of Iron 1 1 . 09

Alumina 15.69

Phosphoric Acid .06

Sulphuric Acid .05

99.52
1.50
.83
13.5

Total

Humus

Available Inorganic

Hygroscop. Moisture

Absorbed at 13.5 C.

The remarkably small percentage of potash,
and the high one of soda shown in this analysis
led to a repetition of the determination, but
with a similar result. The phosphoric acid
likewise is in small supply, while the amount
of lime (two and one-half per cent) is high, and
should render the soil susceptible of better til-
lage than it seems to attain in ordinary prac-
tice, especially as the humus supply is quite
large. But of all adobe soils thus far exam-
ined, this is the poorest in potash and phos-
phates, and therefore the least durable in cul-
tivation. The black adobe soils of the San
Ramon valley proper, however, differ materi-
ally in aspect from this, and are doubtless
richer in plant food.

Nos. 708 and 709.— Bench and mesa soils,
from the Zaca ranch, between the Santa Inez
and Santa Maria rivers, Santa Barbara county.
Sent by Mr. Oscar Steinbach, of San Francisco.
This tract is understood to be mainly mesa
land lying between the two main streams, and
intersected more or less by small creeks,
running dry in summer, but sometimes carry-
ing considerable volume in winter, and whose
narrow bottoms are largely quite sandy and
stony. The slope lands bear a growth of scat-
tering live and white oaks, with alfilerilla,
bunch grass, wild oats, etc. . On the mesa
proper, about 100 feet above the drainage, the
tree growth is more scattering, but otherwise
the vegetation is the same as on the slope or
bench lands. There is little difference between
the soil and subsoil for two feet, or even more.

No. 708 was taken from the westward valley
slope, about 50 feet above the level of the creek

bed, to 12 inches depth it is full of rock
fragments and gravel, which forms 3S per cent
of its mass. The fine earth passing through
1 50 inch meshes, is of dark-mouse color, rather
blackish — a sandy loam. At 42 inches the
color changes to a lighter hue, but the subsoil
continues the same for several feet.

No. 718 was taken from the mesa about 100
feet above the creek bed; dark mouse-colored
loam, with much gravel and some rock frag-
ment?, to the extent of 47.6 per cent. The
fine earth is a sandy loam, like 708, only some-
what lighter colored. The analyses resulted as
f ollow8 :

80H4 from Zaca Rancho.

Insoluble Matter. .'

Soluble Silica 11

Potash

Soda

Lime

Magnesia . . . . *
Br. Ox. of Man'eBe
Peroxide of Iron . .

Alumina

Phosphoric Acid..

Sulphuric Acid

Water and Or. Mat.

708.
Bench Soil.

718.
Mesa Soil.

sen from Mr. House's place, three-quarters of a
mile north 10° west from Pomona R. R.
station. The soil and sub3oil scarcely differs in
appearance down to 32 inches depth, and con-
stitute a reddish-gray, rather sandy loam, easily
tilled. Natural vegetation, alfilerilla, clover
malva and rattleweed (Astragalus Sp. ), produces
about 25 bushels of wheat and ten tons of alfalfa
per acre when irrigated, and is well adapted to
fruits and cereals. The soil was taken to the
depth of 12, the subsoil from that of 12 to 32
inches.

Soil and Subsoil from Pomona.
Insoluble Matter . . 72 . 52 \ 77 fi ± 75 . 30 1
Soluble Silica 5* 12 J °* 3 . 87 j

79.17

94 1
50 1

85.44

82.95 \
4 .66 j

87.61

.56

.49

.31

.81

.90

.72

.73

.52

.07

.05

3.34

3.59

4.03

2.46

.14

.13

.01

.02

4.51

4.36

100.04

100.76

1 .20

1.77

.81

.49

8.21

3.26

Potash .84

Soda .30

Lime 2.35

Magnesia 2.23

Br. Ox. of Man'ese .04

Peroxide of Iron . . 8.10

Alumina 5.97

52 Phosphoric Acid. . .02

Sulphuric Acid.... .02

Water and Or. Mat . 2 . 55

.96
.30
2.05
2.15
.04
7.34
5.84
.05
.02
2.55

100.48

Total.

Humus

Avail. Inorganic . .
Hygro. Moisture. .

Absorbed at 14° C 16 c C.

There are no wide differences between these
soils, save such as would be expected from the
difference in location and the greater degree of
moisture naturally prevailing in the bench land
as compared with the mesa. Both have ample
supplies of all the ingredients of plant food —
potash, lime, rjhosphoric acid, and humus as
representing the supply of nitrogen, and should
yield excellent returns under good cultivation
and with sutlicient moisture. As they are some-
what open they require deep tillage to enable
the roots to penetrate readily through the
gravelly subsoil, which, however, seems quite
loose and vervious. In view of the climate and
the inadequacy of w T ater for irrigation, vine and
fruit culture, but especially that of the olive,
seems indicated as their most profitable use.

Soil and Subsoil from Pomona Colony, Los
, Anaeles Countu. Collected by Mr. N. J. Will-

Total 100.05

Humus 32

Avail. Inorganic .. .26
Hygro. Moisture . . 3 . 26 - 37

Absorbed at 11°C.

This soil, judging from the great similarity
of appearance, may be taken as representing a
large area of similar lands in the San Bernar-
dino valley. The soil and subsoil differ but
very slightly in composition. Both have a
large supply of potash and lime, as well as
magnesia, and in both the phosphoric acid is
low; in the soil quite deficient, but apparently
increasing with the depth. The supply of hu-
mus is very small, and its increase by green-
manuring would seem to be among the lirst
needs suggested by the analysis. It must not
be forgotten, however, that in these dry re-
gions the surface soil is often of less importance
than the subsoil, within which the roots must
remain in order to be secure from heat and
drouth. Evidently such soil, while at first
capable of high yields, will soon need phosphate
I fertilizers for the continued production of shal-
low-rooted crops at least; while alfalfa, vines
and other deep-rooted plants, will be able to
draw upon the deep subsoil for their supply of
that ingredient for a long time to come.