Last year the lye from the prune dipper was turned on the ground near two almond trees which seemed to be dying, and to my surprise they have taken a new lease of life. Hence my conclusion that potash was good for our soil. Your experience seems to justify the application of potash, surely, but the question still remains, how much good the potash did the trees, and how much they needed the extra water which the waste dips supplied. It would be desirable for you to make another experiment with other trees, applying wood ashes, if you have them, or about four pounds per tree of the potash which you use for dipping, scattering well and working it into the soil after it is moistened by the rains, and not using any more water than the trees ordinarily received from rainfall. After this trial you will be in a position to know whether your trees need potash or irrigation - by comparing with other trees adjacent. Besides are you sure that your lye dip was caustic potash and not caustic soda? The latter has no fertilizing value. Prunings as Fertilizer. Is orchard and vineyard brush worth enough as a fertilizer to pay for cutting or breaking and putting back on the land? We should say not. It takes too much labor to put it in any form to promote decay, and is even then too indestructible. It is also possible that its decay may induce root rot of trees. We should burn the stuff and spread the ashes. Vineyard prunings are more promising because more easily and quickly reduced by decay. Vinecane-hashers have been proposed from time to time, but we do not know anyone who long used them. Gypsum on Grain Land. Is there any profit in sowing gypsum on grain land, say on wheat or oat crop? At what stage should it be applied and in what quantity? It would have a tendency to make the surface more friable and therefore better for moisture retention, and it could be used at the rate of 1000 pounds to the acre, broadcasted before plowing for grain. As our soils are, however, usually well supplied with lime, there is a question whether there would be any profit in the use of gypsum, for, aside from lime, it contains no plant food, although it does act rather energetically upon other coil contents. Gypsum is a tonic and not a fertilizer from that point of view. The best way to satisfy yourself of its effect would be to try a small area, marked so as you could note its behavior as compared with the rest of the field. Gypsum and Alfalfa. What is gypsum composed of? Is it detrimental to land in future years? Have the lands of California any black alkali in them? I notice my neighbors who sow gypsum on their alfalfa get a very much better yield of hay than those who do not.