SjSI Class xX. Book )/ 4^ V - Copyright ]^°_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSm THE CALIFORNIA FRUITS AND HOW TO GROW THEM A MANUAL OF METHODS WHICH HAVE YIELDED GREATEST SL'CCESS, WITH THE LISTS OF VARIETIES BEST ADAPTED TO THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS OF THE STATE BY EDWARD J. WICKSON, A. M. Dean and Professor of Agriculture in the College of Agriculture of the University of California; Director and Horticulturist of the Agricultural Elxperiment Station; Author of "California Vegetables in Garden and Field;" Editor of The Pacific Rural Press; Member of the National Council of Horticulture. Etc The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear. And verdant olives flourish round the year: The balmy Spirit of the Western gale Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail: Each dropping pear a following pear supplies. On apples, apples: figs on figs arise. The same mild season gives the blooms to blow. The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow Pope's Hom. Odys. Bk VII. SIXTH EDITION — Fully Revised SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. PACIFIC RURAL PRESS NINETEEN HUNDRED TWELVE Copyright, iqiz. By E. J. Wickson and Pacific Rural Press, Published May, iqii. THE HICKS-JUDD CO. Printers and Bookbinders 5 1-65 First St.. San Francisco 3> o i:i 1 CI,A31G047 PREFACE The Sixth Edition of this treatise has shared the good fortune of its immediate predecessors in meeting a pubhc demand which covered the available supply much sooner than anticipated. Because of the desirability of keeping the work abreast of the progress of a constantly changing and developing industry, the publishers have assumed the bur- den of resetting the type for each edition, escaping the temptation of greater profit which would attend reprinting from plates with minimum revision. Therefore this edition is wholly set anew — the sixth opportunity for free revision which the writer has enjoyed during the publication of the work, which has reached a total of sixteen thousand copies since the appearance of the first edition in 1889. Of the quality of the book, it does not become the writer to speak, but he may express his satisfaction at its popular- ity. Its circulation may be cited as a testimonial of its suitability for service in the building up of the fruit indus- tries, and the demand for it may be regarded as rather unique, when it is remembered that the book deals exclu- sively with the fruit growing of a single State which is only one, although it be the greatest, of the agricultural interests of that State. The demand for the book is an exponent of the continued activity in California fruit planting, and its sale abroad indicates the fact that the outside world is watching California's fruit development, and desires to know the methods by which such a great product as $75,- 000,000 worth in a year is secured. The writer repeats the request which he has made in earlier editions that all readers whose observation and work teach them any better way than he has described in this book shall share with him the advantage of such greater wisdom. EDWARD J. WICKSON. University of California, Berkeley, May, 1912. CONTENTS PART ONE: GENERAL. C'liapter. I The Climate of California and Its Modifications. II Why the California Climate Favors the Growth of Fruit. III The Fruit Soils of California. IV The Wild Fruits of California. V The California Mission Fruits. VI Introduction of New Fruit Varieties. PART TWO: CULTURAL. VII Clearing the Land for l<"ruit. VIII The Nursery. IX Budding and Grafting. X Preparation for Planting. XI Planting of Trees. XII Pruning Trees and Thinning Fruit. XIII Cultivation. XIV Fertilizers for Trees and Vines. XV Irrigation of I'ruit Trees and Vines. PART THREE: ORCHARD FRUITS. XVI Commercial P'ruit Varieties. XVII The Apple. XVIII The Apricot. XIX The Cherry. XX The Peach. XXI The Nectarine. XXII The Pear. XXIII Plums and Prunes. XXIV The Quince. PART FOUR: THE GRAPE. Chapter. XXV The Grape Industry. XXVI Propagating and Planting Vines. XXVII Pruning and Care of the Vine. XXVIII Grape Varieties in California. PART FIVE: SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS. XXIX The Date. XXX The Fig. XXXI The Olive. XXXII The Orange. XXXIII The Pomelo or Grape Fruit. XXXIV The Lemon. XXXV ]Minor Semi-Tropical Fruits PART SIX: SMALL FRUITS. XXXVI Berries and Currants. PART SEVEN: NUTS. XXXVII Nut Growing: Almond, Walnut, etc. PART EIGHT: FRUIT PRESERVATION. XXXVIII Fruit Canning, Crystallizing and Preserving. PART NINE: FRUIT PROTECTION. XXXIX Injurious Insects. XL Diseases of Trees and Vines. XLI Suppression of Injurious Animals and Birds. XLII Protection from Wind and Frost. PART TEN: MISCELLANEOUS. XLIII Utilization of Fruit Wastes. Topical Index. CALIFORNIA FRUITS PART ONE : GENERAL CHAPTER I THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA AND ITS LOCAL MODIFICATIONS In climatic conditions affecting horticulture we have in Cali- fornia almost an epitome of the whole United States, with added climatic characters peculiarly our own. We have high mountain valleys with wintry temperature-conditions, where only hardy northern fruits can be grown ; we have hot valleys where the date palm confidently lifts its head to the fiery sunshine, while its feet are deeply planted in moist substrata beneath the sandy surface ; but wc can not claim tropical conditions, because our dry air denies us many strictly tropical growths, although we have frostless sites for them. Intermediate between the cold and snow of the moun- tains and the heat and sand of the desert, we have every describable modification and gradation, and, naturally, it is between these extremes that our richest inheritance of horticultural adaptation lies. When the breadth and scope of our horticultural adaptations are realized, it becomes apparent that an enumeration of the fruits we can grow successfully would be, in fact, a catalogue of the known fruits of the world, except those which are strictly tropical. Wherever there is a northern or southern departure from the equator sufficient to bring energy to mankind, or where the same is accomplished by elevation upon tropical mountainside or plateau, there also are fruits which find a welcoming home in California, and are improved by the intelligent cultivation and selection which here prevail. On the other hand, it has been abundantly demon- strated, during recent years, by official awards at great exhibitions and by the sharp criteria of the markets as well, that the fruits of wintry regions are quite as much benefited by transfer to proper locations in California as are the people who come to grow them. 10 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO CROW THEM From north and south alike, then, California makes grand acquisi- tions and includes within her area the adaptations of the v/hole country, with some which no other State possesses. But while this horticultural scope is claimed for the State as a whole, it is necessary to add that local adaptations within the State must be very narrowly drawn. Our greatest failures have followed ill choice of location for the purpose intended. Whenever certain California fruits have been ill spoken of, they have been produced in the wrong places, or by ill-advised methods. It is possible, then, to produce both poor and perfect fruit of a given kind. It may be said this can be done anywhere by the extremes of culture and neglect, but to this proposition it must be added that in Cali- fornia equally excellent methods and care may produce perfection in one place and the opposite in another. One who seeks to know California well must undertake to master both its horticultural greatness and littleness; and so closely are these associated, and so narrow the belts of special adaptations, that there are many counties which have a range of products nearly as great as the State itself. It is hard for the stranger to realize this. It is difficult for him to believe that the terms "northern" and "southern" have almost no horticultural significance in California; that northern fruits reach perfection, under proper conditions, at the south, and vice versa; that some regions of greatest rainfall have to irrigate most frequently; that some of greatest heat have sharpest valley frosts ; that some fruits can be successfully grown through a north and south distance of 500 miles, but can not be successfully carried a few hundred feet of either less or greater elevation ; that on the same parallel of latitude within a hundred miles of distance, from coast to mountainside, one can continuously gather marketable Bartlett pears for three months — not to mention the second crop, which is often of account on the same trees in the same season. Through the multitude of local observations, which seem per- plexing and almost contradictory, it is possible to clearly discern certain general conditions, of both nature and culture, which may be briefly advanced as characteristically and distinctively Cali- fornian. The climate of the Pacific Coast is described by the meteor- ologist as "insular or moderate," as contrasted with the "continental or excessive" climate of the regions east of the Sierra Nevada. The west coast of Europe is also insular in its climate. The northern limit of an annual mean temperature of 50 degrees Fahr. is 50 degrees and 47 degrees of north latitude on western coasts of Europe and America respectively. But though there is this similarity in mean annual temperature, there is a decided advantage pertaining to our climate over that of west Europe in that our CLIMATIC PECULIARITIES 11 range of temperature is less ; that is, extremes of heat and cold are nearer together, and changes are therefore much less excessive. This characteristic of our local climates is due in the main to two great agencies, one active, bringing heat, the other passive, shielding us from arctic influences. First: Our proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Professor McAdie, who has charge of the San Francisco office of the United States Weather Bureau, says : "The prevailing drift of the surface air in temperature latitude is from west to east. Therefore the proxim- ity of the Pacific, with its mean annual temperature of 55 degrees Fahr., serves to prevent large temperature changes, because of the water vapor and also because the air comes landward. Whenever the circulation is reversed, temperatures vary." Second : Another agency contributing to the mild climate of the Pacific Coast consists in the mountain barriers upon our northern and eastern boundaries. It was Guyot who first called attention to the fact that the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountains reach the coast of Alaska and bend like a great arm around its western and southern shore, thus shutting off or deflect- ing the polar winds that otherwise would flow down over the Pacific Coast States, while California has her own additional pro- tection from the north in the mountain arch which has its keystone in Mount Shasta. CHIEF TOPOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATIC DIVISIONS OF CALIFORNIA California is usually divided into three main areas and climates, each distinct in typical conditions and yet separated by regions, more or less wide, in which these conditions merge and influence each other. Dr. Robertson says :* Lsothermal lines which normally run cast and west are, as they near the Pacific, deflected north and south, and define three distinct climatic belts. These may be named coast, valley and mountain ; and while they resemble each other in having only two seasons, they are dissimilar in other respects. These differences depend upon the topography of the country, and are of degree rather than of kind; altitude, distance from the ocean, and situation with reference to mountain chains, giving to each region its characteristic climate. How similar are the conditions which prevail in these belts may be learned from the data shown in the following table, which includes points separated by nearly the whole length of the State, the difference in latitude of the extreme north and south points being seven or eight degrees. Thus, through a north or south distance great as that which separates the States of Georgia and New York, similar climatic conditions prevail in California. In the following table the averages are deduced from observations by the United States Weather Bureau observers for a long series of years : * Report of State Agricultuml Society, 1886, page 322. 12 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM LOCATIONS FOR THE GROWTH OF DIFFERENT FRUITS It is intended to describe as definitely as possible the locations suitable for the growth of different fruits in the special chapters given to those fruits, but there are a few general conditions which should be outlined. Seasonable and extreme temperatures and average rainfall in various Cali- fornia regions from the records of the United States Weather Bureau to the close of 1911. bo B . STATIONS. COUNTY. 47 50 56 54 52 85 20 46.2 51 55 59 59 56 101 29 22.8 50 57 67 60 58 104 18 15.4 49 57 66 60 58 114 15 11.3 55 58 65 63 60 100 28 17.3 55 60 70 65 62 109 28 15.9 55 59 68 63 61 101 32 9.5 47 60 80 64 63 117 18 38.7 47 59 72 62 60 110 19 19.4 49 61 79 65 63 120 16 10.6 47 60 79 64 63 115 20 10.0 „ -ga 0.3 S2422 %3 B 3 >'^ ^ -. t^ ^. rt -, n] ., cT] „, d t^ rt rt ^ •^ bfl (u bo 1) beat be SESEfcsSH oB -as %B c-S «J >(U >■«;>«>« >ot or more — all carrying large, fresh leaves. While these arc in full vigor, the fruit IMPORTANCE OF CLEAR SUNLIGHT 25 ripens, after having a full year's joint work of root and foliage, if it is a late variety. Is it any wonder it weighs a pound? But still the tree is active. It forms its terminal buds, and then all along the new main shoots and their laterals are formed the leaf and blossom buds for the following year. Still the foliage holds green and active, if the moisture below be adequate, and the leaves seem loth to fall in the ninth month from the time of blooming. Is it any wonder California peaches are large and the trees require pruning and thinning to enable them to carry the weight produced in such a season of growth? And what has been said of the peach is true of other trees, according to their nature and habits. The trees themselves are more eloquent of California's conditions for growth than descriptions or statistical tables can be made. But the quality of the light and heat, if the term is admissable, is a factor as well as their duration. The air, free, not alone from clouds, but from the insensible aqueous vapor which weakens sunshine in its effort to serve vegetation in a humid climate, has a clearness and brilliance from its aridity which makes each day of the long, growing season more than a day in other climates, and thus adds to the calendar length of the growing season. The surplus light and heat also act directly in the chemistry which pro- ceeds in the tissues of the plant, and we have not only size, but quality, color, aroma — everything which makes the perfect fruit precious and beautiful beyond words. It is true that for commercial purposes it is not possible to allow this process to go too far, for its later effects are higher sweetness, accompanied by such juiciness that the fruit can not endure transportation. But go to the tree to apply the only test which can fairly be put to a juicy fruit, and the demonstration of the service of clear, unobstructed sunshine through an adequate period is complete. But if this can not be done, place the judgment upon the mature peach carefully sun-dried and intelligently cooked, or upon the ripe peach skilfully canned, and the distinctive adapta- tions of California for fruit production will display themselves. But there are other agencies involved in the perfection of fruit than intensity and duration of light and heat. Without adequate moisture in the soil, the air which we have credited with such benign power in carrying heat and light for perfection of fruit would transmit the same as agencies for the destruction of the tree which bears it. If this moisture comes from rainfall, it descends at the time of the year when the tree is least active, consequently is least retarded by a clouded sky and moisture-laden air, and least affected by atmospheric disturbances. Strong storm winds find the tree with reefed sails, and able to endure pressure which would tear it to pieces if they came upon its grand spread of foliage on branches heavy with fruit. It is a priceless horticultural endow- 26 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM ment that no tornado can pierce our protecting mountain-barriers, and that it is exceedingly rare that our local winds disturb the confident swaying of the branches and leaf movement beyond the activity which ministers to the sap flow. And if the adequate moisture is not from rainstorm, but by irrigation, the same facts remain, for the water reaches the tree without interrupting its aerial activity. Temperature is maintained, light is unobstructed, and the tree is refreshed with moisture without the chill and dark- ness which favor fungoid parasites. Of all the ways by which moisture could come to soils supporting fruit tree or vine, the natural by its time, and the artificial by its method, endow Cali- fornia with the best. The characteristics of the California climate which have been especially pointed out in this sketch are not propitious to fruit culture when they exist to excessive degree, as in some interior or continental climates. Local conditions of altitude, distance from the sea, and exposure to the sweep of arctic winds, induce sudden and great weather changes which are serious in their effects. Excessively low percentage of atmospheric humidity, in connection with desiccating wind, often produce greater evaporation from the leaves than the roots can supply. Excessively dry air admits a parching" sun heat at one time, and at another facilitates radiation of heat, until the rapid decline in temperature makes killing frosts frequent. It is evident that California has these agencies constantly held in check by her insular situation and protecting environment, and owes her wonderful adaption to growth of tree and perfection of fruit not more to the possession of certain conditions than to the fact of their existence in moderation. CHAPTER III THE FRUIT SOILS OF CALIFORNIA The favoring characteristics of the California climates, which have been described, find their fitting complement in the adaptation of the California soils to the perfect development of fruit-bearing tree and vine. In their wonderful variety and consequent great range of special adaptations within narrow limits of area, our soils also resemble our climates. As a man may sometimes find within the boundaries of an ordinary-sized farm such a difference of atmospheric conditions that the same fruit will thrive in one spot and not in another, so he may find differences in soil which will tend to produce the same results. For this reason the precise spot in which to plant any given fruit must be chosen with regard to both soil and exposure. In the chapters devoted to the several fruits, there will be an attempt made to describe the soil require- ments of each, so that the inexperienced planter may not err seriously in choosing the location for each kind of fruit he desires to grow. While this is true, it will also appear in these special chapters that the choice of roots upon which to bud or graft gives the planter a certain latitude and independence. This is of greatest value in the planting of home orchards, or orchards for local markets, in regions where the soil is not what is usually preferred for fruit production. With proper choice of stocks and wisdom and diligence in cultivation, one need hardly despair of growing good fruit on soil which will support any laudable plant grawth. And yet in commercial orcharding, the secret of which is producing most abundantly and cheaply, too great attention can not be paid to choice of specially adapted soils. It is an interesting fact that more complete and exact knowledge exists of the soils of California than of any other State of the Union, and for this knowledge the public is indebted to E. W. Hilgard, Professor Emeritus of Agriculture, and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Stations of the University of California from 1875 to 1905. For the last thirty-seven years he has given all the time he could spare from many other and pressing duties, to the examination, and, when needed, the analysis, of represen- tative soil specimens, and to practical expositions of their nature, adaptations, and requirements in the event of exhaustion from too long cropping, and he has published a general treatise entitled, "Soils; Their Formation, Properties, Composition and Relations to Climate and Plant Growth in the Humid and Arid Regions," which includes the results of his long study of California soils and climates. 28 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Since the honorable retirement of Professor Hilgard and of Professor R. H. Loughridge, who was for many years closely associated with him in soil work, the University instruction and research in soils have been in charge of Professor C. B. Lipman, whose original work, especially in soil bacteriology, is making notable contributions to a fuller understanding of the distinctive character of California soils and their intelligent utilization. Very extensive studies of California soils have been recently made under the direction of Dr. Milton Whitney, Chief of the Bureau of Soils of the United States Department of Agriculture, and a new classification and nomenclature of them, from his points of view, with extended maps of their occurrence, are to be found in the special reports of the Bureau. DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF CALIFORNIA SOILS One of the most interesting and important recent achievements in soil investigation consists in demonstrating distinctive differ- ences between soils formed under arid and under humid climatic conditions. In the development of this subject certain distinctive characters of California soils clearly appear, and they are of direct relation to the thrift, productiveness, treatment and longevity of fruit trees. These characters are: (a) lightness and consequent permeability and ease of cultivation ; (b) depth, admitting excep- tional root extension and penetration; and (c) richness, containing some kinds of plant food in considerably greater amounts than are found in the soils of humid regions. These characteristics, as demonstrated by Prof. Hilgard, may be outlined in this way with special reference to their relations to fruit growing. Lightness. — California soils predominately exhibit the sandy, silty or pulverulent nature of all soils formed under arid conditions, save in case of pre-existing clay formations of former geological epochs, as well as slack-water deposits of the present epoch, all of which are substantially independent of climate. While "sand" in the humid regions means virtually quartz grains only, in the arid country it means very largely grains and powder of the other soil- forming minerals as well. While, therefore, in the humid region sandy land as a rule means poor land, in the arid, on the contrary, sandy lands are at least as desirable as heavier ones, both on the score of high productiveness, durability, and ease of cultivation, together with ready resistance to drouth. Depth. — Another point of great importance is that the difference between soil and subsoil, which is so striking and important in regions of abundant rainfall, is largely obliterated in arid climates. Very commonly hardly a perceptible change of tint or texture is CALIFORNIA SOIL CHARACTERS 29 found for depths of several feet; and what is more important, material from such depths, when thrown on the surface oftentimes subserves the agricultural uses of a soil nearly or quite as well as the original surface soil. The unconcern with which irrigators proceed to level or otherwise grade their land, even though this may involve covering up large areas of surface soil with subsoil from several feet depth ; the rapidity with which the red loam of the placer mines of the Sierra Nevada foot-hills is re-covered with the natural forest growth of the region, etc., are examples familiar to the residents but surprising to newcomers, who are accustomed to dread the upturning of the subsoil as likely to deprive them of remunerative crops for several years, until the "raw" subsoil has had time to be "vitalized" by the fallowing effect of the atmos- phere, and to acquire the needful amounts of humus or vegetable mold. Thus the surface soil, which in the humid regions supplies the bulk of the nourishment, becomes here of minor importance, serving chiefly as a mulch to prevent waste of moisture; while the active process of nutrition occurs in the deeper portion of the soil stratum, whose composition, as well as condition of disinte- gration and aeration, is substantially the same as above. The second foot is rarely found to differ materially from the first, even as to humus content ; for the latter, being almost exclusively derived from the humification of roots, the leaves and herbage on the surface being mostly oxodized away under the intense heat and abundant aeration of summer; it not uncommonly happens in very porous soils that the first six inches of surface soil are poorer in humus than the second foot. Practical Results of Lightness and Depth. — The "lightness" and pervioustiess of the prevailing soils of the arid region permit of the penetration of roots to depths which in the humid region are inaccessible to them on account of the dense subsoils, which pre- vent the needful access of air. This deep penetration enables even annual plants to avail themselves directly of the stores of moisture in the substrata, at depths which in the humid region are scarcely reached save by the tap-roots of some perennials and trees ; while the latter themselves reach depths never approached by them in the region of summer rains. Professor Hilgard has personally found the ends of the roots of grape-vines at a depth of twenty- three feet, in a gravelly clay-loam ; from ten to fifteen feet are ordinary depths reached by the root system of fruit trees. Even the roots of cereals have been found to penetrate to a depth of twelve feet in California sandy alluvial soils and to fourteen feet in loams. Such depth of rooting, when conservation of moisture is secured by proper surface cultivation, enables deciduous fruit trees to grow thriftily and bear fine fruit through six months of drouth while as many weeks of drouth may bring distress and loss of 30 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM fruit to surface-rooting trees on the shallow soils of the humid region. Recent investigations at the California Agricultural Ex- periment Station have also disclosed that the good physical and chemical conditions of the deeper layers of our soils have also made possible the penetration from the surface layers, of various forms of micro organisms upon which we are dependent not only for a solution of the insoluble plant food, but for the addition of nitrogen to the soil from the atmosphere. Richness. — The foregoing conditions are rendered the more sig- nificant and effective through the third characteristic of soils formed in arid climates. The average aggregate amounts of plant- food ingredients are markedly greater in the arid than in the humid soils, wherever their derivation is at all generalized. Among the agriculturally important ingredients contained in larger average amounts in the arid soils than in the humid, lime stands foremost; its percentage in soils not derived from calcareous formations being from twelve to fourteen times greater in the arid than in the humid soils. Magnesia follows lime in this respect, but the average differ- ence is only about half as great. The. average content of potash in the arid soils exceeds that in the humid in about the proportion of one to three or four. But no such constant difference exists in respect to phosphoric acid. As regards humus, and the nitrogen of which it is the carrier and reservoir, its amount is usually con- siderably less than in the humid soils; but the total nitrogen per- centage does not differ widely, because the humus of arid soils contains, on the average, from three to five times as much nitrogen as is found in the humus of humid soils, and therefore, the supply of soil nitrogen is very nearly the same in both regions, while from several causes, the humus-nitrogen of arid soils is more available to plants. Practical Lessons from the Constitution of Our Soils. — The ex- traordinary depth of our soils, which reveals a favorable physical, chemical and biological nature, teaches the importance and essen- tial nature of : (1) deep tillage; (2) deep incorporation of manures and fertilizers ; (3) deep irrigation. It is clear that if we can make conditions just as congenial for the roots of plants in the lower layers of the soil as in the upper, there is but one course left open to us, namely : taking advantage of the opportunities afforded us by nature, if we would maintain the fertility of our soils. To do this we must encourage the deep rooting of our trees, and nothing in the line of soil management can accomplish the desired end so well as making available to the roots in the deeper soil layers, air, plant food and water by the methods above enumerated. FINE, DEEP LOAMS 31 CLASSIFICATION OF CALIFORNIA SOILS Any attempt to classify the soils of California upon scientific lines or even to describe them in their wonderful variety, according to their geographical occurrence, would lead beyond the limitations of a treatise upon the practice of fruit growing. Rather let an attempt be made to designate certain grades of soil with brief characterization of their leading features as they are related to the growth of fruits. By such a course it may be made to appear that though the soils of the State are predominantly light, deep and rich and thus eminently fitted for fruit growing, there are many degrees in the possession of these characters or any of them, in local soils, and upon this individual manifestation they rate all the way from perfection to defectiveness. Let a classification proceed then upon a descending scale. Light, Deep Loams. — Admixture of clay with enough coarse materials to secure permeability to air and water, ease in cultiva- tion, deep root penetration and free drainage of surplus water, ])roduces soil of the highest adaptability to the growth of fruit trees and vines. These soils are popularly known as loams. They are designated as sandy loams, medium loams and clay loams, accord- ing to the proportion of clay commingled with the sand or coarse materials. Professor Hilgard has devised the following nomenclature of soils based upon their content of clay : Sandy soils, less than 5 ])er cent of clay; sandy loams, from 5 to 10 per cent; ordinary or medium loams, from 10 to 15 per cent; clay loams, from 15 to 20 per cent ; clay soils, from 20 to 50 per cent of clay. The coarse materials are sand grains of various sizes or rock particles in various degrees of disintegration. The fine materials are clay and rock powder, commonly designated as fine silt. Loam soils may result from deposits by flowing water or may consist of debris but little removed from local rock disintegration. They include a wide variety of materials but agree in the possession of striking adaptability to fruit culture. Some of the leading instances of such soils may be cited. Loams of the Valley Plains. — On the east side of the Sacra- mento Valley low ridges and swales at right angles to the river's course come in from the foothills, forming a gently undulating l^lain with a fall of from fifteen to twenty feet per mile, sometimes right up to the river channels. Nearly all the soils of the east side have a reddish tinge, showing the admixture of the red foothill soil and demonstrating, by the way, that all these lands are well drained. In cuts ten to twelve feet deep, made by the sloughs, the reddish plains loam is seen to reach from six to ten feet in depth. 32 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: IIOW TO GROW THEM being then underlaid by gravelly substrata. The width of this class of profusely fertile valley land, east and west, varies consid- erably, according to the meanderings of the rivers. Away from the water courses, the higher lands of the valleys are largely red or yellow loams, sometimes clayey and difficult of cultivation unless taken just in the right condition, sometimes gravelly and apt to dry out unless the natural water supply is supplemented by irriga- <^^ion, but mostly a free-working, fairly retentive, light loam, very satisfactory for some kinds of fruit. The soils of the San Joaquin Valley have, as a rule, a much greater admixture of sand than those of the Sacramento Valley ; there is also a more distinct subdivision of the valley lands into upland or "bench" lands, and lowland or alluvial lands proper. Upon the upland or plains soils, especially of Fresno and Tulare counties, wonderful progress in fruit-growing by irrigation has been made during the last few years. Though its summer aspect is most forbidding and almost desert-like in lack of vegetation, the application of water has shown exceptional quickness of growth, early bearing, and lavish productiveness of tree and vine. These plains loams vary in appearance, and are from this fact locally named, "reddish loam," "white ash," and "sand hill." All are distinctly calcareous. Even in the case of the latter, which is the lightest and made of almost 90 per cent of inert sand, it is so deep and has its plant food in such highly available condition that it is producing very large crops of fruits where there is no rise of the bottom water to prevent root penetration. In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada there are some loose loams of light color resulting from the decomposition of granite, but they are as a rule inferior to the red foothill soils, which are more clayey, and will be mentioned among the clay loams later. The soils prevailing in the valley of Southern California, from Redlands at its head to Los Angeles at its opening out toward the sea, consist chiefly of granitic sand, which at some points on the slopes forms the soils exclusively, but everywhere constitutes a prominent ingredient of the valley and mesa lands. These mesa lands are conspicuous for their orange-red tint, and the red sandy loam of which they are composed, to depths varying from ten to as much as eighty feet, is evidently the choice soil for orange culture. It is manifest that at some remote epoch it filled the entire valley. Of the middle portion much has been washed away, but islands of it form red-land tracts of greater or less extent all over the region, traversed by and more or less commingled with, the gigantic wash from the valleys and canyons of the Sierra Madre. The latter frequently consists largely of gravel, and were it not for the luxuriant natural vegetation borne by these gravel beds, few would have thought of devoting them to the costly VALLEY ALLUVIAL LOAMS 33 experiment of orange planting, which, nevertheless, has proved eminently successful even on these unpromising-looking masses of debris. In the upper valley (San Bernardino Valley proper) the red loam is conspicuous, and gives its name to the flourishing city and citrus district of Redlands, on the terminal slope; but the heavy flow of water from the upper canyons, notably from that of the Santa Ana River, has scoured it out of the valley itself, and left there, at least on the northern portion, gray and blackish granitic loams of great depth and productiveness, underlaid, and therefore underdrained, by the enormous gravel beds that hold the artesian water of this favored region. The reddish mesa soils prevail through the smaller Southern California valleys as well, and are similar in character, as they are derived from similar geological formations. Where the surface descends gradually to the seashore, and not in bluffs, there are as in Los Angeles and Orange counties, coast flats several miles in width, where the soil is a dark-colored sandy loam, glistening with scales of mica, and more or less affected with alkali in the lower portions. Similar soils are found in tracts of greater or less extent up the coast as far as Santa Barbara at least. As a rule, these seashore lands are very productive, but fruits for them must be chosen with reference to their low level and exposure to coast influences. The light loams of the so-called desert region of Southern Cali- fornia are not inferior in productive capacity to some of the best soils of the great valley, which it greatly resembles, save in the scarcity of humus, or vegetable matter. Only a detailed survey, however, can determine the tracts having an arable soil, as against those overrun by arid sand. The soil of the Colorado River bottom is highly productive, easily worked, being quite light. It is a highly calcareous soil, and now, as the water of the Colorado River has been made available for irrigation, is yielding rich returns for cultivation. The valleys of the seaward slope of the Coast Range have mostly gray, light, and silty, rather than sandy soils, quite similar in appearance from Ventura to Humboldt county, though differing considerably in composition, those of the southern region being more calcareous, and apparently richer in phosphoric acid; as the coast region consists for the most part of low ranges with inter- vening valleys, the valleys are, as a rule, small, though a few show considerable area. In such a country the soil surface shows wide diversity within smaller areas than on the vast stretches of the great interior valley; consequently, so far as soil goes, the coast farms are often suited to a wider range of fruits than the interior valley farms of similar size. 34 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM ALLUVIAL OR SEDLMENTARY LOAMS These soils have been considered from the earliest plantings by Americans as par excellence the fruit soils of the great valley of central and northern California. They occur along the courses of existing streams, and extend back to variable distances, until they merge into the valley loams, or adobes. These deposits are considerably higher than the present beds of the streams, and are sometimes described as "next to river bottom." They consist of fine alluvium, with seldom any admixture of coarse materials. These river soils are usually very deep and they are naturally well drained. These deposits cross the valley in somewhat irregular courses ; they are of greater or less width according to the drainage area whence they have come. They vary also in depth, and taper down on either side to the level of the red loam or adobe upon which they have been deposited. Such strips are first chosen by the fruit planters of the district in which they occur. In the valleys of the rivers crossing the eastern side of the San Joaquin Valley, there are, bordering the streams as well as Tulare Lake, consid- erable areas of brown to blackish loam varying from heavy to light, but for the most part easily tilled and exceedingly rich. Consid- erable fruit has been grown for years on these situations, and some kinds do well on these bottoms which do not show adaptation to the plains. Some even of the higher lying portions of these "black lands" support thrifty orchards without irrigation. The wider stretches of alluvial soils in the upper part of the valley, as in the Mussel Slough country and the Visalia region, for instance, are notably well adapted to fruit growing. The occasional intru- sion of alkali, which must be carefully avoided, is the chief obstacle to the general approval of these alluvial lands for fruit purposes. Soil of similar character is found in some small valleys con- sisting of an alluvial wash from the bordering hills which in some places reaches a depth of thirty feet or more without notable change in character. Such soils have proved very fertile and durable. The rich river bottom, adjacent to the beds of the main rivers and sloughs of the valley, has usually a dark, rich, and moist soil, easily tilled and not subject to baking and cracking. It is largely used for the growth of vegetables and alfalfa, but considerable areas have been planted with fruit trees, especially with pears, which do not suffer from submergence of their roots for consid- erable time. In the coast valleys of the State there are also very extensive areas of alluvial soils which are largely used in fruit production, as well as upland loams formed in place by the disintegration of USES OF ilEAVV LOAMS 35 local rock formations. The famous fruit region extending from Oakland southward nearly one hundred miles, including the Ala- meda and Santa Clara Valleys, has very large areas of alluvial soil, ranging from deep, rich blackish loams used for vegetables and small fruits to lighter loams resulting from intermixture of sedi- ment brought by streams from adjacent hillsides with the clay of the valley bottom. It is to these deep, rich alluvial deposits that the region owes its great reputation in fruit lines. CLAY LOAMS Or loams containing sufficient clay to render them somewhat heavy and tenacious, there is also a great variety in California. Their suitability for different fruits depends upon selection of roots adapted to their character and upon the depth and degree of reten- tiveness of the soils themselves. They are more difficult of tillage than the free loams, but offer some compensation therefor in their richness and durability. Clay Loams of the Foothills and Valley Border. — The soils of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, throughout its courses along the great valley, vary from a moderately clayey loam to a heavy, though not uncommonly gravelly, often orange-red clay. This character seems to be sensibly the same, whether the soil be derived from the decomposition of the ancient slate bed-rock or directly from the dark-colored granites, thus creating a presumption that the two rocks are closely related. The soils are highly charged with iron to the extent of from seven to over twelve per cent, which being finely divided, imparts to them the intense orange-red tint. The soils of the foothills agree with the soils of the valley in having a good percentage of lime, while the supply of potash and phos- phates, as well as of organic matter, is smaller, and sometimes low, though never apparently inadequate for present productiveness, in the presence of so much lime. Along the base of the foot-hills of the Sierra there is in Fresno, Tulare, and part of Kern county, a narrow belt, irregular in width, of partly red and partly black clay or adobe, so highly calcareous as to break up, when dry, into small fragments, producing a con- dition that has received the name "dry bog." It is upon this that many of the citrus orchards of the Porterville and Mt. Campbell districts are chiefly grown. A white, calcareous marl sometimes occurs beneath this soil at var5nng depths, producing chlorosis or yellowing of citrus leaves, owing to its impervious nature which does not allow of good drainage and therefore kills the roots through suffocation and acid production. Westward of this "dry bog" land there is a belt of reddish or brown loam soils, corresponding to those similarly located in the Sacramento Valley, but generally more 36 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM clayey, and hence frequently designated as adobe by contrast with the very sandy soils of the valley at large, although properly they should be classed simply as clayey loams. This belt is eight to ten miles wide in middle Tulare county and narrows to the north and south. Here these lands have a gentle slope of ten to twenty feet per mile from the base of the foothills, and appear to be underlaid at a depth of twelve to fifteen feet by water-bearing gravel. The soil is a reddish, more or less sandy, loam, changing little in its aspect for several feet. Its adaptation to fruit is shown by the products of the Lindsay region. CLAY SOILS Thus far a very small area of true adobe* soil has been employed in horticulture. There is a great difference in the character of what is known as adobe in different localities. Its color varies, as the popular terms "black waxy," "black," "brown," and "gray" adobe indicate. Its physical condition and chemical composition also vary greatly. The black adobe of the east side of the Sacra- mento Valley is easily tilled as compared with the gray adobe on the west side, which is very refractory and often largely impreg- nated with alkali. To render soil of adobe character useful for fruit growing, this tendency to dry out and crack, thus allowing evaporation from below as well as from the surface, must be over- come. The discussion of this point belongs to the chapter on cultivation. Adobe soils are, as a rule, rich and durable and there- fore promise long fruitfulness to trees and vines with roots adapted to heavy soils, but difficulty of cultivation, excessive retention of water, and other evils are always present. Some suggestions on the treatment of such soils will be given in the chapter on fertil- ization. DEFECTIVE SOILS Although California soils are predominantly of the depth, light- ness and richness best suited to the growth and bearing of fruit trees and vines, it should always be borne in mind that there are marked exceptions, and failure to observe this fact has resulted in considerable disappointment and loss. There is in California much land which is bad from a horticultural point of view and it is apt to occur even in the vicinity of lands of the highest excellence. It is, therefore, necessary to advise that the closest examination be inade before investment be made in the planting of fruits. Although there are instances of deficiency in plant food in Cali- * This name has been erroneously applied to the loam commonly used in the construction of adolje houses. Agriculturally, it means "a heavy clay soil," such as could not be used in building. DEFECTIVE SOILS O/ fornia soils and considerable areas of land sterile through excess of saline and alkaline salts, these are usually indicated by the local reputation of the tracts, if the newcomer will take pains to make inquiry. It is rather the more obscure, subsoil conditions which lead to loss or failure, and they may be unknown even to men who have owned or farmed the land for years for ordinary field crops. These defects are, in the main, three : Leachy Subsoils. — While it is best in all cases to choose deep soils for cropping purposes, it is frequently profitable to grow fruit on soils with defective subsoils. Among these defective subsoils there is frequently encountered, underlying good alluvial loams, a very pervious sand or gravel which allows of a too rapid escape of moisture and plant food. This may result in starving the tree or killing it for want of water. Under such circumstances it is pos- sible with three or four feet of good loam above the gravel to maintain profitably the shallower rooted trees by practicing heavy green manuring and constant summer cultivation to conserve what moisture the loam retains. Hardpan. — It has frequently been observed that even where hardpan has been blasted prior to tree planting, the evil effects of waterlogging in a rather retentive overlying soil have either killed trees or made them unprofitable. This condition -occurs not only on level land, but also on rather steep hillsides where on a priori considera- tions it would never be expected. In such cases drainage gives imme- diate relief and the maintenance of a good humus supply in the soil with constant summer cultivation, will usually insure good moisture conditions. "Plow Sole" or "Plow Pan." — Constant plowing to the same depth or a failure to break up thoroughly the silty deposit at the bottom of irrigation furrows may in a few seasons produce a har- dened and difificultly permeable layer of soil known, according to its origin, as plow sole or "irrigation hardpan." This may also be aggravated through the treading of stock and fruit pickers. Such hardened soil layers interfere with root development and make for poor aeration and water supply. They must be broken up by plow- ing or subsoiling. Rise of Ground Water. — The rise of the water table mainly due to excessive irrigation or the impermeability of one of the un- derlying soil layers is a question of the most serious significance and one which the prospective purchaser of land or the owner of cropped land must not lose sight of. For this reason precautions taken in the examination of land for hardpan, irrigation with neces- sary, but not superfluous, amounts of water and adequate provision for drainage will not only go far toward making land profitable 38 CALIFORNIA FRUITS! HOW TO GROW THEM at the time cropping is commenced, but will prevent troubles for the future through the accumulation of alkali and other baneful physiological effects on plants of a high water table. Alkali. — The term "alkali" denotes an accumulation of salts, in a limited depth of soil, which may be of such nature and quantity as to render the soil partially or totally unfit for profitable cropping. The term has no necessary reference to the reaction of the soil, as is commonly supposed, therefore a misnomer, and should not be confused with the term "alkaline," as referred to soil since the lat- ter denotes merely a "sweet" or favorable condition for the develop- ment of most of our crop plants. The "alkali" salts may include common salt, Glauber salt, car- bonate of soda, Epsom salt, the chlorides of calcium and magnesium and more rarely some others, but for practical purposes we may take the ordinary classification namely that of "black" and "white" alkali as being sufficient for the needs of soil management. By the "black" alkali which is by far the most harmful of the sodium of salts mentioned, we mean carbonate of soda. It is so called because it dissolves out the humus and forms a black slimy layer on the surface. Very small quantities of this salt are sufficient to make clay soils unworkable because of the puddling effect it has on clay, and similarly very small quantities of it have the power of stopping the important process of nitrification. Since poorly aerated soils in the arid region are favorable to the reactions which produce "black" alkali, especially where carbonates are plentiful or where excessive amounts of nitrate of soda are used for fertilizing, no pains should be spared to insure to soils, as nearly as possible, perfect aeration through drainage and tillage, great care should be exercised in the use of irrigation water, and nitrate of soda should be employed sparingly. The term "white alkali" is usually applied to either common salt or Glauber salt or both in soils. Where present in sufficient quantity white alkali salts may, through evaporation of water, be deposited on the surface of the soil as a white effloresence, such as that seen in exaggerated form on the Nevada desert, on some soils of the San Joaquin Valley and on some of the Coachella Valley soils. Of the "white" alkali salts common salt is by far the more harmful and most fruit trees are not very resistant to it. They can, however, be successfully grown in very considerable quantities of Glauber salt. The actual tolerance of fruit trees for the various salts men- tioned, varies greatly with the different trees for the different salts, and it is always best, when planting on alkali land is contemplated, to consult the revised reprint of Bulletins 128 and 133 of the Cali- fornia Experiment Station, and after having determinations for alkali made on the soil, to be guided by the information therein DKF1-:CTIVE SOILS 39 contained. The same publication also contains much valuable in- formation with reference to the reclamation of alkali land and describes conditions under which it may and may not be feasible to reclaim such lands so as to preclude the possibility of useless ex- penditures. Prospecting for Soil Defects. — For subterranean prospecting, Professor Hilgard commends a steel rod not less than a quarter of an inch in diameter (round or square, preferably the latter), well pointed at one end, and provided at the other with a stout iron ring for the reception of a stout cross-handle, such as is used for post-hole augers. With such a prod, or sounding rod, not less than five feet in length, the exploration of the subsoil for hard-pan or dense clay layers becomes a matter of a few minutes. It is easy also to detect thus the presence of underlying layers of quicksand, gravel, or other loose materials through which irrigation water would waste, or which would prevent the rise of bottom water within the reach of plant roots, by the large interspaces between their grains. Any remaining doubts as to the nature of such under- lying materials at particular points can then quickly be solved by the use of a post-hole auger or by digging, for thorough inspection of each foot of depth which may be found desirable. CHAPTER IV THE WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA The wild fruits of California are numerous, and for the most part peculiar to the region, being either of local genera or local species of more widely distributed genera. Very few are identical with the wild fruits common to great areas of the continent. For this reason our wild fruits constitute a very interesting subject for botanical study, and they are now, perhaps, more widely than ever before, attracting the attention of botanical pomologists. Viewed from the standpoint of practical pomology or horticulture, our wild fruits can not be claimed, on the whole, to have attained any very great importance. A few fruits, as will be noted further on, have demonstrated their culinary or household value, and are locally sought for, but none have any notable commercial value. This may be due to the fact that some of our most delicious wild fruits are very exacting in their choice of conditions, and can not be moved far, even within the limits of our own State. Another reason why we have made little of our own wild species is found in the fact that our climate favors the superior growth of the best improved fruits of nearly all parts of the world. Therefore, we have little occasion for recourse to the improvement of local wild fruits, because of superior hardiness and adaptation, as has been done in other parts of the country. The distribution of our wild fruits is determined by limitations of areas of similar climatic conditions. In a general way it may be said that fruits are most abundant in foothill and mountain regions, and that our great valleys have always been practically destitute of them, except along stream borders. These fruits are most abundant in the northern portion of the State, but some exist throughout the State, usually thriving at higher elevations as they proceed southward. Oregon Crabapple (Pirus rivularis). — This fruit, though more abundant in the more northerly regions of the coast, as its name indicates, is found in the northwest counties of this State. It chooses a moist situation, becomes a tree fifteen to twenty-five feet high, shows white bloom, and red or yellow oblong fruit, about half an inch long. The flavor is rather acid, but the fruit is eaten by the Indians, and was sometimes used for jelly-making by early settlers. Wild Plum (Prunus subcordata). — This must be regarded as one of the most useful of our wild fruits. Even now, when the 40 WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA 41 plum varieties of all the world have been introduced, residents in some of the Sierra reg-ions, where an excellent variety (Kelloggii) abounds, prefer it to the cultivated fruit, both for eating and pre- serving and jelly-making. The typical species is widely distributed over the mountainous regions of the State, and is a low shrub with white bloom and fruit three-quarters of an inch long, of red color and inferior pulp. The better variety has a narrower range, forms a larger shrub, and bears a^yellow fruit, larger and better than the typical species. Some attempts have been made to improve this variety by cultivation and selection of seedlings, and the results are promising, as fruit has been shown at our fairs notably better than the wild gatherings. The roots have also been used to some extent as stocks, but seem to possess no marked advantage. The late Mr. Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, reported that grafting an improved plum on the wild stock seems to cause the root to grow to much greater size than natural to it. Observation upon grafted and non-grafted seedlings in the same nursery row convinced him of this behavior. Other experimenters have condemned the stock because of dwarfing and suckering. In early days the wild plums in the mining regions of the mountains were largely made use of and are highly praised by pioneers. Oso Berry (Osmaronia cerasiformis). — This fruit is sometimes called the "California false plum." It has a plum-like form, one- half inch long, and is of a rich, blue-black color, but is bitter, though not disagreeable to birds and animals, which feed upon it. The white bloom of the shrub has an almond odor. Used as a stock, the plum varieties grafted upon it have been dwarfed. Wild Cherries (Prunus sp.)- — Quite a group of wild fruits come under this generic grouping, and they have marked and widely different characteristics. The western Choke-cherry (Prunus demissa) closely resembles the Eastern choke-cherry, and bears its round, red, or dark purple fruit on a raceme. It is used for marma- lade by housewives in the mountain districts. This species has proved of sonic utility both for its fruit and as a stock for grafting in early days when better cherry stock was not available. Another species, Islay (Prunus ilicifolia), has evergreen foliage, and is a useful hedge plant. Of species bearing fruit in umbels, or true cherry style, we have the Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata), which makes a handsome tree, sometimes thirty feet high, but its oval, dark red fruit is quite bitter and astringent. The bush form bearing bright red fruit intensely bitter, is the variety Calif ornica. California Grape (Vitis Californica). — Along our streams the native grape-vine attains large size and fruits freely, the fruit resembling the "frost grape" of the East. The vine frequently 42 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM covers and sometimes kills large trees with the density of its foliage. Some variation is reported in the species, but it is possible that some of the better kinds are seedlings from some imported species, bird planted. The species has attained something of a reputation as a phyloxera-resisting root for grafting, but it has proved exacting in its choice of soils and situations, and otherwise not desirable, and some Eastern species are now relied upon for this service. Elderberry (Sambucus glauca). — -The elderberry makes a fine tree in California, sometimes twenty feet or more in height, and with a trunk a foot and a half in diameter. The fruit is borne in large quantities and is used to some extent for preserves and pastry. Raspberries (Rubus sp.). — In the mountains of the eastern part of the State is a scarlet hemispherical berry of pleasant flavor, which is called "thimbleberry" (Rubus parviflorus.) It seems to have an advantage over a variety (velutinus) of the same species which is found near the coast and has a dry, insipid fruit. Another raspberry, which is found in all hilly and mountainous regions, both on the coast and in the interior is Rubus leucodermis. It resembles the black-cap raspberry of the Atlantic slope, except that it has yellowish-red fruit. This fruit is quite largely gathered for domestic uses, and some efforts have been made to cultivate the plants. Salmon Berry (Rubus spectabilis.) — The beauty, size, and de- licious flavor of this fruit are highly commended by all who have enjoyed it in the upper coast counties of California and farther northward. The plant makes a strong bush, five to ten feet high, and delights in woods and shady banks of streams. The praise of all who know the fruit has led to frequent attempts to introduce the plant to warmer and drier parts of the State, but such efforts have thus far uniformly failed. Wild Blackberry (Rubus vitifolius). — This fruit should perhaps be called a "dewberry," as it has trailing, or, at most, but partially raised stems, which extend from five to twenty feet. The plant occurs abundantly on banks of streams and other sufficiently moist locations, both in the coast and interior regions of the State. Around the margin of Humboldt Bay, on land cleared by fire or axe, blackberries spring up abundantly on the denuded land. Tons of the fruit are said to remain after the local housewives have done their utmost in preserving and jelly-making. In the low-land region around Stockton considerable quantities are sometimes gathered for sale. The fruit, which has been held in high repute ever since pioneer days, is oblong, black, and sweet. The species is variable, and the anomaly, a white blackberry, has been reported from Del Norte coimty. The native wild blackberry is one of the parents WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA 43 of the Loganberry and of some of Mr. Burbank's hybrids which are widely grown. Wild Strawberries (Fragaria sp.)- — We have in California two Eastern species : Fragaria vesca and F. Virginiana. Thus far these have only been reported from localities in the Sierra mountain region. Another, the sand strawberry, has been found identical with a South American species, Chilensis, and it occurs along the coast, where the fruit is esteemed, and is sometimes abundant enough to gather in quantity. A fourth species, wood strawberry, is local, and is named Californica. It bears a small round fruit and is partial to the coast region. Recently some cultural attention has been given to the wild strawberries, and varieties worthy of propagation have been reported by growers resident in the Sierra region. Mr. Albert F. Etter of Ettersburg, Humboldt county, has secured notable results in crossing with the wild strawberry, as will be noted in the chapter on that fruit. Wild Gooseberries and Currants (Ribes sp.). — Some of our currant species arc achie\ing (juite a reputation al^road as orna- mental shrubs, but they bear insipid fruit. The fruit of Ribes tenni- fiorum is, however, more agreeable, and is esteemed for jellies, etc., by dwellers in its region, which is the mountain region of the extreme north of the State. We also have a species {bractcosmn) which has something of the black currant flavor and a fair-sized fruit, black with whitish bloom, and very sweet. There are also several species of Ribes which are classed with the gooseberries, but only three bear edible fruit. One of these (Ribes divaricatiim) is peculiar to this coast; another (Ribes oxyacanthoides) occurs at an elevation in the Sierra Nevada and thence extends eastward beyond the Rocky Mountains. The berries are small to medium, of pleasant flavor, and well armed with spines. Another species (Ribes leptanthimi), common in San Luis Obispo and Kern counties, resembles the flavor of the cultivated gooseberry, and is free from spines. Cranberries and Huckleberries (Vaccinium sp.). — We have sev- eral species belonging to the same botanical genus as the Eastern cranberry, but quite different from it both in growth of plant and character of fruit. The fruit of two species is reddish, but insipid. Other species (V. ovatum, ete.) have dark blue or purple fruit. Some of these are locally esteemed, and the argument drawn from them is that the cranberry of commerce would succeed. It should be stated, howe^•er, that the situations in which these plants thrive are not at all according to the requirements of the bog cranberry. A huckleberry (Vaeciniiim ovatum) is largely gathered in the red- wood region of Northern California, for canning and pie-making. The berries are juicy and delicious, and the preserved fruit has a very agreeable flavor. In one year as many as two thousand boxes were profitably gathered on the hills of western Sonoma county. 44 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Other Berries. — There are many small, wild fruits commonly designated as berries, which are of considerable botanical interest. The fruit, too, may be said to be edible, judging by the taste of Indians, birds, and wild beasts, but not likely to be much more than ornamental in the eyes of white people. They may be briefly enumerated : The "manzanita" (various species of Arctostaphylos, especially A. mansanifa) the "little apple" of the Spaniard, bears a rather dry but sub-acid fruit. The "bear berry" (Arctostaphylos uvaursi) is esteemed by the Indiafts both as food and medicine. The "western buffalo berry" (Shcpherdia argentea) has small acid edible fruits. The "salal" (Gaulthcria shallon), small fruit, either red or purple, is also a favorite of the aborigines. Of "barberries" we have three species of Berheris. One, aqui- foliuni, is called the "Oregon grape," chiefly notable for its hand- some bloom, which has been chosen the State flower of Oregon. The fruit is dark blue and the root is said to be a febrifuge. An- other species (nervosa) has a larger fruit, which is esteemed in cookery; and a third species (pinnata) bears a small, pleasant- flavored fruit. It is the Lena amarilla of the Spanish Californians. Our "service berry" (Amelanchier alnifoHa) is from a quarter to a third of an inch in diameter and of a purple color. The "lemon berry" is a fruit of Rhus integrifolia, and is coated with an acid exudation which is said to dissolve in water and make a pleasant drink. The fruit of RJnis trUohata is said to have both a sweet and an acid coating. The berries of the "toyon" or "tollon" (Heteromeles arhutifolia), or "California holly," are said to be eaten by Indians, but they serve the white people a better purpose in Christmas decorations. The "jujube" of commerce (Zisyphus jiijnba) has a local rela- tive in Zisyphiis parryi, which is, however, dry, and mealy, rather than juicy. The "beach strawberry," or "sea fig," is the fruit of Mescmhrian- themuni aequilaterale, a relative of the ice-plant. The good-sized fruit is gathered along the seashore, and remotely suggests a straw- berry. Wild Olive (Forestieria Neo-mexicana). — This is a tall willow- like shrub, found in springy places on the borders of the Mojave Desert. It also grows in the Salinas Valley. It bears an abundance of small fruits which, from their botanical relationship to the olive, have attracted some attention. Experiments to determine its standing as a possible root for the olive have been suggested. Wild Nuts of California. — The wild nuts of California are of WILD FRUITS OF CALIFORNIA 45 very little commercial importance. The wild almond [FrunHs Andersoiiii) of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas is chiefly of botanical interest, although some experiments are in progress in its use as a grafting stock for the sweet almond. The California filbert {Corylus Californica) has none of the quality of the im- proved filberts nor even of the wild hazelnut. Our native chestnut, the giant Chinquapin {Castanopsis chrysophylla) has a sweet kernel, but a hard shell, almost like a hazelnut; its near relative, Castanopsis sempervirens or Bush Chinquapin of the Sierra Nevada and dry Coast Range, is said to have a bitter flavored kernel. The nuts of both of these species are very difficult to obtain because the fruit sets sparingly and the squirrels harvest the crop early. Our native walnut {Jiiglaiis Californica) is better in flavor than the Eastern black walnut, but its hard shell makes it of little commercial account in competition with better, cultivated nuts. The one native nut which is regularly sold in the local market is the "pinenut" — seeds of several species of Pacific Coast pines, particularly the "Nevada Nut Pine" or "One-leaf Pinon." Their flavor is somewhat resinous, but is agreeable. The seeds of two species of palms, lyashingtonia Hlifera and the Lower California Erythca armata, are sought for by the Indians, who also eat the sweetish fruit of the Yucca Mojavensis, which somewhat resembles in shape the banana, and in flavor the fig, and is called the "wild date." The Indians also use the acorns of several species of California oaks as food, extracting the bitterness by soaking in water, and then making a rude bread of the acorn meal. The "jajoba," or "goat-nut" {Sinimondsia Californica), is a low shrub, the fresh fruits of which, deprived of their seed-coats, are eaten like almonds, and when dried by fire and ground they are used as a beverage, in the form of tablets made up with sugar, or as a simple infusion. Fire-dried seeds contain 48.30 per cent of fatty matter; the oil is suitable for food and of good quality, and possesses the immense advantage of not turning rancid. In Lower California it is prepared by boiling with water. The nuts of the California laurel were roasted by the native tribes and esteemed a great delicacy. Further improvements in the preparation process may some day adapt them to the white man's tastes. Cactus. — The common cactus {Opuntia Engelmanni) bears a sweet edible fruit which the Indians dry in large quantities for winter use. By long boiling they make a sauce, which, after slight fermentation, they consider especially nutritious and stimulating. The local species has been used by Mr. Burbank in some of his crossing to secure improved spineless fruits on plants of more vigorous growth and productiveness. CHAPTER V CALIFORNIA MISSION FRUITS Cultivated fruits were first brought into California from the south. Mission work among the Indians of Lower California was actually begun by the establishment of the mission at Loreto by Salvatierra, October 19, 1697. The following years horses and cattle were brought from Mexico, and from this introduction came ultimately the vast herds which roamed the hills and plains of Cali- fornia. Probably the first seeds and plants of cultivated vegetables and fruits came about the same time, for there was a small garden and a few fruit trees at Loreto in 1701. But Loreto was not fitted for horticulture, and in the same year an expedition in charge of Father Ugarte, who is called the founder of agriculture in Lower California, crossed over the mountains to a more suitable location at the mission of Vigge Biaundo, which had been destroyed some time before by hostile Indians. Ugarte restored the mission, made irrigating ditches, and planted fruit trees and vines. This effort was successful from a horticultural point of view, for in 1707 Ugarte made more wine than would suffice for mission use, and sent some to Mexico in exchange for other goods. Thus began the export trade in California wine. The Jesuits continued their establishment of missions in Lower California until there were fifteen missions, at five of which there were vineyards, and presumably as many or more which had gar- dens with fruit trees. The variety of fruits grown in Lower California was small. They had figs, oranges, citrons, pomegranates, plantains, and some olives and dates. There were no North European fruits, with the exception of a few peaches, which, however, did not appear to thrive. The Jesuits were supplanted in Lower California, in 1768, by the Franciscans. The Franciscans, led by Junipero Serra, at once pressed northward, and entered the territory which is now the State of California. Their first establishment was at San Diego, in 1769. Thence they proceeded northward, braving many perils, and under- going great hardships, establishing missions through the coast region of the State. Credit is given to the secular head of the expedition to San Diego, Don Joseph de Galvez, representing the king of Spain, for ordering the carrying of seeds of fruits, grains, vegetables, and flowers into the new territory, and from the plant- ing at San Diego the same varieties were taken to the twenty mis- sions afterwards established. 46 MISSION FRUITS AFTER GOLD DISCOVERY 47 Kinds of Fruit at the Missions. — It is of no little interest to ascertain how great a variety of fruits was grown in these mission orchards. Vancouver, in 1792, found a fine orchard at Santa Clara, with apple, peach, pear, apricot, and fig trees, all thrifty and prom- ising. He also describes at the mission of San Buena Ventura apples, pears, plums, figs, oranges, grapes, and peaches and pome- granates. Robinson described the orchards connected with the Mission of San Gabriel as very extensive, having among their trees oranges, citrons, limes, apples, pears, peaches, pomegranates, and figs. There were also grapes in abundance. Edwin Bryant noticed at San Luis Obispo Mission the orange, fig, palm, olive, and grape, At the Mission San Jose he found an inclosure of fifteen or twenty acres, the whole of which was planted with trees and grape-vines. There were six hundred pear trees and a large number of apple and peach trees, all bearing fruit in great abundance and in full perfec- tion. The quality of the pears he found excellent, but the apples and peaches indififerent. E. S. Capron, in a general enumeration of the fruits grown at the missions, includes cherries. Early Planting by Others than the Padres. — Though the earlier Spanish population had the example of successful horticulture before them for half a century at the missions, they did not seem inclined to emulate the efforts of the padres upon their own grounds, except in occasional instances. General Vallejo planted fruit trees in Sonoma Valley as early as 1830, and of his place it is said: "It is an old and well-cultivated place, well known in all the northern portions of California while this State was still 'Mexican territory." Exceptions there were, also, at the south. The old fruit garden on the Camulos Rancho, in Ventura county, has become famous. Fremont, writing of his observations in 1846, says that among the arid, brush-covered hills south of San Diego he found little valleys converted by a single spring into crowded gardens, where pears, peaches, quinces, pomegranates, grapes, olives, and other fruits grew luxuriantly together. Scarcely had six years elapsed subsequent to the settlement of the pueblo of San Jose on its present site, before the inhabitants were enjoying the benefits of luxurious fruits. Before 1805 more was grown than could be disposed of in its natural state. DecHne of the Mission Orchards. — The decline of most of the mission orchards and gardens followed the secularization of the establishments in 1834. There were a few exceptions, where the mission lands fell into enterprising Spanish or American hands. During the years of neglect, the more tender trees died, and the more hardy survived. The pear and the olive vied with the vine in withstanding drouth and the trampling and browsing of the cattle that roamed unmolested through the deserted gardens. These 48 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM pears, as will be described presently, were turned to good accouni by the early American settlers; the olive and the vine furnished cuttings for most of the plantations made during the first twenty years or more of American occupation. But it seems that not all the mission orchards were permitted to fall into decay after the secularization. In 1846 Bryant found at the Mission San Jose two gardens inclosed by high adobe walls. The area was from fifteen to twenty acres, all of which was planted with fruit trees and vines. There were about six hundred pear trees and a large number of apple and peach trees, all bearing fruit in great abundance, the quality of the pears being excellent, the apples and peaches indifferent. Other visitors to some of the mission orchards between the events of secularization and American occu- pation speak of being regaled with pears and milk, a dish which seemed to them ambrosial after the weary journeys overland across the deserts, or after months of ship fare. Planting of Mission Fruits by Early Settlers. — There were quite considerable plantations, chiefly of mission grapes and oranges, by early settlers in the neighborhood of Los Angeles. General Bidwell saw in Los Angeles in 1845 the largest vineyard that he had seen in California, and the vines were the most thrifty. Wine was also abundant — even the Angelica. Los Angeles had orchards, also, mostly of oranges. The largest orange orchards at that time were those of Wolfskin, Carpenter, and Louis Vigne. During recent years the modern city of Los Angeles has been built over and beyond them. Among the early planters of mission fruits in the northern part of the State was Yount. who planted vines in Napa Valley in 1838, and other fruits later. John Wolfskill, of Winters, saw grapes and peaches at Yount's in 1841, and J. M. Pleasant took peach pits from Yount's over into Pleasant's Valley, Solano county, in 1851. Dr. Marsh, on his place at the base of Mount Diablo, had, in 1842, a mission grape vineyard more than an acre in extent, and in good bearing. The vines were planted about 1838. Mr. Wolfskill planted a few vines on Putah Creek in 1842. Partial Revival of the Mission Fruit Gardens. — After the incom- ing of Americans in 1849 some of the old mission trees were secured by enterprising men, and made to renew their youth by pruning, cultivation, and irrigation, that they might minister to the great demand for fruit which sprang up among the gold seekers. The trees richly reciprocated the care and attention given them, and there still exist at the San Gabriel Mission old pear trees grafted over with improved varieties by W. M. Stockton in 1854. The first fruits offered for sale in San Francisco markets were from the pear trees of Santa Clara and San Jose Missions, and from the mission RUSSIAN FRUITS 49 grapevines of the same localities, and of Los Angeles county. These grapes, packed in sawdust, came up the coast by steamer, and were then re-shipped to the mining camps, arriving for the most part in good condition, and were very popular. It is recorded that one thousand five hundred tons of these grapes were sent from Los Angeles county to San Francisco and the mines in 1852. Another instance in which thrift followed neglect is seen in the fact that, in 1858, Don Andres Pico, who succeeded to possession of the orchard at the San Fernando Mission, did a considerable business in drying pears and other fruits, using the labor of the Indians. At the present time vestiges of the old mission orchards still remain, the pears and olives still bearing, and in some cases the old date palms guarding the desolate scenes, or standing as reminders of the old regime, while the new life of California is surging up around them. RUSSIAN FRUITS The second introduction of cultivated fruits to California was by the Russians. The exact date of their planting at Fort Ross on the ocean side in Mendocino county, is not known, but is believed to have been as early as 1812. The survivors of the original Russian planting look "very old and mossy, and are not very thrifty, but still bear some fruit every year." They were planted too closely, and have undergone periods of neglect, no doubt. The trees are apple for the most part, but there were also cherries, and some of both fruits survive. The trees are all believed to have been grown from seed, and if this be true some fortunate results were obtained, for there is still grown in Green Valley, Sonoma county, a medium- sized, bell-shaped apple, lightly striped with red, which is called the Fort Ross or Russian apple, and was probably propagated by grafts from the Fort Ross orchard. Seeds were also secured from this source for propagation of apple trees in early days in that section of the State. CHAPTER \T INTRODUCTION OF NEW VARIETIES The first cultivated fruits of the old era came to California with the padres. The iirst fruits of the new era came with the American pioneers. Though not a little inquiry has been made, it is not yet possible to declare definitely who brought the first budded or grafted trees upon California soil. It is a tradition in the family of Martin Lelong, who came to California as a member of Steven- son's regiment in 1846, that he brought with him a small lot of French varieties of apples growing in a box, and that they were planted in Los Angeles. In the fall of 1849, W. H. Nash joined with R. L. Kilburn in ordering from a nursery in western New York a small box of thirty- six fruit trees, which, packed in moss, well survived the journey around the Horn, arriving and being planted in Napa Valley in the spring of 1850. The shipment included Rhode Island Greening, Roxbury Russet, VVinesap, Red Romanite, Esopus Spitzenburg apples; Bartlett and Seckel pears. Black Tartarian and Napoleon Bigarreau cherries. Before this introduction of grafted fruit trees, and, indeed, for several years afterwards, there were many shipments of fruit-tree seeds from the eastern States to California. Mr. Barnett planted Kentucky seed as early as 1847 in Napa county. T. K. Stewart brought to California with him, in 1848, about two hundred pounds of vegetable and fruit seeds, the latter including peach, pear and apple, all of which were planted on the American River, within the present limits of Sacramento, in the spring of 1849. At the same time he planted figs and olives, and", in 1851, seeds of oranges. From all these he secured bearing trees. But these early efforts at improvement of California fruits were but faint forerunners of the zeal and enterprise which followed the great invasion by gold seekers. As soon as the first thought — to get gold directly from the soil — would admit the second — to get it indirectly, by agricultural and horticultural arts — there came a demand for something better than the wild fruits of the mountains, better and more abundant than the fruits from the mission orchards. At first everything in the line of fruit-tree seed which could be obtained was planted. Thus the immediate vicinity of the mines soon began to show growing fruit trees. But seedlings of any kind would not satisfy the planters, and effort was put forth in every direction after grafted trees of the best varieties. Oregon had a few years the start of California as an inviting field for immigration, and the advantage also of winning the attention of those who went 50 KAkLV GARDENS OF DWARF TREES 51 out, not as gold seekers, but as agricultural producers. Oregon had grafted trees in bearing, and nursery stock as well, about the time the demand sprang up for it in California. Its introduction was then, however, of very recent date. Up to 1847 the cultivated fruit of Oregon consisted of seedlings introduced by the Hudson Bay Company, in 1824, and by early settlers from the Mississippi •Valley. In that year occurred the first considerable, if not the very first, introduction of grafted fruit upon the Pacific coast. The story of that venture has been so often wrongly told that it is well to record its interesting incidents in the words of one quite near to the event, if not acutally participating in it. Seth Lewelling, of Milwaukee, Oregon, writes : la 1847 my brother, Henderson Lewelling, crossed the plains from Henry county, lovva, to Oregon, bringing with him a pretty general variety of grafted fruits; He fitted up a wagon for the purpose, selected small plants, and planted them in soil in the boxes and watered them to keep them alive. He told me that in some places he had to carry water a mile up the mountains to save his trees. When he arrived in Oregon, late in the fall, he had something over three hundred plants alive. The same tall William Meek arrived in Oregon with a few varieties of fruit trees. He and my brother put their stock together, and commenced the first nursery of grafted fruits on the Pacific coast. It was situated five miles south of Portland, jui>t below Milwaukee, on the east bank of the Willamette river. For want of seedling stock, they could not increase their nursery much until, in 1850, my brother John and 1 crossed the plains, bringing with us some apple seed, which we planted that winter. We also found a gentleman named Pugh, in Washington county Oregon, who had planted some apple seed in the sprmg of 1850. which had grown well, and we bought his stock. During the winter of 1850-51 we put in about twenty thousand grafts. In March, 1851, 1 went to Sacramento, taking with me a box of grafts of apple, pear, peach, plum and cherry, and sold them in Sacramento. 1 believe I have the honor of being the first to distribute grafted fruit in California. Other Early Introductions. — The introduction of grafted trees, for sale by Air. Lewelling in the spring of 1851, was quickly followed by other commercial importations, and by shipments by planters for their own use, so that the plantings of 1851-52 were quite large. Still there was great doubt as to the success of the trees. The late G. G. Briggs, after his great melon profits of 1851, went back to New York State for his family, and, returning to California, brought with him, as he says, ''with no idea that they would succeed, but as a reminder of home," fifty peach and a few apple and pear trees. To his surprise, the trees grew well in 1852, and the next year blossomed and bore some of the best peaches he ever saw. The pears also bore some fine fruit the same year. Besides the introduction of grafted trees which have been men- tioned, there were others in 1852, for, at a fair held in San Francisco in 1853, there were several kinds of apples, grown by Isaac A. Morgan, of Bolinas, on trees planted the previous year. Apples were also shown from Napa. David Spence, of Monterey, showed the first almonds grown in California. During the winter of 1852-53 52 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM the distribution of grafted trees must have extended widely over the State. Five dollars for a small tree was frequently paid at the nursery of Meek and Lewelling, in Milwaukee, Oregon, and the trees were carried overland into the mining districts of California, as well as brought to San Francisco for distribution through the valleys. Fruit Gardens, not Orchards. — It is interesting to note that much of the pioneer effort was expended upon fruit gardens rather than fruit orchards. Two ideas, at least, led in this direction. One was the popular thought, which, however, was very early found to be erroneous, that frequent and copious irrigation was essential to the growth of fruit in this dry climate. Another was the ambition, which was correct, both from a horticultural and commercial point of view, to secure the fruit just as soon as possible, for the double purpose of determining what was adapted to the novel conditions, and to secure the magnificent prices which fruit commanded in the market. For these ends dwarfing stocks naturally suggested them- selves, and were employed to an extent which seems wonderful when it is remembered that now hardly a fruit tree in the State is worked upon a dwarfing stock. Very early, say from '52 to '58, at San Jose, Oakland, Stockton and Sacramento, small areas, which would now only be considered respectable house lots, were turned to great profit with dwarf pear and apple trees. The place of Mr. Fountain, near Oakland, was called, in 1857, "The finest orchard of dwarf trees in the State." It consisted of three acres set with one thousand six hundred apple and pear trees, all dwarf from root grafts, two years old, and four feet high, and most of them in good bearing. He started the branches from the ground, pruning severely, and heading in during the winter. He claimed that dwarfing gave him better and larger fruit, and from two to three years sooner than with standard trees. He did not irrigate, but plowed frequently, four inches deep, up to the first of June. But though these dwarf-tree gardens were formally declared "to be the fashion," and though the list of stock of one Sacramento nurseryman, in 1858, included ninety-five standard and eight thou- sand and sixty-eight dwarf pear trees for sale, the foundations of the greater orchards were early laid upon the basis of standard trees. Thus the Briggs' orchard, of one thousand acres, on the moist land of the Yuba, was planted with trees sixteen feet apart each way, and Mr. Lewelling, and other early planters on the rich lands of central Alameda county, adopted about the same distance. Quite in contrast, too. with the prevalence of dwarf trees, and contemporaneous with it, was the grand plan upon which the pioneer of pioneers. General Sutter, laid out his orchard on Hock Farm, on the west bank of the Feather River, eight miles from its junction with the Yuba, of which the following description was written about the time the trees were coming into bearing: EARLY GARDENS OF DWARF TREES 53 Several acres were set apart for an ornamental fruit orchard, the trees and shrubs being so arranged as to present a unique landscape garden, nearly every article in which is productive of fruit. The arrangement of the fruit trees is peculiar, a large portion of them being set on either side of the broad avenues opening through the extensive grounds in various directions, imparting to the whole an air of picturesque beauty seldom seen. But neither the narrow dwarf-tree garden plan nor the broad landscape-garden plan has survived. Neither of them harmonized with the commercial idea of orcharding — large production and economy of cultivation, and both are now but curiosities of the early horticulture of California. Irrigation Abandoned. — The early abandonment of dwarf trees suggests also the early abandonment of irrigation in the valleys of Northern California — as early as 1856. Facilities which had been secured for irrigation of orchards were allowed to go unused, because it w^as thought better not to use them. One case is reported in Napa county where means to furnish the orchard with thirty thousand gallons of water per day were allowed to lie idle. The substitution of cultivation for water, of course, attended this reform. The announcement of a practice, in 1856, "to plow deep, dig wide and deep holes for planting, and work the ground from February to July, allowing no grass or weeds to grow among the trees," shows that the thorough and clean culture, for which California is famous, is not a recent idea in our practice. Even the abandonment of the plow, and almost weekly use of the cultivator, was the prac- tice of some growers in the San Jose district before 1860. In fact, the descriptions of orchard management in that day include nearly the whole variety of methods which now prevail. Later experience has, however, shown that irrigation facilities are more valuable even for deciduous fruits than was once thought possible. This proposi- tion will be discussed in the chapter on irrigation. Early Wisdom and Enterprise. — It is evident to anyone who studies the records, that California was very fortunate in numbering among the early settlers so many men with horticultural tastes, skill, and experience. The rapidity with which fruit trees were multiplied, and the confidence with which these early comers entered upon the nursery business, shows their training. Although there were many trees brought here from the East and from Europe, they constituted only a very small percentage of the plantings of the first few years, but the orchards, with the exception of a very small number of trees introduced to furnish grafting and budding stock, were the product of the soil. When this is borne in mind, it becomes all the more wonderful how so much could be done in a new country, in a distant part of the world, in so very short a time. It was an observation which was put upon record as early as 1856, that "some varieties of fruit are much improved by change to this 54 CALIFORNIA FRUITS! HOW TO GROW THEM State, and some are not benefited." The test seems to have been that if a variety was not better than at the East, it should be discarded. The First Oversupply.^-The wonderful stimulus given to the fruit interest by the results obtained in growth and in marketing, soon induced larger plantings than the demand warranted. In 1857 it was publicly stated that "there are single farms in this State, containing each over half a million fruit trees in orchard and nursery — one person owning enough trees, when fully matured, to produce as much fruit, other than grapes, as will be sold this year throughout our State. The day is not far distant when fruit will be an important crop for raising and fattening swine." This was, to a certain extent, a statement of a croaker, for plantations con- tinued, rare varieties were brought from the East, the South, and from Europe ; the growth of some fruits continued to be very profitable, and the nursery business, confined to fewer hands, was profitable also. The idea that quality rather than size should be striven for, led to more discrimination in propagation and better treatment of trees. The decade from 1858 to 1868 was one of quiet in the fruit interest of California. Many of the too hastily and carelessly planted trees died from lack of proper cultivation and pruning, and the borer wrought sad havoc. In 1860 and 1861 there was serious depression. It is recorded that peaches were worth but one cent a pound, and many were allowed to go to waste as not worth gather- ing. The flood of 1862 destroyed many trees along the Sacramento River, and replanting was slow until prices began to improve, as they did soon afterward. The rapid development of the mining interest in Nevada, and the construction of roads across the Sierras, opened the way for the disposition of much fruit growth in the foot- hills and in the region around Sacramento. The imports of dried and canned fruits were large, and growers were exhorted to take steps to secure this trade for themselves. Something was done in this direction, for by 1867 the local product of canned fruit was equal to the demand. Drying did not advance so fast; for two years later there were imports of six thousand barrels of dried apples, wh-ile the hundreds of thousands of bushels of the fruit were rotting under the trees in our orchards. The decade under review was also notable for the first appear- ance of cured raisins and prunes at the State fair of 1863. The raisins were from the Muscat of Alexandria grape, and the report states that so-called raisins exhibited previous to that time were merely dried grapes. Dr. J. Strentzel, of Martinez, was the first exhibitor of Muscat raisins, and he exhibited also dried grapes of four varieties to show the contrast between a raisin and a dried grape. J. R. Nickerson, of Placer county, exhibited the dried prunes, which were of the German variety. BEGINNINGS OF FRUIT SHIPMENT 55 Though this decade was one of uncertainty and doubt, there were rich lessons of experience learned, and the foundations for coming greatness were well laid. Many of our leading lines of production trace their beginnings to this period, and their later developments have been beyond any anticipations then cherished. The New Era. — Another era in California may be marked as beginning with the year 1869, because then the first fresh fruits were sent East over the newly-opened overland line. The first season's shipments amounted to thirty-three tons of pears, apples, grapes, and plums ; in 1870 seventy carloads, or about seven hun- dred tons, were sent. The Eastern shipment of fresh fruits began its new era with the year 1886, when the first full train load of fifteen cars of fresh fruit from deciduous trees went overland. Shipping train loads of oranges from Southern California began at an earlier date. During the present decade shipments of fruit and fruit products have increased until a very large aggregate in weight and value has been attained. The volume of shipments beyond State lines is shown by the statement on the next page compiled from the records of the California Development Board. The Fruit Interest in 1912. — The fruit interests of California now constitute the greatest single industry of California, and the fruit output of California is far greater than that of any other State in the Union. Notable progress has been secured in planting, in the growth, preparation and marketing of the product, in the contest with injurious insects and plant diseases, and, in fact, in all things which contribute to success. It is true that there are problems still unsolved, and there have been grievous losses to individuals who have proceeded upon too great expectations or have erred in location for various fruits. Such mishaps will be less frequent in the future. At present there is a disposition to proceed more cautiously and to profit by the lessons which have been learned, many of which will be mentioned in their proper places in later chapters. Some dimensions of the present fruit interests may be suggested by the following statistics showing numbers of trees and vines, which have been carefully compiled from reports of the assessors of the counties submitted to the State Board of Equalization. As the enumerations were made as a basis of taxation they are not likely to be exaggerated. Though imperfect, they are the best available. 56 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM . irj CO r>» lO O -^ o Tf 00 ^^'^^'^^^^ S lorNToo'o'cN o 'O CO C O Tl U PQ H l-l Ph O O <" O •*=> .s c i2 ^ u ^ •*- CO CO «> B p. CO CM 5S' IT) On VO -^ 00 <^ • t^ irj vo CO CO g CM OOO^OOt-i vO vO T-i ^ Ovooo 2 8 :3 ^^ ■s c:\0\vor^cMt^ ,• t^ ^H t^ lO CO CN ON CO CO C^fCNftrTl^ i-H CO ^H ■^ CO OmoiO 00 ■ 00 CO t^ CO .—1 1^ S oo-*\q^ NO 00 ON iW^'odcM'tC'-r r- ,_, uo ,— I CO On rf OO ONioirj 00 ^ CO -^ NO CO T-H r^ g 0\rv._^^s._^^_oo^0^ Oi CO ut^nO^tJ- On NO '^ tN. 00 lo "o 00 CO r-H O CM S '~i^_"l,'^„'^^^ >— I On m liO On uo -i On NO 3" r^ --H fo On ou-Ti-TrNro cT ^ O CM lO -^ ^H 00 dcoOOfO Tt- 00 fO»-i jN^ r^ CO t^ 00 1^ 2 >-rvo"crNo"vcrio On CM On CO t^ 'O 2 tn .M »^ !-I n:^ .--1 ,« r- k> <« 71 CU <« S — CM^t CM CO CO I -—I _ONt^ '-< g2 10 CO r- 1 in COCM ONO CM ON NO 10 oCrCodt^" I^ On On r^ooo"^ 1 S2 cor^ vo t> O t>* On CO O 8 OOni^ r>. OnCM — lOO CM"^"^TJ• 10 NO CM •-I 00 On CM CO On 00 NO CO 00_^vO_NO_^l^ co^oCoo^oC On NO NO Thcot^ 00 CO I— IIONO t-lt^ ON 00 rC-TNO^od ^NO NO vOOn^^nO^ oCirfoCod 10 NO ONON^t>% CTnOOCJnno 00 10 0^0 irT CnTu-TcTn" CM IT) 10 . rt vh C ,„ O rt n! -S 'J <" — ? S 2 ^ ^ o ^5 3 cr -; — lOOOpCMOOcor^ 2 NO"— l-^lOONlOt^i— C (^ CO IT) ON 10 CM CM 00 -^ CM^CM'-'i-''—^' f^ 5n NOiO 0010 cm CMu^ < g tN._C> 0O^rN.^CVl CM CM_^0_ •-' cm'"'-<"cO'-<' •r-^r-^ CO "O r/ONONOON^OOl^OO rt S CO On NO CO t^ C3n Np 1— ' O S ONO'^O O O a IS fe ^ ^ CMcOTf^t^OvNlCM § ,-1 00 00 CM ^ lO — ' Cn) 5: 10 10 ON CM -—1 10 ^ ^oONt^r^-*^ 5; OOnnO COCM t^ -: NOON'-'^00 S 00"^"^i^OnO'«*CM ^ ^ ir> tT O, CM m ONr^CNiOT-Ht-iOCO S l^OOOO'-iCNJCMNO -J r-lt^CO00CMU^C3NNO o ^r^cor^cM-^io ON O t^ O -^^CM CM CO ^ cm"'-'"'-"' -h" ^ ir)»-ivONOrN500N^ o coQ^fOO'— i<^fO ^ ioOnO\OnCM»— o. X t^ *J ^ s FRUIT INTEREST IN STATE DEVELOPMENT 57 It is interesting' to estimate the total value of the annual products of California trees and vines, usinj:^ the best data and judgment available. The estimates arc based upon value at shipping points. Number and Acreage of Fruit Trees and Vines in California, 1910. Fruit. Bearing. Non-bearing. Total. Acreage. Apple 1,736,748 406,067 2,142,815 28,570 Apricot 2,308,600 285,817 2,594,417 34,592 Cherry 525,471 77,050 602,521 8,033 Pear 1,301,000 198,932 1,499,932 14,999 Peach 8,587,794 2,354.200 10,941,994 109,419 Nectarine 58.034 5,739 63.773 637 Plum 917,662 131,791 1,049.453 10,494 Prune 8,147,638 851,183 8,998,821 89,988 Quince 20,381 3,324 23,705 220 Fig 330,364 219,511 549,875 21,995 Olive 1.048,161 142,291 1,190,452 11,904 Lemon 1,522,875 287,541 1,810,416 18,104 Orange 9,370,198 1,433,023 10,803,221 108,032 Almond 1,011,748 192,634 1.204,382 12,043 Walnut 651.852 239,297 891,149 35.646 Grapes, acres 263,800 82,873 346,673 Barries, acres 12,658 2,019 14,677 Totals 37,538,526 *6,91 1,273 44,366.346 866,026 •Acreage of grapes arid berries omitted. Valuation of a Year's Fruits and Fruit Products, f. o. b. California. Kinds. Pounds. Selling Price per Lb. Value. Fresh deciduous 410,902,000 Dried deciduous 336,558,000 Citrus fruits 895,668,000 Raisins 140,702,000 Nuts 25,618,000 Canned fruits . 180,480,000 Olives and olive oil Wine 364,000,000 Brandy 20,000,000 • An estimate upon meager data. t Basis of 20 cents per gallon. t Basis of 60 cents per gallon. $0.02 $ 8,268,040 .06 19.193,480 .02 17,913,480 .03 4,221,060 .10 2,561,800 .05 9,024,000 * 2,200,000 t .02/^ 9,100,000 t .08 2,200,000 $74,081,720 These amounts, which are averages of several recent years, are of available surplus for distant shipment. They do not include the local consumption by two millions of fruit-loving people in Cali- fornia. 58 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM INFLUENCE UE THE FRUn INDUSTRIES UPON CALIFORNIA DEVELOPMENT Enlistment in California fruit growing has proved exceedingly satisfactory to tens of thousands of people in the various ways along which they have approached it. The fruit districts are full of cottage homes sheltering families of those who have begun with small investments and have made a good livelihood, and often con- siderably more, from a few acres of fruits grown largely without expenditure for hired labor. The study of the needs of the tree or vine and ministering to them by personal effort has brought new health and new incentive to the worn and weary who have taken up outdoor life and activity in California fruit growing with a wise choice of location, land and fruits, for obviously in all investments one must be wise as well as willing. In large operations hundreds have notably succeeded by pur- chasing good land in large tracts at low rates and making ample investment for its development and improvement. Some of the most delightful of our towns and villages have arisen as a direct result of such employment of capital. Well established communi- ties, well churched and schooled, well provided for in local trade and transportation and widely known citizens, have followed in- vestment money and devoted effort in colony enterprises. Hundreds, also, have purchased large tracts of wild land and have developed fine estates for their own personal gratification, with thriving orchards of all kinds of fruits, rich pastures tenanted with improved livestock, parks, gardens and buildings comparable with the estates of the European nobility, except that California conditions favor freedom and variety in outdoor effort unknown in Europe, and command proportional interest and enthusiasm. Estates for winter residences in California are exceptionally desir- able, not only because of natural advantages and greater possibili- ties of development, but because of the advanced standing of the State financially and socially. All of these lines of effort, then — home-making in a small way, colony enterprise and private estate development — have yielded on the whole great satisfaction and success. Fruit growing has been the central idea in nearly all of them, but it is obvious that activity in any productive line begets opportunity for other lines, and so all branches of agriculture have advanced and the diversification is highly desirable. Opportunities in manufacture, trade and profes- sional effort of all kinds have been quickly seized and developed with much originality and success. Fruit growing has created them all and has in turn been advanced by all, for every accumulation of capital promotes it. Successful toilers in all lines become THE FRUIT OUTLOOK 59 planters. The ancestral delight of the race, to sit beneath one's own vine or fig tree, is nowhere more enthusiastically manifested than in California, and nowhere else does the emotion of comfort in ownership yield such profound and protracted satisfaction. THE OUTLOOK OF THE INDUSTRY The outlook for California fruits and fruit products involves considerations of much economic interest. Though the volume is already large and there may be experienced now and then tem- porary dullness or depression in this line or that, the business is on the whole brisk and profitable. There is such a wide range in the fruits grown and the products made from them, and such changes in local conditions in the many purchasing States and foreign countries with which Californians deal, that there must be some fluctuations in the values of some of the supplies oft'ered in distant market. The result is that first one fruit and then another one seems to be more or less profitable. The fact, however, that all are increasing in volume and the total traffic brings each year more money to the State, is a demonstration of the standing of the collective output. Each year new markets are found, both at home and abroad, and the capacity of old centers of distribution is shown to be greater than anticipated. There is every reason to expect that the products can be profitably multiplied. There have been secured, largely through co-operative efforts of growers, so many improve- ments in handling and transportation that distant shipment has become more safe and profitable and distribution far wider. It is reasonable to believe that further improvement in movement and reduction of cost will be realized and the per capita consumption in the populous parts of our own country proportionally advanced. In spite of all that wintry States can do for local supplies, Cali- fornia can find open markets before and after the short ripening season of the Eastern States for her early and late fruits, and can use her own midseason fruits in the drying and canning industries, though it is a fact that in the height of the Eastern fruit season a considerable quantity of California fruit will command the highest prices because of its exceptional size, beauty and keeping qualities. The citrus fruits, so long as they are allowed to remain under the favoring tariff' which now exists, will continue to supply an Amer- ican product of exceptional quality and freshness, while prunes, nuts, raisins and wines will not only do this, but will push forward into the trade of Europe, as they are now beginning to do in a most vigorous manner. A very significant report was made by one of the United States Consuls in France recently that out canned and dried fruits were appearing on the shelves of all the provision shops of 60 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM the smaller French towns and were being freely sold without reduc- ing the prices of the locally grown fruit. Practically the same thing could be said of points in Germany and other European countries. The fact is that European countries can not grow fruit enough to supply their own people and fruit has been largely a luxury. California dried fruits are being welcomed by the great middle classes and are likely to become a staple of their diet. This explains the ultimate disposition of the large amounts now going direct from California to Europe. California's exports of high-class food supplies to European countries are likely to reach values like those of the wheat ana barley which we are now sending to that part of the world. The development of adjacent territory on the American continent and other Pacific countries may shape the future of California as a fruit producing State in a way which can at present only be dreamed about. It should be remembered that California has a unique char- acter from a horticultural point of view. Not only does the State have a monopoly of semi-tropical conditions of the United States (excepting small parts of the Gulf States and Arizona), but Cali- fornia has command of the whole of northwest America and the whole of northeast Asia, not only in the supply of semi-tropical fruits, but in early ripening of hardy fruits as well. California does not grow tropical fruits, as has already been conceded in Chapter I. They must come from the islands and the tropical south coast countries. Semi-tropical fruits are, however, vastly more important in commerce than tropical, and a region which successfully combines northern orchard fruits with the whole semi-tropical class commands the fruit trade of all accessible popu- lous regions which have limited fruit capabilities. There are now four such regions with the kind of population which makes for industrial advancement — Southern Europe, South Africa, parts of Australia and California. As already shown, we are competing successfully with South Europe in the capacious markets of North Europe. South Africa and Australia are unfortunate in lying in the southern hemisphere, which is mostly ocean wastes, and they are handicapped by tropic crossing in their northern shipments, although the fact of opposite seasons may help them, and also us, in avoiding competition of trade which both desire. California will soon be less than half as far by sea from European and Atlantic coast ports as at present, but California in the future will have less occasion for such distant recourses. Prophets, far-seeing in world courses, declare that the Pacific ocean is to be the arena for com- merce greater than the world has yet seen, and the Pacific coast countries are to contain the greater part of the world's population. This greatest quartosphere with its superlative opportunities and activities will have California as its treasure house of fruits and THE FRUIT OUTLOOK 61 fruit products. During the long- winter the citrus fruits will afford tonic and refreshment, and before hardy fruits bloom in northern climes the same fruits will appear from the early ripening districts of California. In this traffic California will not only be practically without a competitor, but, sitting beside the sea, there will also be every advantage of water transportation and the sustaining ocean temperatures of the fruits in transit. California dried and canned fruits will render acceptable diet even through the most Arctic stretches along which development may advance in North America and North Asia, while a succession of fresh fruits will flow to all Pacific ports throughout the year. California, too, will be the winter residence for all the North Pacific millionaires and the haven of rest and recuperation for all who are worn by Arctic cold or tropic heat throughout the great circle of the Pacific ocean. Here the arts will flourish, education attain its highest achievements and culture pre- vail. Then fruit growing both as a commercial enterprise and as a home delight will attain value, volume and perfection, of which present achievements are but a faint foreshadowing. PART TWO : CULTURAL CHAPTER VII CLEARING LAND FOR FRUIT The greater part of the orchard and vineyard area of this State was naturally almost clear for planting. The removal of large trees, which paid the cost of the work in firewood, or the grubbing out of willows on some especially rich bottom land, was about the extent of clearing which our earlier planters had to undertake, and many of them perhaps never had to lift an axe. Still there has always been some clearing done, here and there, even since the earliest days, especially upon hill lands, the peculiar value of which for some fruits is generally recognized. The lands which need clearing are in the main foothill slopes of the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada. In the south there is besides, sometimes, the debris of the desert flora to clear away when water is secured and the rich wilderness is subdued. This work is however, so easily accomplished that it hardly rises to the dignity of "clearing," as understood by the Eastern mind. It is not possible in this connection to enumerate all of the great variety of shrubs and trees which the settler lays low in his clear- ing. The grand trees which figure most largely in lumbering oper- ations are not met with as a rule in foothill clearings. The trees which the settler encounters are rather the degraded valley growths, which, though assuming grand proportions in the valle3^s, become "scrubs" amid the harsher environment of the hillsides. This is notably true of the oaks and of some other trees. Chamisal and Chaparral. — Of true shrubs to be removed, it will only be possible to name a few of the most abundant. The common manzanita {Arctostaphylos manzanita) occurs on dry ridges every- where, both on the coast and at great elevations, sometimes only growing a few inches from the ground, sometimes rising eight or ten feet. Next to this, perhaps, the two terms which the land clearer has most to use are "chaparral" and "chamisal." To distinguish between them it may be said, however, that the term chamisal properly applies to the shrub Adcnostoma fascicidatum var. ohtusi- folium, which is abundant on dry soils in the Coast Ranges and more rarely in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, often covering extensive areas with dense and almost impenetrable growth, producing an efifect on the landscape like that of the heaths of the Old World. Another species. A. sparsifolium, with narrow, scattered leaves, is sometimes abundant on the mountains east of San Diego. 62 METHODS OF LAND CLEARING 63 By chaparral is generally meant shrubs of several species of Ceanothus, forming dense thickets and giving its name to certain soils on which it most abounds, both in the Sierra foothills and the hillsides of the Coast Range, where it is known as California lilac. The genus includes the "flat brushes," as they are called, from their trailing on the ground, or low, horizontal shoots. Other Small Growths. — Shrubs of frequent occurrence also are the poison oak (Rhus divcrsiloha), chiefly on the north sides of hills in all parts of the State, but most abundant in the Coast Ranges, and other species of Rhus which are not poisonous ; the hazel nut (Corylus rostrata), which has been mentioned in the chapter on wild fruits ; the buckthorns, several species of rhamvius, well distributed on the hillsides and mountains of the State. In some parts of the State there are also large areas of sage- brush or wormwood made up of several species of Artemisia, sage or chia, two species of Salvia, and the famous white and black sages of the bee-keepers, which are species of Andibcrtia, occurring chiefly on the mountains of Southern California. Add to these the spireas, the azaleas, the rhododendrons, the sweet-scented shrubs (Calycanthiis), etc., and include nearly all the wild fruit trees, bushes and vines mentioned in a previous chapter, and one will gain the idea that though California is widely considered a bare State, the land clearer has a host of plants confronting him and disputing his right to the soil. Cost of Clearing. — The cost of clearing on the foothill slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges is too variable to admit of estimates except such as may be made on the spot by experi- enced persons. The cost varies, of course, according to the density of the growth of trees and underbrush, and the rate of wages to be paid. Though in some cases higher cost is reached, probably as a rule the expense of clearing will be from $5.00 to $30.00 per acre, less whatever the firewood might be worth. In exceptional cases, where there is a large growth and a good wood market near by, the wood may pay the expense or more ; even the roots of chaparral sometimes sell in our cities at $3.00 or $4.00 per cord. It sometimes happens that charcoal can be produced to advantage ; in fact, there are now orchards upon land which was secured in the first instance for the charcoal to be made upon it. Usually. however, the clearing is an item of expense and must be reduced as much as possible by working in the most economical and ef- fective way. Though in most cases of clearing by the actual settler himself the problem is merely one of muscle and persistence, some few hints may be given from the experience of others which may be useful. Spare time during the summer and fall can often be used 64 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM to advantage with a sharp axe in trimming up the smaller trees, which are large enough to yield fencing material, and getting out posts from the redwoods and oaks, and rails and pickets from the pines. By thus using the waste material the settler can often get out enough fencing material to inclose his land and thus save considerable expense. Brush, too, which can not be made use of, can be lopped off — in short, all the sharp axe work can be done in a dry time. The actual clearing, however, should be done in Avinter, when the ground is wet and soft, and digging is easy or "snaking out" is possible. Partial and Thorough Clearings. — Orchards are planted on both partially and thoroughly cleared land. By the former practice clearing enough is done to give space for the tree holes, the debris is burned up, and the trees planted. In this kind of work the stumps are left to be taken out at a convenient season, the object being to get fruit trees to growing as soon as possible. Where one is working with little more than his own muscle, and has no capital, this sort of planting is better, perhaps, than not planting at all, but it must be borne in mind that all subsequent work will be done at a great disadvantage, and as cultivation is likely to be very imperfect, it would be a question whether in the end anything would be gained by such a plan. The encumbered character of the ground will, of course, prevent the use of the horse in cultiva- tion until most of the stumps are removed. Aside from this decaying stumps and roots in the soil often kill the young trees ; especially is this the case with old oak stumps. Clearing land for orchard or vineyard is a very different thing from clearing for pasture, as is done in the redwood region of the northwest Coast Ranges of the State, where the stumps are un- touched ; the trees not taken by the lumberman are girdled and left a prey to decay and storms, and the brush slashed and burned every few years to prevent it from completely taking posession of the land. Clearing for fruit should be thorough, everything which will interfere with good cultivation removed; roots grubbed so that as little shooting up as possible is secured ; the ground evened up to obviate standing water, and, where needed, arrange- ments made for irrigation and drainage, as will be considered later. Removal of Trees. — The first operation in clearing will be the removal of the trees. This can be partly done in the dry season if one has unemployed time. In such case the tree is felled and worked up into fire-wood and the stump left for subsequent treat- ment when the ground is moist. Unless there is idle time to employ, the whole work can, however, be better done in the winter, for then the top of the tree may be made to help pull out its own roots. This is done sometimes by digging out the soil and cutting REMOVING SHRUBS AND BRUSH 65 off the main lateral roots below the depth to which the plow will reach. By thus reducing its anchorage the tree will topple over, or may be pulled over with a team and tackle, and it will usually lift out its stump quite effectively. A Steam Puller. — An arrangement for tearing out trees without digging has been used to some extent in Santa Cruz county, which is said to handle redwood trees up to four feet in diameter success- fully. It consists of a portable engine and a "puller," which is a windlass operated by steam, from which a wire cable is carried to the tree which is to be pulled down. A strong chain is put around the tree at a distance above the ground proportioned to its diam- eter in such a way as to give necessary leverage. The immensely strong hook at the end of the cable is attached to this chain and the cable is slowly wound upon the reel. The coil begins to grow taut, a dull creak and strain are heard as the roots begin to be torn from the earth. Two chains are used, a second tree being prepared while the first is falling, that no time may be lost. The cable is detached from the falling tree, and a horse draws it from amid the debris of fallen foliage to the next victim. The extraction of roots by this method of pulling is said to be very complete, and the earth is loosened to a considerable depth. Powerful traction engines, manufactured for hauling combined harvesters and steam plows, have also been very successfully used for the removal of large trees in land clearing. Horse-Power Stump Pullers. — The use of horse-power devices for tree felling and stump extraction has increased considerably of late. The one which has achieved good results is a local invention called a "California Stump Puller." It is simply a specially designed capstan worked by one horse, with a wire cable five-eighths of an inch in diameter, an improved snatch block, chains, and a drafthook to unite the cable with the chains. Power is applied to the capstan with a sweep. It is calculated that with this device, properly adjusted, one horse is enabled to produce an effect equal to the capacity of 60 horses without it, and that a 1,200-pound horse which can move a dead weight of one and a half tons for a short distance can move a dead weight of 90 tons with the devices employed in the machine. It is so rapidly adjustable that on one trial in Napa county eighteen stumps were pulled in eighteen minutes, long roots coming clear out of the ground with each stump. The Use of Powder. — Another means for the removal both of stumps and of growing trees which has come into quite wide use during the last few years, is high explosives, which have vastl}'- cheapened the clearing of lands, where either large trees or stumps have to be removed. Full instructions for the use of powder are furnished by the agents in San Francisco, and they often send an 66 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: IIOW TO OROW TllF.M expert to start the work and give instruction if there is much to be done. It has been estimated that the cost of handHng trees and stumps with explosives is less than one-fifth that by hand grubbing, and the ratio of saving increases as the trees are larger, as powder is cheaper than muscle. Removing Shrubs and Brush. — In the case of removing shrubs of a somewhat tall growth, the top is made to help out the roots. This is done either with a good strong rope or a chain. To do this lequires two men and a pair of horses, and two chains, each ten or twelve feet long. A chain should be placed around the bush some distance above the ground, to give leverage. If the bush is not removed at the first pull, start the horses in the opposite direction. While the driver is unfastening the chain from the chaparral, the second man can place the other chain around another bush, and the one who gets through his work first should at once assist the other. In this way the horses are kept in constant employment, and neither of the men need lose a moment's time. This work should be done when the ground is thoroughly wet. Where manzanita grows somewhat upright, as it does on the hills north of the bay, the same methods of extraction can be employed with it, first slashing off enough to allow adjusting the rope or chain a few feet above the ground. Where it grows lower, as, for' example, on the hills of Santa Clara, the manzanita brush is gone over with a roller so as to break it down, and then the land is burned over. The roller should be of the ordinary farm pattern, but rigged with a tiller (header fashion) so that the horses can push the roller and walk over the flattened brush. The only object of the rolling is to smash the brush down so that it will burn readily. When the brush is got rid of in this way, the plow is trusted to get rid of the roots. The plow should be of the pattern known as "prairie breaker," without coulter. Horses should be shod with a plate of sheet iron between the shoe and hoof to prevent snagging, and not less than four of them used. Much of the Santa Clara county vine belt was cleared in that way. Of course this method only answers for the lighter-rooted growths ; tough-rooted chapar- ral, oak, holly, etc., must be grubbed out, unless the roots are snaked out by the tops, as has been described. Marketable Products of Clearing. — Whether any money can be made from the results of clearing depends altogether upon local markets for wood and charcoal, and the cost of transportation to them. From clearings near large towns enough can be sometimes had to pay for the work and hauling, and along railways wood can often be shipped with profit. This can only be learned by local inquiries. Charcoal Burning. — Charcoal can usually be sold to advantage, PREPARING LAND FOR FRUIT 67 and wood can sometimes be profitably disposed of in this way when it cannot be marketed for fuel. A considerable acreage of unprofit- able fruit trees has been disposed of in this way recently. Charcoal is made from most kinds of wood, and sometimes stumps and large roots are charred. A simjile process of charcoal burning is given by an experienced burner, as follows: To Inirn a pit of charcoal, the prime necessity is to perform the process of combustion with the least possible contact with air. Select a suitable place not too far from the dwelling, because the operation must be watched from time to time by night as well as by daj'. It is not necessary to dig much of a "pit" in the ground. Choose hard limbs of pine, spruce or whatever wood is most available of that kind. Dry, dead limbs, if not decayed, take for choice. Set them up wigwam fashion, close together, fitting them as well as they will allow, the apex forming the chimney. Be careful to keep that chimney free, because the fire should be there applied to brisk "kindling" as far down as possible. Build round and round, taking the precaution to lay three or four straight pieces, three or four inches in diameter, along the ground from the outside to the center. These may have to be withdrawn to promote the draught. The wood all being in place it is now required to cover it thoroughly. In the absence of turf or sods, it must be thatched with leafy green boughs, or anything that will prevent the earth or dirt that is now heaped on from running through. Pack this soil covering carefully, exclude air as far as possible, except when the port-holes referred to near the ground are needed. The direction of the wind will determine which ones are to be opened. When the fire — after a few hours, more or less, according to the materials — has got a good hold, close also the chimney. Visit the pit regularly night and da)-; lessen or increase the draught as may seem needed; and in a week or ten days the two or three cords of wood sliould be turned into good hard coal. When uncovered, water or dirt should be thrown upon coal that is too lively when spread out on the ground. Cutting to Kill Brush. — Just when to cut to kill depends upon the character of the growth and of the season. One conclusion seems to be that with deciduous growths the best time to cut is when they have just made their most vigorous growth, and this is in the summer — but the month to be chosen for the work will depend upon the location, though .\ugust is generally selected as the best time. In the case of evergreens, the cutting should be just before the coldest weather, in which they are the nearest dormant. Ever- greens, however, dififer much in tenacity of life, for while most kinds are easily killed, the California redwood will endure almost any abuse w-ith the axe or fire and still spring up repeatedly and persistently for years. The Use of Sheep on Sprouts. — On sprouting brush, there is. perhaps, no cheaper or more efifective means of repression than sheep and goats. They are used after the top growth is cleared away instead of grubbini^-. if one can wait, for by their persistent cutting down of growth, man}- small stumps and roots will decay enough in a year or two to be plowed out with a strong team and plow. 68 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Burning of the Debris. — However the trees and underbrush may be wrenched from the soil, fire is the final cleaner. Where trees are to be worked up into fire-wood, it should be done as soon as they are felled, for the work is much less than after they become dry and hard. If it is not designed to break the land the first winter, the wood is left to season and it becomes lighter and easier to handle. The brush and roots, if no use is to be made of them, can be left to lie on the clearing to dry out during the following summer, and after the first rains of the following fall the whole area can be burned over. Such stumps as do not burn with the brush must be gathered in piles and re-fired. Burning before the first rain should not be attempted, unless it be in exceptional situa- tions, because of the danger of communicating fire to the surround- ing country, which is a standing danger in our dry climate. Under the present law it becomes necessary to secure permission from the State Forester at Sacramento before starting field fires in the dry sea- son. After the rain, clean up the ground perfectly. First Crop on a Clearing. — -It is the opinion of some clearers in the redwood region that the soil is not fit for fruit trees the first year after the original growth is removed, and they grow a field crop the first year. They claim that peas are the best corrective of "redwood poisoning," and fortunately in the upper redwood district they have a climate well suited to the pea. Whether their theory is right or not, their practice is of advantage, because they get a better cultivation and aeration of the soil, and kill out much of the sprouting from the old roots, which is usually quite persistent in the moister parts of the State. Usually the tree and vine planter is in such haste to realize from his labor that he does not allow the first year to go for any side issue. Surface Leveling and Draining. — There is often occasion to clear the land of stone and rocks. The latter should be blasted out of the way so that the land may be clear for the plow' and cultivator. Once in a while one will come upon a stone wall inclosing an orchard in this State, as trim and true a wall as the most thrifty New England farmer can boast, but walls are not common. Our valley orchard lands are, as a rule, naturally as free from stone as they are from underbrush, but on the hills it is different. Probably the best way to dispose of much of the stone is to dig trenches in the natural water runs, put in stone, cover with small brush, and then with soil deep enough so the plow will not reach the brush. This disposes of the stone for all time, and at the same time helps to drain the soil. Concerning other treatment of the land after the rubbish is removed, P. W. Butler writes as follows: When water runs are wide, lateral ditches should be cut extending entirely through the moist areas. If during the rainy season a run is likely PRRPAUTNC, T.AND FOR FRUIT 69 lo have more water than can be conveyed properly througli a covered trench, it should be left open and graded so that a team can cross it, and for fifteen feet on each side sow to red-top. In this v^ray the land can be utilized that would be worthless for trees, and the red-top, that can be grown at a profit, will take the place of unsightly weeds, that would otherwise grow at the point that cannot be cultivated. To distribute the work more evenly through the first year buildings can be erected, a well dug, and the trenching done in the dry season, while all the grubbing, leveling, plowing and planting must be done the following season, as soon as the ground is sufficiently moistened. All depressions where water would stand should be filled, and all flat places should be graded until water will readily flow ofi, and not be retained so near the surface of the ground as to cause it to become soured. This leveling can be best done by one man and a pair of horses. Plow the adjacent elevated land and scrape into the places to be filled. The land is now ready for plowing, and should be done thoroughlj^ subsoiling to as great a depth as the removal of the stumps will allow. It is now well to go over the ground again with the scraper and level all the most elevated points so they can be readily reached by water in irrigating. Then cross-plow as deeply as possi- ble without again subsoiling, harrow and drag, and the ground will be ready to plant. Mr, Butler writes with reference to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, where irrigation must be practised. Where irrigation is not used, leveling, or rather grading, may be unnecessary, but it is often quite desirable that there may be no depressions to retain surplus water. The life of the trees and ease of cultivation may demand this unless the soil should be light and deep enough to allow free drainage. CHAPTER VIII NURSERY OPERATIONS California nursery stock is unrivaled in growth, health and vigor. This is the verdict of all the visiting horticulturists, and has been formally declared by the victories of California tree growers at the World's Fairs held in this country, where the highest premiums were awarded to Californians in nearly all classes in which they exhibited since 1885. The quality of the trees which can be purchased at our nurseries, and the very reasonable rates at which they are sold, make it little worth while for the orchard planter to try to grow his own trees. In fact, the investment called for to purchase a good assortment of well-grown trees will be one of the best which the orchard planter can make. The professional grower, if he is honest and enterprising, can give the purchaser the advantage of his experi- ence and skill in the choice of stocks suited to his soil, varieties of fruit adapted to his situation, and be of assistance to him in other ways connected with his enterprise ; and such helps to an inexperienced planter or to a newcomer are very valuable. There may be, however, some reader who is distant from established nur- series, or possessed of limited means, who may like to use his spare time in -growing his own trees, and to such suggestions are offered. There will, howe^■er, be very much which can be learned only by actual experience. In the selection of a location for a commercial nursery there are matters involved which it is not proposed to discuss. Attention will be paid rather to matters connected with what may be called a farm nursery. The first point will be the selection of a small piece of ground, which offers proper soil, exposure, and, in some parts of the State, facilities for irrigation. Proper Soil for Nursery. — The soil should be a mellow loam, easy of cultivation and not disposed to crust and crack. In all respects what one would choose as a rich, kind garden soil will answer well for the nursery. The soil should be moist, but thor- oughly drained, either naturally or artificially, for time and labor will be largely wasted on a water-logged soil. In this respect a soil which might yield fair crops of some shallow-rooted vege- tables would not always be suitable for young trees, which, to do well, must have favorable conditions to send the roots to consider- able depth. Good spots are often found in the rich loam along the banks of creeks, as in such situations one finds generally a deep 70 PRKPARATION OF NL'RSERV CRf^UN'l) /\ alluvium, well drained by the creek. 15ut such situations, if liable to overflow, should be rejected because standing water is not good for trees, and because the soil will be apt to be soaked with water and inaccessible just at the time when the trees should be lifted for transplanting to orchard. It is not always possible to find an ideal nursery spot on every ranch, but still trees may be well grown on less favorable places if attention is given to correcting natural defects. For example, if the soil be naturally heavy, it may be improved somewhat by repeated plowing and cultivation, during the year before starting the trees. It it be an adobe, its mechanical condition may be greatly improved by the application of a top dressing of lime at the rate of six hundred to one thousand pounds of lime to the acre. For this purpose "lime waste," which contains both lime and wood ashes, can be had cheaply at the kilns. Old plaster which may have been left from house repairs is excellent. Even builders' lime would not be very expensive, for but little would be required for so small a plot of land as a farm nursery would need to cover. The lime will increase the amount of plant food in a heavy soil as well as render it more friable. Another way in which a small area of heavy soil may be improved is by the addition of sand. A few loads of sand, if it can be had near by, will remove the tendency to crack, and will act as mulch to prevent evaporation of moisture. If the soil be very loose and subject to too rapid drying out, the remedy will be moderate irrigation during the summer, but it should cease early enough to allow the young trees to ripen their wood before the frosts of autumn. ]\Iulches of various light, fine materials, rotted straw and the like, may be used to advantage among the young seedlings in preventing drying out of the soil, if the plot is to be hand-worked, but such materials are apt to be in the way of neat, thorough work with the horse. A mulch of sand, if available, is not open to this objection. In choosing soil for a nursery, a piece of land which has been in cultivation for garden or field crops is to be preferred over a newly-cleared piece. It is often the case that soil from which old stumps or shoots have recently been removed has become soured from the process of decay in the dead wood. Although the de- posits of humus from decay of woody fiber tends to enrich the soil, afterwards certain acids are formed if the land lies without culti- vation. These are not favorable to the growth of young roots, and a crop to which as much time is given as a crop of young trees, should not be placed upon it. This evil quality in the soil is removed by cultivation and aeration, or may be corrected by the application of lime. This state of soil is most complained of in connection with old stumps and roots of oak trees. 72 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Situation and Exposure. — Warmth in the soil is necessary to a good growth, and a good year's growth is essential to the pro- duction of a satisfactory tree. Drainage contributes notably to the warmth of the soil. Exposure is also of importance. Plenty of sunshine and protection from cold winds are to be secured. Sometimes a little elevation is desirable. It would be a serious mistake to seek moist, low land if the piece lies at the bottom of a little valley or depression where the cold air settles during the night and frosts are frequent. In such cases choose higher ground. Of course, in broad, open valleys there is not this objection, for such seasonable frosts as may be expected there are not injurious to deciduous nursery stock. The greatest nurseries in the State are in the open valleys, not on the lowest ground, however, in all cases, but on what would be called good, rich valley land. There are, however, situations in the thermal belts in which the temperature does not fall low enough to check growth of deciduous trees and cause the leaves to drop. In such cases it has been found desirable to select lower and colder ground for the nursery of deciduous trees. Preparation for Nursery Ground. — The best preparation for nursery ground is the growth, the previous season, of a cultivated or hoed crop. This will secure frequent working of the soil, thorough pulverization of the clods, etc. The produce of the hoed crop should thus pay the cost of putting the land in good condition, at least. Where the retention of moisture is an object, as it really is in some parts of the State where the annual rainfall is sometimes small and no facilities for irrigation provided, it will perhaps pay better in the end to keep the land in bare fallow during the previous summer ; but there must be frequent and thorough cultivation, keeping the surface always mellow, or more moisture will be lost by evaporation than a hoed crop would require for its growth. Properly cultivated fallow soil will have a moisture within a few inches of the surface, while unworked soil adjoining will be baked hard and dry to a depth of several feet. During the winter immediately preceding planting, the green stuff should be allowed to grow for a time, but should be plowed under before it gets high enough to interfere with perfect turning of smooth furrows. The decay of this green crop is of advantage to the soil. Another plowing in the spring, and a thorough harrowing, will leave the ground in good condition to receive the pits or root grafts, as the case may be. In this plowing for nursery there should be deep work done and subsoiling, as will be more fully set forth under the head of preparing land for orchard, to which the reader is referred. Growth of Seedlings for the Nursery, — The two chief ways of producing fruit trees are, first, from seedlings grown on the spot; GROWING SEEDLINGS FROM PITS 73 second, from buds and root grafts upon stock imported from the East or from abroad. First, as to the growth of seedlings : It is usual to take seeds from sources where they can be collected with the least trouble. Apple seeds are washed out from the pomace of the cider press ; apples and pears from the coring and peelings of canneries and drying establishments ; pits of the stone fruits are derived from the same source. Supplies can usually be purchased from such establishments at a moderate cost. The trouble is that from such supplies one is apt to get seeds and pits from all varieties, possessing different degrees of health and vigor. There is just as much to be gained from selecting the seed from which to grow good strong stocks for fruit trees as there is in selecting good garden or field seed. One can generally get good peach pits, for it is easy to have the order filled when the cannery is running on strong-growing yellow varieties, for these are believed to be most vigorous, and yet some claim much preference for pits from vigorous seedling trees, and make extra eflforts to secure them. Wherever it is possi- ble, and if one is only to produce a small lot of trees, it is prac- ticable to select from the fruit the seeds for planting. Not only is there great difference in the strength of different varieties, but individual trees vary greatly. If one is taking seed from an old orchard to start his nursery with, he can take pains to get his seed from his strongest trees, and thus secure also that which is probably best adapted to his locality. Apple and Pear Seedlings. — For a small lot of apple and pear trees the seed can be best sown in boxes. Select plump pips and keep in moist sand, from the time they are taken from the fruit until sowing. Fill the boxes, which should be three or four inches deep, with good garden mold, cover the seed about half an inch, and then cover the soil lightly with chaff or fine straw to prevent the surface from drying out. Be sure that the boxes have cracks or holes in the bottom for drainage, and the whole is kept moist, but not wet. When the seedlings have grown to the height of three inches they can be set out in the nursery rows as one would set out cabbage plants. Cherry Seedlings, — There are different ways of handling pits of stone fruits to prepare them for setting out in open ground, which will be described. The cherry is grown from pits of two wild varie- ties ; one is commonly called the "Black Mazzard." It is the common wild cherry of the East, and is the original type of what are known as the Heart and Bigarreau types of cherries. The other is the "Mahaleb." a European wild species, which is used in the East, where it thrives better than the Mazzard, as it is hardier stock. In this State the Mahaleb does not seem to have much dwarfing effect, as trees on that stock in this State over twenty-five 74 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM years old are twenty-five inches in diameter of trunk. The Maha- leb, however, ripens its wood earlier, and for this reason may be valuable in the colder parts of the State. It is also freer from root tiouble by extremes of wetness and drouth in the soil, and is largely used on low lands. The Mazzard is, however, chiefly used in California. Cherry stones are sometimes taken from the fully- ripened fruit, dried for two or three days, the stones cracked care- fully and planted at once in good soil and kept properly moist. They will germinate soon and make a growth of a foot or so the first season. Such stocks are taken up for grafting in the winter and set out in nursery row the next spring. A better way of treating cherry is that given by W. W. Smith, of Vacaville : The fruit of the Mazzard should be allowed to get perfectly ripe on the tree, then gathered and let lie in a heap for three or four days, so that they may be partially or wholly freed from the pulp by washing them in water. They should then be spread out in the shade and stirred frequently for about twenty-four hours. This will give the outside of the pit time to dry sufficiently to prevent molding, while the kernel itself will remain fresh and green. They should then be placed in moist (not wet) sand and kept so until the rains set in in the fall, when they can be planted in drills, in good, rich, mellow soil prepared the previous spring and kept clean of weeds through the summer, ready for the purpose. They should never be allowed to get perfectly dry; and the reason for it is that we have but little or no freezing and thawing weather in this country to cause the pits to open; but if they are kept constantly moist it answers the same purpose as freezing. The seeds of the Mahaleb cherry will sprout with less difficulty, but the same rules for keeping the Mazzards will apply to them. Other stock for the cherry will be discussed in the chapter on that fruit. Citrus Fruits. — The propagation of citrus fruits will be described in detail in Chapters XXXII, XXXIII and XXXIV. The Larger Stone Fruits. — In handling pits of the larger stone fruits, apricot, peach, plum, etc., the chief requisite is to prevent drying and great hardening of the pit. Some plant in the fall and trust to natural conditions to start the seedling in the spring, but this interferes with the cultivation of the ground, and leaves the seedling to grow in soil which has perhaps been puddled by heavy winter rains. There must also be much hand work done to clear the rows from weeds. It is much better to keep the pits from drying by covering with sand moderately moist, hasten the sprout- ing by appropriate treatment toward spring, and then plant out in thoroughly prepared soil, and they will make a satisfactory growth. The following method, by D. J. Parmele, of Vacaville, has given good results : Keep the pits out of the sun until the rains commence in the fall, then put them into a box about a foot deep with openings at the bottom for drainage, and scatter sand or fine earth through them, putting about two GROWING SEEDLINGS FROM PITS 75 inches on top, and place them under the eaves of a building on the south side, where they will get well soaked every time it rains. If there should be a long dry spell during the winter, water them a little. About March they will open and sprout. Then take a plow and open a deep furrow in loose, mellow ground, and, with a hoe, pull about two-thirds of the dirt back into the furrow, breaking the clods, and making it fine, the same as you would if you expected to plant onion seed there. Drop the sprouted pits in straight line, and cover two inches. On account of the extra work in preparing the ground, the trees will be large enough to bud in July. Another way is to spread out the pits on a smooth piece of ground and cover with sacks, and over these a layer of straw three or four inches thick to retain moisture. The pits may be planted out as soon as they crack open, although no harm will be done if they are allowed to lie until the sprouts are well out. Another method which has been especially recommended for treatment for almonds is the following: Lay boards upon the ground and cover them with an inch of sand ; spread on this a layer of almonds and then another inch of sand, and so on. Keep the pile wet, and in three weeks of warm weather they will burst open. Plant in drills one inch deep and put over them a light coat of rotten straw. If from any cause the pits have become quite dry, they should be soaked in water two or three days before planting. Nut Tree Seedlings. — In growing nut-tree seedlings, much the same methods are followed as with pits of stone fruits. There are methods described in detail by California growers which should be given. As has been said, the nuts may be planted at any time after ripening, in the milder parts of the State, if the grower will under- take the greater care and cultivation. On some light soils where the rainfall is not excessive, this is not much trouble. Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, gives this as his method : The nuts may be planted as soon as gathered, though in Nevada City it is too cold to plant them in the fall, for the frost in winter would surely lift the nuts right out of the ground. For keeping and sprouting walnuts. I throw into the bottom of a box one inch deep of sand, then a layer of nuts; put in another inch of sand, and another layer of nuts, and so on to one or two inches from the top. Then water well with a sprinkler and water again during the winter whenever the sand gets too dry. The sand has to be prettv well saturated with water, especially from the first of January down to planting time, which is in February, March, or April, according to localities. The latter part of March or first week in April is best for Nevada City. The nuts are planted in drills and covered to a depth of two to three inches. In propagating chestnuts it is always better to select for seed the largest, finest, and healthiest nuts; in the fall or beginning of winter the nuts have to be planted in a box of damp sand, by layers, the box being kept in a cellar. The nuts may be stored in a hole in the open ground, a layer of chestnut leaves being first thrown in the bottom of the hole, on top of that a layer of nuts, then another layer of leaves, and so on to the top, which has to be properly covered with two or three inches of earth so as to prevent the frost injuring the nuts. In February or March, according to location, the nuts are taken out and planted in drills to a depth of three to four inches; less for smaller seed like American chestnuts. 76 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM In gfrowing seedlings of English walnuts, Mr. J. Luther Bowers, of Santa Clara, has shown that water-soaking of nuts may make it unnecessary to undertake storage in damp sand, if the nuts are of the last crop. He describes the method as follows : The nuts should be large and thin shelled and should be of last year's crop. To ascertain this, break a few and split the kernel open at the germ end, or the point where the root starts. If the meat of the kernel shows a clear color they are of last year's crop, but if the flesh shows any dis- coloration they are old and will not germinate. I have often got hold of a lot that were mixed, old and new together. Never risk a lot of this kind, for failure will follow. After the nuts have been selected place them in some kind of tin vessel; a five-gallon oil can, with the top removed, is just the thing. Then cover them with hot water at not over 110 degrees F. Let them remain in this water for 24 hours and plant at once, keeping them in the water all the time. Do not let them become the least bit dry, and be sure the soil is moist, and put every nut in with the sharp point exactly straight down. The root starts from this point and will go straight down, and if not molested will the first year be about three times the length of the top; that is, if the top grows one foot, the straight tap root will be three feet or more long, and will be from three-fourths to an inch thick where it grew out of the nut, tapering both up and down. Imported Seedlings. — A very large proportion of some kinds of the cherry, pear and apple trees produced in this State are worked upon imported seedling stocks. These stocks are cheap, convenient to handle, and are therefore popular. It is easy enough to grow peach, almond, apricot, and Myrobalan seedlings, but small seeds, like apple and pear, often do not show up well in the spring, espe- cially if the soil is of a kind that crusts over with rain and sunshine. Therefore our nurserymen import these seedlings in the winter, plant them out, as has already been described, and bud in the following summer, grafting the next spring where the buds fail. If the seedlings are- large when received, they are often root-grafted at once, and then one summer in the nursery gives a tree suitable for planting out. These stocks are of better budding size during their first summer than California seedlings, which are apt to over- grow. Myrobalan plum seedlings were formerly imported to a large extent, but are now chiefly home-grown, and seedlings are used instead of cuttings, which formerly were employed largely. This stock has secured great favor for plums and prunes, and in some situations, for the apricot, as it is hardier against extremes of drouth and moisture. Prof. Newton B. Pierce, of Santa Ana, has discovered in Cali- fornia upon imported seedlings a serious root-fungus which kills all kinds of orchard trees in Europe, and he advises the use of home- grown seedlings to escape this danger. Fruit Trees from Cuttings. — It is feasible to grow a number of kinds of fruit trees from cuttings, but it is not desirable in manv now THE WALNUT SEEDLING STARTS O pq Xi C W 78 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW TIIEM cases to do it. Trees grown from a graft or bud in a seedling root are much better. The root system of a seedling is naturally stronger and more symmetrical. The roots from a cutting start out at the bottom and spread out horizontally and irregularly. This style of a root system is expressively named "duck-foot roots," and they do not give the tree a deep, strong hold on the soil. Trees can, how- ever, be multiplied very fast from cuttings. Notable instances of this are the Myrobalan plum and the Leconte pear. Cuttings of deciduous trees should be taken from well-matured wood of the previous season's growth, and planted in rows and in well-prepared soil, as has already been described for the sowing of fruit tree seeds. The cuttings should be taken before the sap begins running in the winter. A cutting about ten inches long, four-fifths of its length buried in the ground, will answer. Be sure that the ground is firmed well at the base of the cutting, but keep the surface loose. Small wood is better than large, though, of course, the extreme ends of twigs should be rejected usually. Cultivation of cuttings is the same as that of seedlings, and budding, when the cuttings are to be used as stocks, is also governed by the same rules. The orange and lemon can be grown from cuttings, but the work is done during the summer while the ground is warm. Cut from wood one or two years old ; set in open ground with partial shade and give plenty of water (dry ground is death to their tender roots), but be sure that there is free escape for surplus water. Cuttings started in the warm weather and given partial shade and plenty of irrigation are very apt to succeed. This method of growing these fruits is not, however, in wide use or favor. The propagation of the grape, olive and fig from cuttings will be considered in the chapters on those fruits. Planting Out in Nursery. — For planting out in nursery, the term "spring" is given as the proper time, but in California it must be remembered that spring is not any definite division of the year. "Spring weather" comes from the first of February to the first of May, according to the latitude or elevation or exposure resulting from local topography. Cherries may be ripe in Vaca Valley before fruit trees put out leaves in Modoc county ; and between these extremes there are advents of spring in other places according to the situation. These facts are more fully set forth in the chapter on climate. Spring must be detected in the behavior of vegetation and not by the calendar. When the tree buds swell and the leaves appear, spring has come for that locality. But whether one can plant his nursery then or not will depend upon the character of the soil and the condition of the rainfall for that season. This varies much from year to year. As a rule, however, in most parts where fruit is grown at present in large quantities, the heavy cold PLANTING SEEDLINGS IN NURSERY 79 rains will be over by the first of February, and then nursery opera- tions can commence if the soil is in good condition. If not, the planter must wait until the soil is dry enough to work nicely. There, will, of course, be heavy rains after the first of February ; but they will only necessitate cultivation to loosen the soil, if the nursery ground is well situated for drainage, and if it is not it should not be used for this purpose. Supposing the ground has been deeply plowed and thoroughly harrowed, as has been already described, the laying out of the ground is the next operation. Everything should be done with a view to the use of the horse in cultivation. The rows should be laid out as straight as possible. Some use a plow furrow; some an arrangement like a corn-marker, with two cultivator teeth set four feet apart; some stretch a line, to get the pits or root grafts as true to it as possible, and some trust to the furrow for straightness. No rule can be laid down for means to be employed; the result must depend upon the eye and skill of the individual. Some people can hardly shoot a straight line with a gun. Each must do the best he can in this respect. There is a difference in practice as to distance between the rows in nursery. The usual distance is four feet, but others claim that it is better to make the rows six feet apart, especially where no irrigation is practised, as this gives the young trees more room, and if the ground is kept thoroughly cultivated, as it should be, it gives the roots a greater supply of moisture to draw upon. In growing a small lot of trees, where there is plenty of land, it is, of course, desirable to give them every advantage in the way of facili- ties for growth, but on the other hand, an overgrown tree is not desirable. Thrift and strength must be sought rather than size. At the ends of the rows spaces of about twelve feet should be left as turning-ground for the horse when cultivating, and as a roadway. The length of nursery rows depends upon the taste of the grower. It is convenient to have alleys wide enough for a horse and cart at intervals of one hundred to three hundred feet, but in small nurseries the head-lands would probably give all the access required. The depth for planting seeds and pits must be regulated by the size of the seed and the character of the soil, as is always laid down by the authorities, and in this State another condition must be made, and that is the climate or weather conditions prevailing in the locality. Where the rainfall is generally light and the soil loose, seed must be planted deeper than where good spring showers are to be expected. In fine soils seeds must be planted shallower than in coarse, even with the same rainfall. Judgment and experience must dictate in this matter, and if a man has no experience, he is pretty apt to get it. 80 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM During the spring months the cultivator must be used as often as may be required to keep the weeds from getting too high, or the soil from becoming too densely packed by heavy rains, but the ground should never be worked when too wet. It requires some watchfulness and promptitude to use the cultivator just at the right time. Nursery Irrigation. — In parts of the State where the rainfall is adequate, cultivation thorough, the soil sufficiently retentive, ayd atmospheric conditions favorable, the seedling will make its growth without irrigation, and many nurseries are on ground not provided at all with irrigation facilities. In other parts of the State irrigation is necessary. Water should be applied sparingly, and yet enough to keep the seedling in healthy growing condition. This is shown by the leaves, which should not droop or curl. Excessive irrigation should be guarded against, because a soft, excessive growth is very undesirable. Water is a good thing, and in some cases a very necessary thing, but the use of it should be wisely regulated. At budding it is necessary that the sap should be free and the bark slip easily. To foster this condition it is sometimes desirable to give a watering a few days before budding commences. Water should be applied by running it through shallow furrows between the rows, and the cultivator should follow as soon as the ground is dry enough to work freely. CHAPTER IX BUDDING AND GRAFTING If the nursery ground has been well worked and the seed prop- erly handled, the growth of the seedling will be strong and rapid. If an early start w^as had and other conditions favorable, some kinds will be ready for budding in June, and the production of what are called "June buds," as Avill be described presently. In ordinary practice, however, budding will come later, and the budding season extends from July to October. The weight of the budding of deciduous trees is generally done in August and September. BUDDING The process of budding, as employed on all the common fruit trees, is very simple. It consists in lifting the bark and inserting a bud" from another tree in such a way that the inner bark of the bud shall come in contact with the layer of growing wood in the stock, and then it will be quickly knit to it by the new cell-growth if the bark is closed around the inserted bud closely enough to prevent the air from drying the two surfaces at the point of contact. In the engraving 1 is the cutting or "bud stick" from the tree of the kind into which it is desired to transform the seedling. This cutting is usually made from the growth of the present season, which has well-formed buds at the axils of the leaves, although in some cases older dormant buds may be used, as will appear in the discussions of the different fruits. If buds are desired to mature early, pinch off the ends of the growing shoots from which they are to be taken. Suckers and so-called "water sprouts" should not be used, but rather well-formed wood from the branches of the tree. It is requisite that the buds be taken from a vigorous healthy tree of the variety desired. Bud sticks can be carried or sent consider- able distances if packed in damp moss or other material to prevent drying, but care must be taken not to enclose too much water or decay will be promoted. Fresh shoots in tight tin boxes without wet packing are safer and carry very long distances. Sealing the ends with grafting wax is also a good precaution against drying out. Budding knives can be bought at all seed stores and cutlery establishments. They have a thin, round-ended blade at one end of the handle, and at the other end the bone is thinned down, or a bone blade inserted. The former is for cutting and the latter for lifting the bark of the stock into which the bud is to be placed. Armed with a bud stick and such a knife, the "budder" starts in upon a row of seedlings. Bending the seedling over a little and 81 82 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM holding- it between his left arm and his left leg, he reaches down for a smooth place on the bark as near the ground as convenient to work, and makes a horizontal cut, and from that a perpendicular cut downwards toward the roots, as shown at 3, in the engraving, with the bark slightly lifted and ready for the insertion of the bud. Next he cuts from his bud stick a bud, as shown at 2. This carries with it, on the back, a small portion of the wood of the bud stick as well as the bud and bark. It was once claimed that this wood should be carefully dug out, but in budding most kinds of trees it is not necessary; in fact, it may be better to leave it in; such at any rate is the general practice. The point of the bud is now inserted at the opening at the top of the slit in the bark of the stock and pushed down into place, as shown in figure 5. To handle the bud the part of the leaf stem which is left on is of material assistance. Nothing remains now but to apply the ligature which is to hold down the bark around the bud. There are various ways of tying in the bud. Any way will do which holds down the bark closely, but not too tightly. Different materials are also used, soft cotton twine, stocking yarn, strips of cotton cloth, candle wicking, etc. The last-named is perhaps the best material, on all accounts, although strips of cheap calico bear evenly upon the bark and do very good work. The use of twine is speedy, but the strands bearing upon a narrow surface, and not being elastic, they are apt to do injury by cutting into the bark unless carefully watched and loosened. The fiber from basswood bark was formerly largely used, but has given place to the other materials named, which are more handily obtained. The buds must be examined about a week or ten days after insertion, and the liga- ture loosened, for otherwise it will cut into the rapidly-growing stock. Sometimes trees are badly injured by neglect in this par- ticular. In making June buds, where immediate growth of the bud is desired, some growers make a hard knot with the cord around the stock, above the bud, and then use the loose ends to tie the bud. When the binding around the bud is loosened, the hard knot remains on the stock, girdles it, and forces the sap into the bud. Thin wire, known to nurserymen as "lal^el wire," is also used for this purpose. In going through the nursery row, all seedlings which are large enough are budded at once. In going through the row again to look to the bands, if the bud is seen to be fresh looking, it is considered to have "taken." In stocks where the first bud has dried up, another is inserted lower down. Sometimes seedlings which were too small to hold a bud at the first working over are given a bud later in the season, or left for taking up for root grafting in the winter. BUDDINC. FRUIT TREES 83 7 Waxed cloth ready S Waxed cloth tightly for twisting. twisted. 9 Bud staked and tied. 84 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: FIOW TO GROW THEM In nursery practice the budder does not stop to tie his buds, but is followed in the row by another man, who carries the tying mate- rial, and does this part of the work. The common method of budding thus described is used on all common orchard fruits. Special styles of budding for special fruits will be described in the chapters treating of those fruits. Usually the budded trees are allowed to stand in the nursery row with no other treatment that year than the insertion and care of the bud, the latter remaining dormant until the next spring. Then, as soon as the sap begins to swell the buds on the stock, the top is cut off down to about two inches above the bud, and all growth is kept off except that of the inserted bud. When that has grown out about twelve inches, the stub is cut off to about three- quarters of an inch or less from the bud, and the wood is quickly grown over by the bark. As there are apt to be dormant buds on the stock below the inserted bud, the trees have to be examined from time to time, and all such suckers removed. This is the com- mon practice with budded trees. Exceptions will be noticed pres- ently in connection with definitions of different kinds of trees known to the trade. Spring Budding. — What has been said in reference to budding applies to the use of dormant buds. It is also possible to work with what is called a "pushing bud." This process, as described by a distinguished French authority, consists of retarding the growth of the buds on the scions by burying them in the ground until the sap is starting well in the stock in the: spring, and then putting them in, trimming off the top of the stock so as to force the bud into growth. In this way the grower of a rare variety may secure trees for planting out the following winter, or he may secure a stock of buds for fall budding, and thus multiply his stock of a desirable variety very rapidly. A modification of this method consists in taking buds in the spring when they have grown out even half an inch, and inserting them by the usual method of lifting the bark, when the sap is flowing well in the stock. Then cut off about half the stock, so as not to give the bud too much sap at first, and afterward, when it is seen to have taken well, the balance of the stock is cut off near the bud. This method gives a tree the first season and saves a year over dormant budding. Shade and protec- tion from dry wind are desirable. GRAFTING The next process of propagation to be considered is that by grafting. Its success, as with budding, consists in bringing the growing wood (inner bark or alburnum) of the scion into contact GRAFTING FRUIT TREES 85 with the same layer of the stock. It can be applied to any part of the tree, from the topmost branch to the lowest root, as is the case when new trees are made from scions and root fragments. Thus grafting pertains both to the production of young trees for planting out and to the transformation of old trees bearing worthless fruit into producers of choice varieties. Grafting for the production of young trees is first in order. Instead of budding the seedling during the first summer of its growth, it may be allowed to complete its season's growth, and drop its leaves. When thus dormant the young trees are taken from the ground, the roots rinsed off with water if the ground is wet and sticky, or merely shaken free from clinging earth if in a dry time. Enough trees are dug at once to graft at a sitting. The grafting can be done at the work-bench in the tool-house or barn, and if one is pressed with other daylight work, it may be done by lamp- light at the kitchen table, if the housewife can be conciliated for the muss it will make. Care of Scions. — The scions should be previously selected, and whether taken from trees on the place or brought from near or distant sources away from the farm, should have been placed as soon as procured in moist earth on the north side of the house or other building, where they will keep cool and damp until one is ready to use them. At the East and in parts of this State where the ground is apt to freeze, it is necessary to keep scions in the cellar with their butts covered with moist sand, but over most of the area of the State nothing more is needed than to put down in the earth at the base of a tree or on the north side of a building, with, perhaps, a box or barrel inverted over them to keep out mice and other intruders. Care must be taken not to let them dry up. If it is desirable for any reason to keep scions dormant long into the spring or summer, of course storage in a cool cellar is better, for in the open ground the scions will burst into leaf after a warm spell of spring weather. In selecting wood for scions, as for bud sticks, never take water shoots or suckers that start from the body of the tree and push up through the older branches, but always give the preference to sound, fully-matured wood, at the ends of the lower or nearly hori- zontal branches. Careful experiments have shown that trees grown from such scions are more likely to take on a low, spreading habit than those from the central or upper branches. The scions should be tied in bundles with a stout cord ; and a piece of a shingle, with the name of the variety written plainly and deeply thereon, should be tied in with each bundle. Grafting Wax. — In grafting, a good grafting wax is requisite. The ingredients are mixed in different proportions by different 86 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM growers. A few recipes which are known to give good results are as follows : Two lbs. mutton tallow; 2 lbs. beeswax; 4 lbs, resin. Two and one-fourth lbs. resin; 2 lbs. beeswax; 54 of a lb. tallow. One lb. mutton tallow; 2 lbs. beeswax; 4 lbs. resin. Two lbs. resin; 2 lbs. beeswax; ^4 lb- tallow, and a little linseed oil. Two lbs. resin; 1 lb. beeswax, one quart linseed oil; 4 tablespoonfuls turpentine. One lb. beeswax; 5 lbs. resin; 1 pint linseed oil; 1 oz. lampblack. One lb. beeswax; 5 lbs. resin; 1 pint linseed oil; 1 pint flour. All these mixtures are made with the aid of gentle heat, and during grafting the wax must be kept warm enough to apply easily with a small brush. To do this the wax dish may be kept on a hot brick, to be changed for a fresh one as it cools, or, better still, is to heat the wax in an old fruit can or something of that kind, inside another, which is partly full of warm water. A more capacious heater can be made by removing the top of a five-gallon oil can and making a hole for draft on one side near the bottom. A slow fire can be kept going to heat the wax pot which is suspended from a rod across the top. A wire handle makes this outfit portable. The wax should not be so hot as to run too easily, but just right to spread well. Grafting is greatly facilitated by the use of strips of waxed cloth or waxed paper, the latter being quite good enough for grafts, which are low enough to be protected by a ground covering; also for root grafts. This waxed paper is made by spreading a thin coat of wax, with a brush, upon tough, thin wrapping paper, cutting up the paper, when cold, with a sharp knife, on a board, into strips about an inch wide. Waxed cloth is made by dipping cheap cotton cloth into hot wax, pulling the pieces between the edges of two boards to take out as much wax as possible, and when the cloth is cold, tearing it up into half-inch strips for small grafts or wider strips for larger grafts. When grafting is going on indoors, these strips hanging near the stove are kept in good, soft condition for use. There are grafting preparations which do not require heating, but remain in a semi-fluid state, and then become very hard by contact with the air. The following is a popular French prepara- tion : Melt one pound of resin over a gentle fire. Add to it one ounce of beef tallow, and stir it well. Take it from the fire, let it cool down a little, and then mix it with a tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine, and after that add about seven ounces of very strong alcohol. The alcohol cools it down so rapidly that it will be necessary to put it once more on the fire, stirring it constantly. Great care is necessary to avoid igniting the alcohol. This wax is easily prepared, and when well corked will keep for six months. It is put on the wounded part of the tree, very thin, HOW TO MAKE GRAFTING WAX 87 and soon becomes as hard as stone. Thus it is valuable not only for grafting-, but for covering the scars caused by removing limbs in pruning. When bench grafting is done by nurserymen, of course all appliances are arranged for the speediest work, and wonderful results are attained by one man and a helper, even as many as three thousand root grafts of apple in ten hours. We are, however, merely discussing home practices. Cleft Grafting. — Where various-sized stocks are to be used, as will, be the case with a bunch of home-grown seedlings, different styles of grafting must be used. Where the stock is much larger than the scion, as is apt to be the case with California seedlings, the cleft graft will be simplest. Cut off the top smoothly above the root crown and then split the top of the stock, as shown in the engraving. Then prepare the scion by whittling it to wedge-shape at the lower end. Open the slit in the stock with a little wedge and insert the scion so that its inner bark matches with the inner bark of the stock, something as shown in the second figure. It does not matter whether the outside of the scion is flush with the outside of the stock or not ; the vital point is to get the growing layers, just inside the barks, in contact with each other, and, to be sure of this it may be well to give the scion a slight diagonal pitch, for if the barks cross each other, this desirable contact is sure to be made. It is well to make the side of the wedge of the scion which goes nearer to the center of the stock a little thinner than the outside. A scion for a root graft is cut longer than for use in the top of the tree, for in planting, the point of grafting is placed a little way underground. Such scions are usually cut with four or five buds. After the scion is in place, it only remains to wrap it closely with a piece of waxed cloth or paper, in such a way that all the cut surfaces are covered, extending the wrapper a little below the split in the root. Paint over the wrapper with warm wax put on with a brush, put a little on the top of the scion, and the graft is complete. Side Grafting. — Another method which prevents splitting the stock is the side graft, shown in the accompanying figure. It con- sists in bending the stock to one side and cutting in diagonally with a thin-bladed, sharp knife, a little more than half way through the stock. Into this open cut insert the scion so that the inner barks touch ; then allowing the stock to straighten up, holds the scion firmly. Covering with a wax band drawn tight makes a good job, and such grafts make as good growth as the buds set the previous summer. This method can be used with stems or branches up to an inch in diameter, and is essentially the same, as will be men- tioned later, as a side graft for working over old trees. In this style of grafting, a stub of three inches or more may be left above the graft, and to this the graft can be tied to prevent blowing out if it 88 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM makes a strong growth. Afterward the stub is cut back with a sloping cut and waxed or painted to prevent checking. Whip Grafting in the Stem. — Grafting above the root or in the stem of the stock when stock and scion are about the same size, is done by tongue or whip grafting. The accompanying sketch shows a whip graft in the stem of the stock. Grafts up to an inch in diameter can be made in this way, but it is generally used for smaller wood. Care must be taken to secure proper contacts of the inner barks at least on one side of the stock. After pushing the parts together, a wax band holds them firmly in place, or the joint may be simply tied and painted over with wax. A Root Graft. — When the root stock and the scion are about the same size, the tongue graft is also used, as shown in the figure. In making this both the stock and scion are given a sloping cut of about the same length, and a secondary cut made in each. When the two are put together the wood "tongues in," or interlocks as shown in the engraving. The object of this is to make more points of contact for the inner barks of root and scion, and at the same time to interlock the two more firmly. In putting the two together, if the stock is slightly larger than the scion, be sure to put the scion so that the inner bark contact is made, and this will bring the scion a little to one side of the center. Bind with the wax band, and paint with wax as in the case of the former graft. In large nursery practice expert grafters have come of late years to make this root graft without wax, merely tying in the graft. For amateur work at home it is much safer to use the wax. Grafting in the root, where the root is much larger than the scion, may be done without splitting the root by cutting or sawing out a triangular piece on the side of the root, cutting the scion to fit and trusting to a strong band to hold it in place. This graft is illus- trated in the chapter on propagating the grape. It also works well with root grafting the walnut, and is used by some in ordinary top grafting on other trees. Planting out Root Grafts. — This root grafting can be done in the winter before it is time to plant out, and the grafts can be made a few at a time, as convenient. The grafts, then, as fast as pre- pared, should be bedded in moist sand in the cellar, and will make their contact firm, and even start to growing a little. In planting out in the nursery rows be sure the earth is firmed well around the root otherwise many will be lost. Plant ten or twelve inches apart in the rows. Keep the weeds down and the soil well cultivated and loose on the surface, and the first season's growth will give a tree fit for planting out in orchard in the coming winter. For irrigation the rules already given for the growth of seedlings for budding will apply. VARIOUS FORMS OF GRAFTING • 89 Cleft Graft. Bark Graft. Wedge Graft. Saddle Graft. Whip Graft. Bad and Good Whip Graft. Side Graft. 90 . CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM PRUNING TREES IN NURSERY As for Other treatment of the trees (either from bud or root graft) in nursery during the first year, there is some difiference of opinion and practice. If the young tree will be content to make a straight switch with good buds in the axils of the leaves, but no laterals thrown out, it will be in the best possible shape for planting in the orchard, and gives the planter a chance to make the head at whatever height suits him, and to secure uniformity through the orchard. All trees will not, however, be content with this growth, but will push out laterals all along the stem. Even in this case some let the whole growth go for the planter to treat as he thinks best. Another plan is to go over the nursery when the young stock is about two feet high and pinch back the laterals part way, but retaining the leaves nearest the stem to shade the stem. This pinching back is done from the ground up to a height of one to one and a half feet, and above that the growth is left to take its natural course, to be cut as desired when the head of the tree is formed. Pinching back develops buds near the stem and gives the planter a better chance to head the tree lower if he likes. Another practice which prevails to some extent, is to pinch ofif the terminal bud when the young tree has reached a height of about two and a half or three feet in the nursery. This soon forces a growth of lateral branches, which are in turn pinched after they' have grown out a couple of feet. The result is the formation of a head on a nursery tree the first year, and when such trees are planted in orchard the}^ are merely cut back on the laterals, leaving the head as formed in the nursery. Such trees arc difificult to handle in packing, and take much room in shipment. There may, however, be an advantage in such practice for the home grower if he is sit- uated in parts of the State where the greatest season's growth is attained. Orchard planters generally, however, prefer a June bud or a yearling of moderate growth, without laterals. CLASSES OF NURSERY STOCKS The several classes of stock which are to be had from nurseries arc as follows : Root Grafts. — These are seedling roots, or pieces of them, on which scions of the desired variety have been grafted on the bench and the junction healed over in the cellar. No growth has yet started in the scion. If the tree planter wishes this kind of stock, he should plant it out in nursery row in the spring and remove the trees to orchard the following winter. June Buds. — For multiplying varieties very fast, buds are kept dormant in a cool place ; or, by pinching off the top shoots of the RENOVATING OLD TREES 91 current year arc forced to mature Intds very early. These buds are put into seedling stocks as early in the season as possible. After budding, the top of the stock is girdled with knife or cord, or partly cut away, and growth is forced on the bud so as to give a small tree at the end of the first summer. This method of propagation is growing in popularity in this State, especially in the foothill dis- tricts, where small trees are preferred for transplanting. Dormant Buds. — Trees are sold in dormant bud when they are lifted from the nursery and sent out before any growth has started on the inserted bud. The bud should be seen to be the color of healthy bark. Such trees should only be used when yearlings are not to be had and gain in time is very important. Care must be constantly taken that growth starts from the right bud, and that it be protected from breaking ofif by wind or animals. A considerable percentage of loss is usual, and extra dormant buds should be planted in nursery rows to fill vacancies. Yearling Trees. — These are trees which have made one season's growth from the bud or graft. Two-year-olds have made two seasons' growth, and so on. The proper way to count the life of a tree is from the starting of growth in the bud or graft, for this point is really the birth of the tree. WORKIxNG OVER OLD TREES Another operation which may be properly considered as a branch of propagation is the working over of old trees. There is much of this being done every year in this State. The old seedling fruits in the older settled parts of the State are being made to bear improved varieties ; trees of varieties illy adapted to prevailing con- ditions are changed into strong growing and productive sorts ; trees are changed from one fruit to another, when affinity permits. This will be mentioned in the discussion of the dififerent fruits. Still another reason for working over is to secure more valuable and marketable varieties. Sometimes a mixed orchard is made to bear a straight line of one sort which is in demand, or when the grower finds he has too many trees of a single kind, which give him more fruit than he can conveniently handle when it all ripens at one time, he works in other varieties so as to get a succession of varieties adapted to his purpose, and thus secures a longer working season in which to dispose of them. This is especially the case in large orchards of apricots, peaches, and plums, when the grower depends upon drying his crop. Information concerning the successive ripen- ing of varieties can be gained from the special chapters on the different fruits. For all of these reasons, and others which need not be enumerated, the work of the propagator is continually going on 92 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM even in our large bearing orchards. As with young trees, so with old, transforming the character of the tree is done both by budding and grafting. Budding Old Trees. — One way to prepare an old tree for bud- ding is to cut back the branches severely during the latter part of the winter, which has the effect of forcing out new shoots around the head of the tree, and in these the buds of the desired variety are set in the summer, just as is done in budding nursery stock, except that the budding should be done rather earlier because the sap does not run as late. When the shoots are budded, those being selected which are situated so as to give the best symmetry to the new head, the shoots not budded are broken a foot or so from where they emerge from the old wood, and are allowed to hang until pruning time. At the winter pruning the budded branches are topped off a little above the bud, and when the new shoot starts it is often loosely tied to the stub of the old branch to prevent breaking out in the wind. When it gets strength, the stub is cut away smoothly to allow the wound to heal over. Another way is to insert the buds"in the old bark at points where it is desirable to have the new branches start. This is sometimes done by lifting the bark, as in ordinary budding, and slipping the bud under, sometimes by what is called shield or plate budding, which consists in removing a piece of the old bark entirely and putting in its place a piece of bark of the desired variety, having upon it a dormant bud. With plate budding it is necessary to be careful to have the inserted bark just the size of the bared spot, and to wrap it more closely than when the bud is slipped under the bark of the stock. In all cases in budding old trees, care must be taken to get fully-matured buds, and it is well to take them from large shoots, which have a thicker and firmer bark than may be used in budding nursery stock. It is also desirable to be very sure that the buds are taken not only from a tree of the desired variety, but from a healthy, vigorous tree of that variety. In selecting buds, also, one must be sure that he gets leaf buds, and not fruit buds only. In taking buds from some kinds of bearing trees, of course, he may sometimes, to get well-ripened buds, be obliged to take both fruit and leaf buds together. This will work well if care is taken not to rub off the leaf bud. It is rather easier, however, to work with buds from young trees not yet in bearing if one can be sure that these trees are of the desired variety. Grafting Old Trees. — Old trees are also renewed by grafting. This is most generally done by the old process of "top grafting." The main stem or the larger branches are cut square off, and the scions, usually two, but four or more if in the trunk, are shaped and set into clefts in the stock as shown in the engraving. It is better TIMES FOR GRAFTING 93 to use limbs above the main fork, or head of the tree, than to graft in the trunk, if the old trees are of good size. The following description, which the writer borrows in part from some unknown source, will serve to guide novices in the matter : The outfit necessary for doing the work consists of a small, fine saw, a regular grafting knife, or a pocket-knife with a long, straight sharp blade, wax, light mallet, and a hard-wood narrow wedge. _ After selecting the limb to be grafted, saw it ofif — your own judgment will guide you as to best point, but before the saw gets quite through the limb, cut the bark on the under side of the limb to prevent the liability of peeling down. Next split the stub with knife and mallet and insert the wedge in the center of the cleft to hold it open. It is usual to cut the scion with two buds, but sometimes better results are had by using scions with but a single bud. Whittle the scion wedge shape, so that it fits nicely down into the cleft. To do this, hold it in the left hand with the bud at the ball of the thumb, then cut the side toward you; as will be natural, turn it over, and cut the opposite side in the same way, making the wedge a very little thinner on the edge opposite the bud than the other. This will insure a firm pressure, at the points where the bark of scion and stock meet. When set, the bud of the scion will be on line with the outer long portion of the graft. The point to be closely observed in adjustment is to have the inner or sap bark of the scion connected with the same of the stock. If a trifle too far in, or too far out, the work will be a failure. Some people set the graft a little out at the top and a little in at the bottom, so as to be sure of a connection at the crossing-point, but there will be firmer hold if there is a union the whole length. Our rule has been to have the wood of the scion come exactly parallel with the surface of the stock, and we seldom fail in getting firm adhesions and solid limbs after j'ears of growth. After the scions are set, and two should be put into one limb if large, carefully withdraw the wedge and applv the wax, so that every part of the wood and bark cut and split is well coated. In doing this use extreme care not to move the scions at all from their sittings. If the pinch of the stock is seen to be severe, a small wedge mav be left in the center to save the scions from crushing. If there is a large cleft, it may be filled with damp clay before waxing over. Most grafting over of old trees is done by this method, using one or another of the wax preparations described upon a preceding page. If the cut surface of the stock and the split is thoroughly- waxed over as low as the bark is split, there is usually little trouble with the growth of the scion and the healing over of the stock. In the warmer valleys in the interior, the sun is often hot enough to melt the wax and cause it to run and bare the wood surfaces. This is prevented by dusting the wax thoroughly with brick dust well powdered ; but, by a little experimenting with the recipes already given, one can secure a wax which will stand any heat likely to be encountered. For grafting over trees by working upon the limbs, the neatest and surest work can be done by methods of grafting which do not require the splitting of the stock. There are various ways of doing this. One method is shown in the engraving on the next page, and consists in cutting the scion as shown, and inserting it beneath the raised bark and then binding well with waxed bands, the prepara- tion of which has already been described. 94 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Another method is an application of what the French call oblique side grafting. It consists of making an oblique cut downward through the bark of the stock and for a distance into the wood, using a chisel and mallet or even a strong knife. A saw and knife are also used for making this cut, as will be described in the chapter on the peach. A small form of side graft has already been shown earlier in this chapter. In it the scion is held in with a wax band. Some growers remove the top of the stock with a sloping cut about half an inch above the scion, as shown in the engraving, and wrap the waxed band well around and over all the exposed surfaces. Others do not remove the whole of the limb until the scion has started well into growth, and then they cut down and pare the stock and cover with a band or with a wax that will not run in the sun. Several ingenious devices have been patented by Californians for securing uniformity in the incision in the stock and in shaping the scion, but it is so easy to succeed with ordinary tools that such inventions have never come into wide use. Machines for the bench grafting of vines have, however, been successfully employed to a certain extent, but are not generally used. TIMES FOR GRAFTING IN CALIFORNIA There is nothing particularly new about the methods or means employed for grafting deciduous fruit trees in California, but the time at which the operation can be successfully done, and the condi- tion of the scion, are different from those held to be necessary m other climates. It is not at all requisite that the scions should be carefully stored away to keep then in a dormant condition, nor that the grafter should haste to do his work in just such a state of sap-flow in the spring time. It was early discovered that grafting could be successfully done with growing scions, and that scions could be cut from one tree and set in another nearly at any time the grafter desired. Grafting is therefore possible much later in the season than is prescribed elsewhere, and it is also possible to begin earlier. In one of the largest apple and pear orchards in the State it is common to graft in December. The absence of freezing weather saves the graft from injury. As our trees start their flow of sap early, and often when the ground is too wet for comfortable orchard work, it is the practice of many to get their grafting and pruning done before the heavy midwinter rains begin. The practice of most growers is, however, to conform somewhat nearly to tradi- tional methods, to do most of the grafting in the spring months, and to use dormant scions, the growth of which is retarded by heeling them in on the north side of a building, or keeping them in sand in the cellar, as the grower chooses. Of course it should be understood that there are parts of the State where the winter condi- TIMES FOR GRAFTING 95 tions are more nearly like those at the East, and practice has to conform to them. As to whether it is better to remove the whole top of the tree and graft all the limbs in one year, there is some difference of opinion. The prevailing practice is to graft over part of the limbs one year and the balance the following year ; or else to leave part of the top to shade the bark and take part of the sap flow until the grafts start out well, and then cut it away. When a large amount of grafting is to be done, the limbs may be cut off during the weeks preceding grafting. In this case, the cut should be made a foot or two above the grafting point and a second cut be made at this point, when ready to put in the scions. Whenever old bark is exposed by cutting back for grafting, thor- ough protection against sunburn must be provided. The simplest way to do this is to cover the exposed bark with good whitewash. By using thirty pounds of lime, four pounds tallow, and five pounds of salt with enough water to make it flow well, a tenacious white- wash can be secured. What has been said thus far relates especially to the working over of old trees of common deciduous fruits. Though much the same method will succeed with some of the semi-tropical fruits and with nut trees, the discussion of their propagation and grafting over will be deferred to the chapters devoted to them, and this will also give opportunity to describe methods especially adapted to these fruits. I CHAPTER X PREPARATION FOR ORCHARD PLANTING The two essentials in preparing land for trees or vines are deep and thorough cultivation, and provision for drainage, unless the situation is naturally well drained. Drainage will be considered in connection with irrigation in another chapter. In this place, how- ever, by way of emphasis, it may be remarked that high land is not necessarily well drained, although the general feature of the surface may be an incline, nor is low land necessarily wet, although the surface may be apparently level. For horticultural purposes the drainage of the land must be considered on the hillside as well as in the valley, for reasons which will be more fully set forth in the chapter on drainage. The preparation of land for fruit planting should begin with grading. In irrigated orchards this is essential for the equal distri- bution of water. Even where irrigation is not anticipated, it is of decided advantage to smooth down hummocks and fill sags which are likely to collect water in the rainy season. As has been shown in Chapter III, this can be done on most California soils without danger of uncovering a sterile subsoil. Some intimation of the method of grading is given at the close of Chapter VII. In prep- aration for the irrigated orchard, and irrigation is now widely employed even in regions where formerly rainfall was the sole reliance, it is important that accurate grading should be done and the use of the surveyor's level and grade stakes will be found very desirable. All moving of soil should precede the general plowing. For the planting of orchard or vineyard the land must be put in as good tilth as possible, and extra expenditure to secure this will be amply repaid in the after-growth of the trees and vines. If practicable, it will be all the better to have the process of preparation begin a year before the trees or vines are to be set. This is true either with newly-cleared land, as has been described, or with old grain or pasture land which is to be used, leaving the surface rough during the winter, facilitates the access of air to the lower layers of the soil, and in a certain sense may be said to sweeten and enliven it. Following in the furrow with a subsoil plow is very desirable, either at the first plowing or later. Such treatment of old grain land breaks up the old hardpan,* which has probably been formed by years of shallow culture. The preparation should continue during the following summer, and can often be made both thorough and profitable by the growth of a summer "hoed crop," the culture • In this connection the term means "plow-sole." Treatment of true hardpan will be described in the next chapter. % WAYS OF LAYING OUT ORCHARDS 97 of which will kill out many weeds and secure good pulverization of the soil. If no summer crop is grown, the land should be kept in cultivation by plowing the weeds under as long as the surface soil retains moisture enough to start them. A special advantage of such summer-fallow in regions where the rainfall is apt to be short is that, prevention of evaporation, the trees or vines set the following winter will have a good part of the rainfall of two seasons to grow with, and the result will often be very noticeable. If there are supplies of manure available, as is often found in old corrals on our grain or stock farms, it is better to gather and apply this the winter before the planting of the trees. If this work is not done, then it should be left until after the trees are planted, and then be spread upon the surface during the winter, and plowed in after it has been in part leached into the soil by the rains. Application should be made evenly all over the surface, and not massed around the roots of the trees, unless it is to be applied as a mulch to the surface after the spring cultivation is over, as will be considered later. If it is thought desirable to plant the land immediately after breaking up, put in the plows as early in the fall as it is possible to do deep work, that is, to plow to a depth of ten or twelve inches, or more. Harrow thoroughly. If it is still early, cross-plow for fruit. Thorough and deep breaking up as soon as practicable to plow in the fall, and also deeply when the land pulverizes well, and follow in the furrow with the subsoil plow, working to a depth of fourteen inches or more. For this kind of work good teams are needed, and the plow should be sharp and bright. If the work is hard for the team, set the plow so as to take less land, but do not sacrifice the depth. Harrow again thoroughly, and the land is ready for the trees or vines. Avoiding Dead Furrows. — Unless dead furrows can be used to advantage for surface drainage in case of heavy rain-storms, it will be of decided convenience in laying off to have the field free from them. This can, of course, be secured by beginning the final plowing at a line in the center of the field, turning all furrows inwards. In this case, too, if a right-hand plow is used, the team will always turn on unplowed land, and thus avoid trampling upon and packing the loose soil. The slight ridge in the center of the field formed by the first two furrows can be easily leveled by a couple of back furrows, and when properly harrowed the field will be found smooth as a floor for staking out for planting. LAYING OUT I4..i....u u j. .u.. u.; p ; -j^: L -H-. u'-'-o- L t. L :.. -A ■.. ir . ;.. .i^ .. ";U[-.j^ iJ".t.-.4^ ...uJ k^ : u:"'-u u "L u -'j^ u"- ..L i-..UL.JL^.L.;i^. .L-;..>-U. ..U i...W;:.-.t...: ^ !^^ ^^ s^ <^ ^ €, C ^ '^4= ^g*€- '^4. '4. ^ ^ %. ^ ^ -^ <^. C fL C 'l^^^ 4.C^ C fL» '-L Trees planted on the square system. The Triangular or alternate system. la: (c U J^ .!-• ^ I ''' ^ f\ ;■ h : V )\ \\ i\ \ i \ s t k-. .^:^-...-.^i<- -i- --> \ i\ ^\ i- '■■ i,..:a<...i...Ai<...L....>k...l...Ji=- ^ <%. ^ ^L ^ ^ •L. '^^ %=3 ^ ^ C 'i-. fL. %^ 4^ 4^ 4«. L-- I'- i: -I--" u - I \ \ \ = '■■U i ■■'■Ir ; ■•■•V U ::-J,....-,^i \'i.. ;:U......::X i \ \ \ \ ■■■L i ■■• .L i ■■\L- U "i-i^ ''::U ::4 "::.k •-J- j \L- TH W i"^-!r ^'-t u ;::-i ^:vL "::jr- ::::\^ ';-i- ^ -^ ^ C 1 ^ %. t^ %=. ^ ^ C-_ ^L= '^» '^ ^ ■^ ^ ^L. ^^ C 4^ ^ ^ ^L %. C 4. 4. C '^ C %^ <^ %. ^%. ^^ ^-^ %. %. 4. %. %= %« C. ^ ^L ^%^,/t. The Hexagonal or Septuple system. The Quincunx system. 100 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Marking Off With a Wire. — A measuring wire or chain is, perhaps, the best means for getting accurate location of trees or vines. It is used either for setting in squares or in other arrange- ment, as will be described presently. Measuring wires are made of annealed steel wire about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The length varies according to the wishes of the user. If it is desired to lay off the plantation in blocks of one acre, the wire should be two hundred and eight feet nine inches long, for that is approximately the length of one side of a square inclosing an acre of ground. But some use a wire as long as three hundred feet, when the acre measure is of no consequence ; and others, in smaller plantings, make the wire just the length of the piece they have in hand. At each end of the wire is fixed a strong iron ring about one and a half inches in diameter, to be slipped over stakes ; some use a larger ring, say three inches in diameter, because it is easier to handle in pulling taut. Along this wire, patches of solder are placed exactly at the distances desired between the rows of trees or vines, and to these places pieces of red cloth are sometimes fastened so that the points may be easily seen. Another style of measuring wires is made of smal! wire cable about a quarter of an inch in diameter, made of several strands of small wire. It is more flexible and less likely to become kinked than the large wire, and can be easily marked off to represent the distances, at which rows of different kinds of trees should be placed, by separating the strands a little at the desired points and inserting a little piece of red cloth, pressing the wires together again and tying firmly with a waxed thread to prevent slipping. In this way the same wire can be easily arranged for planting vines or for the trees requiring the greatest distance between the rows. Another advantage of the cable is that any stretching can be taken up by retwisting, which cannot be done with the stretching of a single wire. Another good style of planting wire is made of 2, 4 or 6-foot links of No. 12 steel wire (including the diameters of the small rings turned at each end of the link pieces). As all planting will probably be at multiple distances of these link- lengths, the cloth tags can be changed and the chain thus be marked for any desired distances. Finding a True Corner. — To use the measuring Mare for laying out .trees on the square, it is necessary first to get one corner true, and then a field of any size can be marked out accurately. Select the side of the field which is to serve as the base of the square and stretch the wire along that, say fifteen feet from the fence, which will give room enough to turn with the team in cultivation or to drive along in picking-time. When the wire is thus stretched parallel with the boundary of the field, place a stake at each of the HOW TO FIX DISTANCES 101 distance tags on the wire, and these stakes will represent the first row of trees or vines. To find a square corner, begin at the starting point and measure off sixty feet along this row with a tape line, and put a temporary stake, then from the starting point measure off eighty feet as nearly at a right angle with the first line as can be judged with the eye, and run diagonally from this point the tem- porary sixty-foot stake. If the distance between these stakes is one hundred feet, then the corner is a right angle. Now, having the outside lines started at right angles to each other, one can proceed with the measuring wire and lay off as large an area as he desires, if care is taken to have each line drawn parallel with the last, and all stakes accurately placed with the tags on the wire — providing the land is nearly level or on a uniform grade. In locating trees over uneven ground, the measurements will have to be made from tree to tree, with the tape line held as nearly to a level as possible. Rows on Hillsides. — Laying off' orchard or \ineyard on hillside too steep to plow botli ways, there is advantage sometimes in placing the rows up and down the hill nearly twice as far apart as the rows along the face of the hill. In planting trees thus the advantage to be gained is by enabling you to keep the team well up the hill ; thereby you are able to plow or cultivate the trees close on the lower side of the rows. There is no difificulty in cultivating the upper side of the rows, for the plow or harrow is always below the team. If trees are planted as recommended, the team can be guided up the hill a little between the rows, then allowed to drop downhill one step, and thus one can cultivate the trees close on the lower side. The same rule will apply to vines. QUINCUNX PLANTING There is much confusion in the use of this term in this State. It is, in fact, made to cover almost every kind of arrangement which is not on the square. Webster defines the term to mean "the arrangement of things, especially of trees, by fives in a square, one being placed in the middle of a square." Trees set in quincunx would stand as shown in the accompanying diagram. To locate them in this form it is only necessary to proceed as already described for planting in squares, by fixing upon the base line and locating two side lines to it at right angles. Place the stakes on these two lines just half the distance desired between the trees, and have the measuring wire long enough to reach across from one line to the other. Near one end of the wire place another mark just half way between the end and the first tree mark ; that is, if the trees are to be twenty-four feet apart in the squares, this additional mark should be twelve feet from the end of the wire. Now set the first row with the end of the wire at the corner stake, and set stakes at each twenty-four foot mark. 102 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Proceed now to the first half-way stake, and instead of putting the end of the wire at this stake, put the twelve-foot mark there. Put stakes now at each twenty-four foot mark again to locate the trees in that row. In the next row put the end of the wire at the first stake and proceed as in the first row. Thereafter using the end of the wire and the twelve-foot marks alternately, the stakes will be set in quincunx all over the field. If the midway stakes are now pulled out along the two side lines, the remaining stakes show where the trees are to be placed. This way of planting locates about 78 per cent more trees upon any given area, but it brings the trees at irregular distances from each other, and except in furnishing a way to arrange an orchard with permanent and temporary trees, there does not seem to be any advantage in it. PLANTING IN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLES This is the arrangement generally implied when the term "quin- cunx" is wrongly employed. By it the trees are all equally distant from each other, and thus the ground divided as equally as possible. The arrangement admits 15 per cent more trees to the acre than the setting in squares, and the ground can be worked in three different directions. This arrangement also gives better facilities for irrigation. Objections are urged to it, however, in that it does not admit of thinning trees by removal of alternate rows, as is sometimes desirable, and that one has to take a zigzag course in driving through the orchard. Hexagonal planting places the trees as shown in the accompany- ing sketch. It is termed hexagonal because, as the figure consists of six trees inclosing a seventh, a line drawn through the encompassing trees makes a hexagon. It is also called septuple planting, because seven trees enter into its figure. An orchard can be laid out in hexagonals by using the measuring wire as described for quincunx planting with the distance and half- distance marks, except that the guide stakes in the side rows must be placed at different distances apart. The following table, showing the distance for side stakes to reach desired distance between the trees, and the method of calculating the number of trees to the acre by the square and hexagonal or sextuple arrangement : Trees set Sextuple Check-stakes should be 10 feet apart 8 feet 8 inches. 12 feet apart 10 feet 4 2-5 inches. 14 feet apart 12 feet ^ inches. 16 feet apart 13 feet lOj/2 inches. 18 feet apart 15 feet 7 inches. 20 feet apart 17 feet 4 inches. 21 feet apart 18 feet 2^ inches. 22 feet apart 19 feet ^ inches. 24 feet apart 20 feet 9^ inches. TRIANGULAR PLANTING 103 After tlic Held is staked, eacli allernate stake in llie check rows should be removed. The followino; talilc will show the luiniher of trees to the acre by the square and septuple system: Square Septuple 10 feet apart 435 500 12 feet apart 302 347 14 feet apart 222 255 16 feet apart 170 195 18 feet apart 134 154 20 feet apart 109 125 21 feet apart 99 114 22 feet apart 90 103 24 feet apart 75 86 For any distance not given in the above table, calculate the number of trees to the acre by the square system, and add fifteen per cent. This will give the number if planted septuple. Laying Out Hexagonals With a Triangle. — It is possible to lay out an orchard in hexagonal form by working from stake to stake with an equilateral triangle of dimensions equaling the distance required between the trees. One corner of triangle — all being made alike. Take three strips of one-by-two-inch dry pine or redwood, and as long as you wish the distance between the trees. Cut the strips the same length, and fasten the corners of the triangle firmly together by nailing two pieces of pine board six by six inches. If the long strips are set up edgewise, the triangle will be much stiflfer and better to carry. Through the corner boards bore an inch hole, making sure that the three sides of the triangle measure exactly the same. If they do, the triangle must necessarily be perfect. Then brace it a little by nail- ing a lath across each corner, and it is readv for use. Now split out some three-quarter-inch pins, one foot long, from good, straight-grained redwood. Make one hundred pins for each acre you have to lay off. Three persons must now carry the triangle, beginning on one side of the field, say eight feet from the fence, and guided the first time through by a line of stakes. Carry the triangle with its side to the line of guide stakes and 104 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: IIOW Trt GROW THEM its point ill. The liead man and tlic inside man will .slici< pins, while the rear man will slip his corner each time upon the pin set by the head man. After the first time across, the man at the inside point of the triangle alone will set pins, while the other two fit their corners upon the pins in the last row set. Thus one row of pins only is set each time you go across the field. If the triangle is exact, and the first row of pins is set perfectly straight, and the pins are always set perpendicularly, everything will now work like a charm and the job will be perfect; and it is so simple and easy that a man and two small boys can lay oi¥ from five to ten acres in one day. Remember that no guide stakes are used anywhere after the first time through. The Triangle on Hillside. — The use of the triangle requires a little nicety in "'leveHng up" where the piece is hilly. By using a plumb-line at two corners of the triangle, the third corner resting on one of the stakes, leveling the triangle and bringing one of the plumb-lines over another stake already set, the position of the other line would determine the position of the next stake. This method has worked fairly well, even in places where the slope was sufficient to give a fall of six feet between the trees, which were set twenty feet apart. Locating in Triangles With a Chain. — Instead of a wooden triangle, a chain has been used in this way : First stretch a chain along one side of the ground, setting by it the first row of stakes. This forms the base line. Have a piece of chain just twice the length of the established distance between trees, with ample rings on the ends and a joint in the middle. Put one of the rings over the first stake and the other over the second stake. Then take the joint in the middle of the chain and stretch it out reasonably tight. The wire forms a letter V, at the focus of which stick a stake. The point is indicated with precision by the joint in the middle of the chain. Then take the ring off the first stake and put it over the third stake, leaving the one on the second stake where it is. Tighten the chain again, and another point is fixed. Thus continue all the base line, shifting the rings alternately, turning over the chain as one turns a pair of draughtman's compasses in his hand when spacing ofif a line. The second row of stakes being set, set the third row, and so on through the ground. The suggestions given in this chapter should indicate ways enough to lay off orchard and vineyard ground to answer all needs, though there are other good ways not mentioned. It is hoped that the instructions will not be regarded as too explicit. They are intended for the guidance of the inexperienced planter, and will naturally seem laden with detail to those who have become familiar with the operations by repeated practice. CHAPTER XI PLANTING THE TREES After the field has been graded, thoroughly tilled and carefully- laid ofif as has been described, the next step is digging the holes for the trees. "How large shall the holes be?" He was a wise fruit grower who, when asked this question, replied, "As large as the field." That is to say, it is much better to work the whole ground over deeply than to trust to deep holes and shallow working else- where. Where this is done, the tree holes need only be large enough and deep enough to receive the roots without folding them in or cramping them up. In a loose, deep soil, however, one can dig extra deep and broad holes if he desires, and will be repaid by extra growth of the tree ; but in a close, tenacious soil a deep hole is not only undesirable, but often positively a danger to the tree unless drainage of the holes is provided artificially. Such holes hold water like a tub, and the loosening of the soil deeply facilitates its gathering in the hole. IMany have found their trees in such places dwindling and dying because their roots were soaking in water. Planting on Some Shallow Soils. — As a rule, trees should have a deep soil, and for these deep, free loams, California is famous, but there are situations where very satisfactory growth and production can be had, even when the hardpan is near the surface and the soil would be called shallow. In such places it is the character of the subsoil which warrants the tree and vine planter in making use of them. Sometimes the hardpan is so thin and near the surface that it can be broken through with a pick in digging the tree hole. Otherwise boring is done. It is about forty years since Mr. James Rutter, of Florin (on the "bedrock" lands near Sacramento), first noticed that there were vines here and there which grew exception- ally well and bore large crops of fine fruit. He found by investiga- tion that under these vines there were crevices in the bedrock, and from this he took the hint to bore through this hardpan in the bottom of the hole where he placed the tree, and in this way he gained access for the roots to the subsoil and egress for the water through the permeable substratum. He bored a hole two inches in diameter into or through the bedrock and rammed well into it one and a half pounds of black blasting powder. After exploding this, he somtimes bored a three-inch hole about four feet below the blast. Instead of blasting in the whole where the tree is to be planted, some bore and blast in the hardpan midway between the rows, placing the holes at "quincunx" with the trees. The shattering of the hardpan between the trees is said to be practicable after the 105 106 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM trees are growing, and may in certain soils relieve trees which are suffering for lack of drainage. A half-pound cartridge of dynamite has been successfully used for subsoil blasting, and some have reported in favor of exploding a quarter-pound cartridge quite near to a tree suffering from standing water, putting in the charge during the dry season. There are many situations where such practice would be bene- ficial, and in some cases mere digging or boring through the impervious stratum avails much. There are spots where "lava crusts" overlie gravel, and trees have been well grown by cutting holes through the lava to the gravel, filling with good soil and planting the trees in these holes. Their roots penetrate to the gravel stratum and obtain abundant moisture and nutriment. In certain situations where a shallow layer of soil overlies a heavy clay, trees have been blown over, but when a cut has been made through the clay, the trees have rooted deeply and have withstood the winds. Shooting Holes for Trees. — Even where there are continuous depths of dense strata, and not shallow hardpan underlaid by free soils, trees can often be successfully grown by the use of high explosives. In his book on "Soils," Professor Hilgard gives these suggestions : A permanent loosening of dense sub-strata is best accomplished by moderate charges C/S to 44 lb.) of No. 2 dynamite at a sufficient depth (3 to S ft.). The shattering effect of the explosure will be sensible to a depth of eight feet or more, and will fissure the clay or hardpan to a corresponding extent sidewise. Tf properly proportioned the charge will hardly disturb the surface; but if this be desired, from 1^' to 2^2 pounds of black powder placed above the dynamite will throw out sufficient earth to plant the tree without further digging. Where labor is high priced this proves_ the cheapest as well as the best way to prepare such ground for tree planting, and it has often been found that in course of time the loosening begun by the powder has extended through the mass of the land so as to permit the roots to utilize it fully and even to permit, in after years, of the planting of field crops where formerly they would not succeed. The boring for such blasting is usually with an ordinary carpen- ter's auger, a little larger than the diameter of the cartridge to be used ; the shank of the auger being lengthened by the blacksmith to reach the depth desired. It is becoming more and more apparent, however, that for commercial plantings of trees and vines all such defective soils should be avoided. There is plenty of good, deep land to be had, and the burden of ameliorating poor land is a serious handicap in the competition which has brought production to very narrow margins of profit. Digging the Holes. — Holes for tree planting may be dug at a leisure time after the laying off of the field, even though it is not designed to plant the trees immediately, but our largest planters DEVICES FOR SETTING TREES 107 do not approve the practice. In such cases the sides of the holes should always be freshly pared off before the trees are put in, because the rain and sunshine are apt to cement the sides. In dig'ging holes the surface earth should always be thrown on one side and the lower soil on another. The object of this is to have the top soil to place in direct contact with the roots when the tree is planted, the lower soil being used to fill up the hole with. TREE SETTERS No matter how carefully the stakes are placed in laying ofif the orchard, the trees will not easily come in line unless some handy device is used for bringing the stem just in the place occupied by the stake which was thrown out in digging. These devices are called "tree-setters," and there are a number of designs. Two are given, either of which will give good results. Take a piece of board one inch thick, four inches wide, and five feet long; bore an inch hole in the center, and one at each end at equal distance from the center; then cut a piece fmni one side of the board, marked by a E y\. Bar for Tree Setting. square, the corner resting in the middle of the center hole. Make two stakes, each one foot long, that will easily pass through the end holes. Place the center of this board against the stake, where the tree is to be planted ; push the stakes into the ground through the holes in the ends, then lift the board from position and proceed to dig the hole. When dug, replace the board over the end stakes in its former position, then plant the tree with its trunk resting against the center notch in the board, and you have it in just the right place. Another setter is in the form of a triangle : Take three pieces of plain one-inch stuflf three to four inches wide and four feet long, and nail them together, forming a three-cornered frame, letting the ends project sufficiently to form a corner, as shown in the drawing. Next make a couple of smooth, hard stakes, well sharpened, and about a foot or sixteen inches in length. When you are ready to set your trees, place the frame flat upon the ground with one corner firmly and fairly against the stake which marks the place where the tree is to stand. Now in the other two corners stick the stakes already prepared for the purpose. This done, pull up the stake against which the frame was first placed — the one indicating a place for a tree — remove the frame, being careful in doing so not to move the other two stakes, which must be left to be used while setting 108 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM the tree. After the hole is dug and everything ready for setting the tree, again place the frame against the two standing stakes, let the tree drop into the other corner, which will help support it while the dirt is being placed about the roots ; and this will bring the tree exactly where the stake was originally. If the stakes are properly put in line, so will be the trees. These setters are described as they are used when the hole is dug and the tree set at the same time. Such is the ordinary practice in planting. If one wishes to dig the holes beforehand, it is neces- sary to furnish more stakes, as two have to be left beside each hole to mark the position of the setter when the planting is done. Besides its use in bringing a tree into line, the tree setter enables Triangular tree setter. one to judge of the depth of setting as compared with the surface of the surrounding ground. It is not easy to determine this with the eye if the hole be a large one. Where the measuring wire is used to set the stakes, it is sometimes stretched across again after the holes are dug, the tags on the wire thus indicating the places for the trees of the whole row. The trouble with this practice is the bother of having the wire in the way while filling and tramping the earth around the roots. SELECTING TREES In the purchase of trees it is well to patronize nurserymen in your own district, providing they are honest and intelligent men, who keep themselves informed as they should about their business. The advice of such a local nurseryman is often of great value to the newcomer, for he will know by his experience and observation much about the adaptations of fruits and varieties thereof to the region. If, for any reason, local nurseries do not meet your needs, seek some well-established nursery at a distance. It is much safer to deal directly with the grower of the trees than to patronize traveling TREATMENT OF YOUNG TREES 109 agents. Where, however, these agents are the accredited repre- sentatives of well-known establishments, they may save the planter time and trouble by taking his order for him. So-called "tree- peddlers," who are jobbers in trees and in too many cases send you refuse trees which they pick up cheap wherever they can, and label them to suit, without respect to truth or honesty, should be reso- lutely avoided, no matter what inducements or blandishments they may offer. The California legislature of 1907 passed a law making it unlaw- ful to sell fruit trees representing them to be a certain kind and afterwards to deliver trees of a different kind. To do this is a misdemeanor punishable by fine and imprisonment. Action may be begun at any time within seven years after the date of delivery of such trees.* It is desirable, if possible, to visit the nursery and see the stock which is to be furnished. The trees should have a good healthy look, with clean bark, and of size enough to indicate a good, free growth. The matter of size is not the only point to consider, for size of the top is not so desirable as well-matured wood and plenty of roots. On the other hand, stunted trees are not, as a rule, worth planting, for a stunted tree, like a stunted calf, often does not make a good after-growth. There are cases, however, in which, by extra cultivation in good soil, fine trees have been grown even from "culls" from the nursery. The best rule is to select trees of good medium size, straight and healthy. In judging size, however, one must take California and not Eastern standards, because our nursery stock, if well grown, invariably is of much greater size than Eastern. If the visit is during the digging season, ask to see samples of the roots as well as the tops, and do not purchase trees unless the roots are healthy looking and free from knots or excresences. Gnarly and knotty roots in the young tree are a sure sign of insect pests or of unhealthy growth, and planting such trees has occasioned our orchardists immense loss. Many have been led into purchasing poor trees because they may be had cheap. A tree selected merely because it is cheap may prove the most expensive thing a man can put in the ground. Guarding Against Insects.— The top of the tree should be care- fully examined to discover scale insects if there be any. For this purpose a hand-magnifier should be used. Such a glass should always be in the fruit grower's pocket. One can be bought at any optician's for a dollar or two, which will fold into its case so as to be carried without scratching. Our nurserymen, by forsaking old infested locations and obtaining new ground, now sell much cleaner trees than they did years ago. But still it is well to be always on * Statutes and amendments to the Codes, 1907; chapter 229. 110 (ALIFORM. \ l-RUnS: HOW TO CKOW TIIRM the watch for pests. Disinfection of nursery stock is now ofilicially provided. Details of treatment will be given in the chapter on injurious insects. TAKING TREES FRO^I THE NURSERY Trees should be carefully taken from the nursery rows so as to obtain a good amount of small branching roots. In lifting from the home nursery, digging with well-sharpened spades, which will sever the long roots cleanly, is perhaps the best method. In the large nurseries tree-diggers are generally used. They have two revolving coulters which cut through the surface soil each side of the trees, and a sharp, curved blade, which is drawn through the ground under the trees, loosening the soil and severing the long roots cleanly. The tree is then easily lifted, and has generally a much better root system than by the old style of "ploughing out," which broke off so many of the small roots and lacerated the larger ones. Whether the tap root should be retained or not is not worth discussing on theoretical grounds. As a matter of fact and practice, the tap root cuts no figure at all in California orchard planting, although the discussion of the question was formerly very warm in this State, and is still occasionally heard. It is important, however, that the planter should have as many small lateral roots as he can get. The small fibrous roots are usually of little account, as they seldom survive transplanting, and it is better to clip them away, if the time can be afforded, as they often prevent the proper close contact of the soil with the larger roots. Cutting back all roots to short stubs at the base of the stem has succeeded in some instances in California on moist lowlands, but longer roots are far safer in the deep drying of the surface layer which is to be expected in this State. The roots, after lifting, should not be permitted to dry. Hence, in hauling from the nursery to the farm, the trees should be well covered with wet straw and old sacks, or, if shipped from the nursery to distant points, should be well packed. The best way to pack trees is, undoubtedly, to box them in with wet straw, but it costs less and they usually carry well considerable distances if carefully bundled with tules (dry reed stems), the roots packed in wet straw, and the packing and covering bound down tight with ropes to prevent drying out. Attention should be paid to hauling away trees from the railway stations as soon as possible after arrival. It is not uncommon for shipments to lie on the station platforms for days, often when a desiccating north wind is blowing. Such treatment soon takes the life out of the rootlets, and often, no doubt, the nurseryman is blamed for failure of trees which have suffered some such neglect as this, either from transportation companies or from the pur- chasers. CONDITIONS FOR PLANTING 111 Heeling In. — On arrival at the farms, trees should be "heeled in" as soon as possible ; even if it is the intention to plant at once, heel them in just the same, for delays arise often in the most unexpected manner. To heel in, dig a trench or plow a deep furrow, or a double furrow, in light, moist, but well-drained soil ; put in the trees singly side by side, removing all the packing material carefully from the roots, laying the tops all one way, and then shovel the earth over the roots until they are well covered with loose soil, and be sure that the soil sifts down well between the roots. Ordinarily this treatment will hold the trees in good condition for a considerable time if need be. If, however, they have become dry before arrival, the bundles should be thoroughly drenched with water before heeling in. In extreme cases, where the top shows drying by shrinking and shriveling of the bark, the trees should be drenched, and then they should be covered root and top with earth for two or three days, when, if the trouble has not gone too far, the bark will recover its smoothness and plumpness. It should be very seldom, however, that a lot of trees is allowed to get into such condition by neglect. In heeling in it will be found a great con- venience and a safeguard against possible confusion by loss of labels, if each variety as taken from the packing is placed by itself in the trench. Nurserymen generally attach a label to each small bundle, if the trees are of several varieties, and the novice is apt to lose all track of his sorts when heeling in the trench, unless he heels in each kind by itself, leaving the nurseryman's label to mark the whole lot of each kind. If the planter has his own ideas of after-treatment of his trees, or if he is a beginner and desires to adopt the suggestions which will be laid down in this book, he should insist that the nurseryman shall not trim up nor cut back the trees before packing. Have the trees packed just as they are lifted from the ground. The work toward the shaping of the tree should be done after it is planted in the orchard. PLANTING THE ORCHARD The young deciduous tree should be dormant before being moved from the nursery row, and if its leaves have fallen it is good evidence of its dormancy. Such, however, is the effect of the climate of California, more apparent in some years than others, and with some kinds of fruit than others, and the young tree retains a small part of its activity very late, and in such cases it is not practicable to wait for the complete falling of the leaves. Sometimes for con- venience of work, the trees have to be lifted before this takes place, and in such case it is desirable to remove the leaves to lessen evaporation. It is probably better to transplant in this condition 112 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM for the sake of early setting in its new position than to wait for all the leaves to drop. This statement is not intended to include nursery stock which is kept growing late in the season by late irrigation. Such trees are not always desirable. Time to Plant. — The best time to plant deciduous trees in Cali- fornia is soon after the early rains have deeply moistened the ground. It is not desirable, however, to have a stratum of dry earth below. This can be removed by irrigation when available. Early planting of common orchard fruits is of advantage for several reasons. First, an early-planted tree gets the full benefit of the season's rainfall, whatever it may be, and a late-planted tree, in a year with short rainfall, is apt to suffer during its first season's growth, unless it can be irrigated. The two main things to observe are the dormancy of the tree and the proper condition of the soil and both of these are most apt to coincide in many parts of Cali- fornia about the first of January, but in heavy loams in region of large rainfall, the soil may then be too cold and wet. There will, however, be some variation from year to year, and different parts of the State disagree as to the date. Hence, the general rule must be based on conditions, that of the tree and that of the soil. If the novice cannot judge these for himself, he must get the advice of some one of experience in the locality. The dormant period of a tree in California, as has been stated in another connection, is very short. As many cold-climate annual plants become perennial here, so our deciduous trees, in compara- tively frostless portions of the State, evince a tendency to become evergreen. The period of dormancy in the root is also shorter than the inactivity of the top. Trees transplanted early are found to have their root wounds calloused over and new rootlets considerably advanced before the buds swell. Therefore, by early planting the tree begins soon to take hold upon the soil, the latter being well settled around it by rains, which often follow early planting, and the high winds, which are apt to come in the spring in some parts of the State, find the tree well anchored and ready to maintain itself. Again, the proper condition of soil, if not seized at its first coming, may not recur until after the great storms of the winter are over, say in February or March (in most parts of the State), and then often the buds are bursting into bloom and leaf. Planting when the soil is water-soaked and cold is very undesirable, for in such condition it cannot be properly disposed about the roots, the inactive roots may begin to decay, and trees moved at this period are apt to show their dislike of the treatment. If the work has been delayed unavoidably, so that early planting cannot be done, it is better to keep the trees heeled in until the proper soil condition SUGGESTIONS ABOUT PLANTING 113 returns, even if it be rather late, for a little extra attention to cult'vation for retention of moisture will pull through a latc-plantcd tree. These remarks arc of very wide application in this State, but there are exceptions. In our high altitudes, where the climate approaches Eastern conditions in cold and snowfall, practice in planting will also approximate Eastern methods. In regions of very heavy rainfall and on the upper coast where the rainy season and moisture from fogs are prolonged late in the spring, late planting is safer and surer than in the warmer, drier parts of the State. Another consideration, too, is the slope of the land to be planted, Our hillside fruit growers in regions of heavy winter storms some- times plant slopes, which, if plowed deep in the fall, are apt to wash badly during the heavy winter rains. On such slopes it is better to plow late in the winter, after the heavy storms are over, and plant when the soil has become warm and mellow. THE OPERATION OF PLANTING Tree planting should be carefully and well done, but it need not necessarily be slowly done. With a kind soil deeply worked and just in the right condition for planting, trees may be put in well and rapidly. Two men work together at a decided advantage. Using the straight "tree-setter," which has already been described, one takes each end, and as soon as the center notch encloses the tree stake, the setter stakes are pushed into the soil, the "setter" is laid aside, and the two men, taking up their shovels or spades, begin first around the outside of the hole, throwing all the surface dirt on the same side of the hole and leaving the tree stake to be thrown out last, because its remaining serves to center the hole. The lower soil is now thrown to the other side of the hole, and when depth enough is reached, the soil at the bottom of the hole is loosened up to the depth of a shovel thrust, without removing it from the hole. A shovelful or two of the surface soil is thrown into the center of the hole, being allowed to remain higher in the center, because this generally furnishes a cushion about the natural shape of the under surface of the root system of the tree. Now replace the tree-setter upon its end pegs, let one man hold the tree with its stem in the central notch in the setter, and while the other man shovels in the surface earth rather slowly at first, the man who holds the tree with one hand will spread out the roots, pulverize and pack the earth around them, being sure that no cavities are left under any of the roots, but that their surfaces everywhere come in contact with the soil, and that they spread out as widely as possible. The earth is being continuously put in by the shoveler, 114 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM and when the roots are covered the i)lanter steps in the hole and carefully firms the soil down upon the roots hy tramping (especially at the cut ends of the roots around the outer side of the hole), at the same time judging of the perpendicularity of the tree with his eye. When this is done, both men use their shovels and fill up the hole with the earth taken from below, being sure to leave the last few inches at the surface pulverized, but untramped, unless the soil be very light so that tramping will not overpack it. Some one said long ago that one should not plant a tree as he does a post ramming down the earth to the very top of the hole. Many trees are doubtless ruined by over zeal in this respect. The shovel has been mentioned frequently as the tool to be used in planting. Where the soil is deeply plowed, well worked, and free from stone, the shovel is the most rapid tool. Under other conditions the long-handled spade, and in some cases the long- handled spading fork, serves admirably in loosening the soil at the bottom of the holes and in breaking up lumps while filling in. One man with a shovel or spade, and the other with the fork, make a good combination in this respect. Planting in a Furrow. — A practice which has been largely fol- lowed in the Sacramento Valley and which attains greatest speed and cheapness consists in laying off as described on page ninety- eight, and then proceeding with a heavy listing plow, followed by a subsoil plow in the same furrow. The trees are then rapidly set with the least digging. This is all done before the field is plowed. Plowing immediately follows planting. The advantages of this method are ease of work on firm ground instead of a plow^ed sur- face, and escape of injury to this surface by men and teams in plant- ing after plowing. RANDOM SUGGESTIONS The roots of every tree should be examined before planting. All large root ends should have a fresh, clean cut with a sharp knife or shears. Make a slanting cut with the cut surface on the underside of the root. Where a root is mangled or bruised, it should in most cases be cut back to a sound place. The tree should be placed if possible with the same side toward the sun as was exposed to the sun in the nursery; at all events, the wound made by the cutting away of the seedling stock above the bud should be at the north or northeast, in order that this weak point may be shaded as much as possible from the afternoon sun. If the roots of the young tree grow more to one side than the other, place the strongest roots toward the prevailing wind. The use of water to settle the earth around the roots is sometimes desirable in sections where the rainfall is light or uncertain. Pour in TREATMENT OF YOUNG ORCHARD 1 15 the water after the hand work in spreachng- tht roots and in pressing the soil under and around them has been done and the hole partly filled. When the water has soaked away, fill the hole with fine earth without tramping. In irrigated districts leading the water along the line of trees in a furrow to settle the ground at planting is a good practice. It is almost essential in the planting of evergreen trees which are best moved during the dry season. In early planting in parts of the State where the rainfall is abundant, there may be no need of water-settling; Puddling the roots, or dipping them in thin mud and planting them with this mud adhering, is governed by much the same conditions as water-settling; it may insure growth of the tree when otherwise it might be seriously injured by drouth. With puddled roots especial care should also be taken to leave the surface loose to prevent evap- oration. In making puddle, use loamy soil and never adobe, for in dry time the latter will bake around the roots and may kill the tree. The Use of Manure. — Never put manure in the hole with the tree. Sometimes the injunction is. Never put anything but well rotted manure in the hole. It is better to put none of any kind. Manure should be spread upon the ground after planting. The rains then leach it out and it may be turned under in the spring plowing. There are, however, light soils in the drier parts of the State where turning under manure in the spring is a disadvantage, as it makes the soil too porous and facilitates evaporation. On such soils, extra care should be taken to have the manure thoroughly decomposed by composting, as will be described in the chapter on fertilizers, and all applications should be made either late in the spring to act as a mulch in the summer, or if a mulch is not thought desirable, apply the manure in the fall before the first rains, so that it may be turned under at the first plowing and have the whole winter for disintegration. In this dry climate there is often misapprehension, especially among newcomers, as to what is well- rotted manure. They take the scrapings of the corral, which have l)een trampled and pulverized, but which, having been kept dry, have never rotted. When this is put in the. holes with the tree and then moistened by rainfall or irrigation, it will burn the tree, the first sign of injury being the drying up of the leaves. It is, on the whole, safest and best to put nothing but well-pulverized surface soil around the roots of the young tree. Depth of Planting. — The depth to which trees should be set has always been a matter of discord among the planters. The safest rule under ordinary circumstances is to get the tree as nearly as possible the same depth it stood in the nursery row ; that is, so as to have it stand that way when the ground has settled, or the surface returned by cultivation to its normal level. In planting in loose soil in the drier parts of the State, it is often desirable to plant rather low, because several inches depth of the surface soil become dry, and the roots 116 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM should be well in the moist la)'er. But if irrigation is to be practised, it must be remembered that the water level will rise when the soil is saturated and deep-planted trees are apt to suffer. The experience of recent years is decidedly against deep planting, which used to be ad- vised because of our dry climate. Thousands of trees have been ruined by planting too deep except in light sandy soil. Speed in Planting. — On good soil, well prepared, trees can be put in rapidly and the job still be well done. It is reported that on one occasion, in planting almonds, twenty men finished sixty-four acres from Friday noon to Wednesday night, placing the stakes, digging the holes, and planting the trees. This would be almost three-quarters of an acre per day per man. In planting peaches and apricots an average of one hundred trees per day to the man has been attained. On the mellow loam, in another case, the average was one hundred and twen- ty-five trees to the man, digging holes two feet square in land which had been plowed twelve inches deep. Such work is only possible on good soil, well prepared, and by men who work well together. Mapping and Labeling. — Where mixed varieties of fruit are planted, the orchard should be mapped as soon as the trees are set. A good durable map is made of the glazed muslin, such as carpenters and architects use for their drawings. The map can be easily drawn to a scale by using a fraction of an inch to represent a foot. After the map is made, it can be rolled on a broom stick and easily preserved. With such a record, the grower need not care what becomes of the labels, as he can locate a variety at any time by its row and tree number. If, however, one desires labels, let them be made in this way : Take a piece of common sheet zinc five inches wide. Across this, cut pieces three-quarters of an inch wide at one end and tapering to a point at the other. Near the wider end write plainly with a common lead-pencil the name of the variety. This will get brighter by exposure to the weather. The small end may be coiled around the branch of the tree ; it will yield as the tree grows and will do no ijijury. Such labels will last for a long time. Labels attached by a cord or wire should be removed as soon as the trees are set, for they are apt to be forgotton and the tree seriously injured by the cutting in of the ligature. Even when labels are used the map is the only surety, because any kind of a label is apt to be lost by accident or through malice or mischief of intruders. Mulching. — Although early planted trees on deep soils in re- gions of sufficient rainfall need only good cultivation, after planting, there are cases in which mulching is desirable. Various light mate- rials may be used for a mulch, but nothing is better than well-rotted straw, in which fermentation has killed all weed seed. Apply it to a distance of two feet around the tree, and to a depth of not less than six inches. It is best done as soon as the tree is planted, and is to be TREATMENT OF YOUNG ORCHARD 117 especially recommended when late planting is practiced. Even in lo- calities of light rainfall, if the trees are well mulched early in the win- ter, irrigation may be unnecessary for the young deciduous tree. Trees planted very late in the spring may, by using great care and mulching well, make as great a growth as those set out early in winter. This should not be an excuse for late planting, but where late planting is necessary, mulching will help the trees to pull through. It is a far easier way of keeping the ground moist than by irrigating, but is not a substitute for it where systematic irrigation is necessary, though irri- gation may often be lessened, and in some cases obviated, by extra cul- tivation or mulching, at least until the trees come into bearing. Guarding Against Sunburn, — Newly-set trees should be pro- tected against sunburn. This can be easily done by winding strips of burlap from old grain sacks spirally around the stems beginning just below the ground surface to the points where the young shoots will appear. When these start the strip can be loosened and rewound so as to protect the bark between the shoots. The top can be fastened with a stitch or two with a twine needle. Manufactured "tree pro- tectors" of paper or rushes which are readily adjusted around the trees are now largely sold. Whitewash made according to the formula at the close of Chapter IX is a good protection from sunburn. For young trees, however, it should be made with air-slacked lime, which has lost some of its causticity. Another whitewash, which has been largely used for young trees, consists of four ounces of whale oil soap dissolved in each gallon of water, Spanish whiting being stirred in to give the solution a paint-like consistency. Millions of trees have per- ished in this State, and as many more been condemned to sickly lives, because of sunburn, and borers which seek the injured bark for en- trance. Pruning has much to do with saving trees from this evil, as will be shown in the proper connection, but in the hotter parts of the State, the first precaution should be to shade the bark of the young tree with some artificial protection. Cutting Back at Planting. — Whatever idea the grower may have as to shaping his tree, it must be cut back when planted. Lifting from the nursery has removed a considerable part of the root system of the young tree and the top must be reduced accordingly. The planter who dislikes to sacrifice the fine top will sacrifice future growth and vigor by retaining it. The tree may struggle through and regain strength, but it will for years be smaller than if it had been properly cut back at planting. If the moisture supply should be short the tree may die the first summer which would have survived if dififerently treated at planting. The manner of cutting back depends somewhat upon the style of pruning to be followed afterward, as will be considered in the next chapter. CHAPTER XII PRUNING TREES AND THINNING FRUIT It is not intended to enter into a discussion of the general theories of pruning. The reader desiring to pursue them is referred to the abundant literature on the subject in Eastern and European treat- ises. The effort to approve or condemn these theories by consid- ering them in the light of California experience and observation might lead to interesting conclusions, but it has no place in a work aiming merely at an exposition of what appears to be the most sat- isfactory practice in California fruit growing. It will be found that this practice varies somewhat in the different regions of California, sometimes in degree, sometimes in kind, because of different local conditions, and it might be found that nearly all reasonable theories of pruning could be verified in California experience. Pruning in California is at present almost exclusively a shaping process. Our fruit trees are naturally so prone to bear fruit that pruning to produce fruitfulness is seldom thought of, and still more rarely practiced, while pruning to reduce bearing wood, and thus decrease the burden of the tree, is quite widely done, to take the place, in part, of thinning out the fruit. Pruning to restore vigor to the tree, as in cutting it back to induce a new wood growth, is also rather a rare proceeding, but probably could be much more widely employed to advantage. We prune, then, for shape and for the many practical advantages which adhere in the form now prevailing in California orchards. Some of these advantages are peculiar to our climate ; others we share with those who advocate a similar form elsewhere. Our best orchards of the same fruits in adjacent localities are almost identical in form and general appearance of the trees, and those more distant differ chiefly in the extent to which the same principles are applied. And this is not because the trees are allowed to follow their natural inclination, which should secure resemblance but because their natural bent is resolutely conquered by agreement of growers that they know what is good for the tree ; and this sub- stantial unanimity is the result of the experience of the last fifty-five years. People possessed of the art temperament sometimes com- plain of the depressing uniformity and artificiality of orchard-tree shapes in California. They are apt to lament the fact that syste- matic orcharding destroys the picturesqueness of tree-growth. They should understand that such conception of a fruit tree has no place in commercial fruit growing. The producing tree is the result of the concei)tion of an agency to serve certain purposes. The or- U8 ADVANTAGES OF PRUNING 119 chai'cHst does not pursue uniformity merely for its own sake, but rather for the purpose it serves, and the fact that many thinking men have practically agreed upon a certain form as an ideal of pro- ducing ability is demonstration that such form is, at least, approxi- mately correct. There is an industrial conception of a tree, which is necessarily and essentially different from an art conception of picturesqueness based upon the feral type. The wild tree is rude and crude from a cultural point of view. PRACTICAL PURPOSES OF PRUNING One of the first things for a beginner to undertake as he approaches the practice of pruning trees and vines is to form a good idea of the purposes to be served. Imitation is not the foundation of intelligent pruning, though it yields many valuable suggestions. Satisfactory work rests upon a correct understanding of the reasons for each act and to the attainment of this, all study, observation and experience should tend. Possessing this, one can proceed capably, modifying method to meet condition, and producing desirable results. Receive all suggestions and then go quietly to the tree and study your problem in its shade. The tree is the best revelator of its needs. Some of the best pruners in California are men who were untrained to horticulture before they entered upon their orchard work. Reading, discussion, systematic instruction are all valuable. They save much time and many errors, but recourse to the tree afTords the sovereign test of attainment. These may be counted among the practical purposes to be attained by pruning in California: (a) Convenience of the grower; (b) health and strength of the tree; (c) regulation of heat and light; (d) attainment of strong bearing wood; (e) attainment of size in fruit ; (f) promotion of regular bearing. Examine trees with reference to their embodiment of these characters and one can hardly fail to secure rays of light upon the subject of pruning which seems dark to so many. Convenience. — Trees which branch near the ground are most quickly and cheaply handled in all the operations of pruning, spray- ing, fruit-thinning and picking. Low trees with obliquely-rising branches are more easily cultivated than any form with horizontal branches, unless the head is carried so high that the animals pass easily under the tree. To do this sacrifices all the other conven- iences and economies which actually determine profit, and is really out of the question from a commercial point of view. Sometimes it does not pay to ])ick some fruits at a certain .distance above the groimd, when ])icking at half that distance yields a profit. 120 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Health and Strength. — It is imperative in most parts of this State that the sunshine be not allowed to touch the bark during- the heat of the day. This protection is secured even for young trees by low branching and encouragement of small, low laterals. The low tree with properly spaced branches attains superior strength by vir- tue of thick, strongly knit, short growth between branches, and by its strong, stiff, obliquely-rising growth sustains weight which brings horizontal branches to the ground, and thus even high- headed trees are liable to continually increasing interference with cultivation, and the desperate grower has to raise the head of his tree higher into the air and farther above the profit line, while at the same time he renders it more liable to sunburn, to bark-binding, and to unthrift by forcing the sap to flow an unnecessary distance and through wood and bark which impede its movement. Besides a low tree escapes stress by strong winds which a high tree invites and at the same time is less able to withstand. Pruning for health and strength of tree also includes the removal of unthrifty or diseased parts, which are not only an incumbrance to the tree but may communicate to other parts the causes of their ill condition. Heat and Light. — The maintenance of strong bearing wood in the lower part of the tree is conditioned upon the proper pruning of the top of the tree. How far the upper levels or the shade-layer of the tree can be safely opened, depends upon the local climate in each fruit region. The rule must be the higher the summer heat the denser the tree; the lower the heat the thinner the tree; but everywhere the proper condition of openness must be constantly in view in pruning. Not alone must this be done to maintain thrifty growth below, but it is also essential to the best growth and ripen- ing of the fruit in the lower and interior parts of the tree. Fruit in- ferior in size, color and quality results, in part, from lack of pruning to regulate the admission of light and heat, sometimes one, some- times both, to the shaded portion of the tree. Bearing Wood. — Good fruit develops on good bearing wood and good bearing wood is the product of proper degrees of light and heat, as has just been urged. But bearing wood in the case of some fruits is new wood, and reduction of old wood for the purpose of forcing the growth of new wood must be constantly in mind. Re- newal is more or less a consideration with all trees, and especially the securing of strong new wood. This is a point upon which close study of the bearing tree will yield most satisfactory suggestions. Size of Fruit. — The size of fruit, providing the tree is healthy and vigorous, depends upon the character and amount of bearing wood which the tree is allowed to carry. Removal of part of the fruit burden is done by thinning after it is well set, but this labor THE POPITLAR CALIFORNIA FORM 121 should al\va3^s he iiiinimized l)y anlccedenl pruning-, which aims to retain more or less bearing wood according- to the vigor, size and bearing habit of the tree. Thinning out of bearing shoots and spurs, when either are clearly seen to be in excess, should be the constant study of the pruner. Regular Bearing. — This point is largely involved in the preced- ing and affords an additional incentive. Regulating the amount of fruit borne in one year may involve the profit of two years, be- cause a tree may not be able to produce an excessive amount of fruit and perfect good fruit buds for the following year. It may generally make buds which will bloom, but not always that. If it does make the bloom, it is no guaranty that the bloom will be strong and effective for bearing. Consequently, pruning for rea- sonable amount of bearing should always be borne in view and should be practiced at the close of the year of non-bearing with particular diligence, if the alternate year- bearing habit is to be broken up. The foregoing are among the practical purposes to be served in pruning. There are others, but these will suffice to emphasize a single point, and that is, that pruning can not be compressed into a single formula, nor can one learn it by a recipe. There are various ends to attain ; they may be attained in different ways, although it is not strange that substantial agreement in methods does largely prevail. It is better to try to understand the purposes than to mem- orize the formulae. Get the tree and its interest clearly in the mind ; have an ideal toward which to work; be more interested in why a neighbor prunes in a certain way than how he does it. Learn con- stantly by all available means, and at the same time study the visi- ble forms and aim to understand their fullest significance. FORM OF TREE BEST SUITED TO CALIFORNIA CONDITIONS The form of deciduous fruit tree which prevails with singular uniformity all over the State is the "vase," or "goblet," or "wine- glass" form, all these terms signifying a similar shape. There are different ways in which this form is secured and maintained in different parts of the State, and with different fruits, which will be especially noted in the chapters devoted to these fruits. The mainspring of success in California is to grow low trees. Low is a term admitting of degrees, it is true, and may imply a trunk six inches up to one or two feet, in the clear. In addition to the general advantages of low-trained trees which have been described, there are special reasons for this form in California. 122 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Hundreds of thousands of frees have been dcslro3^ed by the expos- ure of a long, bare trunk to the rays of the afternoon sun. The sun-burned sides have given the conditions desired by borers, and destruction has quickly followed. Sometimes young trees have not survived their first season in the orchard, because of burned bark; or this, with the added injury by the borers. It is also found by Cali- fornia experience that growth is more vigorous in the branches when they emerge near the ground. Even where actual burning may not occur the travel of the sap through the longer distance of trunk is undesirable. It is believed, also, that benefit results from shading of the ground at the base of the trees, by reducing evaporation, and by maintaining a temperature of soil better suited to vigorous root- growth. But whatever may be the reasons, the fact is indisputable, the higher the prevailing summer temperature, and the greater the aridity, the lower should the 'rees be headed. Trees which will do well in the central and upper coast region and adjacent to the bay of San Francisco, with twenty-four to thirty-six inches of clear trunk, would dwindle and probably perish in the heated valleys in all parts of the State. In such situations, both north and south, the best practice is to head the tree fifteen, twelve, and even some hold as low as six inches from the ground. There will always be some difference of opinion as to detail, but the necessity of making the trunk short enough to be effectually shaded by the foliage is ad- mitted by all growers. Characteristic of the California Vase Form. — This vase form is a product of French ingenuity in the training of dwarf trees, but it has undergone very marked modification in California, losing much of the accuracy of its outline and gaining vastly in speed of work and in bearing capacity of tree without sacrificing any practical value which adheres in the design. The California vase form dispenses with the central stem or trunk at a certain short distance above the ground, but this is not done for the purpose of securing a hollow or open-center tree, which is a leading characteristic of the old European vase form. The few branches which are desired to grow from the short stem are pruned when the tree is young to induce successive branching with short interspaces. At each cutting the aim is to get two branches from one, and nearly as possible of equal vigor, so the California tree does not, except, of course, in occasional instances, show the outline of a leader from the bottom to the top, but there is a succes- sion of branchings, turned this way or that by the skillful pruner, occupying available air space, distributing the weight so it comes more nearly over the center of gravity and at the same time knitting the fibers of the branch so that the weight of the fruit is well TI[r-: EFFECTS OF PRUNING .23 sustained. This idea, however, is not allowed to go so far as to wholly close the interior of the tree, but to retain such degree of open interior as is found desirable. When the tree is laden with fruit, the weight naturally expands the top quite enough to admit the sunlight without exposing either the fruit or the branches to danger of burning. Thus it appears that instead of the true vase or wine-glass, with hollow interior and thin walls, we have the general exterior outline of this model, but give a good part of the central area of the figure to bearing shoots, and thus secure a large bear- ing surface with well-strengthened supports. It has been found that this many-branching form, developed upon a few main branches well placed upon the trunk, gives a stronger tree than can be had by growing a considerable number of leaders, all starting from near the point where the tree was headed at planting. Such leaders crowd each 9ther at the point of emer- gence from the stem, and when laden with fruit, sway outward and break out at this point. A vastly stronger tree is secured by start- ing but four or five branches from the low trunk and letting them emerge from dififerent sides of the stem, and at different levels. Thus each main attachment to the stem has abundant room, and the wood enlarges symmetrically and solidly. The expansion of the top is attained by the branching which follows the cutting back of suc- ceeding years. Starting branches from nearly the same level on the stem has been the occasion of great losses of overladen trees, and quite a considerable recourse to strengthening up weak trees by >*aj^ Forms of head resulting from cutting back. Twelve-year-old apple tree in the writer's garden in Berkeley, showing forms of head re- sulting from cutting back for greater and less spacing of main branches at planting. 24 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THES M Results of cutting back to longer and shorter stems. THE EFFECTS OF TRUNING 125 running bolts through from side to side at the points where experi- ence shows breakage is likely to occur. In this respect it is now clearly seen that the practice which was widely adopted a few years ago of beginning with a very short stem and using the three or four adjacent buds nearest the point to which the tree was cut back at planting is defective. It is much better not to cut back so far at planting, but to leave a longer trunk, keep a greater distance be- tween the main branches and still have the lowest branch as near the ground as before, thus securing a tree which is practically as low as that secured by the old method of starting. This point will be enforced by illustrations. HOW TO SECURE THE DESIRABLE FORM For the benefit of the inexperienced reader, it will be well in illustrate the steps by which the form of tree found so generally desirable is to be attained. Cutting Back at Planting. — This has been shown on page 116 to be essential to strong growth of the transplanted tree. It is also the prime act in securing a tree with a low head and strong branches. Formerly trees were cut back farther than desirable and :t^- Pruning for branch spacing. Yearling apple marked to cut back for greater or less space between main branches; also first year's growth from each beginning marked for first winter pruning. 126 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM the branches allowed to crowd each other, as has just been stated. It is better to retain twenty-four inches of stem than twelve inches — providing care is taken during the first summer to prevent, by pinching, the growth of too many branches near together. Allow those to grow which are more distant from each other on the stem and pinch the intervening shoots. In this way one can have the lowest branch at six inches from the ground in the hot valleys if desired, or twelve inches in the coast valleys, and the highest branch at eighteen or twenty-four inches. This gives about twice the distance between the main branches which was formerly al- lowed, and it is of vast advantage to the strength of the tree. The illustrations of this fact are from trees planted by the writer in 1887 to test this matter. At this date they are large trees and show the forms of heads resulting from different spacing of branches on the young trees during the first summer's growth. First, then, cut back the tree just after planting, as shown in the engraving, deciding first at what height you wish your trees to form heads, and cut them all back as uniformly as possible and still secure a good bud just below the point of cutting. To preserve these buds the trees should be handled carefully while removing from the nursery and during planting. If the tree has already grown laterals where the head is desired, three or four of these properly placed on the stem may be selected to form the main branches, shortened in to the sound bud nearest the stem, and other laterals, not desired to form the head, removed. This treatment is shown in the engraving of a young peach tree well branched in the nursery. If all the laterals on the young tree have started out above where the head is desired, as is sometimes the case, it may be necessary to remove the whole top, and usually others will start below afterwards. If there are no buds visible on the stem at the place where the head is desired, the choice must be made between heading the tree higher up, where the buds are, or cutting back without regard to buds, trusting to the development of latent buds at the right place, or to the growth of a shoot from below, which can be cut back to form a head the following year. It is for this reason, among others, that planters prefer a yearling tree which has not branched, but has good buds all along the stem. Peaches and apricots usually branch in the nursery, but usually have dormant buds at the bases of such branches which can be employed in making new growth where it is desired. After cutting back at planting, the shoots desired to form the head are allowed to make their full growth without interference. All shoots not desired for branches are pinched off after growing out two or three inches, leaving a bunch of leaves to shade the trunk and contribute to its stouter growth. Constant watchfulness is necessary to pinch off undesirable branches all the first summer. STRONG TREES FRO INI A RIGHT START 127 First Pruning. — In the winter following- planting, the shoots of the previous season's growth are cut back to about ten or twelve inches from their junction with the stem. Some prefer to cut shorter, but this is apt to huddle the branches too close together when they get old and stout. Growers, however, do not agree on the exact length which these future main branches should be left at the first pruning. If, during the first summer's gro\vth, all shoots except the number desired to form the head have been pinched back, the first winter pruning consists only in cutting back the main branches. If laterals have grown on the parts of these branches which are to be left on the tree, they should be cut back to a bud or two. This is better than removing them entirely, for the next summer they will be pinched after throwing out a few leaves to shade and thicken the branches, just as the short growths left the previous summer serve the main stem. Second Pruning. — During the second summer it is usual to al- low two branches to grow from each of the main branches left at the previous winter pruning, and to pinch ofif all others, as described. These branches are allowed to run out their full growth, except where excessive growth is made, and then it is repressed by summer pruning. This is done with the apricot in the warmer parts of the State, as will be considered at length in the chapter on that fruit. Usually, however, the main branches are untouched during the second summer's growth unless some are running out so far as to make the tree lop-sided. During the following winter the main branches are cut back from one-half to two-thirds of the growth they have made, and if too many strong laterals have grown below this point, some are shortened, others are removed entirely where they are apt to cross or crowd each other or to interfere with cultivation. It is not desirable, however, that all small growth should be cleanly removed. Some of these small shoots will bear a little fruit and the leaf action is in any case desirable as a contributor to the strength of the larger branches to which they are attached. Besides, they serve to shade the bark from sunburn. Third Pruning. — When the tree reaches its third winter prun- ing, its form is well outlined, and early-bearing trees like the peach, apricot, almond, Japanese plum, etc., will give the grower a respectable crop the next season. To bear this crop greater care should be taken at the third winter pruning to leave the small laterals low down on the main branches, for on them, clustered close in the head of the tree, most of the first crop will be found. Though some trees, as stated, do bear earlier than the third summer, the fruit is not usually considered of commercial account until the third summer. An engraving is given of a peach tree just after its second winter pruning. It is a very good representative of the vase-form of a tree as grown in California. It has four main branches, each issuing from a different point on the stem, each permitted to carry two main branches, which are not 128 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM arranged around the circumference, but some of them tending toward the center. At the third pruning more shoots have been left than are required by the rvile, for, starting with four main branches, there are usually sixteen left at the third pruning. PRUNING BEARING TREES Three winter prunings of deciduous trees usually establish their permanent form, and subsequent pruning is chiefly directed toward the retention of that form ; for strength of branch and stem ; for renewal of bearing wood ; for regulation of amount of bearing wood ; for rela- tive light and shade, and for convenience in cultivation and other orchard work. Naturally, these ends are sought according to the needs and habits of different fruits, and the methods of attaining them will be discussed in the chapters treating of these fruits. There are, how- ever, certain general considerations which are proper in this connec- tion: Pruning during the dormancy of the tree induces greater growth of wood during the following summer ; pruning during the active Yearling peach. Cut back at planting. First summer's growth in the orchard. These sketches, and those on pages 129 and 13U, represent the progress of the peach tree from a branched yearling to bearing form entering the third summer. HOW TO PRUNE FOR EFFECTS 129 period reduces wood growth and promotes fruit-bearing. The amount of wood removed during the dormant period will make the summer growth of wood proportionately stronger. Whether the total weight of wood growth would be greater may be questioned, but the effective wood growth is certainly greater. Whether the feet of new wood grown on a peach tree cut back to stumps in the winter would be greater in weight than all the inches of growth which would be scat- First winter pruning. Second summer growth in orcharcf. tered all over the surface of the tree if not cut back, may be doubted, but the new growth secured by cutting back will be of immense vigor, and the following year will bear large fruit, while the new growth on the tree not cut back will be thin and short and the fruit absent or indifferent. The weaker the tree or the branch or the twig of the tree, the greater part of it to be removed when dormant to get the stronger new growth. In the case of fruit trees in vigorous growth pruning during the active period or allowing the wood to go uncut during the dormant period, having the same effect, viz., the promotion of fruiting. Some trees, like apricots and peaches, which bear upon new laterals, will bear fruit even though heavily winter-cut, if these small laterals are retained on the lower parts of the main branches. Some other trees, 130 CAL1F()RNIA fruits: HOW TO GROW THEM like the prune, which bear on spurs, will delay the formation of spurs if heavily winter-cut. These two facts suggest two diverse policies in pruning bearing trees : A peach tree unpruned will reduce its crop for lack or weakness of new laterals ; a prune tree too severely winter- pruned will reduce its crop for lack of old spurs. Again, some fruits, or varieties of fruits, bear chiefly upon the tips, others chiefly upon the lateral spurs ; shortening one reduces the crop largely ; shortening the other ma}^ increase the marketable crop by decreasing the aggregate Second winter pruning in orchard. number. These and other similar facts suggest that pruning bearing trees, to be intelligently pursued, must be accompanied with the fullest possible knowledge of the bearing habit of the fruit or variety thereof. Cutting back or "shortening" in" should be done in a way which w^ill reduce the burst of new shoots near the cut. This is measurably secured by always cutting the branch at a strong lateral, because the sap flow into this lateral prevents undue pressure and forcing of latent buds in the vicinity r)f the cut. For this reason the cutting back of all branches to a certain definite height is wrong. Trees shorn across at a certain line become thick as a brush with top shoots which require extensive thinning, or the bearing wood will soon be all at that level through failure of the densely shaded bearing wood below. Cut t(i the nearest lateral below the line you wish to approximate, and shorten now TO PRUNE FOR EFFECTS 131 the lateral, if desirable, and the result will be fewer and stronger shoots than from a stub-cut. In the treatment of bearing- trees the main effort should generally be toward thinning or reducing the number of bearing shoots. This is related to the important work of thinning the fruit to reduce the burden of the tree, and will be mentioned again in that connection. The work has, however, a bearing beyond the size of the individual fruit specimens. It involves the whole future of the tree as a profitable affair. An unthinned tree becomes a thicket of small, weak, and dying laterals and spurs. An attempt to cure this afterwards by sawing out many large branches is only partially successful, though perhaps the best thing that can be done after such condition has been allowed to exist. The only way to keep the interior of the tree full enough of strong, bearing wood is to resolutely and regularly thin out surplus shoots as the tree advances in age and size. This work is as important with trees which are not regularly cut back, as with those which are thus treated. It is one of the most vital as well as the most generally neglected item in orchard practice. In thinning out lateral bearing shoots seldom leave more than one at any point; select the strongest; remove the rest close to the branch. When a new shoot springs out at the base of an older one remove the older one ; when a new shoot breaks out on the side of an older one cut the older one back to that point. In thinning always reject the older, weaker laterals or spurs. This does not apply to the outbreak of strong suckers or water sprouts below the main branches ; they should usually be cleanly cut away unless a new main branch is desirable. Pruning of bearing trees should always have regard to the removal of branches which have become decrepit. through sunburn, blight or disease of any kind, frost injury, or in any form die-back from what- ever cause. Such wood is not only of lessened value, but there is also danger of extension of the trouble. Removing such wood and training new wood to take its place should always be in mind. Where cutting of large branches is demanded for any reason it should be remembered that the wounds are most quickly healed and least injury to the tree is to be apprehended if the cutting is done near the beginning of the growing season, and not at the beginning of the dormant period. TIMES FOR PRUNING Some changes of view have lately prevailed as to the times, within the dormant period, during which winter-pruning can be done to the best advantage. Formerly it was thought to be a vital matter that no cutting should be done until the leaves had fallen, and this is still the prevailing practice, and may prove to be on all accounts the best. Recently, however, pruning in autumn has been quite widely practiced. 132 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Fall Pruning. — There is a time near the end of the active season in California when the foliage changes its aspect. There is no marked change in color, perhaps, but there is a certain limpness and drooping which betokens decided decline in activity. It comes first to the early fruits, the cherries and apricots, for instance, and upon old trees earlier than young ones. The buds are well formed ; the season's growth apparently complete. There are no frosts to hasten the fall of the leaf and it remains in place. Does it render any important service? On the conclusion that it does not, many growers begin the winter pruning while the days are longer and ground dry and firm, rather than delay pruning until the short, dark days and rain-soaked soil of December and January render pruning expensive and disagreeable. Those trees are first pruned which first assume the appearance described, and the iTr#'''rf '" Young peach and apple trees, showing branches well spaced on the stems. work proceeds with other varieties afterwards until the winter pruning is finished by December 1 — about the time when it commonly began under the old practice. Not only is more thus accomplished in the same number of days' work, but the orchard is earlier in shape for the winter spraying and cultivation, and the grower is ahead of his work and not behind it all the season if the season is unusually rainy. Sev- eral years' practice of this method discloses no bad results except in the one item of increasing danger from frost. Vines and trees pruned early in the dormant period have a tendency to start growth earlier than those pruned late in the dormant period. In places, then, where early bloom and fruit-setting are particularly threatened by frost, this practice may be undesirable. POINTS ON SUMMER PRUNING 133 Spring Pruning. — Resting largely upon this matter of retarding growth, the practice of pruning very late in the dormant period, or, in fact, at the beginning of the growing season, is also gaining wider adoption where frost injury is especially feared. It is not actual freez- ing, but a drop of two or three degrees below the freezing point which is feared, and during recent years such a temperature has wrought havoc with some fruits, in early valley regions particularly. Later pruning, even after the bloom and foliage have appeared, has worked no injury to the trees, but it is less conveniently done than when the trees are free of foliage. Summer Pruning. — Summer pruning, to induce bearing, is, as has been previously intimated, but little employed in this State, for the constant tendency of our trees is to bear early and to overbear. Enough has, however, been done in individual cases to show that fruit-bearing is promoted by pruning after the chief growth of the season has been attained. If the pruning results in forcing out laterals late in the season it has been done too early. What is desirable is the strengthen- ing or development of fruit buds, and this will be accomplished after the energy has been too far dissipated to make new wood growth. Summer pruning to check the too exuberant wood growth of some kinds of trees is employed to some extent, chiefly in the warmer parts of the State, where the vegetative process in some trees seems fairly to run riot, and unless checked is apt to ruin the tree by breaking to pieces when the wind and weight of fruit test its strength. The meth- ods of summer pruning employed in different parts of the State for different fruits will be considered in connection with the special chap- ters on these fruits. Summer pruning to preserve form is another matter, and relates in the main to pinching in, to check undesirable extension and to direct the sap toward shoots in which growth is desired. This practice is approved by most of our orchardists, and is employed by them to a greater or less extent. More people believe in than practice it, however, because the summer months, with their long succession of fruits to be gathered and shipped or dried, and the additional consideration that there is always a scarcity of labor at this time, give the orchardist so much work to do that he is more apt to confine his "pinching" to a little that he may do now and then when he has a few moments' leisure than to do the work thoroughly and systematically. The result is that the regular winter pruning is the main operation for tree shaping in this State. There is such a great difference in opinion about summer pruning that it will be very difficult to make any assertions about it which will not be disputed. Much of this difference comes, of course, from differ- ent conditions prevailing in different trees and in different parts of the State, and some of these will be met, as already promised, in follow- ing chapters. Leaving these wholly out of consideration at this time, 134 rAI.Tl'ORXIA FRTITS: IIDW TO GROW THEM it is safe to advise those who wisli to secure symmetry or any particular form in any kind of a tree, that they can resort to summer pinching with advantage, and can sometimes to advantage remove wood too large for the thumb and finger to sever. Constant watchfulness should be maintained for adventitious shoots starting out on stem or limb at points where branches are not desired. Wherever they start out strongly, they should be pinched, or entirely removed, according to the best judgment to be formed in each case. V/ Weak tree from ill-spaced branches. Suckers which properly, according to Downing, are "shoots sent up from the root or from parts of the stem below the surface of the soil," should be removed whenever discovered. RENEWING OLD TREES Improving and renewing trees by cutting back and grafting has already been considered under the head of propagation. It is often desirable to renew trees of a satisfactory variety, and this is done simply by cutting back when the tree is dormant. Cutting back was formerly done early in the winter, before the rise of the sap begins, but more recently it has been seen that the exposure of large cut surfaces for weeks or months before growth begins, results in drying and shrink- age of the bark and checking of the wood, both of which are avoided by ampiftation later in the dormant period or during the early part of the growing season. In cutting back, of course, those stumps should be left to support new branches which will secure the best balance and symmetry in the new head. When the new growth starts there gener- ally appear many more shoots than are desirable, and selection of the best-placed and most vigorous should be chosen, the others either being rubbed off in the bud or pinched back when a few leaves are put out. In cutting back trees, the exposed trunk and branch stumps should be wrapped in old sacking, or carefully whitewashed as protection from sunburn. In removing large limbs it is desirable that the cut should be made in the right place so as to secure quick covering of the scar with new RKNEW'INCJ OLD TRIBES 1 3.S growth. Cutting so as to leave a long stub results in an unsiglul\ piece of dead wood on the tree, and this, in decaying, carries the deca\' deep into the center of the trunk or branch. Cutting too close prevents covering with the new bark, and also results in a hole in the branch. Cutting just to the right mark, which is the outer edge of the little collar or swelling which will be found at the base of all branches, enables the wound to grow over quickly, and if the wound is properly treated when cut. there* will be no decay, and the wound will soon be obliterated. In amputating large branches, an undercut with the saw should be made first so that the bark shall not be torn as the branch falls. Another good way is to saw off first at a distance from the final cut, and then saw off smoothly at the right place when the weight is removed. Trees often liecome "hide-bound," as it is called. Especially in lliis dry climate the bark gets dry and tough, therefore can not expand in proportion to the growth of the tree, or supply the amount of sap nec- essary for the demand. Slitting such trees here and there up and down the trunk and main limbs with a sharp knife seems to have good effect, for often in three months the cut opens half an inch, and a fine, clear bark, with an increase of growth, results. On old trees, too, there is often a growth of moss and lichens which should be removed. This can be done by scraping off the rough, loose bark and spraying with an alkaline wash, composed of one pound of cau.stic soda or potash to six gallons of water. If scale insects are present, the lime. salt, and sulphur spray should be used, as will be described in the chapter on injurious insects. This will remove the parasites, give the trees a clean, bright bark and contribute to their vigor. PRUNING TOOLS There is some dift'erence of opinion as to the comparative value inches, deciduous fruits are grown without irrigation. In the same county, and only 18 miles distant, there are areas of rich loam mixed with granitic sand 16 to 18 feet deep. In this locality, though the rainfall is 11^4 inches, irri- gation is practised freely, as the loss of moisture in summer is very great. IRRIGATION AND SOILS 179 RELATION OF TILLAGE TO IRRIGATION Tillage, particularly during the dry se'ason of the year, under some conditions, directly determines the need of irrigation, and is to a certain extent, as the popular phrase goes, a substitute for irrigation. Under all conditions surface tillage by promoting con- servation of soil moisture, is determinative of the actual duty of water, whether it be from rainfall or irrigation. The effect of fre- quent surface tillage has been accurately determined by investiga- tion and experiment, both in humid and arid regions. These experi- ments fully support the view taught by the experience of about half a century in California, in accordance with which thorough tillage has been so widely practised in the arid sections as an essential to successful fruit growing. As already maintained in Chapter XIII, the relations of tillage to soil moisture include both reception and conservation. For the reception of moisture, deep work with the plow, and sometimes with the subsoiler also, is almost indispensable. To retain this moisture and to prevent, as far as possible, its escape into the thirsty air of the arid region by surface evaporation, less depth and more thorough surface pulverization are required. Recent practice has been tending toward deeper summer cultivation, so that, as pre- viously claimed, 5 or 6 inches of loose, finely divided soil is now ob- tained where formerly half that depth was considered adequate. It has also been shown that frequent stirring of this fine surface layer checks evaporation, even when no water is applied to compact the surface or where no weeds grow to draw upon the soil moisture. In a word, the aim of tillage in the arid region, so far as it relates to moisture supply in the soil consists in opening the soil to rain, or to irrigation, and in subsequently closing it to evaporation. These are the principles which were recognized and applied in California half a century ago and are now enjoying somewhat sensational renais- sance in the "dry farming" agitation in the interior of the United States. A Negative Declaration. — It is interesting that current practice affords full demonstration of the foregoing claims both positively and negatively. The negative argument in favor of moisture conservation by clean summer cultivation is found in the fact that growers in regions of heaviest rainfall approve the growth of cover crops, like clover, after the trees reach bearing age, and also that others employ scant summer cultivation, or cultivation for a short period only. The idea of these growers is that such practices relieve the soil of excessive moisture, either by the growth of the cover crop or by facilitating surface evaporation, and so prevent the tree from being stimulated to too large wood growth, or maintaining ■:^r(n\th so late in the season as to enter the frost period in too active a condition and with new 180 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM wood not properly matured. Quite in contrast with this is the practice, which is gaining ground in the hottest parts of the irrigated region, of growing alfalfa as a cover crop for the purpose of shading the soil and thus reducing soil temperature and, perhaps, of avoiding the ill effects of the reflection of burning sun heat from a smooth surface of light-colored soil, or the ill effect of "burning out of humus" by clean summer, culture. In such cases more irrigation is needed to supply enough water for the growth of both trees and cover crop. But at present these exceptions are of rare occurrence. Cultivation Not Determined by Irrigation. — The adoption of a policy of clean cultivation in the dry season is not conditioned upon the amount of moisture available either by rainfall or irrigation. It is pursued both where irrigation is practiced and where it is not, and also where the rainfall is greatest and where it is least. It prevails in the humid region where rainfall may rise to 60 inches or more, and in the arid region where it may not exceed one-tenth as much. As a matter of fact, there does not appear to be a good fruit soil so deep and retentive that it can retain enough even of a very heavy rainfall to effect good tree growth and fruit bearing if it is forced to sustain the loss by evaporation from a compact surface during the long dry season following. There may be, it is true, soils weak in capillary, in which water can not rise from a great depth and in which deep-rooting plants may find ample water in the subsoil, providing it is held there by impervious underlying strata. There are many more instances where loss by natural drainage is added to loss by evaporation. But, disre- garding exceptions, the loss of moisture by both drainage and evap- oiation during the dry season is so great that the soil to a depth of several feet loses practically all the water which is available for plant growth, and the trees fail or become unprofitable. Loss by drainage can not, practically, be prevented, but loss by evaporation can be so reduced that trees and vines will be adequately supplied in spite of the loss by drainage. Because, therefore, the soil can not retain enough water in its natural state, no matter how much it may receive, clean summer cultivation, involving quite complete and more or less frequent stirring to the surface to the depth of 5 or 6 inches, as discussed in Chapter XIII, is the almost universal practice, irrespective of local rainfall or of irrigation. Cultivation, However, Determines Success of Irrigation. — The prevailing motive for cultivation in the dry-summer region is moisture retention. In this respect good surface tilth is so effective that, though enough moisture can not be retained without it, so much can be retained with it that, even where irrigation or rainfall is moderate in amount, it may serve all purposes of the tree or vine. Thus cultivation enters into the fruit-growers' practice in the region under considera- tion, not to make large rainfall effective as it does in some parts of the region, but to make moderate rainfall effective, or to mnke mnall irriyp- WHEN TO IRRIGATE 181 tion effective, by increasing the duty of water which is applied. It becomes not only a ruling consideration in the effectiveness of a certain amount of rainfall, as has already been suggested in another connec- tion, but it also determines the success of irrigation and the amount of water required ; for, although it was an early and crude practice to rely upon irrigation to support uncultivated fruit trees and to irrigate more and more frequently as the ground became harder from its use, this policy has now no standing in commercial fruit growing. Not only was it wasteful of water, but it was otherwise detrimental to the thrift of trees. Cultivation and Irrigation Work for Soil Improvement. — Thor- ough cultivation, both in winter and summer, has other very important ends in view. It opens the soil and promotes aeration ; it encourages deeper rooting and thus encourages the tree to take possession of a greater soil mass both for moisture and other plant food. It is part of the very valuable policy of increasing humus by plowing under the natural growth of weeds or specially sown legumes, which is discussed in Chapter XIV. This affords opportunity to use water, beyond the amount the trees require, for soil improvement. WHEN TO IRRIGATE When to irrigate is governed by local conditions and the needs of different fruits, and can not be stated in general rules. There are, however, some principles involved which may be hinted at. Winter Irrigation. — On lands with sufficient depth of fairly re- tentive soil, the grower may artificially supplement a scanty rainfall by thoroughly soaking the land by winter irrigation and then by careful summer cultivation he will be able to conserve enough water in the soil to carry deciduous fruit trees or vines through bearing and autumn bud formation without further water supply. But there are other situations in which no amount of winter irrigation nor rainfall will suffice for these ends. There are foothill orchard areas in which the winter rainfall is two or three times as great as in the valley situa- tions where fruit is successfully grown without irrigation, and yet water must be applied in summer on those foothills or the fruit would be unmarketable and the trees in distress. The forty or more inches of rainfall falling on a shallow soil underlaid by a sloping bedrock in some cases nearly sluices the cultivated soil from its foothold, and yet the over-saturation in winter avails nothing for summer growth, because most diligent cultivation can not retain moisture enough in shallow soil thus situated to sustain bearing trees in good crops of full- sized fruit. The same is true of valley soils underlaid by hardpan. In such cases winter irrigation could add nothing but distress to the soil over-soaked by rainfall, and summer irrigation, well-timed and ade- 182 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM quale, is the secret of success in the orchard. The same conclusion, although for very different reasons, must hold for soils underlaid by g-ravel or sand, and thus too rapidly dried by leaching. But even this generalization must be accepted only for situations endowed with conditions which justify it. There may be sloping hills with shallow soil where winter rainfall does not amount to saturation. Then winter irrigation to supply such irrigation is desirable, and then, too, summer irrigation in proper amount and at proper intervals, will also be demanded. Among the foothills, also, there may be localities with depth of retentive soil in which water enough can be applied in winter to carry trees through the year. Thus we come again to the only safe generalization which can be made, and that is, that every- where water must be adequate to the demands of the tree at the time it is needed, and whether it can best be applied in summer or winter, or both, or whether it is not necessary to make any artificial application at all, depends upon existing conditions which the grower must ascer- tain, and to which his policy -and practice must conform. It is a fact, however, that all soils, which under good cultivation are fairly reten- tive, winter irrigation, when water is most abundant, and usually car- ries most sediment, can be made to go far toward making summer irrigation unnecessary for all deciduous fruits. As to winter irrigation, practice varies, some relying upon a single heavy flooding by using checks on contour lines, by which, perhaps, a foot in depth or more of water is allowed to soak into the soil; others use the same method of application in winter as in summer, and, there- fore, give a number of irrigations in winter. There is, of course, much less danger of injury by water to deciduous growths in winter, because they are dormant, though an eye should be kept on drainage for exces- sive irrigation as for excessive rainfall. The grape and the pear are known to endure long submergence, but some other fruits are sensitive about it. Summer Irrigation. — When this shall begin and when end are to be locally determined. In some places even the earliest fruits can not reach satisfactory size and quality without irrigation. In others rainfall with winter irrigation will suffice for proper development of early fruits, but not for late. In both cases the fruit may be satis- factory, but the tree unable to hold its leaf vigor until the work of the growing season is properly completed. It is then apparent that local practice must vary in order to reach the universal fact, and that is that all through the active season the tree must have constant and adequate tjioisture supply. INIany evils in lack of bearing, in dying back, in unseasonable activity and the like are due to inadequate, intermittent and, in some cases, to excessive moisture in the soil. Cultivation and Irrigation. — Although the relations of irrigation and cultivation have l)een freely discussed, it must b6^i ; - Combined check and furrow irrigation. Another combination of the check and furrow system is found where the lowest spaces of a slope irrigated by furrows are laid oft' in checks to catch the overflow from the furrows and compel its percolation at a point which would otherwise receive too little water. The parts of a furrow system which lie farthest from the source of supply are obviously least supplied, because long flow can not be maintained there without much loss from overflow. Holding the water in checks at the lower end — usually for two rows of trees — is quite a help toward even distribution. The Basin System. — The term basin should be restricted to inclosurcs which do not aim at coverng the whole surface, but only a small area immediately surrounding the tree. The check system is clearly a more rational and perfect method of flooding. When basins were used on ground capable of irrigation by the check nr furrow systems, it was probably due to a misconception which has prevailed also in the practice of fertilization, that the tree de- 192 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM rived its chief benefit from the soil immediately surrounding and beneath its bole, and that distant applications were likely to be wasted. Years ago it was held that the lateral root extension of a tree was equal to the spread of its branches, but recent investiga- tions have shown that under favorable soil conditions the root ex^ tension is vastly greater. It is not reasonable then to restrict water or other plant food to the region chiefly occupied with the stay roots and not the feeding roots of the tree, and it is a frequent observation that basined trees do not do so well and that they show distress sooner than those under systems which secure more complete water distribution. To the basin system may, however, be conceded these possi- bilities: (1) Trees may be grown on hillsides too steep for other means of irrigation unless the hillside be previously terraced; (2) the basins afford an opportunity to use a very small stream of water by allowing it to run for a long time in each basin, thus making a miniature reservoir at the base of each tree; (3) for young trees a small amount of water may sustain growth, while with other methods the same amount of water would be almost wholly lost by evaporation or percolation, or both ; (4) the expense of wider appli- cation of water and the necessary after-cultivation is obviated. In planting on hillsides, terracing is the foundation of the basin system. Terraces are plowed and scraped out until they have width enough to accommodate a line of basins and a ditch at the foot of each bank to supply them. The terraces are given a little fall, alternating in direction so that the water, starting from the ridge above, is dropped through a box, or otherwise let down, from the low end of one terrace to the high end of the next, and so on until the stream reaches the bottom of the slope. As a basin is reached it is filled and closed and the water sent along to the next and so on. As these basins are usually small and shallow they are filled two or three times in succession at each irrigation. Wherever water can be handled in contour ditches or furrows, terracing should seldom be undertaken for commercial purposes. With slopes which do require terracing, basins on the steeper parts are largely made by hand labor, after plowing to loosen the whole surface, and the operation consists in moving the earth from the upper side of the tree, so as to form a circular levee on the lower side, until the tree stands in a level, roundish pan as large as can be be made without too much excavation and filling. As the slope becomes less the basins enlarge and reach a diameter, finally, where the sides can be made by turning a small horse or mule around the tree with a plow, the rim being further raised and shaped by hand so as to hold 3 inches or more of water without danger of l)reaking away. The basins are filled with a small stream bv ditch or liose or r.AKCE FURROW SYSTEM 193 pipe line, aecorcling to the ground and notion of the irrigator. They are filled at such intervals as the water supply admits or the growth seems to need. The basin bottom is rarely disturbed. The crack- ing soil is finally given another dose of water to close up its wounds ; meantime the frequent surface soaking puddles the soil and the con- ditions unfavorable to growth arrive sooner or later, according to the disposition of the soil to run together by water settling. Drying and cracking is lessened by filling the basin with manure or rotten straw or other light rubbish, or by a layer of coarse sand on the bottom. As the tree grows the foliage shades the basin and thus reduces evaporation. The Furrow System. — 'Hie furrow system is the prevailing- method of irrigating fruit lands except with some soils which can be better handled with less water by the check system. The fur- rov/ system has, however, a very marked theoretical advantage Large furrow. Large furrow irrigation of orange trees at Palermo, Butte County, Cal. in the escape from saturating the surface soil, which has to dry out again before it can be cultivated, and it is only with difficulty reduced to fine tilth after such puddling. Another advantage is in saving the water used in moistening soil which has to be dried by evaporation. Other theoretical advantages lie in the even dis- tribution of the water with the least displacement of the soil and the introduction of the water to the subsoil, where deep-rooting 194 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM ]>lants should derive their chief sustenance. It is becoming quite clear that all these theoretical advantages have not been realized by the furrow system as generally practiced, and a number of modi- fications are now being introduced which promise their fuller realiza- tion. The changes now taking place tend toward reducing the dif- ference between what are known as the "large-furrow" and the "small-furrow" methods, because the improvement lies chiefly in introducing the water more deeply in the soil, as will be shown later, and this is done by using fewer and deeper furrows. Irrigating by Large Furrows. — Where one to four furrows are used, these are large furrows, while the small-furrow system uses from five to eight or more between two rows of trees. Large furrows are made with the double-moldboard plow, or with a single plow followed by the "crowder," or by plowing out dead furrows between the rows, etc. Their number depends upon the size of the trees and the fitness of the soil for lateral seepage. They are wide enough and deep enough to carry or hold a large stream of water. This method is used chiefly for winter irrigation on land which is so nearly level that the water will flow slowly into the furrows and stand there until it disappears by percolation. It is also used where one of two summer irrigations is all that is required to carry the trees through. It is obviously adapted only to land of slight and uniform grade. Irrigation by a single furrow cut near to the row of trees is a widely prevalent method with young trees. When the trees are larger, or when inter-cultures are undertaken, the large furrows are multiplied. In this case the water is admitted to the furrows from a board flume. Large furrows are often used in a bearing orchard, the furrows being filled from a lateral ditch, this lateral being parallel to the main ditch. In this case the board dam is used to divert the lateral into one large furrow after another, and when the furrow is filled dirt is thrown in to prevent the reflow of the water into the lateral. The great variety in large furrow practice is suggested in the fore- going. A systematic manner of proceeding is that of Mr. A. Trost, of Palermo, California, as described by himself: The soil is red, gravelly clay, the upper 12 inches without rocks ; below this the gravel is more rock. At the depth of 3 or 4 feet the red clay changes into a whitish one and water enters it very slowly. My orchard is 12 acres — 1,120 feet long from north to south and 510 feet from east to west. The northeast corner is the highest. Here the water ditch enters, and I run my head ditch along the east side from north to south. There are 51 rows of trees in that direction, the north and south outside rows being olives. There are 23 orange trees in the row from east to west and 1 olive tree on the west end. All trees are 20 feet apart. I use 24 miner's inches per day for 5 days in the following manner: I use 4 furrows about 5 or 6 inches deep and about 3 feet apart between rows, leaving the rows nearest the trees from 5 to 6 feet from the trunks. The 4 lower rows on the west side I cross furrow with 2 furrows between the trees. I divide the 24 inches into 51 equal streamlets by using one gate for each 4 rows. First turn this amount in the furrow south nearest to tree. When the water has moved to the olive FOOTHILL IRRIGATION 195 tree, I divide the water between the 4 furrows for the lower 6 trees and through the cross furrows. The next morning I divide the water at the tenth tree for the 4 furrows. On the third day I let only one-half the water go down in the furrow south of tree, the other in the one north nearest to tree. On the fourth day I turn part of it in the middle furrows near the head ditch, and by the fifth day I have my place equally wet from one end to the other, taking care that the top soil near the trunks of trees re- mains dry on the surface. I keep the soil around the trunks of the trees about 2 inches higher for a width of 3 feet. In this way I use all the water without running any oflf, and lose only the evaporation. The whole amount of water used is 120 inches, equal to 10 inches or 130,000 gallons per acre or 4.5 acre-inches or 1,200 gallons per tree. I irrigate about every four weeks, running the water five days and turning it on again three weeks after it is taken off. I have irrigated as early as the 1st of April and as late as the middle of October, depending on late rains in spring and early rains in fall ; usually from five to six irrigations per year. After four or five days I cultivate 14 feet wide between the trees from 6 to 8 inches deep; for this I use a 7-foot cultivator and four horses. Near the trunk of the tree I work about two inches deep and a little farther away 4 inches deep, using the three-cornered orchard plow with a cultivator 4 feet wide and two horses. Irrigation by Large Furrows Without Suninier Cultivation. — An exception to the continuous cultivation of orchard ground which is prevalent in the irrigated regions of the Pacific Coast is found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California, where furrows are made at the beginning of each irrigating season and used continuously during that summer. The ensuing winter plowing and early spring cultiva- tion are relied u])on to keep the soil in good condition. Although this constitutes an exception and the practice is widely followed for what seems to the growers of the region to be a good and sufficient reason, it does not militate against the truth of the continuous summer cultiva- tion policy which elsewhere prevails, nor does it follow that this policy would not be better in some respects even in the region where it is abandoned. It is a district of very large water supply, and the arrange- ments of the water company are such that the grower mu.st pay for a certain number of inches of water by the year, and is entitled to this amount of continuous flow. He has to use it or neglect it as it flows, and can not get more at one time by not using it at another. For this reason he has not the motive for close observation which prevails under other conditions, and to escape the cost of summer cultivation and fresh furrowing out he has recourse to frequent flows in the old furrows. The following interesting account of the prevailing method was pre- pared by Mr. W. R. Fountain, of Newcastle : Water is supplied almost exclusively by one comoany, which has met requirements up to date, and seems fixed to supply in excess of demand. It is supplied by the miner's inch; price $45 per inch per season for a constant supply. The inch is measured under 6-inch pressure. Beginning May 1st, five months is called the irrigating season, but the purchaser can haA'e the water twelve months per annum if he wants it. The water company collects monthly. The purchaser cannot start the season with little and increase at pleasure, except upon payment for the full season on the basis of the largest amount used at any time. 196 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM With this constant supply we use it constantly, piping to high points and moving it from place to place. When no fruit is ripening it is attempted to water a block of trees in twenty-four hours. The water is not checked back, but is run in ditches, mostly in one, but occasionally in two, along each row of trees or vines. When a variety of fruit is ripening more water is given the trees, while after a variety is picked and before any other is nearly ripe the effort is made to water each tree every ten or twelve days. Level land and low spots stand a good chance, as a rule, to get too much water, and a larger stream is used per row to force the water through quickly. Then it is taken off in a shorter time than it would be where the trees are on a side- hill and have a good drainage. About 1 inch for each 8 acres is generally used. This is for deciduous fruits. The citrus fruits and berries require watering about once a week; if there is good drainage they would prosper if watered every three days. In such ground I have not heard of their getting either too much water or too much fertilizer. The general practice is to plow, cross plow, and then after each rain cultivate, with no cultivation whatever after beginning the use of water. I think an occasional cultivation after watering would help. There is a tendency for the ditches to become packed after water has been flowing through them for some time, in which case but little water soaks into the ground. When this occurs I dig a pot hole in the ditch to allow the water to soak in, or else loosen the ground about the trees with a spade and carry the ditch through this loosened ground. I block out my ditches so that I can get my stream through the last tree in about sixteen hours. Where the water has not reached the end of some of the ditches, I turn the water into it from a stream that is flush, and by keeping a man with a hoe constantly with the water, I manage to get it over the field at about 4 p. m. I wet about 350 trees in a block on hillsides; on a flat I wet less, usinor more water in each stream, and changing it about every twelve hours instead of every twenty-four hours. i\Iy trees grow about 130 to an acre. Systematic Distribution of Water on Hillsides. — The Common method of carrying water in pipes to the various high points of several NEARLY iEVEL Zigzag ditches. Large furrow system on hillsides with zigzag ditches for distribution, catchment, and redistribution. HEKP FI'RROWS AT RIVERSIDE 197 slopes or "irrig'ation faces" from wliicli it can be admitted to large furrows crossing- or descending those faces is open to some difficulties and disarrangements. P. W. Butler, of Penryn, has had in successful operation for several years a system of zigzag ditches for carrying and distributing and for catching outflow and redistributing on a lower face. This is also a system which makes ditches and furrows but once a year, and dispenses with summer cultivation. Mr. Butler's account, as illustrated by the accompanying diagrams, is as follows : The amount of water generally used in this section for the irrigation of deciduous fruit trees is 1 inch to 5 trees of orchard (miner's inch under 6- inch pressure), and is applied to each row of trees by one stream of water of sufficient quantity to just reach the end of the row. Much of the water is tlius wasted because of inability to properly adjust its distribution. It is usually run twentj'-four hours, then changed to other parts of the orchard until the whole is covered, which takes about three weeks' time, when the process is repeated, continuing throughout the summer, or from May 1 until October 1. There is no cultivation in the meantime, and at each irrigation the water is run in the same ditches. This system is followed in nearly all the orchards of Penryn and vicinity, some on quite steep hillsides, which suffer when the water. is thus applied. I have never liked this method, and for many years have used a different system in irrigating all orchards over which I have had control. In my home orchard I have a reservoir on the highest land, from which water can be conveyed as desired to every part. My ditches are run on a grade with a fall from 2 to 3 inches to the rod and from 5 to 8 feet apart. At each irrigation the water is run about thirty-six hours before changing. The round of the orchard is made in ten to four- teen days. None of my small ditches exceeds 400 feet in length. When I be- gin to irrigate a section I turn on from the reservoir water sufficient to cover that section in a few hours, then lessen it until it just reaches the end of each row, but see that it reaches the end of each row if a little surplus passes over. This surplus I take up in a main ditch, to be again used on lower ground. This is continued until the lowest part of the orchard is reached, and very little water is ever wasted. By running on a grade that is so nearly level the water is applied uniformly, even on the driest parts of the hill slopes. I run the main distributing ditches in a zigzag manner, tak- ing water from these ditches to cover the lower sections. T formerly used pipes to lead the water down the steepest grades, but this system I have abandoned and now use open zigzag ditches for mains. From the main zigzag ditches I do not take the water at the turning point, as there is more liability of breakage than if taken when running straight, or at whatever point is necessary to keep the distributing ditches on an average of 8 feet apart. The length of the zigzag ditches varies according to the slope of the hillside. When steep, the ditch, before turning, must be of greater length than where the ground is more level. (See diagram.) I use no gates, but bush the openings with coarse swale hay. I also bush the turning points of ditches as they are in permanent use throughout the season, and after the first few days' use require but little care to keep them in order. These ditches are torn up during the season of cultivation and have to be renewed every j^ear. I use a level set on a frame 8.25 feet long and about 2.5 feet high (one leg longer than the other) to make any grade desired. Then I drag its length on the ground after getting the level, and can mark the line of ditch nearly half as fast as a man can walk. During the last ten years I have used many thousand feet of pipe in irri- gating, but have found it too expensive to be practicable, and it frequently gets clogged, causing much trouble. The zigzag method of taking the water dovvn liills on the dry ridges, distributing to right and left, picking it up again in zigzag ditches at the end of the rows or system, to be used again 98 CALIFORNIA FRl'ITS : HOW TO GROW THEM on lower ground, brings into use tlic largest (|uatitity where it is most needed and utilizes it all without waste. Irrigating by Small Furrows. — It has already been suggested that recently the small furrow method of irrigation is undergoing Newer system of furrow irrigation at Riverside, Cal. certain modifications. The occasion for the change is that in certain of the heavier soils, particularly, the use of water in many shallow furrows followed by cultivation results in the formation of a compact layer, and this prevents the percolation of the water into the subsoil. This discovery led many Southern growers to resort to fewer and deeper furrows, and to new devices to enable the tree to get the benefit of the water. There has been wide use of the subsoil plow, with a wedge-shaped foot attached to a slim standard rising to the ordinary beam. The standard opposes its thin edge to the soil so as to cleave it with the least difficulty, and the foot, passing through or beneath the hardpan, lifts and breaks it. The result of the subsoiling is to open a way for the water to sink and spread below the hardpan. It is usual to run this plow once through the center of the interspace between the rows of trees, sometimes at right angles to the irrigation furrows. When this is done the water is admitted to the furrows as usual, but instead of flowing along smoothly it drops into the track of the sub- soiler and runs there a long time before rising again to continue its course down the furrow. It is the experience of some growers that the water has taken five or six days to reach the lower end of the furrows, a distance which would have been covered in twenty-four hours if the subsoiler had not intervened. This has been shown to result in much water for the subsoil and a notable invigoration of trees which had been famishing, although shallow-furrow irrigation had proceeded regularly. CONDITION'S FOR DEEP Fl'RROW I XC, 199 Recent changes in the furrow method at Riverside, CaHfornia, are described by Mr. J. TT. Reed as follows : The handling of the water in the orchard has materially changed in re- cent years. Instead of flooding up, basining, or using shallow furrows, deep furrows, from 3 to 5 feet apart, are most generally used. In heavy adobe soils more furrows are used than in the more porous granite soils. The most usual length of furrows is 40 rods. Every precaution is taken to liave the surface wetted as little as possible. fbkiMtSMi-- Irrigation of fruit trees by large furrows between rows. The amount of water run at a time is materially lessened. Fomerly the common practice was to run 3 inches per acre for twenty-four hours each thirty days. Now, 2 inches continuous run for seventy-two hours is found to serve a much better purpose, except on loose soils. The general practice in the valley is to irrigate once each thirty days. A few of the most careful orchardists had found that by intelligent and thorough manipulation of the soil they obtained as favorable results from the application of water every sixty days or more, using the same amount as they formerly did at intervals of half that time. The writer has watched with much interest an eight-year-old orchard that during the three years preceding the present re- ceived in all but ten irrigations, the usual amount of water being used only at each four irrigations the first year and three irrigations each the second and third years, with results comparing favorably with those on trees of the same age on the same soil in neighboring orchards that received the ordi- nary thirty-day irrigations. While there are few orchardists who have the skill and patience required to secure such results, they show the possibilities of improved cultivation in conserving moisture. So long as water is abun- dant and not expensive, more frequent irrigations will probably be generally practiced; but the advantage of running the water for a longer time, in fur- rows as deep as possible, covering the saturated bottoms as soon as prac- ticable and keeping the surface perfectly pulverized and in loose condition, is being generally recognized. The usual practice is now to have six deep furrows in 20- foot spaces. The number varies according to the character of the soil, but CEMENT IN IRRIGATION 201 is in. any case less than in the small, shallow furrow system which formerly prevailed. The recourse to deeper furrows and to the subsoil plowing- has been made in several citrus fruit districts of Southern California. Its The V-shaped "Crowder" and Metal Dams or "Tapoons." success depends upon conditions. There arc cases in which too deep use of the subsoiler has admitted the water at a point too low for best results to the tree which grows on a leachy subsoil, and the cutting- of roots by the subsoiler has in some cases brought shallow-rooting trees into temporary distress. The general conclusion, however, is that deeper introduction of water favors deeper rooting and is very econom- ical of water by preventing the loss by evaporation from the surface, which, theoretically, is dry, but which actually, with shallow furrows over an irrigation hardpan, becomes too often saturated over nearly the whole space between the trees. Cement Pipes and Flumes for the Furrow System. — The use of cement in the construction of flumes has largely increased because, by means of locally devised machinery, continuous cement flume has been cheapened so that its first cost is less than that of lumber flume where suitably durable lumber is high. Similar machinery is used for the construction of continuous cement pipe, which is replacing open laterals in carrying water from main ditches to the land of individual irrigators. This pipe is made by a machine constructed by two Riverside men who are both machinists and practical orchardists. Sand and barrels of cement are distributed along the line ahead of the machine, as shown in the background of the picture. The mixing is done in flat boxes, 202 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM each being carried forward when emptied. One of the Hnes of large rubber hose conveys steam to the head of the cyhnder of the machine and the other returns the spent steam. The mixed cement and sand is carried to the feeding box (shown in vertical position in the trench), from which it is dropped into the steel pipe form below. Steam pres- sure is then brought to bear upon it and then cut off by the lever ; loose earth is thrown around the steel forming-cylinder as it moves forward and is firmed by the operator's feet, ready to sustain the walls Continuous cement flume with weirs to raise water to outlet tubes. of the new pipe as the cylinder is withdrawn from it. More loose earth is thrown over the new pipe, which is allowed to harden before the trench is filled. Continuous cement flume is made in a similar manner, the machine working on the surface and the required pressure being given by a strong lever instead of by steam power. Instead of a cylindrical form, one to properly shape the flume is used. After this form is moved and before the cement hardens, grooves are made at intervals in the side walls to insert board dams to raise the water so that it will flow out of zinc tubes with gates, which are also put in place while the cement is plastic. Not only is such flume sometimes cheaper than board flumes, as stated above, but annoyance of leaking and cost of extensive repairs are done away with. SOURCES OF IRRIGATION WATER 203 The Board Flume and the Furrow System. — Although in the older regions the cement flume is advancing in popularity, important service will always be rendered by the homemade board flume where suitable lumber is cheap. A detailed account of its construction and operation will be widely useful. The following is contributed by Mr. A. S. Bradford, of Orange County ; Board flume and furrow irrigation at Fullerton. T consider the board flume best because it is in manj^ places cheapest and because it will last fifteen or twenty years in California if made of good soft redwood. The common redwood lumber is generally so, but the so- called flume lumber is hard, generally, and will warp the flume out of shape. Even in the common redwood lumber hard pieces will be found, and these should be avoided. My first flume has been in use nine years and is appar- ently as good as ever. The first thing to be considered is getting a flume put in properly, as this alone will cause much trouble if not done right. A flume should run nearly on a level. It should be placed about two-thirds in the ground at the commencement, and. as soon as it comes out of the ground to about two- thirds of its height, there should be a drop made of 1, 2, or 3 inches, if neces- sary, and then carried along as before, so as to keep the entire length of flume practically on a level. Sixteen-foot lumber is better than longer, as it is lighter to handle. I prefer 8-inch sides with 18-inch bottom, or, in some cases, 10-inch sides with 16-inch bottom. The first section, however, should be about 2 feet wide, narrowed to the size of the flume, so as to control the stream. Collars should be put around the flume every 8 feet of distance; that is, one in the center and one to cover the joints at each end. These collars should be 2 by 3 inch stufT on the bottom and sides and 1 by 3 inches on top. This makes a strong, durable flume. The length of the flume should be divided, so that the stream will decrease as it goes along. The width should be decreased also, say from 16 inches to 14, 12, 10, and 8 inches, the sides being the same throughout or reduced so as to have 10-inch sides on the 16-inch bottom and 8-inch sides on the rest, nailed to the side of the bottom, making 7 inches depth inside. Two-inch holes should be about 30 inches apart and 2-inch gates placed on the inside instead of outside, as they will collect less trash, the hole through the wood, if uncovered, making a lodgment for leaves, etc. In the narrow and flat flume it is much easier to fix the gates. From 8 to 9 furrows for trees set 24 feet apart is sufficient. The streams should be run from one-eighth to one-half the capacity of the holes in the 204 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM flume, according to the soil and fall of ground. I commence the stream small and increase it if necessary later on. The streams should be kept as near together as possible, and when the end is reached the gate should be nearly closed down, so as to allow the stream to just trickle to the end. In this manner the soil will become thoroughly wet from one end to the other. The streams should be run very slowly on most of our soils. A great many failures have been made on hard soils by running the stream too large and then reducing it. This seems to "slick" or cement the soil so that it will not take the water, and the consequence is a poor and unsatisfactory irrigation. On the other hand, if the streams are started small and allowed to soak the ground as they go along, it is simply astonishing how much water can be put in the ground. On sandy soils the streams should be larger. A little practice would give any one the desired information. About three rows of trees at the lower end should be blocked up, pro- vided one has no place where the overflow water could be used. This last provision is the better, however, as there would be only about 10 inches of water run over the last three or four hours, and a thorough job would be done from one end to the other. In making furrows I have an extension made for my cultivator to bolt on each side and use four plows. With this extension I can wet the whole ground thoroughly. The furrows will extend under the limbs of the trees, and by making a slight curve around each tree the ground will become wet in the rows as well as between. As compared with the check system, the furrow method, properly handled, makes the soil light and loose, while the check system is apt to pack the soil, rendering it lifeless and leaving it so that it will not retain moisture long. Besides, the cost of ridging and extra labor in handling water in checks for one season will nearly pay for the flume by which one man can do the irrigating. Two horses will furrow out 10 acres in half a day, and a little hand labor at the flume will connect the furrows. In the check system generally a disk is run first where the ridges are to be made, and then the ridgcr is run with four horses; then jump scraper is run to stop up one side of the blocks; then ditches must be made; then from 2 to 3 men are required to handle the water by shutting up the checks when filled. Afterwards the ridges must be plowed down before the ground can be har- rowed and got in condition to cultivate. At a glance one can see that it costs fully three times as much to irrigate bv the check system as by the furrow system, and with the latter the soil acts more as it does after a rain. DEVELOPMENT AND STORAGE OF WATER It is, obviously, beyond the limitations of this work to attempt an extended review of irrigation enterprises and practices. The enter- prises undertaken by capitalists, or by co-operation among settlers, require the services of competent engineers. All these matters are too great in extent and variety to be discussed in this work. As, however, it has been the aim of the writer to aid the inexperienced planter to help himself in small efforts, a little space will be given to suggestions as to how a planter may develop and use such small water supply as may be derived from spring, small creek or well, on his own land without employing an engineer. Running lines for Irrigating Ditches. — How far to go up a creek in order to bring water out upon a given piece of land is a ques- tion which frequently arises in individual practice. There is also LOCATING DITCH LINES 205 doubt as to how much fall sliould he giveu to tlic ditch. The fall required by a ditch or canal depends upon the amount of water which it is desired that it shoidd discharge, and upon the width and depth with which it is intended that the water should flow. It may also be dependent upon the character of the soil in which the ditch is to be constructed, and upon the peculiarities of the water itself. A strong current in soft soil may cause mischievous erosions. Water carrying much sediment must never be allowed to move sluggishly, as clear £ A homemade leveling instrument. water sometimes may. ft is best to state the recjuirements to a compe- tent engineer and act on his suggestion, or secure the counsel of a neighbor who has had experience with similar soil and water. Having decided what fall to give the ditch, the nearest point at which water can be taken out of the creek to be brought to a certain piece of land is found by commencing with the point at which the water is to be delivered (generally the highest point of the land to be irrigated), and running up stream a line which has the inclination intended for the ditch. To stake out this line when no special hindrances are in the way, use a homemade leveling instrument constructed as follows: With sound, straight-edged lumber a triangle is made, as indicated in the sketch. The three pieces, A B, 6 feet long, B C, 12 feet long, and C A, 4 feet long, are made fast to each other at A, B, and C. The board, A D, is fastened to the triangle at right angles to B C. Near A, on the board, A D, a plumb-line is made fast. The plumb, like a mason's plumb, hansgs in a hole at F, so that when A D \?> vertical, the string hangs verj' near the surface of the board, A D. It will be seen that when A D is exactly vertical, 5 C is exactly horizontal, if the angles at D are true right angles. An ordinary carpenter's square used in the construction of the apparatus will insure sufficient accuracy in the position of AD. In marking on the board, A D, however, the line in which the string of the plumb will hang when 5 C is exactly horizontal, more care is required. Two pegs are driven, as far apart as B and C, for these points to rest on. The high- est one is driven into the ground until the plumb-line follows about the center line of the board, A D. Having marked this position of the plumb-line, the tri- 206 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM angle is reversed so that the end B rests on the peg where before we had the end C, and vice versa. Should the plumb-line be in a position at variance witli the first one marked on the board, then the correct position for the B C horizon- tal will be exactly in the middle between the two found by the aid of the two pegs. It will frequently be found convenient to have a scale of feet marked off on B C. Holes in the pieces A B and C A at E E, or handles, will make the tri- angle convenient to carry. Only two men are necessary in using it. Starting with the "Jump Scraper" to close a row of gates. To use this instrument for locating the Hne of the ditch, calculate the amount which your line should rise between each two pegs. Drive a peg at the starting point with its top say six inches from the general surface of the ground. Hold one end of the leveling- apparatus above this peg by exactly that amount which the line rises per each instru- ment length (B C), and swing the other end around into the direction from which the ditch is to come, until, when level, it is just six inches above the ground. Drive a peg here, which will, like the first, be six inches high, and proceed as before. Care should be taken to give the top of each peg exactly the correct elevation. The level must be horizontal when resting on any peg, and raised exactly that amount which the line rises per level length, above the preceding peg. It will be found convenient to use a carefully prepared block to hold on the top of each stake at the rear end of the level instead of trusting to measurement each time. Locating Contour Lines for Checks or for Distributing Ditches. — This work can be done with the aid of the level above described. STORAGE OF WATER 207 For instance, to locate a contour (a line of equal elevation), as required in the construction of a check levee, drive a peg until its top has a convenient elevation from the ground, say one foot. Rest one end of the triangle on this peg and swing the other around until, when 5 C is horizontal, this other end has exactly the same elevation from the ground as the top of the peg. At this point drive a second peg and proceed as before. If the tops of the pegs be chosen as the height of the levee, they may be retained as grade stakes as well as line stakes for the embankment. Storing Water from Small Sources. — For individual uses quite a respectable water supply can sometimes be developed from apparently mean sources. This can be done by clearing out and opening up hill- side springs, and often by tunneling into the hillside to intercept sub- terranean water-flows, or by pumping from a well. Even a small spring, yielding but two quarts per second, would be sufficient to irrigate several acres in fruit trees. To derive the greatest benefit from small springs, however, a reservoir is necessary, in which the flow of twelve to twenty-four hours, or even a longer period, can be accumu- lated, and then discharged as required. It is by using water in driblets that many springs are wasted. A spring supplying even one and a half inches of water would be wholly swallowed up by a thirsty soil within two hundred feet of its source, when, by arresting the flow and accumu- lating it in a reservoir and discharging at intervals in a volume four times as large, it would more than cover eight times the surface. A spring flowing two quarts per second will discharge forty-three thou- sand two hundred gallons in twenty-four hours. This would require a reservoir forty by twenty feet, and seven feet deep, or double that width if the depth is decreased one-half. The shallower it can be made the better, for many reasons, but especially on account of the temperature of the water. That of springs is generally too low in summer for immediate use, and its value is greatly enhanced by being- raised to an equal or greater temperature than that of the air. This is quickly done by exposure in a shallow pond. A reservoir can be constructed entirely in the ground where the slope will admit of it, and by lining the bottom and sides with clay well puddled, will answer for most purposes. Some are built of adobe, backed with earth and plastered on the inner side with hydraulic cement. Concrete of lime, sand, and broken stone, is, however, the best material, where lime can be readily obtained, and any person with ordinary mechanical skill can construct them. The following hints on a dirt reservoir may be sug- gestive : .\ reservoir should be built on the highest part of the tract sought to be irrigated by scraping the earth from the outside and from such a large area as not to afifect the utility of the land from which it is taken. With a levee all around 5 feet high, 5 feet of water could be carried safely. The slopes ought to be two to one on the inside. A reservoir 20 feet square 208 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM and 4 feet deep would hold 12,000 gallons. With the slopes as above the reservoir should be measured two feet from the bottom, or half way up the 4 feet of water; consequently to lay out a reservoir to hold 12,000 gallons, put the stakes 12 feet square and build. For any other size one take 8 feet ofif the same as in this: A reservoir 25 feet square will hold 18,750 gallons and would be 17 feet square at the bottom; one 30 feet square would hold 27,000 gallons and would be 22 feet at the bottom; one 35 feet square — 27 at' the bottom — will hold 36,000 gallons; one 40 feet square — 32 on the bot- tom — will hold 48,000 gallons. This spread upon the surface of an acre would be a little more than 1^ inches of rainfall. Almost any loam soil will hold water with a little puddling. The cheapest way to puddle is to build a pen the size of the intended reservoir, including at least a portion of that to be under the embankment, wet it very wet, put some hogs in the pen and keep feeding them barley, a little at a time, so as to make them not only walk around but root for the barley. A half sack of barley fed to eight or ten hungry hogs in half a day will make a good puddle. If it did not work satisfactorily, the water could be taken off and the bottom covered about an inch deep with coarse sand mixed one part to five with Portland cement, put in dry, and let it be covered slowly. A barrel of cement may be counted at about 4 cubic feet and with the mixture above would cover the first-named reservoir about IM inches. This would make it tight. The supply pipe should come up from the bottom, so that the lift would never be more than the height of the surface. Loss of Water by Seepage. — The great loss of water by seepage during a long run has led to the cementing of ditches, and to the use of miles of large wooden, concrete and iron pipe by the irrigation companies of Southern California; also, where the slope is rapid, paving ditches with rock has been resorted to. Similar efforts naturally suggest themselves to the user of a small water supply to save his flow from loss. The lining of ditches to prevent seepage is being tested by the California Experiment Station at Berkeley, and publica- tion of results is being made.* Where lumber is cheap the use of a board flume is an available means of saving water, when the soil is coarse and leachy. Irrigation from Flowing Wells. — A considerable area of orchard is irrigated from flowing wells in different parts of the State. Nearly everywhere in the artesian districts there are local well-borers who have kept records of the strata traversed in their work, and can estimate closely the cost of securing water by this method. Lifting Water from Flowing Ditch or Stream. — Where a stream has a rapidity of two miles or more per hour, and a lift to a height of six to sixteen feet will give head enough to distribute the water over a considerable area, there is nothing cheaper than the current wheel which is largely used in this State. The engraving gives an end view of such a wheel. Eight pairs of arms, carrying flat buckets like those of a steamboat paddle-wheel, extend from a hub rotating on metal bearings. At either end, or both ends, of each bucket are fixed wooden or tin water boxes which fill themselves on entering the water, and * Bulletin 188, Univcrsitv of (California Experiment Station; also Pacific Rural Press, November 12, 1910. 209 210 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM on being brought to the highest point of rotation empty themselves into a receiving trough. This trough suppHes the distributing ditches, etc., and its inner end is so placed that it comes under the projecting buckets of the wheel without interference with the motion of the arms. The current of water in the channel underneath forces the buckets down stream, the latter delivering in the opposite direction at the top. by using a double set of boxes, one at each end of each bucket, the water may be delivered on both sides simultaneously. A little experi- menting will indicate the proper size boxes, which depends upon the velocity and volume of water in the channel, as well as the amount to be delivered. End view of irrigating wheel. At the Fancher Creek Nursery, in Fresno County, a wheel is used eighteen feet in diameter, and carries sixteen buckets, which empty into a trough sixteen feet above the ditch. The wheel lifts about one cubic foot in two seconds. PUMPING FOR IRRIGATION The use of pumps for irrigation is continually increasing. The capacity of pumps, their ease and cheapness of operation in this land of oil wells and of ponderous waterfalls whose power can be trans- formed into electric energy, warrant the conclusion that in many places water can be lifted from below more cheaply than it can be brought long distances by ditch ; and that the supply is more constant and subject to the users' command and convenience. In all parts of the State well-boring and digging and pump construction have advanced very rapidly. Pumping plants of all capacities, from the greatest of the gasoline class, lifting five thousand gallons per minute from a depth of twenty-five feet, down to the plant with a throw of three hundred gallons per minute, all styles of motors and pumps are being constantly multiplied. These plants are being placed upon wells in I liE MINER S INCH 211 the orchard or iti the vicinity, or upon adjacent streams or ponds. Many new designs by California inventors are coming into use. It v^ould require a volume to contain any adequate account of California's recent progress in these lines. Economic pumping is governed by so many considerations that no general statement would be conclusive in any specific case. Each orchardist must ascertain his own conditions and then confer with trustworthy manufacturers or their agents as to what will meet his requirements.* WATER MEASUREMENT The Miner's Inch. — Although the miner's inch, as commonly measured, is open to objection because of inaccuracy, from an engineer's point of view, it is so easily applied that it must remain a popular recourse. It consists in causing the water to flow through an opening, p/ip'^ — Measuring miner's inches in a small stream or ditch. the capacity of which is known, and which is readily capable of adjust- ment to the flow in any case. A simple form of this device and its use is shown in the illustration, which represents a board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide, and about 8 feet long. The opening is 1 inch wide and 50 inches long, and the distance from the top of the board to the center of the opening is exactly 4 inches on the up-stream side. On the down-stream side the opening is beveled so that the hole presents sharp edges to the stream. A sliding board is hung upon the top of the first board, with a strip screwed along its upper edge, this sliding board being wide enough to cover the opening on the up-stream side. In the slot there is a closely-fitting block, made to slide on the beveled edges and fastened by a screw to the sliding board. It is obvious, then, that when the sliding board is moved backward or forward, by * Full details of the cost and flow from pumps drawing from various depths and operated by various motors are given in the publications of the irrigation investigations to which refer- ence has previously been made. 212 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM iiu-aiis of its end, which is extended fur a handle, the hlock moves in the slot and determines the length of the opening. In operation the board is placed in the stream as shown in the iigure, so as to dam the flow completely, and the sliding board is moved backward and forward until the water is all passing through the slot, the water being kept up to the top of the board, or 4 inches above the center of the opening. The length of the opening measures the number of miner's inches of water flowing through. If the flow is too great to pass through the opening 1 inch wide, the opening may be made wider, the water still to be kept 4 inches above the center of the opening. The laws of several States provide that in devices for measuring water for sale by the miner's inch the opening shall be 6 inches high and shall be provided with a slide as shown in the picture. The number of miner's inches then discharged is equal to the number of square inches in the opening. The assumption made that the discharge is proportional to the size of the opening is not true, but the error in measuring small quantities is not great enough to be taken into consideration. By converting the results of measurements in miner's inches to gallons, cubic feet, or some other familiar unit, it may be determined how long it will take the stream to fill a reservoir or cover a given field with the necessary depth of water. This unit is readily convertible into cubic feet or gallons or acre-inches of water, according" to the time the water flows. The following data will be helpful in computations : One miner's inch, as described above, equals 0.1496 gallons per second, 8.976 gal- lons per minute, 538.56 gallons per hour, 12,925.44 gallons per day; 0.02 cubic foot per second, 1.2 cubic feet per minute, 72 cubic feet per hour. One acre-inch of water (that is, 1 inch in depth over an acre of surface) equals 27,152 gallons, or 3,630 cubic feet, and 1 miner's inch will supply this quantity in about 50.4 hours. Thus a simple calculation shows that a little stream of 5 miner's inches will supply enough water to cover an acre 2.3 inches deep in about 23 hours — a fair amount for one irrigation of soil of average character if it has not been allowed to become too dry before the application. In fact this is an average amount actually used for an irrigation of shallow- rooted plants like most field and garden crops. Weir Measurement. — The term "weir" is not always understood by those who use it. The term can properly be used only for structures designed to allow the water to flow over the crest with a considerable fall on the down-stream side. There are a large number of forms of weirs, taking their names from the shape of the weir notch, or' the form of crest. The triangular weir has a V-shaped notch. The rectangular weir has a horizontal crest with vertical sides. Both of these forms of weir are good, when used by the expert irrigator or engineer who understands the principles and factors which enter into their calculations. In order to avoid the variable factors which enter WEIR MEASUREMENT 213 into the calculations for the flow of water over weirs, Cipoletti invented the form of weir which has taken his name and which is in general use throughout the irrigated sections of the world. „ , ' ^1 . M Weir box in operation showing post from which to measure depth of stream. The Cipoletti Weir. — The Cipoletti Weir has a thin horizontal crest, the sides of the weir notch sloping back from the vertical at an angle equal to one inch in horizontal for every four inches in vertical. This, for each additional inch in depth the weir notch widens on each side one-fourth of an inch, or a total addition of width of one-half inch. A weir having a length of crest of one foot, and designed to be eight inches in depth, will have a top width of notch of 16 inches. When the weir box is placed, care should be taken to have the bottom of the notch, or crest, level. An ordinary carpenter's spirit level may be used for this purpose. When the crest is horizontal, one end of the spirit level is placed on the center of the crest, and when level the other end will mark the point for the zero of the weir gauge. In rough work a nail may be driven part way into the side of the box, the top of the nail being level with the crest of the weir. A thin plate of brass is to be preferred to a nail. In other cases gauges are inserted on the sides of the flumes and properly marked in tenths of feet or inches. At other times a post from 1 to 2 inches square is placed in the center of the box and several feet above the weir board. The top of this post is on a level with the crest. This is the method shown in the accompanying sketch. 214 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM How to Measure Water Over Weirs. — The method to follow can best be shown by examples. Let us suppose that a farmer has made and placed a box similar to the one shown in the drawing, after turning in the water and allowing it some time to attain a uniform flow he proceeds to the weir box and with an ordinary rule measures the depth of water flowing through the weir notch. Bear in mind that this measurement is not made at the weir board, but at the regular gauge, whether it be a nail, brass plate or post, as already described. We will assume that the depth as found by the rule is 3^ inches. Now by referring to the table below he follows down the first column until 3y2 is reached. The weir used is one foot, and under the column marked "1-foot weir" and opposite the figure 3^ already found, he finds the cubic feet per minute or the gallons per minute flowing over a 1-foot weir when the depth of water is 3}4 inches. The equivalent flow in gallons per minute for any given length of weir and depth of water over the crest was obtained from the accompanying table : ^^■EIR MEASUREMENT 215 Discharge Over Cipoletti Weirs. Depth of wate r on crest. 1-foot weir. 1 '/2-foot weir 2-foot weir. 3-foot weir. •2 .J u f . V « . 0. 6 "-g O-u V ^ . CflJ V X u c m 3 o in It a 1 1: 'O £ c M 1 .0.08 36 0.12 5S 0.16 7Z 0.24 109 1J4 .0.10 44 0.15 65 0.19 87 0.29 130 VA .0.11 51 0.17 76 0.23 101 0.34 152 m .0.13 59 0.20 8? 0.26 117 0.39 175 \'A .0.15 .0.17 67 75 0.22 100 0.25 11:3 0.30 0.34 139 150 0.45 0.50 2(X) IVs 226 m .0.19 84 0.28 \2t > 0.38 168 0.56 252 m .0.21 93 0.31 14C ) 0.42 187 0.62 280 2 .0.23 .0.25 103 113 0.34 154 0.38 16S 0.46 > 0.50 206 225 0.68 0.75 3m 2ys 338 2% .0.27 123 0.41 18^ 0.55 245 0.82 368 2Vs .0.30 133 0.44 19c > 0.59 266 0.89 399 2H .0.32 144 0.48 2 IE 0.64 287 0.96 431 2ys .0.34 154 0.52 23] 0.69 309 1.03 464 2^ .0.37 166 0.55 24J 5 0.74 332 1.11 497 2% .0.39 177 0.59 262 ' 0.80 355 1.18 531 3 .0.42 .0.45 189 201 0.63 28: 0.67 301 ! 0.84 0.90 378 402 1.26 1.34 566 3^ 602 3J4 .0.47 213 0.71 319 0.95 426 1.42 639 3^ .0.50 .0.52 225 238 0.75 338 0.80 35/ \ 1.00 1.06 451 476 1.51 1.59 676 3^ 714 35^ .0.56 251 0.84 376 1.12 502 1.68 753 33/4 .0.59 264 0.88 396 1.18 528 1.76 792 3^ .0.62 277 0.93 416 1.24 554 1.85 832 4 .0.65 .0.68 291 304 0.97 436 1.30 1.02 456 1.36 582 609 1.94 2.04 872 4^ 913 4^ .0.71 319 1.07 478 1.42 637 2.13 956 4V& .0.74 .0.77 333 347 1.11 499 1.48 1.16 521 1.55 665 694 2.22 2.32 998 4^ 1,041 4H .0.81 362 1.20 543 1.61 723 2.42 1,084 43,4 .0.84 376 1.26 564 1.68 753 2.52 1,129 47/^ .0.87 391 1.31 587 1.74 782 2.62 1,174 5 .0.91 .0.94 .0.97 406 422 437 1.36 609 1.81 1.41 633 1.88 1.46 656 1.95 813 843 874 2.72 2.82 2.92 1,219 51/^ 1,266 5^ 1,312 SVs .1.01 453 1.51 67S > 2.02 906 3.03 1,359 5^ .1.05 469 1.57 70: 5 2.09 938 3.13 1,407 55/^ .1.08 485 1.62 727 2.16 970 3.24 1,455 5^ .1.12 501 1.68 752 2.23 1,002 3.35 1,503 5% .1.15 517 1.73 77 t ) 2.31 1.034 3.46 1,553 6 .1.20 534 1.79 801 2.38 1,069 3.57 1,603 6^ 2.46 1,102 3.68 1,653 6^ 2.53 1,136 3.80 1,704 63/^ 2.61 1,170 3.91 1,755 61^ 2.68 1,205 4.03 1,807 6^ 2.76 1,240 4.14 1,859 6^ 2.84 1,275 4.26 1,912 6% 2.92 1,310 4.38 1,966 7 3.00 1,346 4.50 2,020 216 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: IIOW TO GROW THEM RANDOM SUGGESTIONS ^^"ithout attempting an impossible thing, to wit, to furnish exphcit directions for the practice of irrigation, for much of it every man must learn for himself by experience, a few suggestions may be noted, even though more important ones do not come to mind. Usually water should be prevented from actual contact with the trunk of the tree. Citrus trees are especially sensitive to such contact, and resent it by "gum disease,'' which was formerly far more preva- lent in the State than now. Care must, therefore, be taken not to set trees which are to be irrigated, too low. It is better to raise them up a little and draw the earth up around them to prevent approach of the water, but this must not be overdone. If possible, the ditch should be run on the shady side of the tree, because reflected sunshine from the water surface may burn the bark. In examining soil to ascertain dryness, one must dig deeply, for often an upper layer will be fairly moist, if well cultivated, while lower layers, where the feeding rootlets are. will be arid. Therefore, when trees or vines are suffering, dig far down in examining the soil. In irrigating, thorough, deep soaking is necessary, and examination must be made to see if an artificial hardpan which prevents the descent of the water has been formed. Be careful not to continue irrigation too late in the season. It will prevent the proper dormancy of deciduous trees, and if more fall irrigation is given citrus trees than they need for perfecting the fruit, the trees will continue growing tender shoots until they are injured by severe frosts. On the other hand, it is often desirable to give decid- uous trees a draft of water after the fruit has been gathered, if the soil is so dry that the tree is likely to drop its leaves too soon, and wake from its dormancy with the first rains. Many times the fall blooming of deciduous trees, which is very undesirable, may be prevented by keeping them growing later in the summer by moderate irrigation. If trees or vines, in regions usually irrigated, are to be grown without irrigation, it is important that the grower be more than usually thorough and constant with his summer cultivation. In trying the non-irrigation experiment, one should, of course, begin with young trees which have not been irrigated, and not usually expect success by withdrawing the water from trees which have been accustomed to it, and have developed a root system accordingly. SUB-IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA The word "sub-irrigated" is freely used in California to describe land which is moistened below by underflow or seepage from streams or springs, or frt)m open irrigation ditches, traversing higher levels. DKAIXAGK AXn IRRIGATION 217 This land is sub-irrig^ated, it is true, but there is no system about it. except the natural distribution of water, which is to seek its level. Some of our most productive lands are of this character, and where the soil and subsoil are fitted to the movement of this living water, and not apt to retain it up to the point of saturation, most satisfactory growth of deep-rooting field crops and of trees and vines are secured. But this is not sub-irrigation in the ordinary signification of the term. Several systems of sub-irrigation by subterranean pipes have been devised by California inventors, but none have passed beyond the experimental stage, and no considerable acreage has been conlimiallv operated. DRAINAGE IN CALIFORNIA There was for a long time a very erroneous popular generalization that California soils do not need drainage ; that in a dry state the aim should be to retain the moisture, not to part with it. It is, of course. true that we have vast areas of naturally well-drained soil, upon wliicli any money spent for drainage would be in great part thrown away, but we have, also, both in the valley and on the hillsides, localities where, by peculiar character and conformation of the subsoil, water is held in the soil until evaporated from the surface, and the result is a boggy, miry condition, which prevents pro])er winter cultivation, and at the same time injures the roots of the trees or vines. This defective cultivation, added to the puddling effect of standing water, makes the soil dry out completely under the fervid sun of summer, and the result is that the wettest soil of the winter is the driest in the summer, and plants which are injured by soaking in winter suffer again from lack of moisture and sustenance in summer. Thus it is a fact, clearly proven by observation and experience, that thorough under-drainage removes surplus water in winter, and ministers to the retention of moisture in summer. Afore than this, a soil puddled by standing water can not present its contents in available form for plant nutrition, and besides, it loses the fertilizing effects of atmospheric currents, which pass through an open, well-dried soil. Wet land is cold and late in spring, and hot as a baked brick under the summer sun ; it is no fiction of the imagination to say that well-drained land is warm in winter and cool in summer — that is, cool to a degree which favors quick and free root growth, and cool enough to escape the parching effect of deeply baked soil. These, and a host of similar considerations, which have made under-drainage popular in older countries, are of weight in California. Possibly, as a rule, because of our vast area of deep, kind loams, the proportion of land needing drainage in this State is less than else- where, and yet there is a vast extent of country to be improved by tilling. There have been large losses of trees from planting upon soils 218 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HO\\' TO GROW THEM defective in this respect. The evil has resulted from excessive rainfall and excessive irrigation, either direct or by underflow from adjacent irrigations. In some places this latter movement of water has brought alkali to assist in the ruin of the trees and vines. The cure is drainage to sufficient depth and with good outlet for the drainage water. Information on the construction of under-drains is too available through other sources to call for its presentation in this connection. Drainage and Irrigation. — A special importance attaches to com- plete and systematic drainage in connection with irrigation. There is pressing need of such provision where the soil has become overloaded by seepage water from irrigation ditches, and it is well that people in such situations are waking up to the need of coupling drainage outlets with their irrigation inlets. Another matter closely allied to this is the action of alkali on soils thus artificially watersoaked. This has been made the subject of a special publication by Professor Hilgard, to which allusion has already been made in Chapter III. Drainage is plainly essential, both in individual farms and in districts where the water level is rising too high, and the striking statements given below by Professor Hilgard should incite all to give immediate attention to the needs of vines and trees in this resfard. Furrower at work in orange orchard of A. D. Bishop. DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 219 The following summary of drainage needs, and the advantage of providing drainage when needed, is made by Professor Hilgard : In the valleys and plains of the arid irrigation countries the soils are pre- dominantly of a light, sandy or silty nature, easily penetrated to great depths by water and air. With these the roots of plants also reach to such depths, drawing therefrom not only moisture but also plant food, which in these soils is, as a rule, very abundant. The plants of the arid region thus are enabled to utilize nearly as many feet of soil mass as in the regions of summer rains inches would be drawn upon; and it is evident that this advan- tage, which postpones for a long time the need of fertilization, should not be lightly thrown away. Each farm in the arid region has several similar ones underground, which with proper management can be fully utilized. But this presupposes that the water, air and roots can all penetrate under irrigated culture as they do in the natural condition. It means that the ground water level shall not be allowed to rise to such an extent as to prevent the penetration and healthy life of the roots in the depths of the soil mass. If by intentional or careless over-irrigation, or by leakage from the ditches, the water level is allowed to rise within a few feet of the surface, the wonderfully productive lands of the arid valleys are reduced to the same condition as are those of the humid countries; a shallow layer of surface soil, within which alone the roots can exercise their functions of plant nutri- tion. The natural result is that this layer soon becomes exhausted, and copious artificial fertilization is required to maintain profitable production. And even this is the most favorable case. When, in addition, the upward movement of the soil water carries with it the entire mass of salts of various kinds which exist in all arid soils, and brings them within reach of surface evaporation, these "alkali" salts impregnate the soil to such an extent as to render the cultivation of many crops unprofitable, or sometimes altogether impossible. Summarizing the advantages of systematic land draining it may be said that: 1. It prevents the drowning out of the deeper roots of plants by the rise or fluctuations of the ground water, by which the vineyards and orchards are so frequently rendered unprofitable. 2. It prevents, or at least limits definitely, the shallowing of the soil caused by high-lying ground water, resulting in the need of early and copious fertilization, which would otherwise not have been called for in many years. The annual cost of such fertilization will soon exceed the first cost of drainage. 3. Drainage does away definitely with the alkali evil. When drainage is tstablished the land can easily be so handled as either to remove all the alkali, or to leave in the soil so much of it as may be rationally considered beneficial, on account of its usual content of valuable and highly available plant food. To prevent the waste of much of this soluble plant food, the use of gypsum is also valuable; but subsequent swamping of the land would cause a return of the black alkali unless drainage were provided for. CHAPTER XVT COMMERCIAL FRUIT VARIETIES In preparation for revision of this work and to serve also asso- ciations of nurserymen and fruit growers who requested specific information as to the relative standing of commercial varieties of different fruits in the various states which participate in the over- land fruit trade, the writer undertook a careful inquiry into the present standing- of varieties of the fruits chiefly grown in Cali- fornia for commercial purposes. The objects of this inquiry were, first to secure exact data which would be of business advantage to large propagators of fruit trees; second, to make widely known the particular requirements of California production and trade for the information of originators of new varieties, which might pre- serve, with improvements, types which ministered to specific oppor- tunities and demands ; third, to enforce upon local planters the conviction that their clearest path toward satisfactory income lies in choosing varieties which have demonstrated two fundamental characters, viz. : adaptation to the locality and to the uses of the fruit trade. It may surprise the casual reader to find that our production proceeds so largely upon old standard varieties and that the strik- ing achievements of Mr. Burbank are not more prominent. Any- one, however, who is acquainted with commercial fruit growing knows that it is not possible to revolutionize an established and profitable industry in less than a decade by the substitution of new varieties for the old standards. It takes not less than half that pe- riod to determine whether the new variety is really trustworthy and suitable, and it takes much longer to get a large acreage in l)earing either by grafting or new planting because people are slow and conservative in making changes. As the period of trial passes, how- ever, Mr. Burbank's varieties are becoming more prominent as is to be expected. Another reason why new varieties do not figure more largely in California fruit growing is the smallness of the amateur interest. There is, in fact, almost an absence of pure amateurs — enthusiastic critical, discriminating, athirst for novelties. Even suburban plant- ers follow the lead of commercial orchardists and plant chiefly that which has shown adaptations to local growing conditions, and few are averse to making what they can by sale of small surpluses. The result is that California fruit growing is almost wholly com- mercial in spirit, policy and point of view, which is perhaps only natural in a state where the fruit products reach an annual aggre- 220 THE MOST POPULAR FRUITS 221 gate value of something like seventy millions of dollars. The effect is to concentrate attention upon varieties which have achieved fame for profit, and to repress amateur devotion and indulgencies. At the same time there is, and has always been, quite a disposi- tion tow^ard trial of novelties among commercial growers, espe- cially manifested in search of specific characters which are seen to be desirable rather than desire for newness for its own sake, which is often a point of pride among amateurs. To this enter- prising and discriminating search is due the prominence of some of the leading varieties, which are chance seedlings recognized as meeting special requirements and having grown great because they really did so. The California grower is, therefore, quite certain that he needs not varieties new throughout and of startling char- acters, but improved varieties which hold the good points of the old and add other points. For instance, he calls for trees resistant to disease, for improvement of the fruit in beauty, flavor and keep- ing qualities; for varieties, similar in kind, which fill gaps in the ripening season so that he can employ help continuously, and ship- pers and canners agree with him so that they can keep the cars moving and the cannery plants at work. The grower says he must be careful not to plant something different from what is already growing and selling well in his region, and this is also the advice of the trade to him. He can not risk much on varieties of entirely different types, although most growers are always doing a little experimenting. Nor should he undertake too many varieties, be- cause a profitable orchard is not a pomological museum. There must be a large quantity of uniform fruit to make any district com- mercially prominent. For these reasons the number of varieties now planted is but a fraction of what it was a quarter of a century ago, and, stopping at this point, one might get the idea of the California grower was a monument of conservatism and lacking in enterprise and adventure. Subsequent chapters will, however, show that he has very definite ideas of what he wants that is new, and that he has problems enough to keep plant breeders busy for a century. This will be done for each fruit by citing in its chapter particularly desirable characters which California growers, shippers and canners have described in response to the wide inquiry upon which this statement rests. The writer was fortunate in securing 1,601 observations from men who have their livelihood and fortunes involved in profit- able growth and handling of California fruits, and what are given as specific requirements of new varieties in California are not vain imaginings, but deeply felt wants. It will be noted by the reader that the preference for certain varieties, which is embodied in this statement, does not involve po- mological standards as a leading factor. The claim is distinctly not 222 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM made that these varieties are chosen on the basis of quality, beauty, hardiness or health. In the case of nearly all the fruits, there are other varieties which might equal or even surpass them in one or more of these respects. The choice is made because they are most profitable to grow ; not alone because they are good, but because they are good for something. This particular suitability or serviceability may involve pomological considerations and com- mercial and manufacturing considerations as well. The planter must use these lists in connection with what he may find about the varieties in subsequent chapters, without neglecting to confer also with older growers in the district in which he may plan to plant. Perhaps an intelligent use of the statement can be concretely suggested by briefly discussing the first group of varieties men- tioned — the apples most approved in California. First comes the yellow Newtown Pippin, and that means that most apples commer- cially grown are winter apples and this variety is, on the whole, the most profitable of them. But a planter in a hot interior valley should usually reject them for all winter apples are apt to be un- satisfactory, and, if he plants apples at all, should choose early vari- eties like the Red and White Astracan, because they ripen early, thus escaping the highest heat and at the same time being ready for the early market. Similar comments might be made upon other varieties. Some years ago the distribution of commercial fruit varieties was taken into account in a biological way because it was taken to be certain that the grower would select varieties which "did best" in his district. Enough has been said to emphasize the fact that the lists of fruits are not made of those who do best alone, but of those which sell to best advantage, and that has no biological significance what- ever. The varieties are arranged not according to ripening season but in the order in which the greatest number of growers consider them worth planting. Fruit varieties most popular in California : Apples. — Newtown Pippin, Bellflower, E. Spitzenberg, W. W. Pearmain, Gravenstein, Red Astracan, W. Astracan, Red June, R. I. Greening. Apricots.— Royal, Blenheim, Moorpark, Hemskirk, Peach, New- castle, Tilton. Cherries.— Royal Ann, Black Tartarian, Black Republican, Rockport, Bing, Chapman, Purple Guigne, May Duke. Centennial, Black Bigarreau, Lambert. Peaches.— Muir, Phillips, Salway. Lovell, Early Crawford, Tuskena, Foster, Elberta, Late Crawford, Orange Cling, Susque- hanna, Nichols, Sellers. Lemon, St. Johns, Henrietta, Mary's Choice, Hales, Alexander, Heath. THE MOST POPULAR FRUITS 223 Pears.— Bar tlett. Winter Nelis, Easter, Du Cornice, Doyenne D'Ete. Clapp's Favorite, Glout Morceau, Barry, Comet, Sackel. Plums.— Wickson, Hun^^arian, Kelsey, Yellow Egg, Tragedy, Washington, Satsuma, Burbank. Jefiferson, Climax, Grand Duke, Clyman. Prunes. — French, Imperial. Sugar. Giant, Robe de Sergeant, German. Silver, Splendor. Grapes.— Muscat, Tokay, Cornichon. Thompson, Emperor, Malaga, Rose of Peru, Zinfandel. Black Morocco, Sweet Water, X'erdal, Carignane, Black Prince. Alicante, Sultana. CHAPTER XVn THE APPLE During- the last decade notable progress has been made in apple growing in California. The old idea that our conditions did not favor excellence in the apple has given away to full assurance that in wisely selected elevations and exposures the very highest points of size, beauty, flavor, keeping and shipping qualities are secured. Even before the wonderfully satisfactory test of both northern and southern California apples at the New Orleans World's Fair, it was clear that the right variety grown in the right place yields an apple in California than which a better can not be grown anywhere, and during the last five years California early apples have been in sharp request for shipment to all regions of the Northwest and British Columbia, and California winter apples have been sold at the high- est prices east of the Rocky Mountains and in Europe. Shipments be5^ond State lines of above four thousand carloads in 1910 testify to these facts. Localities for Apples. — Speaking generally, it may be laid down that the great valleys of the interior are not well suited to the apple; also, there are some situations which are much better than others. In the early regions of the Sacramento Valley and foot- hills, however, excellent early apples are profitably produced. In the great valley and lower foothill region of the State, the late apple usually lacks character and keeping quality. On the great plains the tree is liable to sunburn, or sun blight, as it is called. Some varieties, because of the character of their foliage, are less liable to this injury than others, and it is possible that this evil may be finally overcome by the selection of varieties with blight- proof foliage, as will be mentioned later. In the great valley, how- ever, on the rich river-bottom land of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin and its tributaries, the apple roots deeply, attains good size, bears good fruit, with fair keeping quality, while but a few miles away on the plains it is inferior. In the interior region of adaptation to the apple lies at an elevation on the foothills on both the east and west rims of the great valley. Its limits are not well defined, but there are flourishing or- chards at an elevation of about four thousand five hundred feet on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and from two thousand to three thousand five hundred feet is commonly regarded the best apple region of the mountains. The trees attain large size and bear heavily, and the fruit, of well-adapted varieties, is large, crisp, juicy and has exceptional keeping- qualities. On the Tule River in Tulare 224 CONDITIONS FOR THE APPLE 225 County, at an elevation of 4100 feet, eight-year-old Winesaps have borne 300 pounds, Yellow Newtown Pippins 250 pounds, and White Winter Pearmains 300 pounds per tree. At such elevations, how- ever, there is constant danger of spring frost injury. Along the coast the apjjle succeeds well from end to end of the State, and very close to the ocean excellent fruit is produced on good soil. There is a certain advantage in elevation in the coast region as well as in the interior, but the advantage is not so marked nor is the required elevation so great. Coast valleys in the central and upper portion of the State, where the soil is suitable, produce most excellent apples, but even here the lower hillsides, with deep, well-drained soils, are, perhaps, preferable to the floors of the valley. Departing from immediate coast influences and approaching the interior, with its greater heat and aridity, the greater elevation be- comes desirable. The apple, excepting the very early varieties, does not relish the forcing heat which brings such perfection to the peach, but to insure late ripening and long keeping, with accom- panying crispness, juiciness, and flavor, it must have atmospheric surroundings which favor slower development. Localities for apple growing in southern California are to be chosen with much the same rules as in the upper parts of the State. As has already been said, valleys in which coast conditions largely predominate produce good apples, on suitable soils, but away from the coast, proper elevations must be sought, and they should be above the so-called thermal or frostless belts. Good apples are grown on low lands near the coast in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Sixty miles inland, in San Bernardino County, winter apples fail in the valleys, but are most excellent at a sufficient ele- vation upon the slopes of the surrounding mountains or in elevated valleys like the Yucaipe Valley above Redlands, where a Rome Beauty of excellent quality was grown in 1903 to a weight of twen- ty-seven ounces and a circumference of fifteen inches. In the ele- vated interior of San Diego County, as in the Julian and Smith Mountain districts, excellent apples are produced in large quantities and profitably carried long distances. Second and Third-Crop Apples. — There is a peculiar behavior of the apple tree, most noticeable when winter temperature is mild- est, and that is blooming and fruiting out of season. In the case of early apples the second bloom may appear about the time the first fruit ripens and the third bloom when the second crop is half grown. Even such behavior may be followed by regular blooming the following spring. Second crops of apples are not of amount nor regularity enough to be of much economic importance, as the second crop of pears and grapes sometimes are. The third crop occasionally ripens. An instance is on record at Chino, San Bar- 226 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM nardino County, where in 1903 a tree 'ripened its first crop in June, and its last fruit was picked on Christmas day following. Such behavior, of course, indicates conditions ill suited to the apple. Exposures for the Apple. — The choice of exposure for an apple orchard may almost be inferred from what has been said about locali- ties. In regions with high summer temperature the apple will do best on cool, northerly slopes, and this exposure becomes doubly desirable when the location has high temperature with only moderate annual rainfall, or where the soil is not well adapted to the retention of mois- ture. With such prevailing conditions, the apple will be grateful for the cooler air and the greater moisture of the northerly slope. Where the temperature is moderately cool, and the rainfall adequate, the mat- ter of exposure is of less account, and the grower can make the exist- ence of the best soil the test of location of his orchard. At elevations on the sides of high ranges where late cold storms are liable to rush dow^n from higher snow fields, protection from the usual course of such storms, or from the course of cold winds generally, must be sought ; and directly up the coast, especially in the northern part of the State, in certain places where the peach does not usually succeed even the apple needs protection, and the benefit of all heat available, and then a southerly or southeasterly exposure becomes desirable. The choice of exposure is thus seen to be largely a local question and to be determined by a knowledge of local conditions. A newcomer in a re- gion can best learn these conditions by conference with older residents, or by personal observation of older orchards. Soils for the Apple, — Experience with the apple in California confirms what has long been set forth as its choice of soils in older regions. If one avoids an extremely light, sandy soil on the one hand, and a very stiflf clay or adobe on the other, he may plant apples on al- most any soil which allows extension of the roots to a considerable depth without reaching standing water. The apple thrives in a moist soil, but it must be well drained, naturally or otherwise. A soil which may be called best for the apple is a deep. rich, moist, calcareous loam, but the tree will thrive on coarser materials. The subsoil, whatever its nature, must be sound and open to the passage of moisture. The most unfavorable condition for the tree is a subsoil of clay which holds water. There is some difiference in varieties as to choice of soil. The Yellow Bellflower, for instance, will do well on a lighter soil than the Yellow Newtown Pippin. PROPAGATION OF THE APPLE The apple is chiefly propagated by root-grafting upon apple seed- ling roots either whole roots or root pieces. Budding is also practised to a certain extent. For dwarf trees the Paradise stock is used. Re- peated trials with working the apple on the pear, chiefly by top graft- ing, have secured growth of limited life but without fruiting. PRL'XIX('. THE APPr.F. 227 The resistance of certain roots to the woolly aphis has been fully demonstrated by local experience in the use of the Northern Spy and Winter Majetin, chiefly the former. Seedlings of Northen Spy can not be relied upon as resistant to the woolly aphis. It is necessary to get a root actually grown from the Northern Spy wood. The best way to get a start is to buy some Northern Spy trees from some rep- utable nurseryman, specifying that they shall be Northern Spy root and top. With these resistant roots and wood growth for scions or cuttings can be grown. Resistant trees are made by root grafting the scion of the variety which it is desired to propagate upon a piece of Northern Spy root and then being careful that the scion does not send out roots of its own, but is wholly dependent upon the Northern Spy root. It is customary with nurserymen selling resistant trees to save the root pieces which are removed in digging and packing for subse- quent propagation. It is also possible to get a resistant tree by start- ing from the cutting of a Northern Spy. To facilitate the rooting of these cuttings a small piece of any kind of apple root is put in by side graft near the bottom of the cutting. This acts as a starter, but the cutting will also make roots of itself. At the end of the first year then the cuttings are taken up, the piece of root used as a starter is cleanly cut away and the rooted cutting replanted ; henceforth it is dependent upon its own roots and is resistant. The variety desired is then grafted in a little way above the ground surface so that there will be no danger of its making its own roots. By either of these processes it is more troublesome and takes more time to produce a tree with a resistant root than in the ordinary way. and for that reason trees on resistant roots are sold at a higher price. This may be the reason why resistant trees are not yet largely used in this State. Other suggestions applicable to the growth of young apple trees are given in Chapters \''III and IX. DISEASES AND PESTS OF THE APPLE The apple is subject to various diseases and insect enemies which must be resolutely fought or they will render the trees unprofitable. Chief of these diseases are the "pear blight" and the apple scab, and the apple mildew. Of the insect enemies the codlin moth, the apple- leaf aphis, the various leaf-cutting caterpillars and several scale insects must be kept in check and the latest approved means of reducing these troubles will be described in detail in later chapters. PLANTING AND CARE OF THE APPLE ORCHARD The chapters on planting, and pruning contain suggestions to which the reader is referred. Care should be taken to obtain trees with clean, healthy roots, not knotted and scarred hy woolly aphis. a a (0 c 3 o 228 THIXNIXG THE APPLF. 22V) Distance in Planting. — The distance between the trees is of the highest importance. All the old apple orchards are overcrowded. More recently trees have been set at greater distances, and such plant- ing is now generally advised. There is some difference of opinion as to proper distance, but certainly twenty-tive to thirty feet is near enough, and some of the best new orchards have been planted at forty feet, the ground being used for a time with other crops or planted with early bearing trees, for which the soil is suited, between them. Pruning the Apple. — The maimer of shaping fruit trees described in the chapter on pruning succeeds admirably with the apple. Year- ling trees are usually planted. an< inches. Emit of less size is hard of sale unless the crop happens to be very small. It has also been found that thinning to regulate svze is quite as important when the fruit is to be dried by the grower as when sold as fresh fruit. IRRIGATION OE THE APRICOT Whether the apricot shall be irrigated or not is answered in the chapter on irrigation. In many locations, with proper pruning, thinning and cultivation, perfectly satisfactory fruit can be grown wath the usual rainfall. In others a single winter irrigation will 252 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM satisfy all the needs of the tree; in others a single irrigation just after fruit picking and summer pruning will carry the tree through, It is a fact, however, that as the trees advance in age some supple- ment to the average rainfall is often desirable and in dry years irri- gation is the saving of two crops. Some idea of the amount of water used can be had from the chapter on irrigation. The fol- lowing account by Mr. Neff applies to his practice in Orange County, which is an average situation as to rainfall and atmos- pheric humidity, and is as good a general statement as could be made : If rains are copious, winter irrigation may be dispensed with during the first two or three years after planting the orchard, but when the trees reach the age for bearing fruit the rain water should be supplanted by irrigation water until the soil is thoroughly wet 5 feet deep, and in order to have this, at least 20 inches of water, including rainfall, must be put on the land. Three irrigations should be given the trees during the first summer, but it is not necessary to wet more than a strip 5 or 6 feet wide along the tree rows. The orchard should have three irrigations during the second summer and a strip 12 feet wide should be watered, as the roots are reaching farther and the trees require a greater amount of water. The irrigation for the first two years should always be done before the trees show any want of water, so as to keep them growing vigorously. All the space between the trees should be watered the third year and after- ward ; but two irrigations will be sufficient for the summer. The best time for the summer irrigation of bearing apricot trees is when the fruit is about half grown, which is usually about the second or third week in May. If well watered at this time the fruit grows to its largest, and has time to ripen slowly as the ground gradually dries, until it has all the sugar which will go into the fruit. An orchard in full bearing that has been well watered in the winter should now have as much as full 100 inches of water for two hours on each acre (equal to four acre-inches). The second irrigation should be given as soon as possible after the summer pruning is done, in order to start the trees growing and develop the fruit buds for the next year. This will not require so much water as the irrigation in May, but ought to be as much as 10(1 inches of water for one hour on each acre. DISEASES OF THE APRICOT Though the apricot tree, as has been said, is regarded as one of the healthiest fruit trees, it is subject to some maladies. Trees perish from being set in unsuitable situations, and in these cases, if the evil be stagnant water in the soil, or penetration to alkaline subsoil, the root shows it. Sometimes, however, a branch or a whole tree withers and dies without apparent cause early in the summer, and while the root is still sound. The disease is evi- dently acute, but its cause is not known, nor a remedy proposed. It is an old trouble of the apricot, and not peculiar to California. The so-called "gum disease" sometimes causes injury to trees. The best treatment is to cut away the diseased part down to healthy wood and cover the wound with common lead and oil paint, putting on sparingly so as not to flow over healthy bark. DISEASKS OF TH F. Al'RICOT 253 Some years certain varieties in particular are blackened at the pit and rendered unsalable, but the trouble has not thus far proved serious generally, except with certain varieties which have gener- ally gone out of use for that reason. The worst injury to tree and fruit is done by what is called the "shot-hole fungus" (coryncnm), from its perforations of the leaves as though by a charge from a shotgun. It makes ugly scars on the fruit, which renders it unsalable. The same disease also affects the leaves of cherries and plums. Thorough use of the Bordeaux mixture described in a later chapter will prevent this trouble. -V disease which is prevalent in some districts of southern Cali- fornia is called "black heart"; a pith disease which sometimes does great injury. No treatment except that of pruning back to healths- wood has thus far been proposed. Root knot is also a serious trouble of the apricot as of several other trees. It will be con- sidered in the chapter devoted to disease of fruit trees. Until recently the apricot has been generally free from scale insects, and it ist not aflfected by those species which are worst on some other fruit trees, but recently it has been seriously infested in some places with black and brown scales, which will be consid- ered in a later chapter. The ripe apricot is sometime? seriously assailed by the diabrotica, ii small green beetle, with twelve black spots upon its wing covers. Driving the insects away with smoke smudges has been used to some extent. Fortunately, the insect only occasionally occurs in large numbers. Varieties Approved by California Growers. Central Interior VARIETIES. coast valley and Southern valleys. foothills. California. Bergetti ** Blenheim ** .-;<* ** Early Golden * ** Early Moorpark ** Hemskirke *-M * * Large Early ** Large Early Montgamct :'!< * Luizet * Moorpark ** * * Newcastle :|:* Oullin's Early * -y Peach ** * Royal ** ** ** Routier's Peach ** Spark's Mammoth >ti St. Ambroise * * Tilton Wiggin's Seedling 254 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM VARIETIES OF THE APRICOT Though nearly all standard varieties of the apricot have been introduced and planted in this State, comparatively few are found on the list of the orchard planters. Many local seedlings have been brought to notice and propagated to some extent but are less used now than twelve years ago, and the disposition is to restrict planting to a few old varieties. There is, however, still a need of new varieties combining size, quality and regular bearing. As with most other fruits, some varieties are found to succeed wher- ever conditions favor the fruit at all ; other varieties succeed in some regions and not in others. Our table of varieties for the different counties shows this fact, and an attempt will be made to make the showing more explicit by notes in connection with the mention of each variety. In ,the following statement the arrangement is approximately in the order of ripening, and the descriptions are from Downing, with additions and changes to meet local observation : VARIETIES OF FOREIGN ORIGIN Large Early. — A French variety ; fruit of meduim size, rather oblong and compressed ; suture deep, skin slightly downy ; pale orange in the shade, fine bright orange with a few ruddy spots in the sun ; flesh separating readily from the stone, orange colored, rich and juicy; kernel bitter. This variety is espe- cially popular in th^ southern coast counties, but in most situations has proved an uncertain bearer. Ripens before Royal. Wiggin's Seedling. — Favored in Winter's district as best of early apricots; good size, fine color, solid red cheek, good bearer ; ten days earlier than Royal. Early Golden. — Origin unknown ; small, roundish oval, with suture well marked and extending half way around ; skin smooth, pale orange ; flesh yellow, moderately juicy and sweet, with very good flavor; separates from the stone. This variety is reported favorably from some counties, but generally otherwise, and is not largely grown. Ripens before Royal. Royal. — A French variety, and at the present time the leading California apricot. Of large size (when well thinned out), free stone, fine color and flavor, good bearer, and fruit ripens evenly, when well grown ; a favorite with the canners, and an excellent variety for drying. Fruit roundish, large, oval, slightly compressed ; skin dull yellow with orange cheek, very faintly tinged with red, and a shallow suture; flesh pale orange, firm and juicy, with a rich vinous flavor. There is a variety somewhat grown in Sacramento and Solano counties, some- times called "White Royal," which is not liked by canners, because of its lack of color and flavor. Large Early Montgamct. — Large, orange yellow, reddish on sunny side, firm. Oullin's Early. — Early form of Peach apricot, large size, delicious flavor. Ripens in Amador county four weeks earlier than Peach. Luizet. — Large, oval, distinct suture, one side higher than the other; orange with crimson cheek ; flesh deep yellow, firm, rich. Especially approved in the upper San Joaquin. Blenheim or Shipley. — This is a valuable variety in this State, and seems to surpass Downing's description both in vigor of tree and size of fruit. John Rock modifies Downing's description to suit California experience with this variety, as POPULAR KINDS OF APRICOTS 255 follows: "A very good variety, above medium, oval; orange, with a deep yellow, juicy, and tolerably rich flesh ; vigorous grower and regular, prolific bearer." This agrees perfectly with the behavior of the variety in the University orchard at Berkeley, where it is the best of twenty varieties. It is not reported so constant a bearer in some other parts of the State. Fruit runs a little larger than the Royal, and is usually better distributed on the tree, but it must be well thinned. This variety has been approved by canners. Ripens a little later than the Royal. Early Moorpark. — Very popular in Southern California, where its identity has been long in dispute, and is not yet fully determined. The Early Moorpark of Thomas Hogg is as follows : Roundish, inclining to oval, with very deep suture on one side, extending from base to apex. Skin yellow, mottled, and dotted with crimson on the exposed side. Flesh in all respects resembling Moorpark. Stone oblong, with a covered channel along the back, which is pervious. Kernel bitter. Ripens three weeks earlier than Moorpark. St. Ambroise. — Large, early, compressed, deep yellow, reddish on sunny side. Juicy, rich, and sugary, with firm flesh when grown in the interior ; apt to be coarse and to lack flavor near the coast. Condemned by canners for not process- ing well, and by dryers for loss of weight and for white color around the pit. It has served well as a shipping variety. Bergctti. — An undetermined variety introduced by Mr. Bergetti and widely distributed under his name in the San Joaquin. Hcmskirkc. — A fine English variety quite widely grown in California ; ripens later than Royal ; described by Downing as follows : "Fruit large, roundish, but considerably compressed or flattened on its sides ; skin orange, with red cheek ; flesh bright orange, tender, rather more juicy and sprightly than the Moorpark, with rich, luscious, plum-like flavor ; stone not perforate, rather small, and kernel bitter." Esteemed in California because the tree is more hardy and a more regular bearer than the Moorpark, and the fruit ripens evenly on both sides. Sometimes drops worse than other varieties. Peach. — A variety from Piedmont of the largest size, about two inches in diameter, roundish, rather flattened, and somewhat compressed on its sides, with a well-marked suture ; skin yellow in the shade, but deep orange mottled with brown on the sunny side; flesh of a fine yellow, saffron color, juicy, rich, and high flavored; stone can be penetrated like Moorpark. and has bitter kernel. This is a very successful sort in the warmer parts of the State especially, and is a favorite in the Sacramento Valley. It ripens just ahead of the Moorpark. Moorpark. — .A. standard of excellence and an old variety which originated in England. Fruit large, roundish, about two inches and a quarter in diameter each way ; rather larger on one side of the suture than on the other ; skin orange in the shade, but deep orange or brownish red in the sun, marked with numerous dark specks and dots ; flesh quite firm, bright orange, parting free from the stone, quite juicy, with a rich and luscious flavor; stone peculiarly perforated along the back, where a pin may be pushed through ; kernel bitter. In California the Moorpark reaches grand size, but has the fault of ripening unevenly in most localities. The tree is tender and bears irregularly, which leads to its rejection by most planters, though some growers cling to it because of its size and quahty and occasional grand crops. The San Jose districts lead in the production of this variety, and in some parts of the Santa Clara Valley the Moorpark seems to ripen uniformly. The same behavior is reported from localities in the upper San Joaquin Valley, where it aLso seems to be a more regular bearer. The variety is almost wholly rejected in Southern California. VARIETIES OF CALIFORNIA ORIGIN Newcastle. — Originated with C. M. Silva & Son, of Newcastle, Placer county, in 1881 ; size medium, round, with spherical pit ; freestone ; not quite as large as the Royal, nor quite as rich in flavor, but more highly colored ; rather darker on the side to the sun. Early, regular and good bearer, a medium grower, being more upright than the Royal. Its time of ripening has been reported as seventeen days earlier than the Early Golden, and twenty-five days earlier than the Royal. 256 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Roiitie/s Peach. — Originated with Hon. Joseph Routier, near Sacramento Large, yellow in shade ; deep orange, mottled or splashed with red in the sun ; flesh juicy and rich, high flavor and a good market variety. Blooms a week later than peach. Very popular in Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. Spark's Mammoth. — Popular in Ventura county. Largest size, even larger than Moorpark; pale yellow, very tender, juicy and sweet. Quite widely distrib- uted in Southern California, but its bearing habit is in question. Tilton. — Chance seedling first noticed about 1885 on place of J. E. Tilton, near Hanford, Kings county, and distinguished by regular bearing. Propagated and introduced by J. W. Bairstow, of Hanford. Fruit large ; freestone ; symmetrical, ripening evenly and one week to ten days later than Royal. Tree vigorous and prolific. Widely planted recently and very promising, though condemned for shy bearing in some places. Late Englehardt. — Chance seedling originating at La Crescenta. Propagated and introduced by W. B. Thorne of Tropico. Large as Moorpark, ripening evenly and twenty-eight days later than Royal. Claimed by J\Ir. Thorne to be a very late bloomer, and thus escaping frosts which caught all other varieties at similar elevations. Planted chiefly in Los Angeles county. CHAPTER XIX THE CHERRY Althougli the amount of cherries grown in this State is small as compared with the aggregate weights of some other fruits, the cherry, from the growth of the tree and the size and quality of the product, is entitled to rank as one of the grand fruits of Cali- fornia. The size of the California-grown cherry is a matter of pride with the residents, and a marvel to visitors. It is related that, many years ago, one of the most distinguished Eastern pomologists, who was taken to an Alameda County cherry orchard during picking time, could not recognize the varieties, though he had himself propagated and shipped to California the very trees which were bearing the fruit, the size of which so far surpassed all his mental standards. And quality is commensurate with size. Whatever disagreement there may be concerning the flavors of our other fruits as compared with Eastern, the richness and ex- cellence of the California cherry have never been impeached. Re- cently the shipment of cherries to eastern markets, the extension of the canning interest, and the uprising of a demand for mara- schino-preserving have considerably enlarged the opportunity for profitable growth of the friut. Famous Old Trees. — The longevity and productiveness of the cherry tree in this State is naturally of interest. Cherries that were planted in some of the earliest settled parts of the State are still in full vigor. One of the famous trees is a Black Tartarian, which was brought from France by Dr. L. E. Miller, and planted by him in 1854, on land afterwards owned by Robert Hector in Placer county, just below Rattlesnake Bar, on the American River about eight hundred feet above sea-level. It is described as above seventy feet in height, the branches covering a space between sev- enty feet and seventy-five feet in diameter. The trunk branches about six feet above the ground, and at that point has a girth of over ten feet. A close record of its crop, kept for a number of vears when the tree was over thirty years of age, showed that it yielded from a ton to a ton and a half a year. Such trees are too large to be profitable, for the fruit has to be picked with the aid of extension ladders securely guyed, by men slung in swings from such ladders or the forks of the trees. At last reports there were about fifty of these large trees. Other large trees were to be seen near Woodside, San Mateo County, and near Oroville and Chico in Butte County, some of wliich have borne a ton of fri^it in favorable seasons. 2.57 UMlA w* ji ^^ > c c 3 258 SOILS FOR THE CHERRY 259 LOCALITIES FOR THE CHERRY In California there are many districts in which the cherry does not do well, and situations for the fruit must therefore be selected with discrimination. The chief product is made in the coast valleys adjacent to the Bay of San Francisco, including its extension east of the Coast Range, known as Suisun bay, for in all these regions there is a modification of climate due to the influence of ocean tem- perature and moisture. Away from these influences the cherry also thrives on the alluvial bottoms of large rivers and their tribu- tar}'^ creeks, both on the low lands of the valleys and the foothills, while on broad valley plains and foothill slopes it is not usually satisfactory. In the mountain valleys cherries also thrive in suit- able soils. In southern California at elevations where moisture is adequate and temperatures favor suitable winter dormancy of the trees, good cherries are profitably grown, while on the mesas and valleys below, where citrus fruits flourish, the cherry is an aggra- vation. How far atmospheric conditions which are beyond control influence the growth and fruitage of the cherry, can not yet be fully determined, but ample trial seems to demonstrate the unsat- isfactory character of the tree, manifested in small fruit and sun- burned foliage, on the plains of interior valleys, although the soil is kept moist enough. There is, however, still the chance of secur- ing varieties of the fruit which have been developed under condi- tions similar to those prevailing in the interior of California. The Russian cherries, which are largely grown in a region subject to high summer heat and dry air. will succeed in parts of California where the varieties originating in west Europe fail. Though this was suggested long ago, the effort has not yet been made. SOILS FOR THE CHERRY The cherry thrives in free, deep soil, in which water does not stand within about 15 feet from the surface. It delights in deep deposits from old water courses, and does not dislike a moderate amount of sand. A loam underlaid by a sandy subsoil is accept- able, but a loam underlaid by clay has shown its unfitness by the early failure of the trees, while those on deep loam near by have remained vigorous and profitable. On the foothills it thrives in the light, mellow soil and fails in the tight clay either in soil or sub- soil, as it does in the adobe of lower lands; and yet a clay loam of no great depth upon a clay subsoil may grow good trees if the clay be so disposed that surplus water from winter rains can escape and water is at hand to guard against summer drouth. But this is merely a suggestion for garden growth of the cherry. Commercial 260 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM orchards should have a good depth of sufficiently retentive soil. The great cherry trees which we have mentioned, are growing right on the bank of the American River, where the soil is a pure, sandy loam, in some places over sixty feet deep, as proved by an old shaft once dug near the center of the orchard. But though the cherry dislikes a wet soil, it is particular about its water supply and insists upon enough, its requirements being greater than some other trees. During the dry years 1898 and 1899, trees came into distress where they had never suffered before, and many large valuable trees died. The only new condition they en- countered was lack of soil moisture. It thus appears that while the cherry is undoubtedly injured by excess of water in the soil it is still very exacting in its requirement of an adequate supply. If this can not be retained in the soil by cultivation, irrigation must be resorted to. Thus the cherry growers in the famous Willows district, of San Jose, usually find it an advantage to give their trees an irrigation between the spring rains and the ripening of the fruit, and another irrigation after the fruit is gathered. Irregularity in the moisture supply also causes the cherry to bloom and fruit unseasonably. There has been bloom in October and ripe fruit in January, due to the fact that trees become dormant in late summer from soil-drouth. January cherries may be evi- dences of salubrity but they betoken poor horticulture. These facts show that the cherry must have water enough or it will not succeed. Sometimes young trees which have made a good summer growth die outright on leachy soils which dry out before the fall rains begin. On the other hand, there must not be excessive moisture in the soil either from irrigation or by mois- ture. Cherry trees in southern California, planted with orange trees and given similar irrigation, have failed utterly. Planting on natur- ally moist land in low places has also failed, and observed facts some time ago led to the conclusion that at the south the cherry should be planted on well-drained land, which could be irrigated (as the behavior of the tree indicated its need of water), rather than on naturally moist land, because of the likelihood of excessive moisture in such situations. More recent experience has declared mellow, well-drained soils of the higher lands well adapted to the cherry and on such soils, when well cultivated, cherries have done well without irrigation at Pasadena, Pomona and elsewhere. The com- mercial cherry product of southern California comes, however, from mountain valleys and high plateaux — the chief regions being the Yucaipe Valley above Redlands and the Alesa Grande region in the interior of San Diego County. In California, as elsewhere, the Dukes and Morellos mav suc- ceed where the Hearts and Bigarreaux fail. The May Duke seems especially hardy, and bears well in Nevada, where other sorts fail utterly. SiTUATIOXS FOR THE CHERRV 261 Delayed Fruiting of Cherry Trees. — Though tlie cherry in fav- orable situations bears early, tbe grower, especially on strong, rich lands, will often have many years of disappointment from falling blossoms and fruit. During this time the trees will be making marvelous wood growth, and this apparently suppresses the fruit- ing function. Usually these trees will ultimately bear when their exuberant growth declines. The}^ can be thrown into fruit sooner by allowing the trees to go uncultivated, or by root pruning digging a trench around about eight feet from the tree, and sever- ing the roots thus encountered, or b}^ summer pruning of twig' ends. Because of this over-growth, growers give such soil to the apple or the pear rather than the cherry. Sometimes the non-bearing of the cherry is inexplicable. Though everything seems to be right, and the blooms are profuse, the fruit will not stick. Unquestionably lack of bearing is due with certain cherries to lack of association of different varieties and cross fertilization. There is warrant for the claim that keeping bees in the vicinity of cherry orchards has increased the bearing. But varieties must be provided which will act as cross-pollinizers. The Royal Ann needs this assistance and will bear better when associated with Black Tartarian, Black Bigarreaux, Bing and probably others. In Oregon the Deacon and Lambert are said to be good poUinizers for Royal Ann. EXPOSURES FOR THE CHERRY Exposures for the cherry are chosen both with reference to protection from frost injury and to early ripening of the fruit. The cherry blooms early ; though hardly as venturesome as the apricot and almond. In protected situations, guarded from cold northerly winds, and open to sunshine on the south and southeast, the fruit advances to maturity very rapidly. In Vaca Valley about a month of good weather after the blossoming will ripen an early cherry and ripe cherries have been shipped as early as March 31. The pioneer cherry growers of Vaca Valley went there from their old homes in Napa Valley, because they could gather and market cher- ries in their new locations before the same varieties were ripe in Napa. They chose places protected on the north and west by steep hills. The two things to secure are, apparently, protection from the sweep of cold winds and elevation above the deposits of cold air, which occurs in depressed places. In localities where fruit ripens late, as near the coast, there is no need to seek forcing conditions, for the extra early varieties should not be planted except for family use. Early varieties are comparatively poor in quality, and will not sell profitably, as they will reach the market alongside the better later sorts from earlier 262 CALIFORNIA fruits: ttOW TO GROW THEM districts. The place for the cherry in the latter districts is on the most proper soil, according to the requirements which have been laid down, avoiding, however, so far as possible, wind-swept spots, and seeking amelioration of direct ocean influences by elevation or intervention of hills and windbreaks. PROPAGATION AND PLANTING THE CHERRY In the chapter on propagation is given a successful method of growing cherry seedlings. California cherry trees are almost ex- clusively propagated by budding on seedlings of the Black Maz- zard. The Mahaleb root is more hardy than the Mazzard and is less subject to injury by soil saturation during the winter season. It is also more hardy against injury by summer drouth on shallow soils, which is one of the causes of die-back of the cherry tree in some parts of the State. AVhile there may be particular places in which the jNIahaleb is the better root, the conclusions of fifty years' experience in California cherry growing, which approve the Maz- zard, are on the whole trustworthy. The Mazzard is a better grower and, where moisture conditions are fairly good, leaves little to be desired. The Mazzard, however, though credited with a dwarfing influence, does make a good sized tree under our con- ditions. Recently the Morello or sour cherry seedling, has found favor with some growers on the Sacramento River, although it is inhospitable to the buds of some varieties, like the Early Purple Guigne and Royal Ann, and double working has to be resorted to which is expensive, both in outlay and time. The Black Tartarian takes well on the Morello and other varieties can be budded upon the Tartarian top growth. The planting of the cherry is covered by the general consid- erations already given for the planting of orchards. The distance which cherries should be set apart is a disputed point among planters. When planted twenty feet apart the trees have interlaced their branches when sixteen years old, and the spaces between the rows have been covered in like colonnades. In the Hayward re- gion the branches of twelve-year-old trees set twenty-eight feet apart have nearly reached each other, though continually cut back. Much depends in the matter of distance upon the manner of handling the trees. The trees can be grown much nearer together by continuous pruning than where the usual way of cutting back for the first few years and letting the tree take its natural growth after that, is followed. James E. Gedney, of Mesa Grande, San Diego County, practises close planting and cutting back which may work better on his upland than on deeper, moister soils. He says: pku.ninh; the chkrry 263 I plant mj' trees twenty feet apart each way. My method is to plant tlnis closely and then keep my trees low, by cutting back every year; this facilitates gathering the fruit very much. I prefer this way to setting the trees farther apart and allowing them to attain too great a height. By the former method I secure fully as good, if not better, results per acre, to say nothing of the differ- ence in gathering the fruit. Another advantage in keeping the trees headed low is that the wind does not affect them nearly as much as it does tall trees. The best distances are 24 or 28 feet on such deep soils as have been described as best befitting the tree and thotigh one may fix his distance in planting- according to the method of pruning he proposes to follow, he should remember that the cherry is natur- ally a large tree, and most old orchards are now over-crowded. As with other trees, orchard planters prefer trees with one year's growth on the bud in the nursery, because they usually get. then, a straight switch with well developed buds all the way down, and the head can be formed as desired. For garden planting, older trees, properly pruned in the nursery, can be used to advantage. PRUNING THE CHERRY All our best growers agree in the advantage of a low head for the cherry, and all aim to have the trunks of young trees from the ground up to the limbs literally covered all around with leaves which completely shelter the bark from the rays of the sun. In planting, therefore, the side buds are carefully preserved — not to be grown into branches, but to be cut or pinched back when they have come out a few inches, leaving just growth enough to clothe the tree with a covering of its own foliage. These sptirs not only furnish leaves to shade the trunk. InU soon become fruit spurs and bear well. Low Heading with a Central Stem. — Some of the trees in the older orchards have been shaped by carrying up a leader with a regular system of side branches. Head back at planting to two feet, pinching ofT the shoots below the head as stated, and allow- ing the shoots which form the head to grow larger, but they too are all to be pinched except the leader, which is allow^ed to grow a,s long as it pleases during the summer. During fall or winter pruning cut back the leader to about twelve or sixteen inches from its starting point and cut back the side branches to about six or eight inches. This is done year after year, cutting back and thin- ning out the side shoots, pinching the laterals, and allowing the leader to grow, never interfering with it until the winter pruning and ahvays letting it predominate over the side shoots. Ry cutting short, wood is increased, but at the end of six years the tree goes into fruit very rapidly. As the tree increases in fruit it decreases in wood, and by the time it is ten or twelve years old there will be 264 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM but little cutting to do, except to shorten in and thin out, and this requires some judgment and experience, to know where to cut, how to cut, and when to cut. To shorten in, never cut down to an old fruit spur. It is very difficult to get healthy wood out of such; but whenever you can find last year's wood, there you can cut with safety anything that is less than one inch in diameter. This system of pruning must be accompanied by constant pinch- ing during the summer time. It should commence when the lower shoots are about six inches long, and be followed up closely all through the growing season. Those on the trunk should never get longer than eight or ten inches, under any circumstances. After these are pinched, let the trees rest ten or fifteen days, or until the branches in the top get a good start. Then pinch everything clean but the leader, in every main branch in the tree. The leader takes its own way all through the growing season, to prevent the effects of over-pinching or checking growth. If only the side shoots are kept back, the leader or head of the branches receives the current or flow of sap and maintains and carries on life and vitality in the tree. One object in pinching or spur pruning is to keep back sur- plus wood and create fruit spurs, throwing all the little twigs and branches into fruit, thereby utilizing all the wood the tree can pro- duce, not allowing it to grow at the tree's expense, and then have to cut it ofif. And another object in side-shoot pruning is to make the tree produce fine large cherries, all closely nestling around the big wood, and no long, slim branches hanging down like weeping wil- low. All such branches are always more or less sunburnt on the top and full of worms, one of the evils tending to the destruction of the tree. This method is commended to those who like a tree with a central leader, and are willing to give their orchards such constant attention. Unless pinching and consequent multiplication of shoots and foliage is faithfully followed such a tree is apt to become tall and rangy and to expose the bark all the way up to sunburn and borers. THE USUAL METHOD OF PRUNING THE CHERRY As we have said, all cherry growers agree on low heading and on the advantage of pinching the lowest shoots as soon as they make a bunch of leaves. In forming the head, and in after treat- ment, the usual method is quite different from that we have de- scribed. It follows the vase or goblet form, which has been dis- cussed at length in the chapter on pruning. Of the application of this method to the cherry, W. W. Smith, in an address before the State Horticultural Society, said : GRAFTING THE CHERRV 265 The cherry may be pruned the same as any other deciduous fruit tree until it is about five years old ; after that the less pruning the better, except when neces- sary to cut out a dead or crossing branch. Pruning the cherry is more or less likely to produce gum (and this, decay), and should be avoided as much as possible. Cherry trees, however, should be trained with low heads not to exceed eighteen inches from the ground to the first branches ; fifteen inches is better. From three to five branches are enough to form the head of the tree ; all others should be removed early. Three are better than five ; two make a forked tree, which is likely to split in after years. At the end of the first season we have a neat httle tree with three to five branches. During the following winter these branches should be cut back to six to eight inches. The next season these should be allowed to produce two branches each (no more) ; then, at the end of the second season from planting out, we have a tree with from six to ten branches. The following winter the new growth should be cut back again to from twelve to eighteen inches — according to the amount of growth the tree makes — the less the growth the more you cut. The same process should be repeated the following winter, treating each branch as an individual tree, until the tree is about five years old ; it takes at least five years to get the head of a cherry well established. After this, as some varieties will persist in throwing out branches near the ground, they should be removed during the summer. At this age the tree, if well grown, will have top enough to shade its body from the sun, and there is no further need of branches on the main trunk. If necessary to remove large branches it should then be done in midsummer, as that is the only season when the gum is not more or less exuded. We make it a rule to go over and dress up and prune our cherry orchard immediately after the crop is gathered — which in our part of the State is the last of May. All wounds made then by the removal of branches or otherwise will heal over the same season. All large wounds made at any time, however, should be coated over with paint. The method thtis described by Mr. Smith is that by which I)rol)ablv nine-tenths of the cherry trees of this State are shaped. In the cherry there should be the same observation as to cutting inside and outside buds as with other trees; in fact, the outside bud is the rule, because so many varieties make a directly upward growth. In removing limbs, cutting to the collar or swelling at the base of the limb is especially important, also the covering of the wound to prevent checking of the wood. GRAFTING OVER THE CHERRY Since canning of cherries began on a large scale, there has been a vastly increased demand for white cherries. The Royal Ann (a local name for Napoleon Bigarreau) has been the favorite. Other white sorts are also used for canning. This rise in favor of the white cherries has vastly increased their proportionate pro- duction as compared with the choice black and red varieties, which are still popular as table fruit. It is the experience of growers that the .cherry is grafted over as easily as the pear or apple, if the tree is healthy. In large trees as many as fifty or one hundred grafts may be set, choosing the smaller limbs, even if you have to go pretty high in the tree. J. W. Cassidy, of Petaluma, used to advise grafting before the sap 266 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM begins to flow in the winter, or if not done then, wait until the buds are well advanced or the tree in bloom. He has trees which were over thirty years old before they were re-headed, and they made fine tops of new and healthy wood, and produced abundantly. The cherry is in fact a very easy tree to graft by the usual top- grafting methods. PESTS AND DISEASES OF THE CHERRY The disease of the cherry which is most heard of is the "gum," or overflow and condensation of sap, which, if left to itself, often induces decay of adjacent bark and wood. Without attempting to explain the cause or causes of the unhealthy exudation, it may be said that prompt treatment of certain manifestations is desir- able, and in others the tree should be cleansed from the flow: Where the gum exudes on the side of trunk or limb, the thin outer bark should be pared away with a sharp knife, the accumu- lation of gum and sap removed, and the wound painted with lead and oil paint, or covered with grafting wax. Gum in the crotch should be cleanly brushed out when soft- ened by the winter rains. If allowed to remain, it becomes sour and offensive and may injure the tree. In places where two or three limbs come out close together a kind of cup is formed, which will hold the gum from one year's end to another, and in its soft state, leaves, sticks, cherry pits, dust, and dirt will stick and hang and sometimes the mass becomes very foul. By this collection also, a nest is made for all manner of insects, bugs and worms. Another evil in letting the gum stay on is, if rain does not wash it off clean, it runs down the trunk of the tree and makes the bark look bad, and if it is very thick on the bark when it dries, it will contract and crack the bark crosswise, and is very injurious to the tree. Gumming in the crotch can be largely avoided by starting the young cherry as advocated in the chapter on pruning. Branches which emerge from the trunk at separate points and at wide angles seldom gum ; those which are crowded together or emerge at acute angles gum badly. In shaping young trees a gumming joint sometimes may be clearly cut out and those branches selected to remain which start out at a wider angle; in older trees there is nothing to do but keep the fork clean, as already described. There are cases reported in which gumming of old trees has been stopped by allowing the ground to lie uncultivated, weeds being cut down with the hoe. As a rule, however, the cherry thrives with good cultivation. POPULAR CHERRIES 267 Die-back of the Cherry. — The dying back of cherry branches is more or less common in all regions, and the immediate cause thereof is not known. It is apparently sometimes a root trouble, as is the dying back of other fruit trees. This might have resulted from standing water in the winter in the soil, although the same condition may result from lack of sufficient moisture. Anything which causes destruction of the root hairs is apt to cause die-back and other forms of unlhrift in the top. Early vegetative activity in the branch, followed by frost, seems also to occasion die-back in some cases. Fortunately, this can occur without injury to the rest of the tree, though it is sometimes and in some places destructive to the tree in the end. The only treatment is removal of the af- fected wood, and if this can he done during the growing season, as soon as signs of injury appear, it is all the better. The Gopher. — One of the most dangerous foes of the cherry is the gopher, for he seldom takes less than the whole tree, young or old. Traces of his presence should be constantly watched for, and killing methods described in a later chapter adopted. If a tree is seen to wilt suddenly, the probability is that a gopher has girdled it. Covering the wound sometimes saves the tree, but not usually. Insects injuring the cherry will be mentioned in a subsequent chapter. VARIETIES OF THE CHERRY Many varieties of the cherry have been tested in this State, and many have been abandoned from one cause or another. Those most frequently starred in our " table are the survivors in public esteem. As our reports have come from those who grow for market, possibly some sorts are too tender for shipment, but excel- lent for family use, are omitted, but will be included in the descrip- tions which follow^ the table. The claims to value upon which a variety is judged are several : Extra earliness, an important con- sideration in early districts for shipment, and elsewhere for local sale or family use ; firnniess to withstand mechanical injury by jarring in transit and durability to escape decay during the long journey to distant markets ; firmness and fixed color to stand proc- essing in the cannery, and to prevent coloring the juice ; lateness to extend the cherry season. In classification of cherries it was originally considered that there were four classes of cherries. The Hearts were the tender and half-tender sweet cherries, while tlie Bigarreaux were the firm- lleshed ones ; but these have been so intermingled and blended together by hybridization that no distinct line can now be drawn 268 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM separating them. There is really but one class of these, whose main characteristic is the large, vigorous growth of the tree. The Duke and Morello cherries, also wanting a natural division, really constitute but one class. Cherry Varieties Approved by California Growers VARIETY. Advance Bing Bl'k Heart ( B. Bigarreau) Burr's Seedling Centennial Chapman Cleveland Early Purple Guigne Elton Knight (Early) Lambert Lewelling (B. Republican) Mezel ** Napoleon (Royal Ann) .... Nonpariel Rockport Schmidt Spanish (Yellow) Tartarian (Black) Paul Wood (Governor) Buttner's Yellow- Eugenie May Duke Morello Olivet Richmond Interior Mountain Upper Central valley valleys Southern Coast Coast and and California. region. region. foothills. plateaux. * Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. ** Most highly commended. BIGARREAU AND HEARTS Early Lamauric. — Fruit large, dark purple; flesh rich, juicy, excellent. Down- ing says a week earlier than Early Purple Guigne. Has proved the earliest cherry in the University collection at Berkeley, and in Vacaville district. Not fully tested as to regular bearing. Guigne Marhrce. — "Fruit medium large, round, skin dark red ; flesh purplish red, tender, juicj^ delicate flavor." — GiUct. "A better bearer than Early Purple Guigne." — W. W. Smith. Baumann's May (Early Black Guigne). — Rather small, deep rich red, becom ing rather dark when fully ripe; tender, juicy, tolerably sweet and good. Early Purple Guigne. — Small to medium size; purple; tender, juicy, and sweet. This variety is considered the earliest good cherry. It is reported a shy bearer in some localities, CHERRIES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 269 Belle d'Orleans. — Above medium size, roundish, heart-shaped ; whitish yel- low, half covered with pale red. very juicy, sweet and excellent. Early White Heart. — Below medium size, rather heart-shaped, skin dull whitish yellow, tinged and speckled with pale red in the sun; flesh melting, sweet, and pleasant when fully ripe. White Tartarian. — Fruit of medium size, obtuse heart-shaped ; skin pale yellow ; stalk slender ; flesh whitish yellow ; half tender and very sweet. American Heart. — Fruit pretty large, heart-shaped, often nearly four-sided and irregular in outline borne in clusters; flesh half tender; skin strong and adhering to flesh. Werder's Early Black. — An early variety, moderately productive ; tree vigor- ous, spreading; fruit large, black, tender, sweet and excellent. Knight's Early Black. — "Large, black, tender, juicy, rich, and excellent; high flavor; a shy bearer until the trees attain age." Rockport Bigarreau. — Large ; pale amber in the shade, light red in the sun ; half tender, sweet and good ; a very excellent and handsome cherry ; good bearer ; highly esteemed for canning and shipping. Coe's Transparent. — Medium size pale amber, red and mottled next the sun ; tender, sweet and fine. Cleveland Bigarreau. — A thrifty, strong, spreading grower, and productive large; clear red and yellow; juicy, sweet, and rich. Black Tartarian. — Fruit of the largest size, bright purplish black. Flesh purplish, thick, juicy, very rich and delicious. Tree a remarkably vigorous, erect, and beautiful grower, and an immense bearer; the best of the black cherries. Governor Wood. — Large ; light yellow shaded with bright red ; flesh nearly tender, juicy, sweet, rich and delicious ; a vigorous grower and very productive. Elton. — Large, pointed; pale yellow, nearly covered with light red; juicy, with a rich and luscious flavor ; one of the best. Black Eagle. — A very excellent English variety, ripening in June ; large size, deep purple, or nearly black ; flesh deep purple, tender, with a rich, high-flavored juice. American Amber.— ^Fruit medium sized, roundish, heart-shaped; skin thin, smooth, light amber ; delicately mottled and overspread with bright red ; flesh tender and juicy, but not high flavored. Yellow Spanish (Bigarreau Graffion). — Large; pale yellow, with red cheek in the sun; flesh firm, juicy, and delicious; one of the best, most beautiful and popular of all light-colored cherries. Mezel, Monstreuese dc (Great Bigarreau). — A foreign variety of the largest size; dark red or quite black; firm and juicy; late. Pontiac. — Large; dark purplish red; half tender, juicv, and agreeable. Burr's Seedling. — Large; yellow, shaded with red; sweet and rich vigorous and great bearer; apparently does better near the coast than in the interior. Oxheart. — Fruit large, obtuse, heart-shaped; skin dark red; flesh red, half tender, with a pleasant juice of second quality. Napoleon Bigarreau (Royal Ann). — A magnificent cherry of the largest size; pale yellow, becoming amber in shade, richly dotted and spotted with deep red! and with a bright red cheeck; flesh very firm, juicy and sweet. Tree a free grower and an enormous bearer. Tradescant's Blackheart (Elkhorn, Black Bigarreau). — Large, heart-shaped; deep, glossy black; very solid and firm; dark purple, moderately juicy. Schmidt's Bigarreau. — "A new German variety lately introduced. The largest of all the Black Bigarreau cherries. Skin of a deep black color; flesh dark and very juicy, with a fine flavor."' — John Bid-well. 270 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM DUKES AND MORELLOS Early Richmond (Kentish). — An early, red, acid cherry; valuable for cooking early in the season. Eugenie. — Medium large; heart-shaped; amber red; good quality; early. May Duke. — An old, well-known, e.xcellent variety; large, dark red, juicy, subacid, rich. Arch Duke. — Fruit large, obtuse, heart-shaped; bright red becoming dark; flesh light red, melting, juicy, rich, sub-acid flavor, very good; tree more up- right and vigorous than May Duke. Late Duke. — Fruit large, flattened or obtuse, heart-shaped ; white, mottled with red, becoming rich dark red when ripe; flesh yellowish, tender, juicy; hangs long on the tree. Reine Hortense.— "It is one of the very largest of cherries ; a beautiful, glossy red, or deep pink, when fully ripe ; heart-shaped ; a universal bearer, and when hanging on the tree no fruit is more beautiful ; excellent for canning, but too soft and juicy for shipment.'' — W. W. Smith. English Morcllo. — Large, dark red, nearly black; tender, juicy, rich, acid, pro- ductive and late. Guigne Noir Luisante (Black Spanish). — Fruit imedium size, round, heart- shaped, glossy, blackish red; flesh reddish purple, tender, juicy, rich, acid. Belle Magnifique. — Fruit large, roundish, inclined to heart-shape; skin a fine bright red; flesh juicy, tender, with sprightly sub-acid flavor; one of the best of its class; a fine table fruit when fully ripe. iJuttncr's Yellozv. — Medium, roundish; clear yellow; firm. late. PACIFIC COAST SEEDLINGS Lezvelling— Black Republican (Black Oregon).— "Seedling by Seth Lewelling, Milwaukee, Oregon, from seed planted in 1860; first fruited in orchard in 1864. Widely distributed in California. Large, black, sweet, with purple flesh; ripens ten days after Black Tartarian. — James Shinn. "Large, late black cherry, good flavor, long keeper ; dries and ships well. Seems to succeed better on foothills than i'n the valley." — Robert Williamson. "Supposed to be a cross between Na- poleon Bigarreau and Black Tartarian, having the solid flesh of the former and the color "of the latter; very late." — John Rock. "I am of the opinion that the Black Republican and Lincoln came from the seed of the Black Eagle, but I have little idea of what variety they were crossed w\th."—Seth Lewelling. ^ino, Originated by Seth Lewelling, from seed of Black Republican. "Fruit large, dark brown or black, very fine, late ; a good shipping variety." — Seth Lewel- lin". ' Tree vigorous, and foliage heavy. Fruit ripens so that trees can be cleaned at one picking. Centennial. — A seedling of Napoleon Bigarreau, raised by Mr. Henry Chap- man, in Napa Valley, and fruited by him for the first time in 1876. Propagated and introduced by Leonard Coates, then of Napa, in 1885. It is larger than its parent, more oblate in form, and beautifully marbled and splashed with crim- son on a Dale yellow ground; exceptionally sweet and of remarkable keeping quality. Described by Committee of American Pomological Society (1885) as follows: "Size large, slightly oblate; amber, with dark crimson marbling; flesh, firm, sweet, and rich; quality best; condition excellent (after crossing conti- nent by mail), showing its good shipping qualities." The Centennial has been little planted recently, because of superiority of Royal Ann. California Advance. — Originated by W. H. Chapman of Napa, propagated by Leonard Coates, then of Napa. Seedling of Early Purple Guigne, ripens one week earler than its parent ; is larger and more obtuse, rounded form, and said to be a heavier bearer ; dark purple turning black ; rich and sweet, and of good degree of firmness. The Oregon. — Seedling of Napoleon Bigarreau, by H. W. Prettyman, of East Portland, and named by Oregon State Horticultural Society in 1888; de- pacii'k: coast ciierriks 271 scribed as larger than Napoleon; firm; dark red; "lit to eat earlier than Napo- leon, but coming to full maturity somewhat later." Introduced in 1888 by W. S. Failing. Portland. Lambert. — Seedling of J. H. Lambert, ^lilwaukee. Oregon, 1887; presented to Oregon State Horticultural Society : right to propagate sold to Oregon Nur- sery Co., 1896. and introduced by this company ; very large, roundish, heart- shaped ; stem long, slender, suture medium depth, acid ; smooth, glossy, dark purplish; red flesh dark purplish red, firm, flavor rich, quality good. Ripens ten days to two weeks after Black Tartarian. Andrews. — Fruited French seedling about 18% by C. N. Andrews, Redlands. Grown in mountain valley near Redlands. Apparently a fine shipping variety locally named after the grower. Paul. — Found by E. V. D. Paul of L'kiah on place purchased by him and pre- vious owner could not account for its presence. Very large, black, mottled with dark red ; late ; remarkable shipping endurance demonstrated ; diploma at Oregon Cherry Fair, 1907. Propagated and introduced bv Leonard Coates Co., Morgan Hill, California, 1908. Nonpareil. — Originated at Vaca Orchard ; a fine, black, shipping cherry, owned by Earl Fruit Company at Vacaville and not distributed. Early Biirbank. — Originated by Luther Burbank ; a seedling of Early Purnle Guigne and sold in 1903 to a group of Vacaville growers who control it. Very early, earlier than its parent variety. Large, rich deep crimson, resembling Black Tartarian in quality. Tree medium upright grower, large leaves, prolific. Oregon has been prolific in originating new varieties of the cherry which are locally popular, but only a few have established themselves in California. CHAPTER XX THE PEACH Until the great prune planting passion of the decade ago the peach was the greatest deciduous fruit of California judged by the total number of trees in service. When the boom impression went forth that cured prunes could be put up in sacks more cheaply than wheat, people took to planting prune orchards by the section all through the wheat districts of the great valley, and boom planters even carried the trees where no one would think of plant- ing wheat — cutting up shallow-clay upland sheep pastures and even yucca sand wastes into prune-growing colonies. Under such planting propositions it is little wonder our nurseries sold prune trees for twice the normal prices and still could not fill the demand. Figures of prune trees in orchards rushed far beyond the peach figures. This over-planting of prunes naturally brought loss and disappointment, and interest turned again to peach planting, so that now the peach has secured notable advance beyond the prune, as shown by statistics in Chapter VI. During the last three years the peach has had the call, the nurseries have had difficulty in keeping' up with the planting demand for certain varieties, which will be discussed later, and the peach has demonstrated its right to attain again its old position by possession of a greater acreage than is given to any other deciduous fruit. The peach was the first fruit to ripen on the improved trees brovight here by the early American settlers, and the magnificence of the peach was consequently the key-note of the refrain which greeted the ears of the world in which the California gold cry was ringing early in the fifties. In fact, the gold from the mine and the gold from the tree were very nearly related. In old Coloma, where gold was discovered, there was a peach tree which bore four hundred and fifty peaches in 1854, which sold for $3.00 each, or $1,350 for the crop of the one tree, and in 1855, six trees bore one thousand one hun- dred peaches, which sold for $1.00 each. Some of these pioneer trees are said to be still living and bearing fruit. LONGEVITY OF THE PEACH IN CALIFORNIA There are many other facts to establish the claim that the peach tree, if planted in a suitable soil and situation and cared for with any devotion and skill, is not a short-lived tree in California. Califor- nia is too young to mark the limits of its duration, but there are in- stances in the earliest-settled places in the State, where peach trees 272 L()\(;k\itv of the peacM 273 above fifty years old are still vigorous and productive. Some trees have, in fact, gone along in thrift until they have a bark below which . looks like that of a forest tree, and framework of main branches sound and stalwart throughout because they have never been allowed to sunburn until protected by their own roughness, and have never been pruned with an axe, and never lost a limb nor had a wound into which decay could penetrate and descend to the root. When the peach has a fair chance in its aerial parts and is in a soil which favors health of the roots, it shows itself to be very long-lived in California. When trees break to pieces and show decay wounds, they are in bad places, and have suffered through natural stress or have been weakened by cultural errors. In favorable soils the peach is stronger and longer lived in the root than in the top, and sometimes triumphs over neglect by discard- ing its old, wind-broked, sun-burned and bark-bound branches, and forms a new head of its own. Such renewal is sometimes very rapid. In the interior valley new shoots on a cut-back Muir tree have grown twelve feet in one season, with a thickness of one and one-half inches at the base. Such shoots will bear the following summer. It is through this disposition to renewal of good wood that the intelligent system of pruning which is now prevalent, ministers to the longevity as well as the profitability of the tree, aiding it to constantly renew its youth by restraining its exuberance, and at the same time furnishing it sound new wood on which to grow its fruits and foliage. But while these are facts, there is some difference of opinion as to the point at which an old tree becomes less valuable than a young one. Along the Sacra- mento River some count about a dozen good crops as the limit, and thus replace the trees when about fifteen years of age. This is a point which may vary greatly, according to local conditions. Early Productiveness. — Quite as important as the longevity of the peach tree are the facts of its rapid growth and early produc- tiveness. It is the first of our fruit trees to attain size and yield a profitable crop. In localities best suited to its growth it will mature some fruit the second summer in the orchard if the small shoots are not pruned away from the main branches, and during the third summer averages of forty to fifty pounds per tree have been secured from considerable acreages. These facts are stated to show what the peach of good variety may do in a good situation and soil and with the best of care. Of course they are not to be taken as average results, although greater than those given are sometimes attained. For example, on the rich, alluvial land near Visalia, an Admiral Dew-ey yearling tree planted in March 1904, had in October, 1905, attained these dimensions : Near the ground the trunk was eleven and three-quarter inches in circumference, branching tw^o feet from the ground it had four main branches. 274 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM each seven inches in circumference; hei.i^ht of tree, twelve feet; spread of branches, ten feet. It grew near a crack in a cement ditch and so had all the moisture it could use. and being in a free, open soil was not impaired by standing water. As for possible productiveness of the peach, one Susquehanna tree in Kern county yielded twenty-seven forty-five pound picking- boxes — twelve hundred and fifty pounds in one crop — about four times aS much as good trees may average. LOCALITIES FOR THE PEACH The peach has a wide range in California, and finds many dis- tricts suited to it in the several ways in which the trade delights in it. As compared with the apricot, the peach thrives in the sheltered valleys of the district north of the bay and west of the Coast Range, in which the apricot is of little commercial moment ; it yields those peerlessly beautiful "mountain peaches" from one to two thousand feet higher in the Sierra foothills than the apricot can be trusted ; it goes everywhere in the lower foothills and over the great valleys that the apricot will go, and beyond it also, be- cause it is less restless in the spring and escapes some frosts which injure apricots. Counted from trees in orchard the peach is about three times as great as the apricot. Nearly every county in California reports the possession of peach trees. Above an elevation of four thousand feet on the sides of the Sierra Nevada, they may be subject to winter killing, and lower still the careful choice of situation has to be made to avoid frosts at blooming time — the peach in such places being subjected to some dangers which beset it in the eastern States. Below these points, however, lies the great fruit belt of the foothills of the Sierra, where the peach is the chief fruit grown and its excellence is proverbial. Size, beauty, richness, delicacy of flavor and firnniess, which endures carriage to the most distant markets, are all charac- teristics of the foothill peaches of California. In the great interior valleys of the State wherever proper con- dition of soil and water supply can be found, the peach also thrives, the tree making a wonderfully quick and large growth, and the fruit attaining great size. The San Joaquin A'alley is the greatest peach district in the State. In the small valleys on the west of the great valley and on the eastern slopes of the Coast Range, there are also extensive areas suited to the peach, and sheltered places on the eastern and western edges of the Sacramento Valley have produced the earliest fruit for a long series of years. Recently the contest for the earliest fruit SITUATIONS FOR THE PEACH 275 of these districts, with the foothill district on the east side of the Sacramento \^alley and special locations in the upper San Joaquin \'alley, has been quite close. • In the coast valleys, opening upon San I'^rancisco ]>ay and the Pacific Ocean, the peach is also a leading fruit. Its success is great- est, however, where good shelter is had from direct coast influences. Even where open to these influences, good peaches can be grown by choosing the smaller range of varieties, which do well by pro- tecting the trees from harsh winds, and by seeking elevation above depressed valleys, whose frosts are frequent. The occurrence of ciirl-leaf is a factor of much importance, which will be considered presently. In the coast counties north of the Russian River Valley the danger to the peach from unfavorable atmospheric conditions increases as one goes northward, and situations must be chosen with greater care. And yet by such exercise of care, peaches for home use and local markets can be successfully grown. South of San I'rancisco P>ay the coast influences soften as you proceed southward, and the peach draws nearer to the ocean, choos- ing, however, elevations and avoiding broad, wind-swept areas and narrow defiles where drafts and fogs are frequent. At considerable elevations, as on the Santa Cruz Mountains, some varieties of peaches are notably excellent. The general rule holds with the peach, as with other fruits, that coast influences retard ripening and the season of the fruit is late. In some valleys and at elevations in southern California the peach is largely grown and high excellence attained while on the mesas and plains there is often too high a temperature which starts growth out of season and follows with a dormancy and die-back when the tree ought to be most active. It has recently been demon- strated that varieties like Lukens' Honey, descended from the I'een-to or flat peach of China, resists such irregularities better than the common sorts which are largely of Persian origin. SOILS AND EXPOSURES EOR THE PEACH Though the suitability of soils for the peach can be somewhat extended b}^ the choice of stock for budding upon, as will be con- sidered presently, its range of soils is narrower than that of the apricot. The best peach soils are light, deep, sandy loams, rather dry than moist, but under all circumstances well drained. It will thrive on land with a considerable mixture of coarse sand or gravel, providing it contains also needed elements of fertility ; for the rapid growth and heavy fruitage of the peach requires abundant nutri- tion. Though it accepts coarse materials both in soil and subsoil, 276 CAI.II-ORNIA FRISTS: HOW TO GROW THEM ii iclislies fine scdinicnl and perhaps Hnds no more congenial loca- tinn than in the deep, sandy loam, or sedimentary deposit border- ing the creek beds of om- warm valleys, and will send its roots deep to secure long life and abundant fruitage. Such soils, whether along existing streams or deposited by prehistoric water courses, which have left their mark by the elevated ridges of rich sediment above the prevailing valley soils, are warm, deep, and thoroughly drained, and delight the peach. Peaches are grown very success- fully on what is called hardpan in some parts of Fresno County, providing the hardpan is blasted as described in Chapter XI. In these situations the hardpan is near the surface and has a deep free soil below it into which the roots can extend. At elevations on the hillsides there are free loams which result from decomposition of the underlying rocks, and on them the peach thrives, both where the soils themselves are deep and where the underlying rock is loose and open, permeable by roots and afford- ing escape for water. Success has been reported even when holes are partly excavated in these rotten rocks, as in the soft sand rock on the hills east of Vaca Valley, or in the broken chalk rock in what is called Blackburn Gulch, near Santa Cruz. The superior warmth of such soils is supposed to minister to earlier ripening of the fruit, though the escape from cold air by elevation is no doubt a greater factor to the end. The influence of comparatively slight difference in elevation is very marked. E. R. Thurber, of Pleasant Valley, Solano County, had for many years a plat of peach trees on a natural terrace about seventy-five feet higher than the general level of his orchard. On the terrace peaches ripen and are disposed of before the same varieties ripen in the orchard below. As in the valley a short distance to water is to be avoided, so on the hills too great percolation from higher levels is undfesirable. Of course, natural defects of this kind can be corrected by ade- quate under-drainage. Still, though such be the general soil conditions best suited to the peach, the tree can be well grown for home use or local markets on somewhat heavier soil, providing there is good drainage, but drainage must be insisted upon, for thousands of trees have per- ished because planted in retentive soils without drainage. Alkaline soils which are usually rather heavy should, however, be avoided as the peach, when grown on its own roots, seems to be of all fruits most sensitive to alkali. As to exposures for the peach the same rules hold as for other fruits which are liable to injury when in bloom or young foliage. • Thus low places where cold air settles should be avoided, also low gulches through which cold drafts prevail. In frosty situations an incline away from the morning sun will often allow the trees to escape serious injury. GROWING PEACH TREES 277 PROPAGATION AND PLANTING The chapter on propagation gives the general method of grow- ing and budding peach seedlings. In selecting pits, preference is usually given to those from strong-growing, yellow peaches, at least for working on the same colored fruit, while others use pits of the ]\Iorris White, others the Straw-berry, and others still will use only pits from vigorous seedling trees. In this State the peach is usually so healthy and vigorous, and the "yellows" not known, and less care may be needed in selecting pits ; still, there is certainly nothing lost by making every effort for a good stock. The hard-shell sweet almond has long l)ecn used as a stock for the peach. It is held that it gives a hardier, stronger root, in dry soils especially. When it is desired to grow the ])each on moister soil than suits its own roots, the St. Julian plum may be used. The Myrobalan has been used to some extent, but experience generally does not favor any plum stock for the peach and our largest propagators have abandoned its use. The so-called "peach-almond" has often been urged as a stock for the peach but has been little used, probably because the straight peach and straight almond are so satisfactory and available. It is a fruit having the pit of a peach but the pericarp of an almond, that is tough and tasteless and disposed to split like an almond hull. Early in the fifties a chance hybrid of this sort appeared in the nursery of W. B. West, of Stockton, and its pits were used for nursery seedlings which, when budded to the peach, produced good trees. Trees bearing the peach-almond are found here and there over the State. \lv. Burbank has produced a hybrid of the Wager ]ieach and the Languedoc almond. Distance in Orchard. — Distance observed in planting peach orchards differs greatly, according to the views of different grow- ers. Regarding the peach as a catch crop to plant between apricot, pear, cherry, walnut, fig or other slower-growing, larger trees, the trees may be set comparatively close ; that- is, with the latter trees at thirty to forty feet, and alternate rows of peach planted quin- cunx, and to be removed at the end of ten to fifteen years. If the peach is to have the ground to itself, some planters plant at eighteen feet in equilateral triangles, or twenty to twenty-four feet on the squares, the present tendency of the peach, as with other trees, being to gi\e more room than was the custom a few years ago. Age of Trees. — In planting peach orchards yearling trees are generally used, although far more are planted in dormant bud than of any other kind of fruit trees. The reason for this is easily found in the disposition of the j^each lo make a tree the first year 278 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM from the bud. It springs almost at once into a full outfit of lat- erals. Some growers employ this disposition to form a head the first year in the nursery. \\'hen the bud has grown out eighteen inches, pinch it off at the top and force out laterals, which make long growth the same season. When planted out in orchard the following winter, cut back to ten or twelve inches. In this any one can get a yearling with the equivalent of a two-year-old head on it. The common practice is, however, to let the growth from the bud proceed as it chooses, and when the yearling is set in orchard, cut back to a single bud the laterals which are desired to form the head and removing others. If there is a dormant bud on the stem where a branch is desired and it is obstinate in not starting, a cross-cut through the bark just above it may concen- trate pressure and force it out. The development of form from a yearling branched in the nursery is illustrated in chapter on prun- ing. Recently preference has arisen for smaller trees for transplant- ing and, especially in the foothills, June buds, described in the chap- ter on propagation, are largely employed. Planting Dormant Buds. — The chapter on planting describes the planting of yearling trees. The lifting of dormant buds from the home nursery and planting in orchard is described by P. W. Butler, of Placer County, as follows : Have the ground prepared and stakes placed in position in the orchard in early February, if possible, and begin the planting at once, while the trees are in dormant bud. Take no more trees from the nursery than can be planted in half a day. Plow a furrow on each side of the row, six inches from the trees, turning the soil from them, then two men with heavy spades or shovels, one on each side of the tree, can readily take it up without breaking many of the roots ; and what are so broken should be smoothly trimmed with a sharp knife. Place the trees in a tub of water, near where they are to be planted, and take them from it only a few at a time. Put them in a basket or box and cover with wet sack, that they may be kept moist until placed in the ground. On planting, place the bud one inch below the level of the ground, but do not cover it until after it has grown to the height of a few inches. The stock should be cut off at the bud with a thin, sharp knife (and not with shears, as is often done, as the latter method will sometimes split tlie tree), when it wlil take in moisture and not heal readily. Some growers do not cut back the young seedling tree until growth has started out well on the dormant bud. Rather more care is needed in handling dormant buds both in planting and in their young life in the orchard. Lookout must be kept for suckers and against injury in cultivation. Success with dormant buds is notable. In good hands they commonly out- grow yearlings planted at the same time, and the percentage of loss from failure of the bud to start is very small. Of course, every bud should be examined before planting, to see that it has a healthy color. SHAPING THE PEACH TREE 279 In the selection of peach trees for planting, a clean, healthy root only should be taken. During recent years there have been a good many young roots affected with knots or swellings from some obscure cause. Such trees should be burned. If planted, the knot sometimes grows to an enormous size and little or no top growth is made. PRUNING THE PEACH As has already been stated, the peach will carry a top of great fruiting longevity if the grower will do justice to the tree by reg- ular shortening of the growth and forcing out new wood, upon which alone fruit is found. Not only does regular pruning do this, l)ut it promotes longevity and vigor in the framework of the tree upon which these bearing shoots come. Left unpruned, the peach soon becomes bark-bound, and the bark itself becomes hardened and brittle. Lower shoots are apt to give out, and the tree becomes an umbrella of foliage and fruit held aloft by bare branches bark- burned by the sun, invaded by borers, exuding gum, covered with moss and lichens — a picture of distress and unprofitability because its owner does not give the tree a chance to re-invigorate itself with large fresh leaves from the new wood which alone can carry them. As has been advised for other trees, the peach should be given a low head, developed as described in the chapter on pruning. In its after-treatment, it has been the universal experience that con- stant "heading-in" is essential to the strength and health of the tree. This also has been considered in an earlier chapter. Illus- trations of the pertinence of these remarks are found in the practice of the most successful peach growers in all parts of the State. A few instances will be given : "The peach, fruiting onlj' on wood of the previous year's growth, bears fruit farther away from the body of the tree each year, and the small shoots of from one-eighth to three-sixteenths in diameter begin to decHne when the fruit is re- moved. To have healthy growtli, all of these small branches must be removed the first winter following their fruiting, when there is a greater tendency to form small new growths, which may fruit the following season. In the peach, it will seldom be found necessary to remove any interior branches, except suck- ers, until they have produced a crop, when they will begin to decline and should be removed. "I would certainly not cut peach trees back less than one-half of the new growth in the winter pruning, and our trees are getting too large for their age even with that amount of pruning. This has suggested, in other localities, sum- mer pruning or shortening in, with success in some places. So far my own ex- perience is favorable. It will be noticed on trees kept growing rapidly that the fruit buds are near the ends of the shoots, and it seems to take away too manv of these buds to cut back one-half in the winter pruning, but by cutting back about one-half the new growth in August, fruit buds are developed lower down, and where they would not be developed without the summer pruning." — H. Cul- bcrtsou, El Cajon, San Diego County. ■K* u 280 THINNING PEACHES 281 "Prune the peach every year, cutting back and thinning out the center, using great care not to cut out too many of the Httle fruit shoots of new wood grow- ing on the main branches, but removing the slender branches of the old wood, leaving as many branches of the new growth as the tree will support. In this case judgment must be used as to what the tree will support. The soil may be wet or dry, rich or poor, the grower must be the judge. To grow small fruit, prune lightly; to grow large fruit, prune with care and judgment. To get this judgment you must have some practical experience. I prefer doing the work when the sap begins moving in the spring of the year. All cuts heal over better then and the pruner can see how the buds are setting and use his own judgment as to how much wood he wants cut out." — R. C. Kclls, Yuba City, Slitter County. "Cutting back the peach must be more severe, as the growth of the new wood diminishes. Not more than five or six fruit buds should be left on a shoot, and if the fruit all sets, it must be also thinned. The trees should be trained low and their vigor encouraged by permitting a reasonable amount of young shoots to grow around the lower part of the main limbs. When this method is continued systematically every season, the trees will bear large crops of fruit, of good quality, for many years. When they are allowed to overbear for one or two seasons, the fruit will decrease in size, and soon become almost worth- less ; the trees will be enfeebled, and in consequence very liable to be attacked by disease. The only thing to be done in this case is to cut off the whole top of the tree, allowing it to form a new head. I have seen old peach orchards thus renovated, and the results are often very flattering, but it is far better not to allow them to get into a condition where this desperate remedy is neces- sary." — Leonard Coatcs, Morgan Hill. Cutting Back the Peach Is not Shearing.^ — Some undertake the annual pruning- of the peach by a shearing- process, treating a fruit tree as one would a hedge — cutting everything to a line. There has been a good deal of this done in California, but it is wrong nevertheless. Shortening in the new growth of the peach each year is a proper practice. It is the first step toward preventing over- bearing of small, unmarketable fruit and saving the tree from profitless and injurious effort. Thinning the shoots by removing all but one when two or three start from the same point is also working toward large fruit and regular bearing in the tree. This shortening and thinning of the new wood must also be followed by thinning of the young fruit just after the natural drop and it is seen that the tree carries too many. Proper pruning can not be done by shearing because it is apt to shorten the strong shoots too much and the weak shoots too little. Each shoot must be cut by itself according to its growth and its ability to carry more or less fruit. Shearing, too, does not thin out the shoots but con- tinually multiplies them until the tree is full of brush as a hedge. THINNING PEACHES Thinning out fruit on the peach tree is not only the secret of obtaining good, marketable fruit, but joins hands with pruning in preserving the health and future production of the tree. The importance of thinning has been urged in a previous chapter, but the following is a very strong statement, by Mr. Culbertson : 282 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: PIOW TO GROW THEM In my own experience there is no single operation in connection with fruit growing of more importance than thinning. The past season, in order to test the ditTerence in expense of preparing large and small peaches for drying, I timed the cutting, and found it took double the time ; hence, double the expense, which meant a difference of about $15 per ton of dried fruit. Add to this a difference of two cents per pound in price makes $55 per ton. Suppose an orchard under good treatment produces a ton of peaches to the acre, then $55 would represent the difference in profits. Unthinned or small fruit is certainly undesirable. As to how much thinning should be done there are diverse opinions. Some take off one-half, others three-fourths. Some growers thin to meet a certain ideal, but find it difficult to explain in words. The common rule of leaving a specimen of fruit every four or six inches is a safe rule ; that means many must come off. Different conditions of soils, climates, and irrigation vary the amount to thin out, more or less. More may be left where the tree is on land giving a strong, vigorous growth. In thinning peaches I have been practicing a method that gives good results and is easily learned. The peach bears on three sizes of branches, that are one- eighth, three-sixteenths, and one-fourth of an inch in diameter. The first has two peaches, the second three, and the third four; this, of course, after there has been a judicious course of pruning and the trees under, irrigation ; trees on dry land should have only one-half as many left. To reach this result often a dozen may have to come off, allowing only two to remain. The more there are the greater necessity for thinning. The time for thinning peaches is as soon as one can be sure which are likely to remain on the tree and which will drop of their own accord. IRRIGATION OF THE PEACH As the peach is the greatest deciduous fruit of the interior val- leys and foothills, it is also the deciduous fruit which is chiefly grown with irrigation. Most of the specific conclusions set forth in Chapter XV are based upon experience with the peach and the reader is advised to consider them from that point of view. One of the most important points of success in irrigating the peach is to use enough water earlier in its growth so that application need not be made within about three weeks of ripening. Enough water before that will usually insure size on properly thinned trees and the withholding of water near ripening will secure good quality. After the crop is gathered, irrigation can be resumed to continue the late summer growth for next year's fruit buds and to save the tree from injury during the long autumn drouth. WORKING OVER PEACH TREES The fashion in peaches changes from time to time according to the demands of the canners or the market for dried fruit. The grower often finds varieties which he first selected, less healthy, less productive, or, for other reason, less desirable than others There is, therefore, often occasion for working over trees. Bud- ding is often resorted to, buds being successfully set in quite old wood, providing buds from well-matured wood are taken. Wood buds from young trees unaccompanied by fruit are best, but because of greater certainty of securing the variety desired, it is common to take wood and fruit buds together from bearing trees. GRAFTING THE PEACIt 283 A larger cut of bud and adjacent bark is taken when working in old bark than for use on seedlings. \\'hen a branch is budded, it is sometimes broken at a distance beyond the bud and allowed to hang, the idea being to furnish the bud some but not too much sap. Some growers thus bud and break part of the branches, allowing others to remain unworked, to maintain the growing processes of the tree. These branches and those in which buds have not taken, are cut off and grafted the following spring. The almond is suc- cessfully grafted over with the peach, and this course has been followed with thousands of unproductive almonds. Grafting the Peach. — Grafting the peach by the ordinary top- grafting with a cleft graft seldom succeeds. A side graft with saw and knife is better. It is described by J. W. Mills, formerly of the University Branch Experiment Stations, in southern California as follows : Saw grafting is rapidly taking the place of cleft grafting, for it does away with ail difficulties arising from splitting, and there is no cavity left in the heart of the limh or tree. The process is to saw oflF the limb at the desired place as in cleft grafting, then saw across the corner and down the side at an angle of about 45 degrees and trim out with a sharp knife. Place the knife blade a little to one side of the saw cut, a little farther from the edge at the top than at the bottom, and by pressing on the knife the whole sides of the crevice will be trimmed smoothly at one stroke; this operation repeated on the other side of the saw cut will make a neat notch in the end of a solid limb. By cutting a little deeper from the saw cut at the top than at the bottom, and if the amateur does not trim his scion at the right angle, he can insert it gently in the crevice or notch and see just where to trim. If he is so slow that the fresh cut shows signs of dis- coloration, he can make a fresh surface by placing his knife parallel to the edges and shaving off a thin slice. He still retains the same angle, but the scion will set a little deeper, which is no objection. By cutting a thin layer off the top of the stump next to the notch will show exactly where the inside layer of bark is. The inside of the scion must be even with the inside layer of the bark of the stump or limb that is being grafted. If the scion is inclined slightly out or in at the top, it will make a correct union at some point and be sure to grow. If the inclination is very slight the union will extend over considerable length, and will make a much better start than if the union is at only one point, owing to the enlarged surface through which the sap is transmitted. One of the most important points in grafting is to have good wax and go over the grafts a feu- days after they are put in and rewax them. DISEASES OF THE PEACH Curl-Leaf. — The most prevalent trouble with the peach tree in California is the curl-leaf. It was noticed from the first planting of peach trees by Americans, nearly sixty years ago, and free con- jecture as to its cause was indulged in until it was shown to be a specific fungus, and its prevention by washes of fungicidal character demonstrated. The treatment will be decribed in the chap- ter on tree diseases. The facts of its occurrence may be stated as follows : Curl-leaf is much more prevalent in some sections than others, and in one place than another in the same section, and some sec- 284 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM tions are practically free from it. Some varieties are much more subject to curl-leaf than others; generally speaking, some curl nearly everywhere, others curl in one place and not in another, others are practically free from curl in all situations. Curl-leaf occurs in various degrees. Mild cases do not seem to injure either tree or fruit; severe cases destroy the fruit and sometimes the tree itself. The disease is almost always at its height when the young fruit is about the size of small peas. If the curl is "bad," the fruit will fall to the ground, there not being healthy leaves enough to afford the required support. If, however, the curl is moderate and partial, only a part and sometimes none of the fruit will be lost. The disease, as is well known, is of brief duration, say twelve to twenty days, after which the trees resume a healthy appearance in every respect, and if the fruit has been able to survive the ordeal, it also appears to grow and become as perfect as if no check had been given to its growth. But it is better to save the tree the burden of a new foliage growth. Mildew. — This disease, which occurs in the form of whitish felted patches on leaf and twig early in the spring, and finally affects the fruit, has long been troublesome in this State, and occurs on certain susceptible varieties in many localities from the coast to the Sierra foothills. Observation in this State has fully affirmed the statement of Downing, that the serrate, glandless-leaved va- rieties are liable, and those with good glands on the leaf stems are free. The conclusion would be that where mildew prevails, varieties with serrate, glandless leaves should be avoided. But it has been found that some glandless-leaved varieties, although subject to mildewy resist curl-leaf. Therefore it may be worth while to com- bat the mildew. This has been done effectually by treatment which will be described in a later chapter. As with curl-leaf, mildew is prevalent some years and slight in others. The most serious disease which has thus far stricken the peach in California is locally known as the "peach blight," the work of a shot-hole fungus (coryncum). This also has been satisfactorily checked by spraying as will be described in the Chapter on Dis- eases of Trees and Vines. A common trouble of the peach known as "split-pit," has re- cently been studied by the California Experiment Station and the tentative conclusion has been reached that split-pits are physio- logical phenomena and not caused by disease germ. Whether this abnormal growth is due to weakness of variety or to cultural con- ditions is not determined. It is true that varieties differ in amount of splitting, and selection is being made to some extent on that basis. LEADING CALIFORXIA VARIETIES 285 Peach Varieties Approved by California Growers. * ** ** ** Southern California. ' Upper Central Interior Mountain VARIETIES. coast coast valley and valley valleys. valleys. foothill. region. Alexander * * ** * Amsden Albright Bergen Bilyeu Briggs's May * California Cling Decker Early Charlotte * Early Crawford ** Early York Elberta * Foster * George Fourth George's Late Cling Gen. Bidwell Globe * Golden Cling (Sellers) Hale's Early * Heath Cling Henrietta ( Levy's ) Honest Abe Honey CLukens') Imperial * Indian Blood Jones's Large Ivirly La Grange Late Crawford * Lemon Cling Lovell McDevitt Cling McClish Cling * McKevitt Cling Mary's Choice Morris's White Muir ** Newhall Nicholl's Cling * Oldmixon Free Orange Cling * Peen-to Persian Cling Phillips's Cling * Piquet's Late Runyon's Orange Cling ... * Salway Smock Snow St. John Strawberry Stump Susquehanna Triumph Tuskena (Tuscan) * Wheatland Wylie Cling * Yellow Tuscany . . . . . . ^^^_ .^. * Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. **Most highly commended. *:(= ** 286 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM VARIETIES OF THE PEACH Nearly all varieties of the peach have been tried in California, and. as with other fruits, it has been found that varieties must be chosen with reference to their success in special locations. Choice has also to be made according to the purpose of the grower, whether for early marketing, for sale to canners, for drying, or distant ship- ment or for late marketing. As with apples, there is little use of planting early varieties (unless it be for home or local use) except in very early regions. An early peach from a late region is killed by competition with better middle season sorts from the earlier regions. Dates of Ripening of Leading Varieties. — The relative ripening of a large number of peach varieties, as noted at the University Experiment Station, at Pomona, will be useful to planters in deter- mining proper succession of varieties, although of course the exact dates will not widely apply. VARIETY First Flower Full Flower Ripe Briggs' Red May Z^Iarch 4 March 24 June 16 Amsden's June March 8 March 25 June 17 Alexander March 17 March 31 June 17 Large Early York March 4 March 18 Julv 15 Yellow St. John March 4 March 12 Julv 17 Crawford's Early March 2 Alarch 15 Julv 21 Foster March 4 March 15 July 21 Oldmixon Free March 7 March 18 July 25 ]\Iorris White March 4 March 15 Aug. 3 Aluir March 8 March 23 Aug. 5 Susquehanna March 4 March 14 Aug. 5 Crawford's Late March 2 March 14 Aug. 8 Newhall March 4 March 14 Aug. 8 Runyon's Orange Cling March 2 March 14 Aug. 8 California Cling March 2 March 16 Aug. 12 Stump of the World March 2 March 16 Aug. 12 Lovell Feb. 28 March 9 Aug. 13 Nichols's Orange Cling March 4 ]\Iarch 14 Aug. 14 Seller's Cling March 2 March 14 Aug. 14 McDevitt's Cling March 2 March 18 Aug. 16 McKevitt's Cling March 2 March 19 Aug. 19 Wilkins's Cling ^^larch 3 March 14 Aug. 20 Indian Blood :March 5 March 25 Aug. 20 Yellow Tuscany Cling March 5 March 19 Aug. 21 Lemon Cling March 14 April 1 Aug. 21 Smock's Late Free March 4 March 18 Aug. 28 Picquet's Late March 5 ^ilarch 18 Sept. 1 Staley's California March 2 :\'Iarch 15 Sept. 6 Henrietta (Levy's) March 6 March 15 Sept. 15 Heath's Cling March 7 March 14 Sept. 15 Salway March 7 March 9 Sept. 18 In an early region one can plant early, middle, and late varieties to advantage, and thus secure a very long-fruiting season. The peach season in interior districts begins at the first of June with the Alexander, and continues to the end of November with local DESCRIPTIONS OF PEACHES 287 seedlings — giving six months of peaches. Of course, the very early and very late sorts are only of use for marketing as table fruit. The most important series is a fine succession of mid-season peaches suitable either for canning, drying, or distant shii)ment. Such a selection can be made from the tables and descriptions which will be given later. Color is a most important item in the peach. W hilc canners and Eastern shippers use the beautiful white peaches to advantage, the fashion for canning and drying is now strong in support of the yellow-fleshed clingstone varieties. The yellow freestone peaches arc also in greatest demand. The color about the pit is also an important point. Canners demand a peach, whether white or yel- low, which is almost free from color at the pit. l^ecause the extrac- tion of the red color dyes the juice; in drying, the demand just now is for a yellow peach with a red center, because the colors give the dried fruit a more attractive appearance. Of course there is a market for dried white peaches but the preference is for the yellow. A succession of yellow freestones very popular in the San Joa- (|uin Valley is the following: Foster, Wheatland. Elberta, Muir Lovell, Late Crawford, Sal way. .\ succession of yellow clingstones is this: Tuskena. Seller's. Runyon's. McDevitt's, Henrietta, Phillips. The two most popular white clings in tin- same region arc McKe\ - itt's and Heath. In the enumeration following the talkie only those seedlings which are now commercially propagated are included. Many which were prominent ten years ago have been drf)|)ped by this test. The writer has record of many others some of them likely to rise to im|)ortant place, which arc reserved until after further trial. The following are the peaches chiefly grown in California, ar- ranged ai)proximately in the order of ripening: Brigf;s' Red May (California). — Originated as a chance seedling? in nursery row, on the farm of John G. Hriggs, f dwarfing stock for the pear has been nearly abandoned in this State, though in early \fars the quince was largely used. The 300 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM most prominent orchard on quince stock is that of A. Block, of Santa Clara, where may be seen dwarf trees originally planted eight feet apart in squares, but now wider spaced by removing part of the trees; the remainder doing exceedingly well under liberal manuring and irri- gation. It is quite possible that, at least for gardens, there may be in the future more use made of dwarf trees, but for commercial orchards there appears no need of dwarfing. The common conclusion is that it is better to have fewer trees and larger ones, but since the pear blight became an issue in this State the Anglers quince has been advocated as a means of maintaining a sound root and keeping the warfare above ground. The following varieties are commended for cultivation on quince stock as dwarfs, experience proving them vigorous growers and abun- dant bearers in suitable localities: Bartlett, Beurre Hardy, Doyenne du Cornice, Duchess d'Angouleme, Glout Morceau, Pound, Beurre Diel, White Doyenne, Easter Beurre, Winter Nelis, P. Barry, Winter Bart- lett. But the pear is usually grown in California on its own roots; that is upon imported French pear seedlings. It comes into bear- ing early enough, and is a long-lived tree unless badly attacked by blight. Trees are grown by either budding or grafting, as described in the chapter on that subject. Only good seedling roots should be used, and not suckers from old trees. The Japanese stock, so called, being seedlings from the Sand pear, of Asia, has been used to some extent, but no definite results reported. Propagation upon rooted cuttings of the Le Conte, which has a measurable resist- ance to the pear blight, has been advised for the purpose of secur- ing less susceptible roots. Mr. M. B. Waite, orchard pathologist of the United States Department of Agriculture, has in progress a test of many cross-bred seedlings in the hope of reaching, a hardier seedling stock for pears than is now known. He also proposes top grafting the Bartlett upon Winter Nelis, Seckel, Angouleme, Law- son and other partially immune varieties to increase the chances of securing a somewhat resistant tree-body and sound roots. For- tunately the pear is readily grafted-over by the common methods. Distance in Planting. — If the pears are to have the whole ground, it is usual to plant from twenty to twenty-four feet apart on the square. As the tree is slower to attain size and full bear- ing than the stone fruits, and as it is a long-lived tree, the pears are sometimes set twenty-four feet with plums in quincunx. Peaches and apricots are also set between pears sometimes, when the soil chosen for pears suits them also. PRUNING THE PEAR 301 PRUNING Usually the pear is grown in the vase form, as described in the general chapter on pruning. With regular, upright growers, head- ing low and cutting to outside buds results in a handsome, gently- spreading top, and effectually curbs the disposition which some varieties, notably the Bartlett, have to run straight up with main branches crowded together. As with other fruit trees, the pear must be studied and pruning must be done with an understanding of the habit of the variety under treatment. Irregular and wayward growers, which, in windy places, also have their rambling disposition promoted by prevailing winds, often give the grower much perplexity. The general rules of cutting to an outside bud to spread the tree, to an inside bud to raise and concentrate it, and to an outside bud one pear and an inside bud the next, if a limb is desired to continue in a certain course, are all helpful to the pruner. But with some pears, of which the Winter Nelis is a conspicuous example, it is exceedingly hard to shape the tree by these general rules, and some growers abandon all rules, merely shortening in where too great extension is seen, or to facilitate cultivation, and trust to shaping the tree when it shall have finished its rampant growing period. It will be inter- esting to cite a few methods of California pear growers: "The Winter Nelis pear is an uncouth grower. Let the trees alone until they have borne a good, heavy crop, and the limbs come down and spread out nicely; this will occur in five or six years after setting. This will give you an idea what you want to do with the balance of the top that is not borne down with the fruit. My plan is to cut straggling branches, thin out so that the branches will not wind around each other, but don't cut the top, for you will find that the more you cut the more wood you get, and after the tree comes into full bearing is plenty of time to head back."— ^. Cadivell, Petaluma. "Our orchard is not in a very windy place, but still it is windy enough to throw our Nelis trees out of form. To get any regularity of shape, we cut off every year all the shoots growing low down on the leeward side, shortening in what are left as occasion may require, to an inside bud. On the windward side we rarely cut any branch out, but shorten in a little to an outside bud, frequently being obliged to cut back a strong shoot to a lateral which is growing outward." — Leonard Coates, Napa. "It is hard to get a misshapen Winter Nelis tree into shape. Let the grower take his shears and go around the tree and examine the difficulty until he is conversant with it, and then commence to nrune, not too heavily, though. Cut the limbs that lean too far leewards back a little with an inside bud, and train all future limbs toward the weather side of the tree ; cut the limbs this year so that the coming buds will form limbs growing in the direction of the weather side of the tree. But use moderation and take your time for it, and don't cut too many big limbs off three-year-old trees — none, in fact, if it can be helped. In bringing limbs to proper place, I have found a piece of cornstalk the required length for the intended place, inserted endwise between the limb and the body of the tree to be spread, to be a very good brace, easily made, and not likely to injure the tree." — T. E. Owen, Santa Cruz. These methods will suggest others by which one can bring the most irregular grower into shape. If the tree is cut at planting so as to form the head low, it may be safely left until bearing age for 302 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: H0\\ TO GROW THEM shaping. The tree naturally makes a viny growth of young wood. and the object of leaving it alone is that one limb holds the others more upright until the main limbs become large, or stiff enough to keep the shape ; so they may be left, after being thinned out to form three to five limbs, as judgment may direct. Some trees will be best with three or four, others five. The experience of pear pruning just cited has been secured in regions more or less subject to coast influences. In the hot interior valleys, with the pear as with the apple, care must be taken to prune so as not to open the tree too much to the sun, but to shorten in and thin out only so far as is consistent with maintaining a good covering of foliage. The pruning of bearing pear trees is much like that of the apple, to be determined largely by the habit of the tree, and to secure a fair amount of fruit on branches with strength and stififness enough to sustain it. Summer pruning will promote fruiting either in a young or an old tree and some practice it to secure early bearing of young trees., but the common practice is winter pruning to secure strong wood and prevent overbearing. THINNING PEARS It is quite important to attend to thinning the fruit on over- loaded trees. Even the popular Bartlett will often give fruit too small for profiable sale unless thinned. With pears, as other fruits, thinning should not be done until it is seen that the fruit is well set. Dropping off from natural causes sometimes thins the crop quite enough. IRRIGATION OF THE PEAR In some situations the pear needs irrigation, though it will en- dure drouth which would destroy most other fruit trees. There is no profit in small, tough fruit. As stated in the chapter on irriga- tion the wood growth and fruit show whether proper moisture needs are met or not. Early pears are advanced in development by irrigation in some parts of the State, and this is an important factor in their value. BLIGHT OF THE PEAR Although California pear growers who came to the State en- dowed with Eastern experience have always apprehended the in- troduction of the true pear blight and shivered every time they saw die-back or blackening on a pear branch, the probability is that all early reports of its entrance were misapprehensions until the real scourge appeared in the San Joaquin Valley about a decade ago. The rapidity with which trees began to be destroyed at that time manifested its habit in this State and warrants the conclusion that earlier troubles of the tree probably arose from other causes. In THE PEAR BLIGHT 303 1904, after having nearly wiped out bearing- trees in the southern counties of the San Joaquin Valley the disease began to devastate the orchards along the Sacramento River through the vast area of rich valley land which it traverses and on which is situated our most extensive pear acreage. In 1905 resolute warfare was made upon the blight, with a large appropriation of State funds, by the plant disease experts of the United States Department of Agricul- ture and of the California Agricultural Experiment Station, with the assistance of the local horticultural authorities. It was probably the greatest campaign ever made against a single tree disease although some insect warfares have been greater. The outlines of the plans followed and the results attained are to be found in the publications of the institutions engaged.* In a later chapter on Diseases of Trees and Vines, an outline of procedure against pear blight will be given. It is apprehended that neither paying crops nor living trees can be counted upon in the future unless the disease is successfully kept under control by successful fighting or by recourse to some form of natural immunity w-hich can be discovered or developed by plant breeding. It is probable that pears can not be grown in the future as cheaply and profitably as in the past and there is a certain amount of bravery or daring in pear investments at the present time. It is encour- aging, however, to note that in California the disease shows signs of relaxing the virulence which characterized its first attacks and it is reasonable to believe that here as elsewhere it may be possible to have the blight and j^ears also. The reader must keep himslf continually informed of the various phases of the problem as thev will arise, by careful study of our excellent California horticultural journals and of later publications from the official sources which have been indicated. The very exuberance of tlie ])car in California seems to increase the virulence of the blight. The long growing season with its continual production of new soft tissue, the unseasonable bloom which attracts bees to bring new supplies of blight germs, the break of new shoots from root, trunk and main branches — all these make the tree subject to repeated renewals of the disease in all its most rulnerable parts. How far growth can be repressed by scant cultivation or by summer prun- ing ; how far suppression of later shoots and blooms is practicable and whether the tree can be depleted so that it can only make fair sized fruit and no surplus soft tissue for blight invasion — all these are cul- tural problems which make pear growing very interesting to the en- quiring mind. A Sonoma grower suggests that pruning may be used to control pear blight in the following manner: It is the natural ten- dency of the pear and apple while young to form fruiting spurs upon *Reports of the California Commissioners of Horticulture, 1901 to 1906, including Reports on California Fruit Growers' Conventions for -1905-6-7, J. W. Jeffrey, Commissioner, Sac- ramento. Report of Plant Pathologist, University Experiment Station, Berkeley, 1906 and 1908. 304 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM the body and larger branches of the tree. These fruiting spurs pro- duce blosoms from year to year, which are in turn as liable to be visited by bees or other insects carrying the destructive spores of the disease as are the blossoms at the ends of the branches. It is evident, there- fore, that a blossom situated upon the body or larger branches of a tree, becoming infected, would communicate the disease directly to the framework of the tree, with the result that it would be fatally injured ; but if these fruiting spurs are all removed from the body and larger branches by pruning, the possibilities of infection in this way are over- come. The available means of gaining entrance to the tree by this para- site is confined to the smaller branches, which if affected can be cut away without severely injuring or disfiguring the tree. All suckers at the base of the tree should be removed at the point where they emerge from the trunk or the roots as they favor the entrance of blight to the root. The Le Conte root is being used because of its resistance. The scab fungus which seriously affects some varieties, and notably the Winter Nelis, in the Coast region, is identical with the scab of the apple and will be mentioned in the chapter on tree diseases. Because of the liability of the Winter Nelis, to this disease, and because of its irregular bearing in the Coast region, there have been many trees grafted over into varieties better suited to Coast conditions. The Beurre Clairgeau, because of its health, prolific bearing, and acceptability to shippers, was largely introduced in this way, but it has not sold as well as expected. Ordinary top grafting succeeds admirably with the pear. Clapp's Favorite and other varieties have also been worked upon Win- ter Nelis but they are apt to be more susceptible to blight than Winter Nelis so this old practice is now of less value than formerly. GATHERING AND RIPENING OF PEARS Many pear growers make the common mistake of allowing the fruit to hang too long on the tree, instead of gathering and ripening in a cool, dark place. Pears should be picked at the first indication of ripeness, the first sign being a tendency of the stem to part from the spur when the pear is gently raised up. This test applies especially to the Bartlett. Picking at this stage and laying away in the dark ripens up the Bartlett well. When picked at this stage and sent overland by slow freight, they ripen en route and the boxes open well on the Eastern markets. There are a few varieties which shrivel if ripened under cover, but the rule is a good one, and the grower will soon note the ex- ceptions. Many desirable varieties have, no doubt, been pronounced poor and insipid because allowed to ripen on the tree. To ripen well, pears should be packed in tight boxes or inclosed in drawers. They do not do as well as apples on shelves open to cir- culation of air. As already stated, the oily-skinned apple endures exposure and maintains a smooth, ruddy cheek and sound heart in spite of wind, rain and rough weather. The pear under similar conditions decays rapidly. WHEN PEARS BLOSSOM 305 POLLINATION OF PEARS As very few varieties of pears are largely grown in California and as the Bartlett generally bears well when grown in large acre- ages by itself, the Eastern claim that the Bartlett is self-sterile does not seem to be justified in California experience. Recent observa- tions indicate that even at the east the Bartlett is self-fertile when conditions are favorable to setting of the fruit and self-sterile when they are otherwise. As conditions are usually favorable in Califor- nia this may be the reason why its self-fertility is more conspicuous here than at the east. It has been individually noted, however, that the White Doyenne is a good fertilizer for the Bartlett. The Win- ter Nelis is one of the pears commercially worth growing which is most apt to be fruitless, but thus far association with other varieties has not been demonstrated to be a full remedy. For the assistance of those who desire to test pear pollination the following statement is made of the relative dates of bloom of a large number of varieties, based upon records kept in Tulare County: VARIETY First Bloom Full Bloom Barry March 10 March 20 Bartlett March 14 March 24 Belle Lucrative March 14 March 26 Beurre Clairgeau March 11 March 22 Beurre d'Amanlis March 10 March 20 Beurre d'Aiijou March 16 March 24 Beurre Diel March 20 March 30 Beurre Giffard March 16 JVIarch 26 Beurre Gris d'Hiver March 14 March 24 Beurre Hardy March 18 March 28 Clapp's Favorite March 14 March 24 Colonel Wilder March 14 March 24 Counseiller de la Cour March 12 March 22 Dearborn's Seedling March 16 March 28 Doyenne d'AIencon March 18 March 28 Doyenne d'Ete March 18 March 28 Doyenne du Cornice March 16 March 26 Duchesse d'Angoulene March 12 March 20 Easter Beurre March 14 March 20 Flemish Beauty March 20 March 30 Forelle March 2 March 10 Frederick Clapp March 16 March 26 Howell March 14 March 24 Jaminette March 12 March 22 Josephine de Malines March 12 March 22 Keifer's Hybrid March 2 March 10 Kennedy March 14 March 24 Lawrence March 12 March 22 Lawson March 16 March 26 Le Conte Feb. 28 March 2 Louise Bonne de Jersey March 10 March 20 Seckel March 14 March 24 Sheldon March 18 March 28 Souvenir du Congres March 20 March 29 Swan's Orange March 14 March 24 Vernon March 8 March 19 White Doyenne March 14 March 24 Winter NeUs March 12 March 20 306 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW -THEM VARIETIES OF THE PEAR Though large collections of famous Eastern and European pears have been brought to California, the peculiarity of the local market and demand for canning and shipping has led to concentration upon very few sorts. The pears chiefly grown in California are the follow- ing, arranged approximately in the order of their ripening: Harvest; syn. Sugar Pear (American). — Small, roundish, pale yellow, brown- ish in sun, brown and green dots; flesh whitish, rather dry but sweet; tree upright, young wood olive yellow brown. Madeleine (French). — Medium, obovate pyriform, stalk long and slender, set on the side of a small swelling; pale yellowish green, rareiy brownish blush; calyx small, in shallow, furrowed basin; flesh write, juicy, dencate. Wilder Early (American). — Small to medium, yellow with red cheek; sweet, and good. Recently introduced and profitable for local sale in San Diego county. Should not be confused with Col. Wilder, a California seedling which has gone out of use. Bloodgood (New York).— Tree short, jointed, deep readish brown wood; fruit medium turbinate, inclining to obovate, thickening abruptly into stalk; yellow, sprinkled with russet dots ; calyx strong, open, almost without depression ; stalk obliquely inserted, without depression, short, fleshy at its base ; flesh yellow- ish white, melting, sugary, aromatic; core small. Clapp's Favorite (Massachusetts).— Tree a strong grower; young shoots dark reddish brown; fruit large, slightly obtuse pyriform; pale lemon yellow with brown dots; flesh fine, melting, juicy, with rich, sweet dedicate, vinous flavor; resembles Bartlett, but lacks musky flavor. Dearborn's Seedling (Massachusetts). — Young shoots long, reddish brown; under medium size; roundish pyriform; smooth, clear, light yellow, with few minute dots; stalk slender set with very little depression; calyx spreading in shallow basin; flesh white, very juicy, melting, sprightly. Lazuson; syn. Comet (New York). — Medium to large bright crimson on yellow ground; flesh fine, rich and sweet. Souvenir du Congres (French). — Large to very large (exceeding Bartlett and Clapp's Favorite, to both of which it bears a strong resemblance) ; skin smooth, bright yellow when fully ripe, brilliant carmine in the sun ; flesh resembling Bartlett, but has not the musky flavor ; firm to the core ; tree a good grower, but somewhat subject to smut. Bartlett (English). — Tree a strong grower, early bearer, and healthy; fruit large, smooth, clear yellow, sometimes with delicate blush ; stalk moderately long, stout and inserted in shallow cavity; calyx open; flesh white, fine grained, juicy, buttery, highly perfumed (musky), vinous flavor. Bcurrc Hardy. — Large, long obovate, sometimes obscurely pyriform; skin greenish with thin, brown russet; stalk an inch long; cavity small, uneven, obliqe, basin shallow; buttery, somewhat melting, rich, slightly sub-acid; tree a strong grower. Flemish Beauty (Belgian). — Large, obovate, often obscurely tapering to the crown, very obtuse, surface slightly rough, witli some reddish brown russet on pale yellow ground; flesh juicy, melting, and good if picked early and ripened in the house. Seckel (Pennsylvania). — Rather small, regularly formed, obovate; brownish green, becoming dull yellowish brown, with russet red cheek; stalk slightly curved, and set in a trifling depression; calyx small and set in a very slight depression; flesh whitish, buttery, very juicy and melting, with peculiarly rich, spicy flavor and aroma. POPULAR PEAR VARIETIES 307 Howell (Connecticut). — Rather large, roundish pynform, light waxen yellow, often with finely-shaded cheek thickly sprinkled with minute russet dots and some russet patches ; stalk medium, without cavity and sometimes lipped ; some- times in small cavity; calyx open in large, uneven basin; flesh whitish, juicy, brisk, vinous. Ducliess d'Angoulcine (France). — Very large, oblong obovate ; somewhat uneven, knobby surface; dull greenish yellow, streaked and spotted with russet; stalk long, stout, bent, deeply set in irregular cavity ; calyx set in somewhat knobby basin ; flesh white, buttery, and juicy, with rich flavor. Louise Bouiic of Jersey (France). — Large oblong pyriform, a little one-sided; glassy, pale green in shade, brownish red in the sun, numerous gray dots ; stalk curved, rather obliquely inserted, without depression, or with a fleshy, enlarged base; calyx open in a shallow uneven basin; flesh very juicy, and melting, rich, and excellent ; very prolific. Beurre Diet ( Relgium).— Large, varying from obovate to obtuse pyriform; skin rather thick, lemon yellow, becoming orange yellow, marked with large brown dots and marblings of russet; stalk stout, curved in rather uneven cavity; calvx nearly closed in slightly furrowed basin ; flesh yellowish white, a little coarse- grained near the core ; rich, sugary, buttery, delicious. White Doyenne; syn. Virgalieu (French).— Medium to large, regular, obo- vate ; smooth, clear pale yellow, sprinkled with small dots, sometimes red cheeked ; stalk brown, little curved, in small round cavity ; calyx small, closed in shallow basin ; flesh white, fine-grained, buttery, rich, and high flavored. Beurre Base (Belgium). — Large pyriform, a little uneven, often tapering long and gradually into the stalk; skin pretty smooth, dark yellow, dots and streaks of cinnamon russet, slightly red on one side ; stalk long, rather slender, curved ; calyx short, in shallow basin ; flesh white, melting, buttery, rich, with slightly perfumed flavor. Onondaga; syn. Sivan's Orange (Connecticut). — Large, ol)tuse, oval pyriform, neck very short and obtuse, body large and tapering to obtuse apex; flesh melting, sprightly, vinous. A vigorous, upright grower, healthy : yellow shoots ; sells well in distant markets. Beurre Clairgeau (France). — Large, pyriform, but with unequal sides; yellow, shaded with orange and crimson, thickh' covered with russet dots, sometimes sprinkled with russet ; stalk short, stout and fleshy, inserted by a lip at an incli- nation almost without depression ; when lip is absent, the cavity is uneven ; calyx open; flesh yellowish, buttery, juicy, graular, sugary, perfumed, vinous. A pop- ular variety for local and distant markets. Beurre d'Anjou (France). — Large, obtuse pyriform; stem, short, thick, and fleshy, in a cavity, surrounded by russet ; calyx small, open in small cavity, rus- setted ; skin greenish, sprinkled with russet, sometimes shaded with dull crimson, brown and crimson dots; flesh whitish, not very fine, melting, juicy, brisk, vinous flavor, perfumed ; tree a fair grower, but somewhat affected by fungus. Danu's Hovey; syn. Winter Scckcl (Massachusetts). — Small, obovate, obtuse pyriform; greenish yellow or pale yellow, with much russet and brown dots; stalk rather short ; a little curved, set in slight cavity, sometimes lipped ; calyx open and basin small ; flesh, yellowish, juicy, melting, sweet, aromatic. I'icar of JJ'iukfield (France).— Large and long pyriform; pale yellow, fair and smooth, sometimes with brownish cheek and marked with small brown dots ; stalk slender, obliquely inserted without depression ; calyx large, open, set in a basin very slightly sunk; flesh greenish yellow, juicy, with good sprightly flavor. Doyenne du Coniice (France). — Large, varying, roundish pyriform, or broad, obtuse pyriform; greenish yellow becoming fine yellow, shaded with crimson, 308 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM slightly marked with russet spots, and thicklv sprinkled with russet dots ; stalks short, stout, inclined and set in shallow cavity, often russetted ; calyx small, open ; basin large, deep and uneven ; flesh white, fine, melting, aromatic. Very profitable during last few years in eastern shipments. Glout Morceau (Flemish).— "Rather large, varying, in form, but usually short pyriform, approaching obtuse oval; neck very short and obtuse; body large and tapering towards crown ; often considerably ribbed ; green, becoming pale greenish yellow ; stalk stout, moderately sunk ; calyx large, basin distinct, rather irregular ; flesh white, fine-grained, buttery, mehing, rich, sweet, and fine flavor." — /. /. Thomas. Block's Acme (California seedling, by A. Block, of Santa Clara). — Large and very handsome, surpassing Beurre Clairgeau in size and color; regularly formed, pyriform, skin pale yellow, covered with russet all over, which becomes a fine glowing red on the side exposed to the sun; flesh white, crisp, and melting, juicy, sweet, and slightly musky ; a pear that will rank foremost with our best shipping pears; reserved by originator for his own export trade. Winter Nclis (Belgium).— Medium, roundish, obovate, narrowed in near the stalk; yellowish green, dotted with gray russet and a good deal covered with rus- set; stalk rather long, bent, and set in narrow cavity; calyx open in shallow basin; flesh yellowish, white, fine grained, buttery, very melting, and full of rich, sweet, aromatic juice. P. Barry (California seedling by B. S. Fox).— Fruit large, elongated pyri- form, a Httle obtuse; skin deep yellow, nearly covered with a rich golden russet; stalk of medium length and thickness, set rather obliquely on a medium cavity, sometimes by a lip; flesh whitish, fine, juicy, melting, sweet, slightly vinous, and rich. "An early and proHfic bearer. December to January."— California Nursery Co. The pear, P. Barry, is recommended for planting, by the Southern California Nurserymen's Association. It is, to some extent, displacing the Winter Nelis as a more healthy tree and a more certain bearer. Easter Beurre (France). — Large, roundish, obovate obtuse, often rather square in figure; yellowish green, sprinkled with many russet dots and some russet patches; stalk rather short, stout, set in an abruptly sunken, obtuse cavity; calyx small, closed, but little sunk among plaited folds of angular basin; flesh white, fine grained, very buttery, melting, and juicy, sweet rich, flavor; was suc- cessfully shipped from California to England as early as 1872. Pound. — Large, pyriform, yellowish-green with red cheek, esteemed for cook- ing; reaches enormous size in this State as already noted. Kieffer and Le Conte. — These pears, recently introduced as especially hardy varieties, are grown to a limited extent in all parts of the State, but are usually condemned as inferior to the European varieties which attain such excellence in this State. The Le Conte root is used as a stock for the Bartlett because of its resistance to blight. Crocker's Bartlett (California). — Chance seedling on place of L. L. Crocker, Loomis, Placer county. Introduced by Mr. Crocker in 1902. Described in year book, 1905, of U.' S. Department of Agriculture ; medium to large, oblong, obo- vate, pyriform ; rich golden yellow, somewhat russetty ; quality very good ; keeps until March. Claimed to be blight-free and regularly productive. Winter Bartlett (Oregon). — Chance seedling in a dooryard in Eugene, Ore- gon. Introduced in California by Geo. C Roeding, of Fresno. Closely resembles Bartlett in shape and apnearance and flavor but a little coarser; ripens four months later than Bartlett in interior situations in California and promising as a winter pear. POPULAR PEAR VARIETIES 30') Pear Varieties Approved by California Growers. VARIETIES Angoulcmc. Duchess'd Anjou Bartlett Bloodgood Bosc B. S. Fox Brandy wine Clairgeaii Clapp's Favorite Cornice Dana's Hovey Dearborn Did Easter Beurre Emile d'Heyst Flemish Beauty Glout Morceau Hardv, Beurre Howell Kieffer Lawson Louise, Bonne de Jersey Madeleine ... Onondaga P. Barry Seckel Souv. de Congres Vicar of Winkfield Wilder, Early White Doyenne Winter Bartlett Winter Nelis *Inclicates that the variety is **Most highly commended. Upper coast valleys ** ** Central coast valleys. ** * ** * * Interior valley and foothill. Mountain valley and plateaux. Southern California. * * ived in the region designated. CHAPTER XXIII PLUMS AND PRUNES* The plums of California are exceptionally fine in appearance and of high quality. Both tree and fruit have thus far escaped the para- sites which have wrought greatest injury on the eastern side of the continent. The curculio has never been found here, and the "black knot," though detected in some of the indigenous species of the genus prunusj has never been observed in our orchards. The tree suf- fers, it is true, as do most other fruit trees, from various pests and dis- eases but their work is a light affliction compared with the ravages of the curculio and black knot which Eastern plum growers have to con- tend against. Because of reduced planting during the last few years, the plum stands second in point of number among the fruit trees of California, for. as noted in Chapter XX, the peach now holds first place. Of the plums, at least four-fifths are those varieties designated as prunes. This is, of course, owing to the profitable shipping demand for our prune product, while ordinary dried, pitted plums are expensive in production and do not always command good prices. There is, how- ever, a large trade at the East in our fine plums in a fresh state. Some varieties stand shipment well, and are large, handsome and in some cases possessed of unicjue characters, resulting from Mr. Burbank's work with the Japanese species as will be noted later. Considerable shipments of fresh plums have been made from California to England. The maximum in plum profits is much like that with other fruits, for L. W. Leak, a Placer County grower, reported in 1906 a net return of $759 from an acre of "Hungarian prunes." By choosing varieties ripening in succession, the plum season ex- tends from May to December, thus enabling the California plum grower to strike the Eastern markets both early and late. It is on record also, that second crop plums have ripened. In 1904 Judge Leib, of San Jose, sent to Luther Burbank, on December 1, ripe fruit from a tree which ripened its first crop on July 4 of the same year. There is also a considerable demand for plums by the canners who do not use, however, the varieties in chief demand for shipping. * All prunes are plums, but all plums are not prunes. A prune is a plum which can be dried without the removal of the pit without fermenting: The result being a fleshy pulp with a high degree of sweetness. -All plums which will not do this are not prunes, even though ihc word may appear in their California common names. t Found on primus deniissa, in Yosemite Valley and in Coast Range in San Mateo County, by Dr. H. W. Harkness. Report State Board of Horticulture. 188.?. pp. 54, 55. 310 REQUIREMENTS OF THE PLUM 31 1 LOCALITIES FOR THE PLUM The plum has an exceedingly wide range in California. The trees are thrifty and profitable even from the immediate vicinity of the coast and in coast valleys, where the sea winds and fogs intrude, eastward across the great interior valleys, and upwards upon the sides of the Sierra Nevada. In the upper half of the State, at least, wherever there is sufficient moisture in the soil, good plums can be grown. The tree is quite hardy, but in situations open to the sweep of the winds there has been found to be decided advantage in belts of sheltering trees for protection. At some points subject to direct coast influences, there is sometimes loss by cracking of the fruit. It is seldom encountered in the interior valley, except near the rivers or in draws where the damp coast air makes its way through. It seems to be worst where there are marked differences in atmospheric humidity within short periods of time. Where the percentage is (|uite uniformly high or low there seems to be less trouble. Some years conditions usually restricted to more ex- posed coast situations prevail in the interior valley, and the result is unusual prevalence of mildew and other moist fungi and cracking of fruit also, though they have no relation to each other except that the same conditions favor both. Only certain varieties are thus affected, and they can be avoided where the trouble is found to exist. It was for a long time held that southern California was not adapted to the growth of the plum, but the experience of the last few years has shown that the conclusion was too broad. The "French prune" demonstrated its success adjacent to the Coast in Santa Barbara County, and elsewhere, in the low, rich lands of the Santa Ana Valley, of Orange County, in the interior at various points on the rim of the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, notably at Pomona, and still farther inland in the San Bernardino Valley, but the Southern California prune product is small because the land and water can be more ])rofitably used for other fruits. There is, however, difficulty in some dry uplands where the tree is shy in fruiting and subject to serious gumming ; but this is encountered locally in all parts of the State. Irri- gation does not always overcome these troubles, and yet, no doubt, the arrangement of proper moisture conditions is important. The tree should be helped to make one good growth and to ripen its wood in the fall. To have growth checked by drouth and a second start made later in the season is not desirable. Still it must be admitted that prune planting in the interior, pro- ceeding with such rapidity, has encountered some soils and situations in which bearing has not been altogether satisfactory. New planters should confer with older residents before making investments in prune planting in interior valleys and foothills. All the foregoing observations are based upon the behavior of plums of European origin ; descendants of the prunns domestica. One 312 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM of the grandest contributions to the extension of the range of the plum in California was the introduction of the Asiatic species, primus, triflora and simoni. Varieties of these species directly introduced or locally developed by Burbank and others, have proved productive in places where the domestica varieties were abandoned as shy or sterile. To estimate the value of these varieties one has only to visit the home fruit gardens of southern California or inspect the fruit stands of Los An- geles which are continuous exhibits of fine specimens of these varie- ties in their seasons. Even in places where the domestica varieties are largely grown the Asiatic varieties are also prominent as is shown by the fact that the Wickson, a Burbank triflora-simoni hybrid, is the leading shipping plum of California, and shipping plums are chiefly grown in the central and northern regions of the State. Other notable Burbank plums of recent introduction will be included in the descrip- tions of varieties at the close of this chapter. SOILS AND STOCKS FOR THE PLUM With the plum, as with the apricot, the subject of soils and stocks are intimately related, but the whole matter has been wonderfully sim- plified by the experience of the last few years. This relief has come through the adoption of the myrobalan, or cherry plum (Prunus myro- balana) as a general all-around stock for plums and prunes. Before this practice was taken up the effort to grow the plum on its own roots generally resulted in getting an orchard full of suckers, and to avoid this, plums were worked on peach roots wherever this root would suc- ceed in the soil to be planted. But some varieties of plums do not take kindly to the peach, and then "double working" (putting first on the peach a plum which is known to take well and then on that plum wood the variety desired) was followed. The use of the myrobalan does away with the suckering nuisance and the need of double working. There was considerable discussion a few years ago as to what is the true myrobalan, and it must be acknowledged that some of the refined distinctions formerly claimed have been abandoned. Seedlings grown from the seed of the myrobalan vary as do other fruit seedlings, both in fruit and in foliage and habit of trees, and perhaps this fact has given rise to the distinction between "true" and "false" myrobalan, so-called. Practice has proceeded without much reference to the discussion, and our nurserymen now have large, thrifty myrobalan trees from which they secure their seed supply. Growing stock from myrobalan cuttings is but little practiced. The myrobalan is now the accepted plum stock for California, except in light, alluvial, well drained soils, where, for the French prune, peach or almond may be preferred. Though described by some authorities as a dwarfing stock, it is found to be sufficiently free growing in California to suit all purposes, and to form a good l-kUNING THE PRUNE 313 foundation for full standard trees, though the peach and almond roots in proper soils give a quicker and greater growth. Experience has shown that the myrobalan root thrives in this State both in low, moist, valley lands, in comparatively dry lands, and in stiff upland soils. In some soils especially adapted to the peach, peach roots are pre- ferred as stock for the French prune, but, as already said, all plums can not be worked directly on the peach root, the Robede Sergeant, Colum- bia, Yellow Egg, Washington, and Sugar Prune, for example. Some- times the bud or scion may make a large growth, but the two woods do not unite, and the trees break off sooner or later. Some work the plum on the apricot root, and report success when the soil suits the apricot root, and the gophers do not get at it. But it sometimes happens that the French prune parts from the apricot root even after growing some time upon it. There are, however, instances of the French prune thriving, and, apparently making good union with the apricot root and some of the softer wood varieties, like the Sugar Prune, take kindly to it. Some plums do well on the almond root and some do not. The French prune succeeds admirably both when worked on young almond stocks and top grafted in old almond trees. Success is also reported with the Felenberg on the almond. But the almond root is suited espe- cially for warm, dry soils. Excellent results from the use of almond stock are reported from the interior valley and the Sierra foothills. Propagating by Sprouts. — The French practice of growing cer- tain varieties of the plum by means of sprouts from the base of old trees has been successfully followed in this State by Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, and was strongly commended by him as securing a tree which will not gum, which is one of the reasons why the same practice prevails in France, Sprouts growing at the foot of old and large trees, and but few are found to each tree, are taken oft' and planted close together in a bed to make them root well, and the ensuing spring planted in nur- sery rows, where they are trained like any other trees, and transplanted where to remain, when branched. For this method it is necessary that the parent tree should be upon its own roots, else one is apt to get suckers from a wild stock. Sprout-grown trees can not, however, be defended unless some special point like that claimed by Mr. Gillet can be attained by them. PLANTING AND PRUNING As with other trees, there is difference of opinion as to the best dis- tance apart for plum trees. The present tendency is toward wider planting; not nearer than twenty feet is the usual advice, and on rich land, twenty-two or twenty-four feet is better. The plum, in California, is a most rapid grower ; six to ten feet from the bud or graft in a season, and about as much after the first winter's 314 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM cutting back, is not at all unusual. At this rate of progress, then the tree soon runs up and away, in a spindling, sprawling fashion, unless severely cut back for the first few years. Neglected trees of some va- rieties show long, streaming branches, arching outward, and exposing the bark to sunburn (to which it is very sensitive), breaking the tree to pieces as the fruit gets weight, and, even if supported by props, breaking off at the bearing of the prop. This condition of the tree can only be obviated by low heading and moderate cutting back each year, with due regard to limiting the amount of bearing wood to get large fruit. For such plum varieties the suggestions on forming the tree and subsequent treatment in the chapter on pruning will be found helpful. This reference to repressive treatment for brittle-wood plums is emphasized by experience with the Sugar Prune of which Mr. Leonard Coates of Morgan Hill says : "The sugar prune is a great bearer, but the tree must receive very different pruning from that of the French prune. The annual growth must be short- ened in every winter from one-half to two-thirds, and all laterals and fruit spurs must be cut back at every pruning. Of course, judicious thinning out of wood is also needed. This will result in a very large, showy, product for long- distance shipments, as fresh fruits, which have brought satisfactory returns." Pruning the French Prune. — Growers of the French prune, and other varieties of similar growth of strong and pliable wood, have reached substantial agreement as to the best practice. The old method of cutting back bearing trees has been abandoned. Cutting back the young tree to secure sufficient low branching is followed by thinning of shoots from this low head so that the tree shall not become too dense or carry too much bearing wood. The strength in the head de- pends upon proper spacing and arrangement of the branches as insisted upon in the chapter on pruning ; and large, well-ripened fruit, which is essential to successful and profitable drying, is conditioned upon avoid- ing excess of branches and admission of sufficient light to the tree. A rather longer central stem is retained than in the old style, and a central stem throughout is admissible if one prefers it and does not desire to dispense with it as the first step toward securing a more open tree. Some retain the longer stem at planting, others ctit back to eighteen inches, develop three side branches upon that and train the branch from the top bud for a lengthening of the stem, and bring out more branches upon that the second year, and then dispense with its farther extension. The engravings on page 317 show this method of developing the head of a young French prune. The tree was cut back at planting in orchard to a straight switch about eighteen inches high, At the end of the first summer this showed the form in the first picture, which is marked for the first winter pruning. The second engraving shows the branching developed from this during the second summer's growth, also marked to prune away some undesirable branches. Upon a tree of this form farther cutting back is not desirable as it has enough well-placed branches to form the tree. I'RUNIXn IHK PRi;XK 315 • -^;^ . ..... , *•/•..••>»•. ■i. i-'-'^ ' ->«"• Young and old French Prune trees, never pruned and assuming natural form. How long cutting- back shall continue depends partl\- upon the local- ity and partly upon the notion of the owner. In interior localities the tree grows with great rapidity and branches more freely. During the third summer it will bear some fruit if not cut back the previous winter, and, where growth is so rapid, there is little danger of injuring the tree by early bearing. In the coast valleys cutting back may continue another year, and fruiting be thus postponed a year to get another summer's freer wood growth. Though cutting back may properly cease early with the French prune, it is a great mistake to allow the trees to go unpruned. Removal of defective wood, prevention of branch crow^ding and overbearing are of the highest importance, as insisted upon in the chapter on prun- ing. Special Study of Varieties in Pruning. — The points just ad- vanced apply especially to the management of the French prune. In 316 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 'K\-VA 111/ 1' "t .^-^^ '^'o sd/ •'»'* ^■"fe.^i Young and old French Prune trees rationally pruned for number and spacing of branches. addition to what has been already said about the Sugar prune, the grower must be exhorted to study the habit of the variety he has to deal with. The general rules for handling trees with different habits of growth are applicable to a certain extent to the plum. When to apply a rule or make an exception must be learned by observation and experience. Some plums, like the Silver prune, have something of the growth habit of the peach, and this is also very true of some of the Japanese varieties. Cutting back in winter and pinching in summer are both useful facts in securing lower branching and low-growing fruit spurs. Grafting the Plum. — The plum has been grafted and regrafted in the constant effort to secure varieties promising superiority in va- rious directions. Within the scope of their affinities plums graft easily by common top-grafting methods, and if the roots are strong the new growth is so rapid as to need special attention. Mr. Luther SECURING FORM IN I'RINF, TREES Bowers gives these hints about pruning such growths: "From practical experience I have found out that the Sugar prune wood should only be summer pruned and only cut while the shoots are tender, or so soft that the top can be pinched out; this will cause the top to be well Pruning after first summer's growth in orchard. Growth during second summer in orchard. branched and this should be done at least twice during the first year of the graft. This system will avoid long, slender limbs. After a graft is two years old I would never cut the top off of a limb. If a tree gets too thick a top, T would cut out some of the main branches." THE PLUMCOTS One of the most striking achievements of Air. Burbank from the fruit grower's point of view is the cross of the plum and the apricot, which he has very fitly named the "plumcot." He has combined in a single fruit enough of the diverse characters of two fruits so that the ordinary observer can recognize the combination clearly and distin- 318 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM guish the gift of each to it. Mr. Burbank has secured several such crosses, the first of which to be made pubhc is the "Rutland," intro- duced by Mr. George C. Roeding'in 1907. The fruit is about the size of an ordinary apricot with a deep purple velvety skin. One of its striking features is its brilliant red flesh possessed of a strong sub- acid flavor rendering it suitable for cooking, jellies and jams, and it is in good demand for such uses. When fully ripe, it is an excellent dessert fruit possesing an apricot-plum flavor. Obviously the amalga- mation of the apricot and the plum mu.st produce a fruit unique in character, hence its economic value is a matter still largely to be de- termined by its development and the exploitation of its uses. HOW A PRUNE QUEST DISTURBED THE PLUM FAMILY IN CALIFORNIA Referring to the distinction between plums and prunes cited at the opening of this chapter, and to the extent and methods of the great prune industry of the State which will appear later, in Part Eight of this work, it may be stated here that the California prune product was obviously undertaken in emulation of the globe-trotting French prune, which had attained position as the leading commercial dried fruit of the world long before California arose on the horticultural horizon. Naturally, French settlers in California bethought themselves of trans- planting this great industry to their new home, and Mr. Louis Pellier introduced scions from the district of Agen to his place near San Jose in 1856. The product was good, and planting for a large output was entered upon, though slowly at first. There was disappointment over the fact that, while all fruits came surprisingly large in California, the dried prunes were smaller than the great French prunes in cartons and cannisters which sold for great prices. Had we secured the true French prune ; did they not have larger ones which they were holding back from us ? This was the great question of five decades ago. Some nurserymen of that day had spirits of enterprise larger than their consciences. If the people demand larger prunes they must have them, surely. Because of the small average size of the prunes of Pellier's introduction, they christened that variety "petite prune d'Agen," which was subsequently corrupted into "petty prune" — a free translation and a mispronunciation at the same time, for a prune which seemed to be too small and inferior. The people must have something large, and they happened to mix a little German into the title which they manu- factured, and offered trees of the "gros prune d'Agen." When shown that if the French had such fruit it would probably be called "grande" PLUMS WHICH ARE NOT PRUNES 319 and not "gros," because the French word "gros" is not a complimen- tary term, the propagators simply changed their geographical base and declared: "This immense prune, just what you need to beat the French, is really German, and if you desire you may call it Hungarian prune." It of course did not matter much what it was called, because it did not come from either France or Hungary, but was the fine, old large light red, English plum, properly called Pond's Seedling, re-christened in California to meet a long-felt want. But it did not meet such a want : it would not dry sweet nor fleshy, but became merely a skin and pit, with a sour streak between. Still the question persisted : Have we the true French prune? It was definitely settled by the late W. B. West of Stockton, who visited France in 1878, and after close examination of the trees, announced that the variety grown in California was really the prune d'Agen, and that we had made no mistake so far as getting the main standard variety of French prune was concerned. But still we needed a variety which would run more to large sizes, and how to get it, with sweetness and flesh, characters which would resemble the best French product, was, and even now is, still a question. One of the early introductions to meet this end is now generally known as Robe de Sergeant. Here again confusion attends the name. Robe de Sergeant is one of the synonyms of prune d'Agen, and yet the fruit we secured was different. j\Iuch discussion was given to the elucida- tion of this problem, and the conclusion seemed to be that the variety is grown in France, but in another district, and is generally considered inferior to the prune d'Agen. Still it runs larger, and has sold well, even though of distinctly different quality, and would probably have cut a much larger figure in California prune production if it had shown itself to be more free and regular in bearing. The same is true of the "prune d'ente, or Imperial epineuse," which has been quite widely planted, but because of shy bearing, especially when attacked by the thrips, as discussed upon another page of this book, and because of the difficulty in drying such a large prune which ripens rather late, this variety, of which so nuich was expected, has fallen into disfavor, and many of which were grafted in have been grafted out again. Other introductions made much earlier, like the German and Italian, also fell out of the race very early, for shy l)earing and for different flesh char- acters. Although the latter leads in Oregon and other States north of us, it is out of California calculations. The conclusion of the whole matter now is that we have never secured from abroad a better than the one which came 50 years ago — ^the true prune d'Agen. We have learned to grow it better, to seek places where it comes larger and in full quality ; to use irrigation when it is needed by the tree to do its best ; to guard against overbearing by reducing the amount of bearing wood and excessive branching; to strengthen the soil by fertilization, and to grade the fruit into sizes which commend themselves to differ- 320 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM ent demands. Here we are again, doing our main business at the old stand, but knowing how to do it better. Have we anything more to expect? Probably nothing from old varieties, for we have prospected them all from a prune-making point of view, taking Coe's Golden Drop plum, or its seedling, for the Silver Prune, and canceling all others as possibly good plums for various uses, but not for prunes. Probably our only expectation lies along the line of plant breeding, although nothing to supplant the prune d'Agen has yet been attained. The Giant prune is a large red plum ; several Oregon prunes are simply large red plums. The standard of sugar in the prune d'Agen as grown in California is from 15 to 23 per cent of sugar in the fresh juice, ac- cording to degree of ripeness and localities in which the fruit is grown. The sugar in Pond's Seedling and in the large red plums just named is less than 10 per cent — sometimes very much less. But percentage of sugar in the juice is not the whole story; there are tissue or flesh characters which are essential also. Mr. Burbank's Sugar prune an- swers the sugar requirement ; it is a free bearer and early ripening va- riety, and it dries easily though large ; but it has not the fine grain nor distinctive flavor of the prune d'Agen, and it becomes a good plum for shipping and possibly for other plum purposes. But Mr. Burbank has many of the plum family in training, and it would not be surpris- ing if he should announce at any time a variety educated fully up to the very definite California requirements, which he fully understands. Others are also working at the problem, and the next generation of California prune growers may attain what the last and present have striven for. The most promising line at the present time is the search for better types of the prune d'Agen which are found here and there, arising from natural variation. Mr. Leonard Coates of Morgan Hill, is giving particular attention to this subject. POLLINATION OF PLUMS The shy bearing of certain plums is probably due to lack of pollina- tion, either through the self-sterility of the variety or lack of acceptable pollinating agencies. Bearing can be induced in many cases, no doubt, by either planting or grafting-in of effective pollinating varieties. But this is not always profitable. For instance, there are many instances proving that the Tragedy can be brought to greater bearing by the presence of 'Clyman, but an early variety like the Clyman is not worth growing for sale in a late district, though in an early district both are valuable as shipping plums and should be planted together. The polli- nation of plums has not been given as much attention as of other fruits. POPULAR PLUMS 321 Plums and Prunes Approved by California Growers. Upper Central Interior Mountain VARIETIES coast coast valley and valleys and Southern valleys. valleys. foothills. plateaux. California. Abundance * ** Agen, Prune d' ** ** ** ** ** Bradshaw * * * ** Burbank * * ** * ** Chabot * Climax ** Clyman * ** Coe's Late Red * Columbia ** * * ** * Dam-^on * * * * ** Diamond ** Duane Purple * ** * German Prune * * * ** * Giant * Golden Drop, Coe's . . . ** ** * ** Golden Prune * * ♦ Grand Duke * ** Green Gage * * * * Hale ** Imperial Epineuse * ** * Imperial Gage * Italian Prune * * * Jefferson * ** * * ** ** ** ** Peach * * ** * Pond (Hungarian) * ** ** ** * Red June * ** * Robe de Sergeant ♦ * ** Royal Hative ** * Satsuma * * * ** Silver * * * Simon ** ** Sugar * ** ** Tragedy * ** Washington * ** * * * Wickson * ** ** * ** Yellow Egg * ** ** ** ♦Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. **Most highly commended. VARIETIES OF PLUMS AND PRUNES As with other fruits, comparatively few varieties of the plum are largely grown in California, and the list is continually being reduced. The following tabulation is the result of a very wide inquiry made during the year 1907 : Simon (Prunus Simoni). — Medium to large, roundish, flattened, with cavities at base and apex; brick red, small yellow spots; stalk stout and short; flesh yel- low, adhering to flattened pit; largely grown for shipment in early interior re- gions where it has good quality; lacks flavor and cracks badly near the coast. Climax (Burbank). — Large; very early; heart-shaped; deep red; flesh yellow. Popular for shipping in places where it does not crack badly. 322 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Clyman (California seedling introduced by Leonard Coates). — Large, round- ish oblong, flattened suture indistinct ; mottled reddish purple, beautiful blue bloom; freestone; flesh firm, dry and sweet; prolific; the leading early plum for shipment. Red June (Japanese). — Medium to large, deep red flesh light yellow, firm, good quality. The best of the early Japanese plums. Tragedy (California seedling). — Medium to large, suture shallow, wide and extending beyond aoex ; dark purple ; flesh yellowish green, sweet and well flav- ored : freestone. Very valuable for shipping from early regions in all parts of the State. Abundance (Japanese) ; syns. Yellow-fleshed Botan, Mikado of Hinclay. — Large, globular with point at apex; cherry color covered with white bloom; flesh yellow, juicy and rich. Popular for shipment from early regions. California Red (California seedling). — Introduced by J. T. Bogue, of Marys- ville. Large, light red, firm flesh and small pit. A good shipping plum. Peach (French, prune peche). — Very large, roundish oblate, regular, flattened at ends ; suture distinct, shallow ; color varying from salmon to light brownish red ; stalk very short, cavitv narrow, shallow, flesh rather coarse, juicy sprightly, free from the nearly round, very flat, much furrowed stone ; shoots smooth. A prominent variety for early eastern shipment. Rayale Hativc (French). — Medium roundish, slightly wider at base; light purple, stalk half an inch long, stout, scarcely sunk ; flesh amber yellow, with rich, high flavor, nearly free from the small, flattened, ovate stone; shoots very downy. Grown as an early market plum for eastern shipment. Bradshazv.—\.?Lrg.&, obovate, with obtuse suture on one side, sometimes with very slight neck; dark purple, with light blue bloom; stalk three-fourths inch long; cavitv narrow; flesh a little coarse, becoming light brownish purple, at first adhering, but becoming nearly free when fully ripe; juicy, good, slightly acid ; tree vigorous ; shoots purple, smooth. Reported from Sacramento county as blooming late and seldom injured by frost. Not in high favor. Green Gage (French).— Rather small, round; suture faint green, becoming yellowish green, usually with reddish brown dots and network at base ; stalk half to three-fourths inch, scarcely sunk; flesh pale green, melting, juicy, ex- ceedingly rich, and flavor excellent ; shoots smooth. Burbank. — Tree imported from Japan by Luther Burbank. Named "Bur- bank" by Professor Van Deman. Tree usuallv vigorous, with strong, upright shoots, and large, rather broad leaves ; comes into bearing very early. Almost globular, being five and a half inches around horizontally, and five_ and five- eighths inches around vertically; rich cherry red, slightly mottled with yellow, and freely dotted with same tint; flesh deep yellow, juicy, very sweet, and of fine, somewhat peculiar, but very agreeable flavor ; pit is very small, three-fourths by a trifle over half an inch in diameter. Duane's Purple (New York). — ^Very large, oblong oval, longer on one side; slightly narrowed towards the stalk; reddish purple, bloom lilac; stalk three- fourths inch; slender; cavity narrow, flesh juicy, moderately sweet, and mod- erate flavor, mostly adhering to stone; shoots very downy and leaves large and downy underneath. Washington (New York). — Very large, roundish oval, suture obscure, dis- tinct at base ; yellowish green, faintly marbled, often with pale red blush ; stalk half to three-fourths inch ; slightly downy ; cavity wide, shallow ; flesh rather firm, sweet, mild, very rich and luscious, free from the pointed stone; shoots downy; very vigorous. POPULAR PLUMS 323 Wickson.—A crossbred by Luther Burbank ; form suggests the Kelsey, but more symmetrical; in ripening the color develops from a deep cherry red down to a rich claret as full ripeness is attained. The color is solid and uniform. The flesh is of amber tint, very juicy and translucent: the pit is small and shapely, the flavor is striking and agreeable, but likely to be deficient near the coast. The most popular shipping plum in the State. Burbank's Wickson Plum. Ycllozv Egg; syns. White Egg, IVhitc Magiiu>n Bonum (English). — Very large, oval, narrow at ends, necked at base, suture distinct; stalk one inch, not sunk, surrounded by fleshy ring at insertion ; light yellow, bloom thin, white, flesh firm, rather acid until fully ripe, and then sweet, adheres to the pointed stone. Jefferson (New York). — Large, oval, base slightly narrowed, suture slight; greenish yellow, becoming golden, with reddish cheek; bloom thin, white; stalk one inch, but little sunk or not at all; flesh rich yellow, very rich, juicy, high flavored and luscious, adheres partly to its long, pointed stone; shoots smooth; tree a slow grower, but productive. Columbia (New York). — Very large, nearly globular, one side slightly larger; brownish purple, reddish brown where much shaded, with many fawn-colored dots ; bloom blue, copious ; stalk one inch, rather stout ; cavity small ; flesh orange, very rich and sweet, free from the stone, which is very small and com- pressed. Shoots downy, stout, blunt, spreading; leaves nearly round. Satsuma; syn. Blood Plum of Satsuma. — Introduced and first fruited in this countrv by Luther Burbank. of Santa Rosa. Descril)ed by Prof. H. E. Van Deman, U. S. Pomologist, as follows : "Leaves more lanceolate than those of Kelsey; fruit averages about two and a quarter inches in diameter, nearly round, and but slightly sutured on one side; surface dark red. under a thick bloom; dots rather conspicuous and numerous ; flesh dark purplish red. which has caused the name of 'Blood Plum of Satsuma' to be given by some ; stone very small and pointed." Chiefly grown in southern California. 324 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Red Magnum Bonum syn. Red Egg. — Large, oval, tapering to the stalk; suture strong, one side swollen ; deep red in the sun ; slight bloom ; stalk one inch, glender, cavity narrow ; flesh greenish, coarse, subacid ; shoots smooth. Imperial Gage (New York). — Medium size, oval, suture distinct; stalk three- fourths inch, slightly hairy, evenly sunk; green, slightly tinged with yellow, with marbled green stripes; bloom copious and white; flesh greenish, juicy, melting, rich, and delicious, usually free from the oval, pointed stone; tree very vigorous and productive; shoots long upright, slightly downy; leaves with slight shade of blue. A popular canning variety. Damson (English). — Small, roundish, oval; purple, with thick blue bloom; melting, juicy, subacid. German Prune (Common Qiietsche, Germany). — "This name has been applied in this State to numerous plums and prunes which are sold under it. The fruit of the true German prune is long oval, and swollen on one side ; skin purple, with thick blue bloom ; flesh firm, green, sweet, with a peculiar pleasant flavor ; sepa- rates readily from the stone." — JoJin Rock. Complaint is made in many localities of the tendency of the variety to drop before ripening, almost the whole crop sometimes dropping. Kelsey, Japan. — Trees brought from Japan by the late Mr. Hough, of Vaca- ville, in 1870, and purchased by the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, who propa- gated and fruited them for several years. First wide distribution was made by W. P. Hammon & Co., in 1874, who named the fruit after Mr. Kelsey. The fol- lowing description is by H. E. Van Deman, U. S. Pomologist, from California and Florida specimens : "Tree upright in growth, leaves narrow, twigs brownish gray. Fruit from one and a half to two and a half inches diameter, heart-shaped, with a distinct suture on one side from stem to apex ; stem is short, and set in a depression at the larger end ; colors mixed yellow and purple, which vary in depth, but rarely make a brilliant appearance, covered with a bloom; flesh yellow, very firm, and clings to the stone, which is rather small, and nearly always partly surrounded by a cavity ; when fully ripe the quality is very good." Very widelv grown ; is in less favor than formerly in interior valleys where color is not well developed. Where the fruit is of good color it is profitable for shipping and is highly regarded everywhere for domestic use. Quackenbos (New York). — Large, oblong oval; deep purple; suture faint; stalk short, slightly sunk ; slightly coarse, sprightly, sweet and sub-acid ; partly freestone. Victoria (English). — Large, obovate, suture distinct; color a fine light reddish purple ; stem half inch, cavity rather deep and narrow ; flesh yellow, pleasant ; clingstone ; next to Pond's Seedling in size, beauty and productiveness. Hungarian Prune; English Pond's Seedling; Gros Prune d'Agen (English). This variety was brought to San Jose probably about 1856, and in some unac- countable way was first contrasted with the French prune and called the "great prune of Agen;" afterwards, also in a mysterious way, it took the name of "Hungarian prune." It is still marketed by these names both here and at the East. The true name is English Pond's Seedling. Fruit very large, ovate, slightly tapering to stalk ; skin thick, reddish violet, with numerous brown dots, and covered with handsome bloom; rather coarse, juicy, sweet; a very showy fruit; tree a strong grower and prolific bearer; fruit has a tendency to double; sells well in local and distant markets on its style and is largely grown. Giant. — Burbank seedling; very large, dark crimson upon yellow ground; flesh yellow, flavor good ; freestone. A shipping plum, disappointing as a drying plum. Splendor. — Burbank seedling; medium size but larger than French prune; clear red, drying dark, does not shake from the tree; earlier than French prune. Sugar. — Burbank seedling, introduced in 1898 ; large and sweet ; sugar in fresh fruit 23.92 per cent; not of highest quality as a cured prune but sells well; also good for shipping ; oval, slightly flattened ; dark purple with thick white bloom; freestone; early. POPULAR PLUMS 325 Imperial Epincuse sj-n. Clairac Mammoth. — Introduced in 1884 by Felix Gil- let and in 1886 by John Rock. Described by Mr. Rock as follows : "Uniformly large size, reddish or light purple, thin skin, sweet and high flavor." Described by Mr. Gillet : "Uniformly large, more oval than the French prune; nearly of the same color but somewhat lighter or reddish purple ; earlier than the French and with thinner skin." Fruit grown by Mr. Rock analyzed at the State Univer- sity in 1898, showed 20.4 per cent of sugar against 18.53 per cent average of three analyses of French prune. Largely planted and grafted in, in the Santa Clara Valley, as a drying prune but irregular in bearing. There has been quite widely planted another prune called Imperial which is verj' inferior in sugar content and likely to nrove much less satisfactory. Robe de Sergeant. Prune d'Agen. Prune d'Agen; S3'n. Petite Prune d'Agen; French Prune, etc. — This is the drying prune at present most widely grown in this State. It is described by John Rock as follows: "Medium-sized, egg-shaped, violet purple, very sweet, rich, and sugary ; very prolific bearer." The first trees of the kind were grown by Louis Pellier, at San Jose, about the year 1857, the graft having been brought from France by his brother in December. 1856. The identity of this variety (which was first largely grown in the neighborhood of San Jose) with the va- riet}' chiefly grown in the French district tributary to Agen, was first announced by W. B. West, of Stockton, in the year 1878, during his visit to. France. Robe de Sergeant. — Though this term is given in Downing as a synonym of prune d'Agen, and seems also to be in French a synonym for the d'Ente prunes ; another prune grown in this State from an importation by John Rock, is quite distinct from the foregonig. Mr. Rock describes the variety as follows : "Fruit medium size, oval; skin deep purple, approaching black, and covered with a thick blue bloom ; flesh greenish yellow, sweet, and well-flavored, sugary, rich and de- licious, slightly adhering to the stone." This variety makes a larger, darker- colored dried prune than the prune d'Agen, and has sold in some cases at a 326 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM higher price. It has recently been in disfavor in coast valleys for defective bear- ing, but is more satisfactory at some interior points. Bulgarian. — "An undetermined variety grown under this name, chiefly in the vicinity of Haywards, Alameda County; above medium size; almost round; dark purple ; sweet and rich, with pleasant acid flavor ; tree a vigorous grower, and an early, regular and profuse bearer." — John Rock. Coe's Golden Drop (English).— Very large, oval, suture distinct, one side more enlarged, necked ; light yellow, often dotted red to the sun ; stalk three- fourths inch, rather stiff; flesh yellowish, firm, juicy, and rich, closely adhering to the pointed stone; shoots smooth, rather glossy. A standard late variety for canning. Silver Prune (Oregon).— Originated with W. H. Prettyman, who says: "It is a seedling from Coe's Golden Drop, which it much resembles, but it is much more productive." Profitable as a bleached prune, but defective in bearing in some California districts. A red variety by bud variation is reported by Mr. J. G. Grundel of Alma. Golden Prune. — Originated from seed of Italian prune by Seth Lewelling, of Milwaukee. Oregon, and described by him as larger than Italian ; light golden color; exquisite flavor; dries beautifully. Bavay's Green Gage; syn. Reine Claude de Bazvy (French). — Large, round oval, greenish yellov\-, spotted with red, with small violet-colored longitudinal veins; flesh rather firm, juicy, sugary, rich, of fine quality, adhering slightly to the stone; shoots smooth, leaves roundish, shining; a free-grower and very pro- ductive. Ickivorth Imperatrice (Englisji).- — Large to medium, obovate, purple, with irregular streaks of fawn color ; stalk medium ; flesh greenish yellow, sweet, juicy, rich, mostly adhering to the rather small stone; shoots smooth; very late, hangs long on the tree, and keeps well ; endures long shipment well. Fellenherg, syns. Large German Prune, Swiss Prune, Italian Prune. — Medium size, oval, pointed and tapering at both ends; suture small, distinct; dark purple, with dark blue bloom; stalk one inch, scarcely sunk; flesh greenish yellow, juicy, sweet, delicious, parts from the stone; tree a free grower and very productive; late, excellent for drying. But little grown in California, but largely in Oregon. Coe's Late Red, syn. Red St. Martin. — Size medium, roundish, suture distinct on one side ; skin light purplish red, or dark red ; bloom thin, blue ; stalk three- fourths inch, scarcely sunk; flesh rather firm, crisp, rich, vinous; very late, shoots downy. LUTHER BURBANK'S NEWER VARIETIES Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, has not only produced the lead- ing shipping plum of California, as already stated, but he has six others in the list of twenty varieties which are chiefly grown as plums and prunes. During the last few years he has introduced many other varieties not included in the foregoing list, which pos- sess striking characters and some of which will become famous. One of them is his new prune, the Standard, which was introduced in 1911-12. He has also a large collection of other plums, also plum- cots, and other fruits of most striking characters and promise. They must, however, endure the test of trial and await later credit. Seed- lings by other growers are also undergoing a similar ordeal. Two of Mr. Burbank's recent creations, introduced by Mr. George C. Roeding, are of striking characters, and are described as follows: rurbank's newer plums 327 Santa Rosa. — "It is a fine grower, the wood is very tough and the limbs will not break. It is a sure, regular bearer and bears always most abundantly. It does not have any off years. The fruit runs remarkably fine, even in size, and astonishingly smooth and clear of any defects. It is beautiful, delicious, and a verv fine carrier to Eastern markets. It will keep well in hot weather for a week after it is ripe, so there is no occasion to pick it half ripe in order to ship. I intend to plant it very largely myself, and to the exclusion of all other shipping plums." — S. F. Leib. Formosa. — "Unusually large, thick, healthy, light green foliage; strong, hard, wiry wood ; blooms with the Burbank and Abundance, and always escapes late spring frosts, and always bears profusely even when continuous rainy weather prevents full pollination in most other plums. No disease has ever found lodg- ment with Formosa. The fruit is of uniform size, averaging about six inches in circumference one way by eight the other. Fruit yellow with a pale bloom until nearly ripe, turning to a clear rich red. Flesh pale yellow, unusually firm, sweet, rich, delicious, with a delightful apricot flavor, nearly freestone. Formosa has been very thoroughly tested for its keeping qualities, which are unequaled except by Santa Rosa, \Vickson, Burbank, and a few others." — Liithcr Burbank. CHAPTER XXIV THE QUINCE The quince enjoys California conditions to the utmost, and re- wards the grower with large crops of very large and beautiful fruit. A quince weighing a pound is no curiosity, and it is unlikely that any city of the world can show such fine quinces at such low prices as San Francisco. The lesson from this fact is that the fineness of the fruit, and the evident adaptation of the State to its growth, should not alone be considered by the planter. The local consump- tion of quinces is naturally small, and it is chiefly for home preserv- ing jelly making. The commercial jelly makers use apple juice as the basis of nearly all their jellies, only using a little quince for fla- voring, and some housewives follow the same course. The hope for profitable sale of the fruit in large quantities must therefore rest on distant markets, and though those well acquainted with the growth and sale of the fruit in the cities of the Mississippi Valley, have pre- dicted a great demand for the California quince in that territory experiences of shippers thus far have been varied, and not such as to induce the extension of our quince production, at present at least. But though the quince in California has at present narrow com- mercial limitations, a few trees should find a place in every orchard, for family use or local sale. CULTURE OF THE QUINCE The quince is readily grown from cuttings. Take good-sized shoots of well-matured wood of the current year's growth, after the leaves drop in the fall, and set out at once in nursery row in moist alluvial soil, or in any loose soil which is well drained and can be kept moist enough by cultivation or irrigation. Quinces are planted at all distances apart, and are grown either as bushes or trees. Undoubtedly the best way is to plant about fourteen or sixteen feet apart, and prune into low standard tree form. This can be done much as already advised for other fruit trees. An annual cutting back of about half of the new growth, while forming the tree, will strengthen the trunk and limbs and prevent the running out of long leaders, which droop to the ground on all sides when laden with fruit, and are often broken by the weight and the wind. Owing to the disposition of the quince to throw out several small shoots at a single point, it is advisable, when 328 VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE 329 forming the tree, to remove all buds but one, just as the growth is starting. This will give one good, strong branch where it may be needed, instead of several weak ones. Pinching off shoots which start out too vigorously, or at undesirable points is, of course, ad- visable. Soils for the Quince. — As the quince grows naturally in moist, though not wet lands, many persons think it always does best in springy ground or along the banks of rivulets; but though moist soils are preferable to dry, such positions are not essential to ob- taining large crops of fine fruit. In fact, the quince, like most fruit trees, prefers a well-drained location, and does best on a soil which can be freely worked. It thrives when fanned by the ocean breeze and does fairly well in the interior, providing it has moisture in the soil, and in some situations will doubtless require summer irrigation. VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE Though notably all varieties of the quince are introduced by our nurserymen and carried by them in small stock, most planta- tions are of the "apple" or "orange" variety. The following may be enumerated, however, as growing in this State: Apple or Orange. — Large; bright yellow; the best. August and September. Rea's Mammoth. — A very large and fine variety of the Orange quince; a strong grower and very productive. 5Hivr;ia.— Introduced from Smyrna in 1897 by George C. Roeding of Fresno ; large, lemon yellow, handsome, tender and delicious after cooking; keeps well; tree a strong grower, with heavy foliage. Pm^a/>/)/t'.— Originated by Luther Burliank and distributed by him in 1899; the result of a long effort to secure a quince which would cook tender like an apple. The name comes from its flavor, which is suggestive of the pineapple. Resembles Orange quince but is smoother and more globular. Portugal. — Very large, and fine flavor, turns a fine purple or deep crimson when cooked. The Chinese Quince. — A most extraordinary fruit, oblong, of immense size, often weighing from two to two and one-half pounds ; growth rapid and distinct. Wesfs Mammoth. — Originated by W. B. West, of Stockton, from seed re- ceived from Boston in 1853; of the Orange quince family; round, clear yellow; very large ; fine flavor and for the class a very good keeper. Champion. — Fruit very large, fair and handsome; tree very productive, sur- passing any other variety in this respect ; bears abundantly when young ; flesh cooks as tender as an apple, and without hard spots or cores ; flavor delicate, imparting an exquisite quince taste and odor to any fruit with which it is cooked. PART FOUR— THE GRAPE CHAPTER XXV THE GRAPE INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA The grape grows in all parts of California, from near sea level on the coast to an elevation of 5000 feet or more on the mountains. It is contented, too, with nearly all fertile soils, from the deep valley loams, where the great fat, firm-fleshed grapes are grown for raisin and table grape shipments, to the shallow soils of the high foothill and mountain slopes, where the grapes are less in quantity, but of superior aromatic qualities. This wide adaptation gives an im- mense area suited for grape culture, but the chief reason for the achievement and the promise of the grape in California is in the fact that the European species, Vitis vinifera, thrives, and thus the California grower has command of all that Europeans have accom- plished in centuries by developing special varieties of the species for special purposes. The grapes of the States east of the Rocky Mountains are only grown in California in a small way because the European varieties are the only ones from which raisins can be made ; they also furnish the world's wine and brandy, and they give size, beauty, and shipping quality beyond all comparison with American varieties. Wherever wealthy Eastern connoisseurs choose grapes for their glass houses, they select European varieties ; the Califor- nian grows his "hot house" grapes in the open air. He also grows most of them without the cost of trellising, because the European varieties generally will bear well in short-pruned bush form. Cali- fornia has a large acreage of grape vines, and planting has been very active during the last few years, because good prices have pre- vailed, especially through the increased opportunity for fresh grape shipments. At the same time, new economic and commercial problems are continually arising and the industry has to readjust itself to new conditions. Discussion of such problems does not come within the scope of a cultural treatise like this. It is the duty of the grower to keep himself up to date on such subjects by faithful reading of Cali- fornia periodicals and by participation in public assemblies in the grape interest. Concerning cultural difficulties, the protection of vine from its enemies and problems in vinification, special researches are con- stantly pursued by the University Experiment Station at Berkeley and publications arc furnished on application. 330 SOILS FOR THE GRAPE 331 The culture of the grape is one of the g-reat branches of CaHfornia horticulture. Its three chief divisions are : Grapes for the table, grapes for wine, and grapes for raisins. In all these branches the product has far exceeded local requirements and has become an important item in the export trade of the State. The attainments of the industry can be roughly measured by the statistics of the shipments of grapes, raisins, wine and brandy, which are given at the close of Chapter VI. THE GRAPE AREA OF CALIFORNIA The grape has a very wide range in California. If the immediate seacoast and the higher altitudes on the mountains be excepted, the grape may be planted with a good chance of success anywhere if soil and local topography be suitable. As has been shown in Chapter I, the vine can approach quite close to the ocean if some shelter fronf prevailing cool winds be afforded, and quite high on the mountains if one keeps out of depressions where late frosts are frequent. In plant- ing the grape in doubtful situations much depends upon choice of proper varieties. For example, in the cool air of the coast region and the short summer of the higher altitudes, early maturing varieties must be the main reliance, for late sorts will not receive heat enough to bring them to full maturity. Away from immediate coast intlucnccs. and u]) to jKrhaps three thousand feet or more on the sides of the Sierra, the grape is success- fully grown both upon the floors of the valleys and upon the hillsides. But there is still need of choice both of special locations and of varie- ties according to the purposes which the grower has in view. The coast valleys of the upper part of the State produce good table grapes, but they are unfavorable for the raisin industry because of the deficient sun- shine and excessive atmospheric humidity of the autumn months. The best raisins are made in the dry, heated valleys of the interior, and the conditions which there develop the fullest quality of the raisin gra])e also develop the sugar in some kinds of wine grapes beyond a desir- able percentage. Here again the choice of suitable varieties intrudes itself, for the varieties which yield light table wines in the coast valleys may yield heavy "heady" wines in the interior. Valleys, too, as a rule, although they yield larger crops of grapes and greater measure of wine than similar area on the hillsides, must yield the palm for quality to the warm soils of the slopes. And here enters the business proposi- tion whether large amount and less quality is better than less amount and higher quality. To this there can be no general answer. It de- pends upon the disposition which is to be made of the crop, and the de- mand for it. The coloring of certain varieties is a matter underlying their profit- able production for fresh shipments and this is determined by local 332 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM conditions concerning which the best information is actual observation of their effects. These few facts out of many which could be stated will serve to enforce the fact that wide as is the range of the grape, both localities and varieties for certain purposes must be intelligently chosen. Much has been learned during the last few years, but it will rquire the experience of another generation, perhaps, to make the matter clear. Cluster ready for thinning. Cluster after thinning. By thinning the grape cluster as shown, a superior cluster of ripe grapes can be secured. The removal of surplus fruits is done with narrow-blade scissors or with a sharp, narrow knife-blade. Soils for the Grape. — The grape will thrive on a great variety of soils, in fact, on any of those enumerated as fruit soils in Chapter III. There are thrifty vineyards on the light, deep valley loams, on the heavy clayey loams, on adobe, and on the red soils of the foothills. Even on shallow soils the grape will do well if given sufficient moisture, and on rocky subsoils it thrives if there be crevices for the roots to penetrate, or if the rock be shattered to admit the roots to permeable GRAPES FROM JULY TO JANUARY 333 substrata. Standing water during the active period of the vine is, how- ever, unfavorable to growth, and alkali is adverse to satisfactory results in wine making. Almost any soil which does not hold excess of water or is not tainted with alkali will do for the vine, although the plant appreciates good, deep soil, and will grow and bear fruit in proportion to its supply of it. Of course the economic question of ease of culti- vation enters into the choice of soil for the grape, as for other fruits, but its claims are obvious and need not be enlarged upon. Length of the Grape Season. — By choice of early and late varie- ties the grape season extends over half a year in California, without recourse to artificial means of preservation. Where the fall rains are not very protracted, the late varieties sometimes remain in good con- dition on the vines until the winter pruning. Good grapes have been picked from the vines as late as the middle of January. CHAPTER XXVI PROPAGATING AND PLANTING VINES The grape is propagated from seed or by layers, or by cuttings of various lengths. Growing from seed was somewhat resorted to in California to get stocks for resisting the phylloxera, but such wide variation in resistance occurred in seedlings that propagation by cut- tings, of varieties demonstrated to be best in this regard, has become universal. There is at present little disposition to grow grape seed- lings in the hope of securing better and hardier varieties, as is so largely done in other parts of the country. The vast numbers of varie- ties of the European species, vinifcra, which we have to draw from, makes the effort for new seedlings of little object. Growing Vines from Seed, — Seed is easily removed from the grapes by crushing the berries and stirring the pulp rapidly in water. From one pound of good, fresh seed one might get from two to three thousand seedlings. Some advocate sowing grape seed in the fall, just as it is taken from the fruit, but best results are usually obtained by spring sowing, after danger from frost is over. It is advisable to keep grape seed moist for some time before sowing. Seed soaked one week in water, and afterward allowed to lie in a heap for three weeks germinates quickly, starting in ten days or two weeks after being put in the ground. Professor Husmann advised pouring hot water on the seed and allowing it to cool, the seed remaining in the water for twelve hours, and after that it is kept for a week in a sack, exposed to the sun, and covered at night, the sack being moistened from time to time. The seed should be sown in the open ground, the soil having been worked deeply and finely, as for a garden. Sow the seed about an inch apart, in drills far enough from each other to admit the use of the cultivator in the summer ; cover not to exceed an inch in depth, and after moderate pressing of the ground, cover the whole bed with rot- ten straw, which should be gradually removed as the sprouts appear above the ground. This mulch will not only retain moisture, but will prevent the surface from being crusted by heavy showers. Summer cultivation with cultivator and hoe should be given. Growing Vines by Layering. — This is another method of mul- tiplying vines which is but little employed in California, because it is so much easier to secure plants by cuttings, as the vinifera species roots so readily. Layering consists in bending down and burying one of the lower canes so as to facilitate top and root growth from each of the buds. To hold the cane in place, stakes are used, the trench being left open until the shoots grow out and then, by covering the roots are 334 WAYS TO GROW GRAPE VINES 335 developed. The cane must rest in moist earth, and usuaUy has to be watered artificially, as well as treated to prevent evaporation. The following winter the cane is raised and a plant made at each node. Another use for layering- is to fill a vacancy in the row, a cane being taken from the nearest living vine. In this case the layer must be set in a deep trench so as not to be torn out by the plow, and the layered cane is at once covered in with earth, all but one or two buds at the extremity, where the new vine is desired. Such a layer usually bears the second year and is then detached from the parent vine. Both the layers described are laid down early in the spring, before growth starts in the vine. Summer layers of the current season's growth are sometimes made, but are not usually satisfactory. Growing Vines from Cuttings. — This is the prevailing method in this State both to secure grafting stocks and to grow vines on their own roots. In growing from cuttings, diflferent policies are adopted, i. e., placing the cuttings in permanent place in the vineyard, or root- ing them in nursery to be afterward transferred to the vineyard as "rooted vines." First, the various kinds of cuttings will be considered, and their placing mentioned later. Growth from Single Eyes. — The use of single eyes or single buds, the shortest possible form of cutting, is not large in California, but some growers have reported good results. The method is to pre- pare the cuttings with a half-inch or so of the cane on each side of the bud and plant them carefully, with the bud upwards, in well-prepared soil, covering the cutting completely, but very little under the surface. Success depends upon retention of moisture in the surface soil to in- duce rooting, and mulching is advisable. The method of propagation, too, seems best adapted to the moister parts of the State, whence, in fact, most success with it has been reported. Besides economy of wood in getting a plant from each bud of the cane, which is some- times an object, growing from single eyes is advocated because of the satisfactory root system secured, which much resembles that of a seed- ling. The use of single eyes is obviously better adapted to nursery than to field growth. The Use of Longer Cuttings.* — It was formerly considered good practice to leave a piece of old wood attached to the base of the cutting, on the ground that such cuttings always grew. This practice is now very generally abandoned, as it often gives rise to weak and diseased vines. The piece of old wood always decays finally, and the decay may spread into the trunk and roots of the vine. A good cutting should *Much of the following description of handling cuttings is taken bodily from the excel- lent University publications by Mr. F. T. Bioletti, viz.: Circular 26, "Selection and prepara- tion of Vine Cuttings." Bulletin 180, "Resistant Vineyards — grafting, planting, cultivation." Bulletin 193, "The Best Wine Grapes for California," etc. All these contain discussions of propagation methods. 336 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM consist exclusively of one-year-old wood ; that is, the wood which has grown during the previous season. The form and length of the cuttings will depend on the use that is to be made of them. If they are to be used as scions for grafting Properly made cuttings. they may be cut up in any way and of any length that is found conven- ient for handling and keeping them in good condition. If they are to be used for rooting either in the nursery or the vineyard it is most convenient to cut them up into the exact lengths which are to be planted. The length will depend altogether on the soil and climate where they are to be planted. They should be of such a length that when MAKING GRAPE CUTTINGS 337 planted the base of the cutting- will be at the level where the conditions are most favorable to root formation. If the base is too deep, it will be too wet and too cold to develop roots. Roots will start higher up and the bottom part will be wasted, or worse still, may decay and in- jure the vine. If the base is too near the surface the whole cutting may dry out and die before its roots have developed sufficiently to supply it with water. In the moister soils of the cooler districts a cutting 10 inches long is sufficient for direct planting in the vineyard. In the drier and warmer interior a 14-inch to 16-inch cutting is better, while in the driest soils of the warmest districts it is often necessary to have a cut- ting 18 to 20 inches long. For planting in the nursery a 12 or 14-inch cutting is about the most convenient. If the soil of the nursery is wet and cold more of the cutting should be left above ground; if, on the contrary, the soil tends to be hot and dry the cutting must be planted deeper and even covered up completely. It is not necessary, or possible, to make every cutting of exactly the same length, because they should all terminate at each end at a node. A vine cane consists of nodes where the buds are and intcrnodes between them. The pith is interrupted at each node by a woody parti- tion (called the "diaphragm") which extends through the cane at each bud. In making a cutting, therefore, we should cut exactly through a bud both at the top and at the bottom. This will leave the woody partitions, which will prevent decay at the bottom and drying out at the top. If removed, the pith in the upper internode will be exposed to alternate wetting and drying, and may decay, thus weakening or killing the bud below. In planting, the cutting should be placed with just one bud above the surface of the ground, as indicated by the dotted line in the accom- panying engraving. It is a great mistake to leave more than one bud out of the ground, as this increases the danger of drying out. Making and Caring for Cuttings. — Cuttings can be taken from the vines at any time after the fall of the leaf and before the spring flow of sap begins. The earlier cuttings — ^those taken before January — are more likely to make a successful start and after-growth than those cut later in the season. It is common, however, to defer preparation of cuttings till the pruning is done, be it early or late, and this will generally answer the purpose, if care be taken to secure the cuttings immediately at the pruning; but if the branches be allowed to lie upon the ground for days, exposed to sun, wind, or frost, before the cuttings are secured, their chances of growth are seriously lessened, and a good part of the failures in planting are due to such cuttings. 338 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Cuttings should be taken from the short-jointed, well-ripened wood of the previous year's growth, cut squarely and smoothly as already described. Cuttings from the outer ends of long canes are not so likely to root, nor to grow so vigorously, as those from stronger wood, from three-eighths to five-eighths of an inch in diameter generally. Keep them dormant until the time comes to set them in the vine- yard, else the tender shoots may get broken. To keep them back, place them, at the pruning in trenches, about as deep as the length of the cuttings, on the north side of a close board fence or a building, cover with loose earth, and over that throw some straw and boards. Take care that the trenches are in moist but not wet ground as too much moisture rots the cuttings. If the ground has not been moist enough, and the cuttings seem dry or withered, plunge them in water to within three or four inches of their top, for a few days before setting, and do not let them dry again before planting. Rooting Cuttings in Nursery. — A\'hat has been written is in reference to cuttings designed for placing in permanent position in the vineyard, but, for the most part, applies as well to the preparation of cuttings for the nursery. For nursery treatment, however, shorter cuttings can be used than for field planting, because of the better cul- tivation and more generous moisture conditions which are usually pro- vided. In preparation of ground for the rooting of vines and the planting of cuttings therein, the suggestions in Chapter VIII are directly appli- cable, as, to secure rooting of the cuttings, there is just as great need for deep and fine working of the soil, pressing of it around the cutting, and for careful culture during the growing season, as there is for such treatment of fruit-tree seedling or root graft. It is just as necessary, too, that the rooted cuttings should be carefully lifted and guarded from drying out while on the way from the nursery to permanent place. The reader is, therefore, referred to Chapter VIII for sugges- tions on preparation, laying out, and care of nursery ground intended for the rooting of grape cuttings. To secure vines upon resistant roots recourse has recently been made by some growers to the cutting-graft which will be mentioned presently. There is a growing tendency to use rooted vines instead of cut- tings in planting out vineyards, for, although the former cost several times as much as the latter, either in the time of the grower or in cash outlay, the balance is believed to be usually on the other side, when the uniform stand and more satisfactory growth secured by rooted vines are considered. BUDDING THE GRAPE 339 BUDDING AND GR-^FTING THE GRAPE VINE Working- over the grape vine is largely practised in this State and is easily accomplished. The occasion is twofold : Replacing undesir- able varieties with those of better quality, or in better market demand, and in bringing the vinifcra varieties upon roots which resist the at- tacks of the phylloxera. The employment of resistant stocks has proved eminently satisfactory in this State, the resistant stock having been successfully installed even in the hole from which the dead vini- fera root had been taken. For this reason resistant roots are largely Budding from previous season's growth. relied upon in the planting of new vineyards in infested districts, and also used to some extent in regions where the insect is not now found, by those who fear and desire to provide against its coming. And yet in the large planting of vineyard in the interior valley which has re- cently been undertaken very little attention has been paid to resistant roots. It is so cheap to proceed with simple cuttings of the variety de- sired, and the vine comes into bearing so soon, that most planters are willing to take the risk of infection with phylloxera for it may be long delayed and several profitable crops may be realized before its arrival. This is a question which each planter must answer for himself. Budding the Grape. — Buds can be readily made to grow in grape canes, though budding is not largely used. Success can be had with the same method of budding that is common with fruit trees as described in Chapter IX. Insert the bud (which is taken from a cane of the previous season's growth) in the spring as soon as the bark will slip well on the stock, and before the run of the sap is too strong. 340 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Keep the cuttings in a cool place so their growth will be retarded, and then seize upon just the right condition of the stock, insert the bud under the bark of a cane of the previous season's growth, tie it around with a string, and the bud starts readily without further treatment, when its growth shows its abiHty to take the sap, the top of the stock is removed. Herbaceous budding is also practicable. It consists of taking buds from the current season's growth and working them upon canes also of current growth by the usual shield budding process. Mr. Thomas Casalegna of San Martin succeeds well with this under these condi- tions; All buds put in from July 15 to August 15 start the same year, but may be injured by fall frosts. Those put in from August 15 to September 15 remain dormant until the following year, unless the stock is exceptionally vigorous. Budding is most successful in the month of August. The buds should be taken from canes which have reached the stage of maturity indicated by the pith turning white and just before the bark turns yellow. Grafting the Vine. — Grafting in old vine roots is a simple opera- tion, and is performed in various ways. The principles involved in vine grafting are similar to those affecting tree grafting, as described in Chapter IX. The processes employed are also similar, but the graft requires less binding and covering, because it is usually made beneath the surface of the ground, and is, therefore, less subject to accident, exposure, and drying out. Grafting in the old Stump. — This is resorted to when the char- acter of the vineyard is to be changed. Out of the many ways for working into old stumps, one introduces the scion by a side cut into the stock without splitting across as shown at C C in the engraving on page 343. The earth is removed from the old vine down to its first lateral roots, and the top is sawed off cleanly a few inches above the first laterals. A cut is then made into the side of the stump with a knife and mallet, as shown in the figure. The scion is then cut long enough so that one bud will remain above ground when the surface is leveled again, the bottom of the scion being given an oblique wedge-shape, so as to fit the crevice in the stock. Some care is needed in shaping the wedge of the scion, so that the surfaces are in contact will give good results. If the stock is well made and the end of the scion so adjusted that the stock will pinch it when it is pushed into place, nothing more will be needed except to smear over the cut surface of the stump and the joint of the scion and stock with clay or with a mixture of two parts clay and one part fresh cow manure. If the scion is held firmly and sealed in with this mixture, it usually needs no tying, and the hole can be carefully filled with loose earth, with a strong stake to mark the place of the graft, and to which the new growth can be se- curely tied afterwards. GRAFTING THE GRAPE 341 Another common method of grafting beneath the ground is to split the stump across its center, as is done in top-grafting fruit trees as shown in Chapter IX, and one or two scions inserted. If two are used and both grow, the weakly one is afterward suppressed. In this Herbaceous buds which have taken hold. cross cleft graft some grafters rely upon the stock to hold the scion without tying, and daub it over with the clay mixture, care being taken to fill and cover the split in the stock to exclude water. Others put a ligature around the split stump, as shown in the engraving. Strips of cotton cloth answer well for this purpose. Tying offers better security from knocking out the graft with the cultivator. In grafting into very tough old stumps, some growers leave a slim wedge of wood in the cleft with the scion to prevent the stock from closing too forcibly upon the scion. Side Grafting. — Side grafting the vine is commended by some growers. It consists in inserting a graft by a cut into the side of the stock, the method being essentially the same is that employed with fruit trees, as described in Chapter IX, except that in side grafting the vine the top is not amputated, but is allowed to bear its crop and is then removed the following winter. The next summer the scion will bear a crop, and the vine is worked over without cessation in its bear- ing. 342 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Herbaceous Grafting.— This term is applied to a graft in which the scion of the current season's growth is set by a cleft graft into canes also of the current season's growth, while both scion and cane are elastic, but not too soft. The method has not been usually successful in this State, apparently because of the dryness of the summer air. Still some satisfactory results are reported. ]\Ir. Casalegna of Santa Clara county, whose success with herbaceous buds has been noted, does well also with soft-wood grafting by the whip-graft method. He says it is most successful in June, provided the scions are hard enough. The pith must be white. In a strong-growing vineyard grafting may be done in July. The leaves are taken ofif the scions when they are cut. If they are to be used immediately they are placed in water ; if to be carried some distance they are placed in a wet sack. Tie the grafts with German knitting yarn, not with rafifia. The season for herbaceous grafting will, of course, vary according to the locality. Hot weather immediately following the work is fatal to most of the grafts. If two or three cool days follows the insertion of the scions he obtains an almost perfect stand. Care of Scions. — Scions should be kept cool and moist enough to prevent drying but not wet enough to cause decay, as has already been described in the keeping of cuttings. Time of Grafting. — Grafting into old vine stumps is done in February, March and April in different parts of the State, March being the month usually chosen for the work. If a spring graft fails, the stump may be regrafted in August or in the following spring. In re- grafting, the stump is cut off again below the previous cleft. The time for the work is when the sap has ceased flowing, usually from the first to the tenth of August. The recourse to resistant roots to escape the phylloxera has been attended with some disappointment because the wild roots at first widely used proved only partially resistant. Recently, in the main through employment of French selected varieties of the American wild species, stocks with satisfactory resistance, larger growth and vigor and adaptation to different California soils have been secured. Notable success has been attained in the habilitation of vineyards on the basis of resistant roots. The University Experiment Station, at Berkeley, has maintained leadership in this direction by publication of specific in- formation which can be had by application to the Director. Resistant Varieties. — American wild vines are characterized by very marked differences in degree of resistance to phylloxera, and especially in adaptability to soils. Not only do species differ in this respect, but varieties of the same species show widely different char- acteristics. As a result of the process of selection varieties have been GRAFTING THE GRAPE 343 secured which are far above the average of the species in vigor of growth and development, degree of resistance and general suitability for resistant root purposes. The few varieties which have thus demon- strated particular excellence in France and have given notable indica- tions of success in California, are presented by jNIr. Bioletti, as follows : Methods of field grafting grape vines. A. Whip graft for stocks 1-2 to 2-3 of an inch in diameter. B, BB. Whip oraft for stocks- 2-3 to 3-4 of an inclx in diameter. C, CC. Lleft 9-rait for stocks 3-4 of an inch in diameter and for old stumps. 344 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The varieties of resistant stocks which will in all probability be most used in California are Rupestris St. George (du Lot), Riparia X Rupestris 3306, Riparia X Rupestris 3309, Riparia Solonis 1616, Mour- vedreXRupestris 1202, AramonX Rupestris 2, Riparia gloire, and Instances of successful herbaceous grafts. Riparia grande glabre. These are all varieties which have given excel- lent results for years in Europe, and have all been tested successfully in California. Among them are varieties suitable for nearly all the vineyard soils of California, with perhaps the exception of some of the heavier clays. The Rupestris St. George is remarkably vigorous and grows very large, supporting the graft well even without stakes. It roots easily and makes excellent unions with most vinifera varieties. It is well suited to deep soils where its roots can penetrate. Its defects are that it is very subject to root- rot, especially in moist soils ; it suckers badly and it suffers from drought in shallow soils. Its great vigor produces coulure with some varieties and often necessitates long pruning. In moist or wet soils 1616 or 3306 have given better results in France and give indications of doing equally well here. In drier soils 3309 will probably be found preferable. Aramon Rupestris No. 2 is suited to the same soils as Rupestris St. George, and does particularly well in extremely gravelly soils. It has '-^'O t/1 TO -a 2 O C n, ni V- CO »- U <« ^ rt o ^ £ n c ^ Ci L, (1) -r fa be. 2 o C u _ ■^ '-♦-' "^ ^ -a - o o I- >- (u H -t^ •id ^ Q •" E C rt uj 5 flj ^ Z3 »-H •^ - e aS ::? ^ C rt _ .ti C *- U d O ^ ^ 1>^ c > rt !^ - ^ « o z, ^5 c. (L, G G r; 1- O G 345 Young vineyard of table grapes in the Lodi district. Continuous verdure of vineyards on the valley fioor. 346 VARIOUS RESISTANT VINES 347 some of the defects of the St. George and is moreover more difficult to graft, and its only advantage in California is that it is rather less susceptible to root-rot. There are no better resistant stocks than Riparia gloire and Riparia grande globre, wherever they are put in soils that suit them. They do well, however, only in deep, rich, alluvial soils which are neither too wet nor too dry. Their grafts are the most productive of all, and ripen their grapes from one to two weeks earlier than the grafts on St. George, and are quite sufficiently vigorous to support any variety of the soil, and they never grcnv quite as large as the scion. The gloire is the most vigorous, and the difference is less with this variety than with any other Riparia. The MourvedreXRupcstris 1202 is extremely vigortnis, roots and grafts easily, and is well adapted to rich, sandy and moist soils. In drier and poorer soils its resistance is perhaps not sufficient. The most promising varieties for general use at present seem to be the two hybrids of Riparia and Rupestris, 3306 and 3309. They have great resistance to the phylloxera, root and graft almost as easily as St. George, and are quite sufficiently vigorous to support any variety of vinifera. The former is more suited to the moister soils and wherever there is danger of root-rot, and the latter to the drier soils. In general, they are suited to a larger variety of soils and conditions than perhaps any other varieties. Riparia gloire should be planted only on rich, deep alluvial soil con- taining an abundance of plant food and humus, what would be called good garden land, such as river bank soil not liable to overflow. In most other soils Riparia X Rupestris 3306 is to be recommended, except those which are rather dry. where 3309 is to be preferred, or those which are very wet, where Solonis X Riparia 1616 is surer to give good residts. The Cutting Graft. — Grafting the desired variety upon a resist- ant cutting, putting these cutting-grafts through a callusing bed and then planting the grafted cutting in nursery for rooting is an accepted French method which is being successfully employed in California. This has advantage in time gained and in securing a full stand of vines as compared with grafting upon cuttings already rooted in place in the vineyard though the latter has been successfully practiced. If cutting-grafts are placed directly in the nursery many will fail. For this reason it is always best, except at the extreme end of the graft- ing season, to "stratify" the grafts in a "callusing" bed, where condi- tions of moisture, temperature, and aeration can be controlled. This callusing bed is usually a pile of clean sand placed in the south end of wall or building surrounded by a board partition where there is no 348 CALIFORNIA FRUITS! HOW TO GROW THEM possibility of its becoming too wet by the flow of water from a higher level or from an over-hanging roof. It should be protected, if neces- sary, by a surrounding ditch. It should be furnished with a removable cover of canvas or boards to protect it from rain and to enable the tem- perature to be controlled by admission or exclusion of the sun's rays. A waterproof wagon-cover, black on one side and white on the other, is excellent for this purpose. The bottom of the callusing bed is first covered with 2 or 3 inches of sand. The bundles of grafts are then placed in a row along one end of the bed, and sand well filled in around them. The bundles should be placed in a slightly inclined position with the scions uppermost, and the sand should be dry enough so that it sifts in between the grafts in the bundle. The bundles of grafts are then covered up completely with sand, leaving it at least 2 inches deep above the top of the scion. There should be but little more moisture present for callusing than in the sand used for keeping the cuttings over winter. Too much moisture will stimulate the emission of roots and starting of buds without aiding the callus formation, which is a perfectly distinct process from the for- mation of roots. An adjacent engraving shows the subsequent rooting of cutting- grafts in the nursery. Grafting of Resistant Stocks after Rooting, — Grafting on resist- ant roots differs from working in old stumps in the size of the wood to be operated on, and in the fact that the graft must be set higher up because it is not desirable to have the scion strike roots of its own, for the obvious reason that depending on such roots would make the vine no longer resistant. The advantage of covering the graft with earth is, however, still to be enjoyed, for the earth can be raised in a little mound around the graft, to be removed when the graft has taken well. For this reason grafting on resistant roots is usually done at or near the surface of the ground. The common cleft graft is used when the stock is large enough to give a split strong enough to hold in the scion. In grafting smaller stocks the whip graft is used both in making cutting-grafts and in grafting cuttings already rooted. This graft is variously treated. It is covered with clay by some, by others with grafting wax ; but the common experience is that grafting wax makes too tight a joint, and holds in surplus sap, which begets disease. The use of a wax band specially adapted to ruling conditions has proved very successful, but the easiest and usually most satisfactory way is to wind with soft twine or raffla which will decay and loosen as the graft enlarges, but care must be taken to cut the band if it has not decayed at the time of trans- planting. LAYING OUT VINEYARD 349 LAYING OUT THE VINEYARD Vines are planted in rectangles, generally in squares, but some- times at a less distance in the rows than the rows are from each other. The stakes which are to represent the future vines are in either case placed by the same methods of measuring or marking off. All the methods described for clearing and preparing lands, in Chapter VII, and for laying off ground in squares, described in Chapter X, are applicable to vineyard ground. The measuring wire therein de- scribed is the means usually employed for laying off. A special con- trivance which has been used to some extent on level ground is thus described : The marker most in use is made in the form of a sled, sixteen, fourteen, or twelve feet long, with three runners so placed as to mark rows eight, seven, or six feet wide. These runners should be made about three feet long, of some hard wood (Oregon pine will do), two inches thick and firmly nailed to two planks placed upon them of the lengths first above named. Upon these should be bolted two strong pieces of joist in the form of wagon hounds projecting in front far enough to receive a stout pole like a wagon tongue, well braced and fastened with an iron rod. Care must be taken that the motion of the machine is steady and true in all its parts. With a well-made marker, a gentle team, and a careful driver, excellent work may be done. Distance of Planting. — There is as much difference of opinion and practice in fixing the distance between vines as between orchard trees, but usually more room is given than formerly. Planted m squares, the distance varies from seven to ten feet, with eight feet as most prevalent, taking the State as a whole. Planting in rows is also adopted to some extent. Such plantations are made with the vines seven by ten or eight by ten feet, four and one-half by eleven feet, etc. There is great variation in the distances. Some advantages of the row system are as follows : Greater space to spread trays for raisin curing; plowing can be done with double team and larger plows; the brush can be gathered and burned between the rows instead of carrying it to the avenues ; sulphur and materials for spraying can be brought in by team to any part of the vineyard ; empty boxes can be distributed and filled ones gathered up without carrying, etc. Planting in rows recommends itself not only for planting new vineyards, but also for changing old vineyards from seven by seven feet to three and one-half by fourteen feet, or from eight by eight feet to four by six- teen feet, giving opportunity to change from a vinifera-root vineyard to a resistant-root vineyard. This can be accomplished by planting resistant roots in the alternate rows to be preserved, right between the two old vines. Number of Vines to the Acre. — However the vines be set, it is very easy to calculate the number of vines which an acre will accom- modate. Multiply the distance in feet between the rows by the distance the plants are apart in the rows, and the product will be the number of 350 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM square feet for each plant, which, divided into the number of feet in an acre (forty-three thousand five hundred and sixty), will give the num- ber of plants to the acre. Avenues in the Vineyard. — For convenience of access with team and wagon there should always be avenues through the vineyard. They are usually arranged so as to cut up the vineyard into blocks about twice as long as broad, if the vineyard be on level land. Of course, on hilly lands the avenues should be located for ease of haul- ing. The avenue is made by leaving out a row of vines, and, therefore, the exact size of the block will depend upon the distance between the rows. Some advise having not more than forty vines between the avenues. Planting in rows, with wide spaces between the rows, ren- ders few avenues necessary. PLANTING CUTTINGS AND ROOTED VINES Various means are used for planting cuttings. An essential con- dition to successful growth is to have the lower part of the cutting well embedded in the soil, as it will not root unless in close contact with the earth. To lack of care in this regard most failures are due, and for lack of surety that such contact is made the various contrivances for speedy planting, such as the planting bar, are widely condemned ; an excavation of the hole and refilling with fine surface earth, just as ad- vised in Chapter XI, for planting orchard trees, is commended as the safest practice. Much, however, depends upon the soil. In loose, free soil such a use of bar or "sheep's-foot" as will be presently described may be satisfactory, while it would be impracticable on firmer soils, both because of the difficulty of insertion and because the packed con- dition caused by the forcing in would not favor root extension, and not desirable on shallow soils because the contact of the better surface soil with the bottom of the cutting will stimulate the growth of the cutting, and is, therefore, very desirable. The post-hole auger and a device for taking out soil as a "trier" takes out a sample of cheese or butter, have also been used to some extent, but not widely, in making holes for cuttings. Other forms of dibbles for planting vine cuttings relate particularly to. the setting of cutting-grafts in a light deeply- worked nursery soil, but may be also used to advantage in placing cuttings in the vineyard if the soil favors such a method. They are described by Mr. Bioletti as follows : Two of the best forms of nursery dibbles are shown in the en- graving. The first. A, consists of a piece of round one-half-inch iron, 18 inches long, furnished with a wooden handle at one end and a curved double point with a V-shaped cleft in the other. The bottom WAYS TO PLANT CUTTINGS 351 node of the stock is caught in the cleft and the graft forced down to the desired depth. Unless the ground is very light the other dibble, B, is preferable. It consists of a sword-shaped piece of iron 18 to 20 inches long and 2 inches wide, furnished also with a handle. The usual way of using it is to press it into the ground to the desired depth, open the hole a little with a lateral thrust, withdraw it and insert the graft. \J GS s a ^ Dibbles for planting vine cuttings. The dibble is then pushed into the ground again at about an inch to one side of the graft and by another lateral thrust the earth is pressed tightly around the graft. This takes more time than is necessary with the other form of dibble, and usually done carefully there is danger of failing to make the soil close around the base of the stock, which is thus left surrounded by an air space. Grafts left in this way are apt to 352 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM become moldy and fail to make good roots. The figure C is a planting dibble to be used with hand and foot like a spade. All such contriv- ances are only suited to light soils which crumble and settle easily. On heavier soils, digging holes and placing the soil around the roots or the base of the cutting by hand is indispensable. Planting Bar and Sheep's-foot. — The following methods, de- scribed by Dr. Gustav Eisen as prevailing in the raisin districts of the San Joaquin Valley, on sandy, loamy soils, will well illustrate similar methods wherever followed : The planting bar consists of a bar of hard iron, sharpened at the lower end and furnished with a cross handle at the other. The length of the bar is about three and a half feet, width about two and a half inches, and thickness a third to half an inch. If less than this the bar will bend. The planting is done by push- ing the. bar perpendicularly in the ground. After withdrawing it, insert the cut- ting and push it down to the bottom. Fill up the hole by again inserting the bar in the ground close by and pressing the flat side against the hole. The sheep's-foot consists of a round rod with cross-handle at the upper end. The lower end of the rod is slightly flattened, bent and forked. The planting is done by fitting the forked end over the butt-end of the cutting, and immediately pushing cutting and rod together to the desired depth in the soil. A slight twist is now given to the sheep's-foot. This loosens it from the cutting and allows it to be withdrawn. A tamp with the foot fills the hole. Great care must be taken in withdrawing the sheep's-foot, lest in doing so the cutting should be lifted also, and this will leave a fatal air chamber at the lower end. The slight twist given the rod before withdrawing loosens it and leaves the cutting undisturbed. For planting in dry situations some careful planters run water and fine earth into the hole made by the bar after inserting the cut- ting; others run in fine sand dry and then pour on water. In using water in this way one must take care that he does not use adobe earth, for a succeeding dry spell may bake it, and the cutting will be worse off than if not puddled. Planting Rooted Vines. — Planting rooted vines is governed by the same rules commended for planting trees in Chapter XI, so far as preparation of holes, care in placing and firming the soil around the roots, etc., is concerned. In handling rooted vines there must be greater care in packing and transportation to prevent the roots from drying, and in carrying to the field it is generally advised that the plants be kept in a pail or other receptacle with water. The vine rqots are very small and tender, and success will largely depend upon good care of them. At planting all dead or injured roots should be trimmed away, healthy roots shortened so that they can be placed well in the hole, and the top reduced to a single cane cut back to two eyes. When to Plant.— The exact time to plant can not be stated, for the condition of the soil and the local season-points are the best guides. Planting can be done much later as a rule in the coast regions than in the interior, because the soil is usually later in getting into good condition of mellowness and warmth, and the late rains are usually PLANTING ROOTED VINES 353 heavier. It is certainly not advisable to place cuttings in cold, wet soil, and dry soil will quickly destroy their vitality. The suggestions given in Chapter XI should be carefully considered. The planter must use good judgment in choosing his time for planting, aided in forming it by the best local experience he can get. Cultivation of Vineyard. — General suggestions concerning the cultivation of the vineyard have already been given in Chapter XIII, preceding. Instance of large bearing by long pruning. 354 CHAPTER XXVI 1 PRUNING AND CARE OF THE VINE.* Most of the varieties of vinifera grown in California at present thrive under the short pruning system. There are exceptions, how- ever, which will be noted later. The prevalence of the short pruning system frees our growers from the expense and inconvenience of trellises. Though in the early years of the vine stakes are used, our older vines stand by themselves and are as independent of supports as our fruit trees. The vines are, in fact, shaped upon something the same model as our fruit trees, the so-called "goblet form" of the French being our prototype. THE FIRST YEAR During the summer of the year the vines are planted, no pruning or training of any kind is needed in most cases. For this reason it is nearly always unnecessary to stake the vines when they are planted. The only exception to this is when strong-rooted vines are planted in a rich, moist soil in which they will make a very large growth the first year. In this case it is desirable, though not quite necessary, to stake the vines immediately after planting to adopt the method of sum- mer treatment described below for the second year. In most cases it is best to allow all shoots to remain to feed the vine and to insure a good root growth the first year. Staking. — In the autumn or winter following planting, the vines should be staked, either before or after pruning, but in any case some time before the buds start in the spring. The kind of stake used will depend on the variety of vine and on the method of pruning to be ultimately adopted. For ordinary short- pruning, the stake should be of such length that, after being driven into the ground, sufficient will be below the surface to keep it firm and prevent its being loosened by the force of the wind acting on the vine which is tied to it, and sufficient above the surface to extend one or two inches above the height at which it is intended to head the vines. It should be from one and one-quarter to one and one-half inches square, according to the length. In firm ground, for small-growing vines such as Zinfandel, a stake 1% by 1^4 inches and 27 inches long will be sufficient. This will allow 15 inches to be driven into the g^round and leave 12 inches * The detailed instructions and accompanying illustrations in this chapter are taken from the excellent writings of Mr. F. T. Bioletti for the California Experiment Station, and embody the teachings of long experience and wide observation, 355 356 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM above, which is enough for vines to be headed at 10 inches. If the ground is loose or sandy a 30-inch stake driven 18 inches into the ground will be needed. For strong-growing varieties, such as Carignane or Tokay, especially when planted in rich soil, a stake 1/^ by \y2 inches and 36 inches long will be necessary, and 15 or 18 inches of this should be left above the ground. This will permit the heading of the vines at 15 inches. If the vines are to be trellised with one wire, a 36-inch stake driven 18 inches into the ground is the proper length. If two wires are to be used, a 48-inch stake will be needed, leaving 30 inches above the surface. If the vines are to be pruned long and the canes tied to the stake, a 5-foot stake will usually be needed, and this must be stronger, 2 by 2 inches square. This stake should be driven 2 feet into the ground. These dimensions are all smaller than are usual in California, but are quite sufficient for all practical purposes. The stake should be placed 1 to 2 inches from the vine on the side opposite to the prevailing heavy winds. The force of the wind will thus keep the vine pressed against the stake and the tying material less liable to break. First Winter Pruning. — In California, the young vines may be pruned at any time after the leaves have fallen, except in sections very subject to spring frosts, where it is sometimes advisable to defer the pruning until after the top buds of the canes start. The way the vines are to be pruned will depend altogether on the growth they have made. If the growth has been small the tops are pruned exactly like rooted vines before planting. All the canes are removed entirely, except the strongest, and this is cut back to two buds, (see Fig. 1, a). Any vines which have made a strong growth and possess at least one cane of which a sufficient length is well ripened may be pruned for tying up. All the canes are removed entirely, except the strongest, and this is cut back to 10, 15, or 18 inches, according to the height at which it is intended to head the vine (see Fig. 2, a). The top cut is made through a bud, just as in making cuttings. This will facilitate tying up and insure the healthy growth of the top bud. Sometimes, even when the vine has made sufficient growth, the canes are prostrate or crooked and none can be tied up straight to the stake. In this case the vine must be pruned like a weak vine — that is, thinned to one cane and this cane cut back to two buds. In no case should two canes of any length be left, and in all cases where it is impossible to obtain the full length of well-ripened wood for FIRST STEP IN SHORT PRUNING 357 Fig. 1. Treatment of an average vine during second season. a. Winter pruning. b. Spring pruning — removal of suckers (S) and thinning of shoots (W). c. Summer treatment — tying to stake and topping. tying up, the cane should be cut back to two buds. It is very bad prac- tice to leave some of the canes of intermediate length, as this causes the vines to head out at various heights and produces an irregularity of shape which can never be remedied and which interferes with regular pruning, cultivation and other vineyard work. The idea to be kept in mind is to cut back each winter nearly to the ground — that is, to two buds — until a cane is produced with a length of well-ripened wood and good buds equal to the height at which the vine is to be headed. It is very important that this cane should be straight, healthy and well-ripened, as it is from it that the trunks of the mature vine develops. All the vines on which a cane has been left should be carefully tied up. Two ties will be needed in most cases. A half hitch should be made around the cane below the swelling left by the bud which has been removed, and the cane tied firmly to the top of the stake. Another tie is made about half-way down the stake. The lower tie need not be very tight, and in any case the tying material should not be passed completely around the cane, except above the top bud, or the vine will be strangled when it commences to grow (see Fig. 2, a). Any kind of string or twine, sufficiently strong to withstand the pressure of the growing vine in a heavy wind, may be used. Binding twine, or a single strand of good baling rope, is suitable. No. 16 or 17 358 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Fig. 2. Treatment of average vine during the third season, or of a vigorous vine during the second. a. Vine pruned to one cane and tied to stake. b. Removal of sucker (S) and lower shoots (\V) in spring. c. Vine in summer at time of pinching. galvanized wire is preferred by some and is better than string, if care is taken to remove the bottom ties the following year before they strangle the vine. Wire is a little more expensive and takes a little longer to put on than string, but holds the vines better and can be used for sev- eral years. SECOND YEAR Summer Pruning. — The treatment during the second and third spring and summer is of great importance to the future welfare of the vine. A little judicious care at this period will avert many troubles in later years. It will be necessary to go over the vineyard four or five times to do the suckering, topping, and tying which are necessary. The shoots starting from the vines which have been cut back to two buds should be thinned to a single one. This thinning should be done as soon as possible in such a way that it is never necessary to re- move a shoot more than 3 or 4 inches long (see Fig. 1, 1^7). If the thin- ning is deferred until the shoots are a foot or more long the vine will be weakened by the removal of so much foliage. If the thinning can not be done early, it is better not to do it at all. The object of this FORMS OF THREE-YEAR-OLD VINES ^59 a b c Fig. 3. Three-year-old vines after pruning. a. Average vine with two spurs. b. Vigorous vines with three spurs, the lowest of whicli is to be rcninvid the following year. e. Vigorous vine with three spurs. thinning is to throw all the force and growth of the vine into the cane which is to form finally the trunk of the vine. If it is done too late not only does the growth not go into this cane, but th^ vine is weakened so much that this cane does not grow so well as it would have done without thinning. The first thinning can be done w^ith the first hoeing, and the second with the suckering. The suckering consists of the removal of all shoots which come from below the ground. These also should be re- moved as early as practicable, both to avoid weakening the vine by the removal of mature leaves and also because a young sucker is much more easily separated from the vine at this time. Every sucker must be cut or broken off at the point where it originates. If a little piece of the sucker is left, several new suckers will start at the same place. The more completely the suckering is done during the first two years, the less trouble in this respect there will be in later years. This is particularly true of grafted vines. A few wrecks after the first thinning, the single shoot which has been left will have grown 10 or 15 inches. At this length it should be tied up to the stake (see Fig. 1, c). If this tying is neglected or de- ferred too long, a heavy wind is very liable to break off the whole shoot. 360 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM A piece of string tied rather loosely about the middle of the shoot is all that is needed. If the vines are to be headed high (18 inches) another tie near the top of the stake may be necessary. For vines which are making only a moderate growth this is all the treatment needed during the summer. Strong-growing vines in rich soil, however, should be topped. >«Ks^^^^^^^^^| ^^^^^^^^^^^HKaT^H r^^l^^l ^^^^V^^^^^^H' , ^ ^I^^^H i^^B ^^^^^^BC * -t ' W- '^Sp^3^B / |n ^w ^J^^^^^^^^^B I^^^H ^KmM ^^^1 9H Fig. 4. An ideal three-year-old vine after pruning. Topping. — The object of this is to force the shoot to send out laterals at the right height above the surface of the soil, to be used as spurs during the following year. This topping is an operation which requires a good deal of judgment. If the topping is done too soon, lat- erals will not start, but a new terminal shoot will be formed. This is not a serious defect, however, but simply necessitates a second topping two or three weeks later. Neither will the laterals start if the topping is done too late, or if they start they will not mature, and the vine is weakened by the removal of foliage without any compensating ad- vantage. Until experience has shown the proper time for the variety and locality, it is best to top when the shoot has grown to from 8 to 12 inches above the top of the stake, and if necessary top again later. SUMMER PRUNING OF VINES 361 The shoot should be topped within 1 or 2 inches of the top of the stake, if the stakes have been chosen and driven as advised above (see Fig-. 1, c). This will insure the growth of laterals just where they are needed for the next winter pruning. Fig. 5. Showing method of bending fruit canes to insure growth of shoots from replacing spurs. The vines on which a cane has been left and tied up during the pre- ceding winter must be treated a little differently. The removal of un- derground shoots or suckers is the same. Instead of thinning out the shoots to a single one, as for the vines just described, all the shoots should be left to grow, except those too near the ground (see Fig. 2, 362 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM As a rule, all shoots between the ground and the middle of the stakes should be taken off. It is even more important that this should be done early than in the case described above. If the lower shoots are allowed to become large and then removed, not only is the vine weak- ened by the removal of mature leaves, but the stem of the vine is sud- denly exposed to the direct rays of the hot sun and is very liable to injury. This injury does not show by the peeling off of the bark as with fruit trees, but by a general weakening and dwarfing of the vine. The shoots coming from the upper half of the cane are to form the spurs for the following winter pruning, and can often be left to grow without further treatment. If the growth is very rapid and succulent, however, it is necessary to pinch them, or the first heavy wind may break them off (see Fig. 2, (C). Pinc/iiug consists in the removal of 1 or 2 inches of growth at the extreme tip of the shoot. This delays the growth in length tem]:)orarily and gives the shoot time to strengthen its tissues before its length gives too much leverage to the wind. This pinching usually has to be re- peated at least once. Pinching may be replaced by topping a few weeks later, but the latter is somewhat weakening to the vine. In all summer pruning — that is, the removal of green shoots and leaves — of young vines, two things should be kept in mind : First, that all summer pruning is weakening; second that the object of summer pruning of young vines is to direct the growth as much as possible into those parts which are to become permanent portions of the mature vine. The weakening effect is almost ;;// if the shoots or tips are re- moved when they are very small, but may be very serious if large shoots are removed or heavily topped. When a large shoot covered with leaves is removed it is a total loss to the vine. When a small shoot is removed the food materials which would have gone into that shoot are diverted to the shoots that remain, and the vigor and size of the latter are in- creased. THIRD YEAR Winter Pruning. — After the leaves have fallen at the end of the third summer every vine should have a well-formed, straight stem with two, three, or more canes growing from the upper part, and the forma- tion of the "head" or crown should commence. Any vines which have not been brought to this condition must be pruned like two or one-year- old vines, as the case may be. If the work up to this point has been well done, the formation of the head is a simple matter. It consists in leaving two, three, or four 363 364 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM spurs, arranged as symmetrically as possible near the top of the vine. The stronger the vine, as evidenced by the number, length, and thick- ness of the canes, the larger the number of spurs and buds that should be left. A spur consists of the basal portion of a cane, and normally of two full internodes. This leaves two buds besides the base bud. The nuniT ber of buds to leave on a spur depends on the strength or thickness of the cane from which the spur is made. A thin, or weak, cane should be cut back to one bud or even to the base bud. A strong cane, on the other hand should be left with three buds besides the base bud. The pruning of each vine requires judgment, and it is impossible to give an inflexible rule to follow. The ideal of a perfect vine should be kept in mind and each vine pruned as nearly in accordance with this ideal as circumstances permit. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 represent nearly per- fect three-year-old vines consisting of two or three symmetrically placed spurs of two buds each near the top of the stem. Sometimes it is necessary to leave a spur lower down (see Fig 3, b). This spur will be removed the following year after it has produced two or three bunches of grapes. Sometimes a vine may be very vig- orous but have only two canes properly placed for making spurs. In this case the spurs should be left longer — three buds and even in ex- treme cases four buds long. In stump pruning there is a difference of practice as to low head- ing according to locality. In the interior regions the vine is now headed almost at the surface of the ground ; in the coast regions there is usu- ally a stump of one to two feet or more. As with trees so with vines, the practice is to prune to make lower heads than during the early years of California fruit growing. Long Pruning. — Some varieties grown for market and for raisin making do not thrive if pruned by the short-spur system. Notable among these are the Sultana, Sultanina, (Thompson's Seedless), Em- peror and Sabalskanski. There are also a number of wine varieties which must be pruned long. Whatever the variety of vine and what- ever the system of pruning to be ultimately adopted, the treatment for the first two and even three years is practically identical and is that which has already been described in detail. Long pruning admits of degrees, but it usually signifies using a five or six instead of a four-foot stake and leaving the selected canes from eighteen inches to three feet or longer instead of cutting back to two or three buds, as in short pruning. These long canes are securely tied to the long stakes. With varieties needing long pruning the first two or three buds next the old wood do not bear fruit, hence the need of leaving buds farther removed from the old wood to secure it. This habit of the vine invites LONG PRUNING OF VINES 365 the practice of growing a long cane for fruit and at the same time pro- viding for wood growth for the following year's fruiting by cutting another cane from the same spur down to two or three buds. By this practice the wood which has borne the fruit is cut back to a bud each winter and the cane which has grown only wood is pruned long for the fruit of the following summer. A modification of the practice is to prune the canes from some of the spurs long, and from other spurs short, thus making the spurs alternate from wood bearing to fruit bear- ing from year to year. Unless some method is adopted to promote the growth of strong canes from near the head of the vine, long pruning becomes unsatisfactory. According to the common way with those vines which are known to require longer canes for satisfactory bearing, such canes are selected when the vine is well established and two, three, four, or more canes four or five feet long are tied up vertically to a high stake. This process is repeated the next year and the next, and the result is, with the Sultanina at least, that after the second or third year all the bearing wood is at the top of the stake, and the vine must be pruned short again or suckers and watersprouts left as long canes. Neither way is satisfactory. Two methods have been successfully used to insure the growth of new fruit wood every year in a position where it can be utilized. The first consists in bending the fruit canes into a circle, as illustrated in Fig. 5. This diminishes the tendency of the sap of the vine to go to the end of the fruit canes. The consequence is that more shoots start in the lower parts of the fruit canes. All the shoots on these canes are made weaker and more fruitful by the bending, and at the same tmie the sap pressure is increased and causes strong shoots to start from the wood-spurs left near the bases of the fruit canes. These shoots are used for fruit canes at the following winter pruning, and new wood spurs are then left for the next year. The tying and bending of the friut canes require great care, and repeated suckering and removal of watersprouts are necessary to in- sure a strong growth of replacing canes on the wood spurs. This method can be used successfully only by skillful hands. The other method requires some form of trellis. The most prac- ticable trellis is a wire stretched along the rows at about 1^^ or 2 feet above the surface of the soil. For very vigorous vines in rich soil a second wire 12 inches above the first is advisable. The pruning is the same as for the method just described. The fruit canes, however, instead of being bent in a circle and tied to the stake, are placed in a horizontal position and tied to the wire. The horizontal position has the same effect as curving in promoting the starting of more shoots on the fruit canes and the consequent production of more bunches of grapes. At the same time the buds on the wood spurs are forced to start, and not being shaded they tend to grow vig- orously. It is best to tie the shoots from the wood spurs in a vertical 366 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM position to the stake, and they should not be topped. This system of pruning is not only theoretically correct, but is easy to explain to prun- ers, and can be carried out much more perfectly than the first method with ordinary labor. Whatever system of winter pruning is adopted with the Sultanina. careful summer pruning, suckering, sprouting, and topping are neces- sary for the best results. This variety has a tendency to send out large numbers of suckers from below ground and watersprouts from the old wood. These shoots are usually sterile, grow vigorously, and unless removed in time divert the energies of the vine from the fruit and fruit shoots. Two or three times during the spring the vineyard should be gone over carefully and all sterile shoots which are not needed to balance the vine or to replace weak or missing arms should be re- moved. This removal of shoots should be done in such a way that no shoot longer than 12 inches is ever removed. If the watersprouts are allowed to grow large their removal weakens the vine. The shoots which are to give fruit canes for the following year should not be topped. The shoots from the horizontal fruit canes on the trellises, however, will set their fruit better and are less likely to be broken by the wind if they are pinched or topped early. SUMMER PRUNING AND SUCKERING Summer pruning or topping of bearing vines is usually practised. Some follow the pinching process, by which the terminal of the grow- ing cane is nipped olT with the thumb and finger when it has grown out about two feet. Others wait longer and then slash ofif the ends of the canes with a sickle. The tendency is to leave summer pruning until too late and to slash off wood indiscriminately, to the injury of the vine. Summer pruning, if done early enough, and this would be while the growth is still soft at the point of removal, will induce the growth of laterals and will shade and improve the fruit, and at the same time thicken the growth of the main cane and strengthen its connection with the spur. Slashing of canes too late in the season de- prives the fruit of the service Of enough leaf surface for the the elab- oration of the sap, often seriously checks the growth of the vine, and in hot regions, induces sunburn. The first summer pruning should be done soon after the bloom, but not during blooming. The second could take place whenever the canes or laterals extend beyond the length necessary to shade the grapes. Suckering is an important process and usually has to be attended to at least twice in the season. It consists in removing all shoots from old wood which are not provided for at the previous winter pruning. The growth of these suckers takes sap which should go to the other canes. All such shoots should be rubbed or pulled off while they are tllNTS ON PRUNING VINES 367 ?till soft ; if a sucker puts out at a point where it would be desirable to have a spur to balance the head of the vine, it should of course be allowed to grow, to be cut back to two buds the following winter. By such selection of suckers new spurs are secured to replace old and failing- ones. GENERAL XOTES ON PRUNING Longer or shorter pruning produces effects not only upon the amount of early ripening of the fruit of certain varieties, but upon quality, as shown in the wines. Such effects have to be discerned by local observation. It is a very difficult matter to lay down any rule for pruning a vineyard, so much depends on the age of the vines, the different va- rieties, and the quality of the soil. A basis on which to build a theory on the subject might be found in and through an understanding of the quantity of grapes that may be expected from a vine, as the secret of pruning is to keep a just medium between the production of grapes to the injury of the vine and its wood and an overproduction of wood to the detriment of the crop. In older vines a proportion should be maintained between the vigor of the vines and the crop desired ; each bud may be considered good for two bunches of grapes the ordinary size, and upon this estimate may be obtained. It must be borne in mind that the result of overloading the vine is detrimental to its vigor and health, while tlie reverse will not injure it, but will lessen the profits for that season, often giving greatly increased returns in after years. Close attention should be given to the growth of the wood and fruit of the preceding year. If the canes are very large and the bunches of grapes poor and there are many suckers, it indicates that more eyes are necessary. On the contrary, if the canes are small, and the bunches of grapes numerous and straggling, and the rijjening not even, it indicates that the number of eyes left should be less. Pruning may be regulated to produce a good second crop of grapes or to prevent the formation of a second crop. The second crop is often desirable in raisin and table varieties, but undesirable in wine varieties. Attention should be paid to the tools used in pruning. Let the blades be kept sharp and thin ; large shears are very apt to bruise the wood more than small ones. Pruning is done after the fall of the leaves and before the swelling of the buds, usually in January and Febrviary. Early pruning has a tendency to make the vines start growth early, consequently in frosty situations pruning is often deferred till late in the winter — as late as the middle of March in some cases. In such situations it is advised 368 CALIFORNIA FRUITS '. HOW TO GROW THEIki to leave more buds at pruning, so if the frost kills the first shoots there are buds below to make later growth. This practice has been followed with marked advantage in some regions liable to late spring frosts. The treatment of vines injured by spring frosts is clearly the imme- diate removal, by a sharp downward jerk, of the frosted shoots. P. C. Rossi, a large vineyardist, recites this experience, both in the San Joa- quin and Santa Rosa Valleys : We had all the vines affected by frost entirely stripped of the damaged shoots, and we had the pleasure of seeing that, in a short time after, all the dormant buds came out tinely, with their regular two bunches of grapes ; therefore we have lost only one-third of the crop. In order to make careful experiment we left a row of vines untouched, and the result proved that the vines that were not stripped did not do as well as the others, as the dormant buds in many cases did not come out, and those that came out were not healthy and strong, and hardly had any grapes. The damaged shoots that were not removed died gradually, and at the junction with the cane new shoots came out without any grapes at all. The result clearly proves that we will have fully two-thirds of the crop out of the frost-bitten vines which were stripped of the damaged canes, while we had hardly any first crop and only a second crop on the vines which were not attended to. DISEASES OF THE VINE One of the most prevalent diseases of the vine in California is caused by a fungus which affects leaves, canes, and berries, and is lo- cally known as "mildew." This disease is recognized by grayish white coloring of the affected leaves, which, as the disease progresses, shrivel and dry up; the young cane also blackens and dries, and the berries show whitish patches, which become darker colored and the berries crack open. The usual remedy for the trouble is finely-ground or sub- limed sulphur applied several times during the season, as will be de- scribed in the chapter on diseases of trees and vines. The Bordeaux Mixture and other copper preparations are some- times useful upon grape-vines, as will be cited in the chapter on plant diseases. Coulure. — A frequent misfortune of the vine, and for which no remedy is yet known, is coulure, a term signifying the failure of the fruit to set or to remain on the cluster. This occurs in varying degrees from the loss of a few berries to the almost complete clearing of fruit from the stem. It is worse with some varieties than others and in some localities than others. The trouble is believed to arise from va- rious causes. There is, also, occurring with more or less frequency, a reddening and death of the vine leaves, supposed to be identical with the trouble known to the French as "rougeole." The leaves show light-colored spots at first, which afterward turn red and finally involve the whole leaf or cane, and sometimes the whole vine. It usually occurs in mid- summer, and is not necessarily fatal in its effects. VARIOUS VINE TROUBLES 369 Root Knot. — An evil occurring on the main stem of the vine, generally near the surface of the ground, is an excresence of woody character commonly called "black knot.'' There has been much dis- cussion as to the cause of this abnormal growth, without full agree- ment among observers. Some attribute the knots to injuries to the stump in cultivation, others to outbursts of sap which the short pruning system does not give top growth enough to dispose of, and to various other causes. This is analogous to the "crown knot" of fruit trees which will be mentioned in the chapter on plant diseases. Anaheim Disease. — There has prevailed for several years in California a mysterious disease of the vine known as the "Anaheim disease," because its evil work first appeared in that vicinity. It de- stroyed many thousand acres of vines and led to the abandonment of grape growing in some regions in southern California. The fullest statements concerning its performance can be found in Bulletin No. 2, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Vegetable Pathology, by Newton B. Pierce, 1892, and Farmers' Bulletin No. 30, 1895. For- tunately during recent years the trouble has been less aggressive but neither its nature nor satisfactory treatment has been fully demon- strated. The latest available information concerning it and other troubles of the vine can be had by application to the University Experi- ment Station at Berkeley. CHAPTER XXVIII GRAPE VARIETIES IN CALIFORNIA Large collections of grape varieties have been brought into Cali- fornia during the last forty-five years. They were sought in all grape countries, and from such wide experimental planting a few have sur- vived in popular esteem and are now chiefly grown. Being derived from different countries, they came bearing many names. Some of these have been preserved, some wholly lost, and replaced with local appellations. The result is that our grape nomenclature is full of con- fusion. Some varieties have been identified by the means of the stand- ard French grape literature ; others are apparently unknown to the compilers of that literature. It is, therefore, impossible to-day to de- termine a number of our most popular table and shipping grapes, as well as some of the wine varieties. The relative importance of the most popular table and raisin grapes is shown in the accompanying tab- ulation of reports from growers secured as described in Chapter XVI, relating to the relative standing of orchard fruit varieties. These growers were asked to name the grapes which they considered best worth planting in 1908. Grape Varieties Approved by California Growers. Central Sacramento San Joaquin GRAPES. Muscat Tokay Cornichon Sultanina (Thompson) Emperor Malaga Rose of Peru Black Morocco Verdal Sultana Mission Black Hamburg Black Ferrara Gros Colman Zabalkanski Palomino Sweetwater Pierce Concord Delaware Niagara Campbell's Early Agawam Coast valley and valley and Southern valleys. foothills. foothills. California. * ** ** ** * ** ** * * ** * ** * ** ** ** *-.- ** * ** ** ** ** * * * * * * * "■Indicates that the variety is approved in the region designated. *Most highly commended. 370 GRAPES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 371 The last six named are grapes of popular eastern types. They are of exceedingly small commercial importance and are chiefly grown in southern California ; not because eastern varieties are better suited to local conditions there than in other parts of the State but because there are more people who enjoy them. In order to characterize our leading table grapes, descriptions will be quoted from the best available local authorities, as follows : Early Black July, syns. Madeleine, Madeline Noir, etc. — "Leaves rather small, light green above and beneath; bunches small and compact; berries small, quite round; skin thick, black, covered with a blue bloom; flavor moderately sweet, but not rich nor perfumed. The earliest grape, and chiefly valued for dessert on that account."— Hyatt. IVIiite July; syn. Luglicnga. — "Vine strong-growing and sensitive to frost ; leaves of medium size, deeply five-lobed, dark green, glabrous on both sides, sharply toothed, the terminal tooth of each lobe very Ions? and acuminate ; bunches of medium size, well filled ; berries of medium size, oval, at first green, becoming yellow with overripcness, with thin skin, crisp, firm flesh, and agreeable flavor." — Biolctti. The Luglienga, which means July grape, is one of the earliest grapes known. Early Madeleine; syn. Madeleine Angevine. — "Moderate grower, with long- jointed, brown wood; leaf medium, deeply lobed, dark green above, tomentose below ; young points reddish, woolly, slender ; bunch medium, compact, shoul- dered ; berry medium, oblong, yellowish green, transparent, rather thick skin, sweet and juicy. Vine a shy bearer when frost is prevalent." — Husinaiin. Chassclas Dorc; syn. Fontaincblcau, Szvcctivofcr. — "A rather vigorous grower, with medium or somewhat slender canes of a reddish-brown color ; young shoots of garnet color, ncarlv or quite glabrous; leaves rather below average size, a little longer than wide, glabrous above and nearly so below, except for a few hairs on the main nerves, with well-marked sinuses, the petiolar one often closed, the petiole long, rather slender, and rose-colored ; bunches of medium or over- medium size, conico-cylindrical shouldered, more or less compact; berries medium to large, with firm but tender skin, small seeds ; of delicate flavor and texture, at first crisp but becoming soft with full maturitv. The grapes are of a clear green color, tinged with a beautiful golden bronze where exposed to the sun." — Bioletti. Chassclas Rose. — Fruit resembling foregoing, except that both bunch and ber- ries arz usually smaller, and flavor is more pronounced. Chassclas Victoria. — "Vine vigorous, very short-jointed and brittle, and bears well with short pruning; wood grayish yellow, thick and strong; leaf Hght green, deeply lobed and shining; young shoots with numerous laterals; bunch very large and heavy, often weighing five pounds, shouldered, very compact ; stem brown, very thick; berry medium, round, pale lilac, purple, with lilac bloom, juicv, vinous, refreshing." — Husmann. Palomino; syn. Golden Chassclas. — "The vine quite largely grown as 'Golden Chassclas' is undoubtedly identical with the Listan, or Palomino." — Hilgard. Vine a fair grower; wood close-jointed; leaf medium, oblong, deeply lobed, bright green above, grayish green and tomentose lielow ; stem short, young points with reddish tint and woolly; bunch large, conical, rather loose and shouldered; berry round, full medium, sometimes flat, pale green with yellowish tinge ; thin skin, juicy and sweet, resembling Chassclas." — Husmann. Black Malvoise. — "Vine a strong grower; wood long-jointed, rather slender, light brown ; leaf medium size, oval, rather evenly and deeply five-lobed ; basal sinus moderately open, with parallel sides, upper surface smootli, ahnost glabrous, lower surface lightly tomentose on the veins and veinlets ; bunches large, rather loose, branching; berries large, oblong, reddish black with faint bloom; flesh juicy, flavor neutral."— Hilgard. Widely grown as an early table grape. 372 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Mission. — "This variety, grown at the old missions, has never been determined, nor its exact source ascertained. It is regarded by some as a most delicious table grape. It can be found in small areas in every county of the State adapted to the grape. Vine a strong grower; wood short-jointed, dull dark brown to grayish; leaf above medium size, slightly oblong, with large, deeply-cut, compound teeth, basal sinus widely open, primary sinuses shallow and narrow, secondary sinuses ill-defined, "smooth on both sides, light green below with light, scattered tomen- tum." — Hilgard. "Bunches slightly shouldered, loose, divided into many small, distinct lateral clusters ; berries medium size, round, purple black, heavy bloom ; exceedingly sweet, juicy, and delicious; seeds rather large; skin thin." — Hyatt. Muscatel; syn. White Frontignan. — "Vine of medium size, with strong, spread- ing canes ; canes reddish-brown, with short internodes ; leaves of medium size, thin, five-lobed, glabrous, except for a few hairs on the lower side of the well- marked ribs ; bunches long, cylindrical, regular, compact ; berries round, golden- yellow, becoming amber-colored, very sweet and of marked aroma. Ripens a little later than the Chasselas." Bioletti. White Muscat of Alexandria.'* — "Vine a short, rather straggling and bushy grower, well adapted to short stool pruning, as it forms rather a bush than a vine; wood gray, with dark spots, short-jointed; leaf round, five-lobed, bright green above, lighter green below ; youno- shoots a bright ereen. The laterals pro- duce a second and even a third crop ; bunch long and loose, shouldered ; berry oblong, light yellow when fully mature, transparent, covered with white bloom, fleshy, with thick skin, very sweet and decidedly musky." — Husmann. The lead- ing table grape of California. Rejected for irregular bearing on some mesa lands in southern California. Muscatel Gordo Blanco. — "Muscatel Gordo Blanco has a closer bunch and rounder berry than the Muscat. The skin is softer and the pulp is not quite so hard. The berry inclines to be a little darker in color and not nearly so green when it is ripe, and I think not quite as long as the Muscat of Alexandria. If the Muscat would set as well as the Muscatel, the difficulty would be obviated. One very important difference is that when you come to dry them, the Muscat of Alexandria loses the bloom very rapidly. The bloom comes off when you come to dry and pack them. But the Muscatel does not lose its bloom. The Muscat of Alexandria has to be dried a little more than the Muscatel to bring it into a keeping condition under the same condition of ripeness." — R. B. Blowers. "The growth of the Muscatel or Gordo Blanco vine is low and spreading, with no upright branches in the center; clusters heavy, and, when perfect,_ close and shouldered; berries round and large (the greatest circumference being at the center), a crease often being found at the apex of the berry; color green, or, when fully ripe, amber green or yellow. Distinguished from Muscat of Alexandria by low, depressed growth of vine, closer cluster, rounder berries, and by thicker and finer bloom. The Muscatel is the choice raisin grape for the San Joaquin Valley, and for the interior generally." — Dr. Eisen. Huasco Muscat. — A variety brought from Chile, but after wide trial in Cali- fornia, seems not superior to the other White Muscat varieties previously men- tioned. Its dense cluster is not well adapted to raisin making. It is held, how- ever, to be less subject to coulure. Feher Szagos.—"Y'm& a strong grower and heavy bearer; branches erect but slender; leaves glossy, entire; bunches medium to small, pointed, and solid; ber- ries greenish amber, medium oval, pointed, with thin skin and few small seeds ; flesh not firm, but dries well and makes a good raisin." — Dr. Risen. Larga Bloom; syn. Uva Larga. — A variety of Muscat said to be named because of the length of its berries, but held by some growers to be indistinguishable from Muscatel Gordo Blanco. An excellent raisin grape, but now chiefly grown as a table fruit in the Santa Cruz Mountains. *There is much doubt about the White Muscats as grown in California. Some claim inability to distinguish between certain grapes of the Muscat type which are being grown in this State under distinctive names; others pronounce them clearly different varieties. The matter can not be adjusted at present. GRAPES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 373 White Malaga. — "Vine a strong grower; wood reddish brown, short-jointed; leaf medium, leathery smooth, deeplv lobed. lisrht shining green above; bunch very large, loose shouldered, long ; stem long and flexible ; berry very large, oval, yellowish green, covered with white bloom; thick skin, fleshy." — Husiiiauii. Grown in southern California in situations where the Muscat does not do well ; also elsewhere as a table grape, and to some extent in San Joaquin Valley for raisins. Sultana; syn. Seedless Sultaona. — "Vine vigorous, upright; leaves large, five- lobed, with rather large sinuses, light colored, and coarsclv toothed ; bunches large, long-cylindrical, with heavy shoulders or wings, well filled when not cul- tured, but not compacted : berries small, round, firm and crisp, golden-yellow, and without seeds." — Bioletti. In California the variety is apt to have some seeds. Tt has more acid, and therefore greater piauancv of flavor, than Thompson's Seedless, but the latter has recently far outstripped it in popularity among grow- ers. Thompson's Seedless. — Named by Sutter County Horticultural Society, after W. Thompson, Sr., of Yuba City, who nrocurcd the cutting in 1878. from Ellwan- ger & Barry, of Rochester. New York. Tt was by them described ass "a grape from Constantinople, named Lady Dccoverly." When it fruited in Sutter County, it was seen to be superior to the Sultana, and has been propagated largely. It was first widely distributed bv J. P. Onstott of Yuba City, and others, and is now to be found in all parts of the State. The variety is described by Dr. Eisen as follows: "Oval; greenish-yellow; as large as a Sultana; seedless, with a thin skin ; good, but not strong flavor, and without that acid which characterizes the Sultana grape and raisins; bunches large or very large; vine an enormoiis bearer." Mr. Bioletti considers the variety identical with the Sultanina of Asia Minor, and gives this description : "Vine very vigorous and with large trunk and very long canes; leaves glabrous on both sides, dark yellowish-green above and light below, generally three-lobed, with shallow sinuses, teeth short and ob- tuse, bunch large conico-cylindrical, well filled, on herbaceous peduncles ; berries under medium; ellipsoidol, crisp, of neutral flavor, with moderately thick skin of a fine golden-yellow color." Flame Tokay; svn. Flame-colored Tokay, Flaming Tokay. — "Vine a strong grower, large in all its proportions, wood, joints, leaves; wood, dark brown, straight, with long joints; leaves dark green, with a brownish tinge; lightly lobed; bunch very large, sometimes weighing eight to nine pounds, moderately compact, shouldered ; berry very large, oblong, red, covered with fine lilac bloom ; fleshy and crackling, firm; ripens late." — Husmann. The leading shipping grape of the State, quality low. Defective in color in some localities. Black Hamburg. — "Bunches, very large, from six to ten inches in length, very broad at the shoulders, tapering to a point gradually; berries very large, round, slightly inclining to oval; skin rather thick, deep purple, very black at maturity; very sugary, juicy, and rich." — Hyatt. A very popular market grape. Rose of Peru; syn. Black Prince (?).— "Vine a strong grower, with dark brown, short-jointed wood; leaf deep green above, lighter green and tomentosc below; bunch very large, shouldered, rather loose; berry round, large, black, with firm and crackling flesh, ripens rather late; a very handsome and productive variety, of good quality, but not adapted for long shipment." — Husmann. Moscatello Fino ; syns. Moscatello Nero, Black Muscat. — "Leaves of medium size, with deep upper and shallow lower sinuses, glabrous above, slightly downy below, and very hairy on the veins, teeth lone and sharp ; bunches large to very large, long, loose, conico-cylindrical, and winged ; berries very large, on long, thin pedicels; skin well colored, thin but tough; flesh soft and juicy, with deli- cate Muscat aroma. An excellent table graoe. It is a heavy bearer, and pro- duces very fine-looking bunches of dark colored grapes. Rather late." — Bioletti. Purple Damascus; syn. Black Damascus. — "Vine a medium grower; wood light brown striped with darker brown, short-jointed; leaf round, five-lobed, smooth, light green above, tomentose beneath ; stem reddish, large, long and woody ; bunch large, loose, shouldered ; berry very large, oblong, dark blue, cov- ered with lighter bloom, meaty, skin thick, ripens late." — Husmann. 374 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Purple Cornichon; syn. Black Cornichon. — "Vine a heavy grower, with thick, light brown, short-jointed wood ; leaves large, longer than wide, deeply five-lobed, dark green above, and lighter and very hairv below, coarsely toothed, and with short, thick petiole; bunches very large, loose, on long pedunckles ; berries large, long, more or less curved, darkly colored and spotted, thick-skinned, and on long pedicles. Desirable on account of its attractive appearance, curious shape, excel- lent shipping qualities, and late ripening." — Bioletti. White Cornichon. — Resembles Purple Cornichon in shape and flavor, but has very thin and tender skin, which makes it better for the table, but poorer for shipping. Leaves not deeply cut ; smooth on both sides. Emperor. — "Vine a strong, vigorous grower ; leaves very large, with five shal- low lobes, short, obtuse teeth glabrous above, woolly beneath, light green in color ; bunches very large, long conical, loose, with large, dull purple, oval, firm berries." — Bioletti. An excellent shipping grape, largely grown by R. B. Blowers, of Woodland, Yolo County, by whom its merits were first announced. Pro- nounced unsatisfactory because of irregular setting and non-ripening in locali- ties near the coast in northern California, and generally condemned in southern California. Seems best adapted to interior situations and is chiefly grown for shipping in the San Joaquin Valley. Black Fcrrara. — A large black grape ; large bunches ; berries cling well to the stem, thick-skinned, flavor superior. An excellent local market variety and long-distance shipper. Gros Colman; syn. Dodrclahi. — "Vine strong-growing, with dark brownish wood; leaves very large, round, thick, very slightly lobed, shortly and bluntly toothed, glabrous above, close-woolly below ; bunches large, short, well filled, but not compact; berries very large, round, dark blue, with thick but tender skin. Remarkable as having the largest berries of any round berry variety known, and is probably the handsomest black table grape grown. The grapes have good keepins? qualities, except that they are liable to crack." — Bioletti. Black Morocco. — "Vine a strong grower, with thin, spreading canes, leaves, under medium size, very deeply five-lobed, even when very young, the younger leaves truncate at base, giving them a semi-circular outline, with long, sharp teeth alternating with very small ones, glabrous on both sides, bunches very large, short, shouldered, and compact ; berries very large, round, often angular from compression, fleshy, of neutral flavor, dull purple color or colorless in the center of the bunch. Remarkable for the number of second-crop bunches which it produces on the laterals. Late in ripening and of very fine appear- ance ; a fairly good shipping grape, but difficult to pack on account of the size and rigidity of the bunches. The grapes are of an agreeable crispness, but lacking in flavor." — Bioletti. Vine quite subject to root knot. Vcrdal; Aspiran Blanc. — "Vine of medium vigor and rather hardy ; canes somewhat slender and half erect ; leaves of average size, glabrous on both sur- faces, except below near the axils of the main nerves, sinuses well marked and generally closed, giving the leaf the appearance of having five holes ; teeth long, unequal, and somewhat acuminate ; bunches large to very large, irregular long-conical, without any or with small shoulders, well-filled to compact; berries yellowish-green, large to very large, crisp, with thick but tender skin, agreeable, but without marked flavor." — Bioletti. Largely grown as a late table grape ; in good condition ; in some regions as late as November. Almeria. — "Vine vigorous; leaves of medium size, round and slightly or not at all lobed, quite glabrous on both sides, teeth obtuse and alternately large and small; bunches large, loose or compact, irregular conical; berries from small to large, cylindrical, flattened on the ends, very hard and tasteless."— 5;'o/rf^;. The grape cultivated at the LIniversity experiment stations under this name is one of the several varieties which are shipped in such large quantities from Malaga and Almeria packed in sand or cork-dust. The grapes ripen late and attain about 20 per cent of sugar. They have remarkable keeping qualities. Vine needs long pruning, and is only adapted to hot, interior situations. WINE GRAPES FOR CALIFORNIA 375 There are many other vinifera varieties which are grown to a Hm- ited extent either for raisins or for table use. Among these are the Canon Hall Muscat, the White Tokay, White Champion, Cinsaut, Za- balskanski, etc., for table use ; the White and Black Corinth, for dry- ing. With grapes, as with other market fruits, the planter usually confines his attention to a very few popular kinds. EASTERN GRAPES Though many of the improved varieties of the grape species indi- genous east of the Rocky Mountains, and of the hybrids between these species and the z'inifcra, have been introduced in California, their growth for table fruit is almost of insignificant proportions, and does not constitute even a respectable fraction of one per cent of our grape area. The popular taste decidedly prefers the vinifera varieties. There is, however, a variety believed to be of local origin, which is worthy of mention as follows : Isabella Rr^ia. — "A remarkable, giant-leaved, and very prolific sport of the Isabella, originating by bud-variation with Mr. J. P. Pierce, of Santa Clara. The berries, like the leaves, are of extraordinary size, and when ripe the fruit is exceedingly sweet and strongly aromatic. It is, therefore, acceptable as a showy, perfumed table grape, much liked by some, but readily surfeiting those who are accustomed to the vinifera grapes. The berries are too soft for shipment to any distance, but all things considered, keep fairly." — Hilgard. Grown as the "California Concord" in the Los Angeles region. WINE GRAPES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA Progress is being continually made in the propagation of varieties yielding wine, and in the manufacture thereof. The hosts of consid- erations involved in this effort are beyond the scope of this work and largely beyond the writer's knowledge. It is important, however, to have an intelligent discussion of the suitability of varieties grown for this purpose, prepared by Mr. F. T. Bioletti, as follows: 1. Vineyard for Sweet Wine in the Interior Valleys. Red Proportion Grenache /^ Alicante Bouschet /4 Tinta Madeira % White Proportion Palomino /^ Beba % Boal 54 376 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM The Grenache and Alicante Bouschet are heavy bearers with short pruning. The former naturally takes a port flavor and the latter in- sures sufficient color. The Tinta Madeira, when pruned properly, bears well and will increase the quality of the port wine. The Palomino is one of the heaviest and most regular bearers grown in California and is peculiarly suited for sherry making. It is the prin- cipal grape of the Spanish sherry district. The Beba bears nearly or quite as well as the Palomino and is of rather better quality. Both bear with short pruning. The Boal bears good crops and gives a sweet wine of high quality. 2. Vineyard for Dry Wine in the Interior Valleys. White Proportion Valdepenyas V2 Lagrain 34 St. Macaire V^ Red Proportion Burger Vz West's White Prolific 34 Vernaccia Sarda 34 The Valdepenyas has been growing for nearly twenty years at the Tulare Experiment Station, and has always given regular and good crops with short pruning. The dry red wine made from it has been in every way satisfactory and much superior to that made from Bouschet, Zinfandel, or any of the varieties usually grown in the valley, and ap- proaches more nearly than any other variety the wines of the cooler localities. This variety has been planted to some extent in the cooler lo- calities, where it is completely out of place. In Napa its bearing is un- satisfactory and its wine harsh. The vine needs a hot climate to bring out its best qualities. The Lagrain and St. Macaire are valuable on account of their intense color, which at Tulare is equal to that of the Bouschets and is more stable. The St. Macaire is particularly recom- mended on account of its high acidity, which is extremely useful for the region. The Gros Mansenc retains its acid even better than the St. Macaire, and is also deeply colored, but it has not borne quite so well. The Burger has, fortunately, been planted extensively in the hotter parts of the interior, and probably no better choice could be made for the production of a cheap, light, neutral dry white wine in that region. Its acidity, which is excessive in the coast counties, is normal or even low in the interior. For this reason, and in order to give a little more character, it should be blended with such grapes as the West's White Prolific and the Vernaccia Sarda, which retain their acidity at Tulare better than any other white grapes tested. WINE GR.\PES FOR CALIFORNIA 377 3. Vineyard for Dry Wine in the Coast Counties. Red Proportion Petite Sirah J4 Beclan ^ Cabernet Sauvignoii %. White' Proportion Semillon J4 Colombar ^ Sauvignon blanc ^ The conditions of soil and climate in the hills and valleys of the Coast Ranges are so varied that it is much more diffictilt to give recom- mendations that will be of general use than in the case of the interior valleys. In some parts of some of the valleys the soil is so rich and productive that it is possible to grow grapes as cheaply as in the in- terior. The grapes recommended for the interior, however, would not in most cases be suitable on the Coast, owing to the difference in cli- mate. As a rule the grapes which are suitable to the hill slopes will do well in the valley, making up in quantity what they lose in quality. Of the many scores of red varieties which have been widely grown in this region, the Petite Sirah has undoubtedly given the most gen- erally satisfactory results. Some growers are dissatisfied with its bearing, but most report that it produces as much as the zinfandel. Ungrafted, it reciuires long pruning. Its wine is of excellent quality but apt to be somewhat harsh. This harshness can be avoided by care- ful winemaking and by blending with a smooth variety such as the Beclan. The finest red wines which have ever been made in California are the product of the Cabernet Sauvignon. This variety, unfortu- nately, has been rejected almost everywhere on account of its light crops. Very satisfactory crops, however, can be obtained if care is taken in selecting cuttings for planting and a suitable system of prun- ing adopted. This variety, like most others, moreover, bears better when grafted on a suitable resistant stock. It is very much to be desired that a certain proportion of this variety should be planted in all the coast vineyards which are capable of producing a dry red wine of high quality. No white grape has given better results in both crop and quality than the Semillon. The Colombar (sometimes called the Sauvignon vert) has also proved itself a regular bearer, and, while not of such high quality as the Semillon, it blends very well with that variety and serves to modify its aroma, which is sometimes excessive. The Sau- vignon blanc increases the quality of the wine, but like the Cabernet, Sauvignon requires careful cutting, selection and pruning to give satis- factory crops. 378 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 4. Vineyard for Dry Wine in the Cooler Parts of the Coast Counties. Red Proportion Beclan Va- Blue Portuguese J4 White Proportion Franken Riesling Va Johannisberg Riesling Ya In certain parts of the coast counties, owing to the frequent occur- rence of ocean fogs, many varieties of wine grapes do not ripen their fruit properly. By a careful selection of varieties, however, good crops of well-ripened grapes may be obtained. It is in these localities that the finest light wines, those most nearly resembling the wines of the Rhine, can be produced. The Beclan has shown itself especially suited to this region, and has the great advantage of being very resistant to oidium. The Blue Portuguese is a good bearer, ripens easily, and blended with Beclan gives a good wine of Burgundy type. The best Riesling wines are grown near the coast and, undoubtedly, profitable vineyards of the Rhine varieties can be grown in this region if proper methods of grape-growing and wine-making are adopted. Undoubtedly there are many excellent varieties of grapes that could be grown with profit which are not mentioned in the foregoing lists. The varieties mentioned are simply those which have given evidence of being most generally adapted to the more usual cpnditions. PART FIVE: SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS CHAPTER XXIX DATE CULTURE IN OUR DESERT AREAS Ever since the arid, semi-tropical regions of the United States be- came known through the narratives of explorers, the date palm ( Phoe- nix dactylifera) has been projected as a plant likely to demonstrate commercial value in America like that which it has held for centuries in the arid regions of Asia and Africa. This idea was also cherished even at an earlier date by the Spanish missionaries who brought the palm to California, as will be described presently. During the last decade the problem of introducing and establishing a date-growing industry has been taken up more seriously and systematically than ever before and must now be looked upon as approaching successful solution. As, however, the undertaking is still in an experimental stage and appeals to relatively few people as a line of investment, no attempt will be made to discuss the date in detail. Instead, citation will be made of sources whence the reader who desires them can easily secure information of date-growing methods in the old countries, dis- cussion of their suitability to our conditions and suggestions of ways to enter upon date-growing in California.* The date palm was brought to California by the padres, and the oldest date trees in the State are the survivors of their early plant- ings. Such trees are found at the San Diego Mission. They are con- jectured to be more than a century old, and they have survived drought and neglect, making unsuccessful effort at fruiting, for, ac- cording to common report, the fruit does not ripen, but whether ow- ing to the unfavorable conditions indicated, or to lack of fertilization of the bloom, is not known. There are trees at Ventura, on the site of the garden of the old mission at San Buena Ventura, about forty feet in height and ten feet in circumference at the base, with long, graceful fern-like leaves, which put forth about thirty feet from the ground. The ill success of these old trees in the direction of fruit bearing probably long prevented further attention to the date as a profitable growth. Still there were date palms grown from seed of the com- * The Date Palm and its Utilization in the Southwestern States, by Walter T. Swingle, Bulletin 53, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., W'ashington, 1904. Date Varieties and Date Culture in Tunis, by T. H. Kearney, Bulletin 92, Ibid, 1906. Date Growing in Southern California, by S. C. Masin. Report of Riverside Fruit Growers' Convention, State Horticultural Commissioner, Sacramento, 1908. Also publications of Arizona Experiment Station, Tucson, and California Experiment Sta- tion, Berkeley. 379 380 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM mercial date planted here and there for ornament or out of curiosity, and in due course of time the fruit appeared. The first pubHc exhibi- tion of Cahfornia dates known to the writer was made at the Mechan- ic's Institute Fair, in San Francisco, in September, 1877. The fruit was grown on the south bank of Putah Creek, the northern boundary of Solano County, the situation being slightly above the level of the plain of the Sacramento Valley, which lies east of it. The plants were grown by the late J. R. Wolfskill, from seed of commercial dates pur- chased in San Francisco, and planted in 1858 or 1859. The seed ger- minated readily, and the young plants were set out in a row about one hundred feet south of Putah Creek, on a rich, fine, sandy loam, lying about twenty-five feet above the bed of the creek. The plants received good cultivation but no irrigation. This treatment was combined after the property passed into the hands of the late S. C. Wolfskill, the plants being allowed to remain in the row as originally planted, and they have attained great size, considering their crowded condition. Another bearing date palm stands about a mile eastward of the sit- uation just described, near the residence of the late J. R. Wolfskill. It was grown from seed of the date of commerce, which was planted in 1863, and the tree bore its first fruit in 1880. Near it stands a taller date palm, which bears staminate bloom. This latter tree was origi- nally one of the row previously described, and was successfully moved to its present situation after attaining considerable size. The fruit of the two bearing palms differs notably in appearance. That of the first mentioned tree is of bright yellow color and angular outline ; that of the second tree is wine red, with smooth surface. During recent years the date has fruited at many places in Cali- fornia and Arizona. There is little doubt that it will succeed in any of the interior regions which have a sufficiently high summer tempera- ture, and even the so-called Colorado Desert may be dotted with groves of date palms as portions of it now are with groves of the majestic fan palm of California. Soils and Waters for the Date. — Until recently the date palm has only been planted on good orchard land, but, according to experi- ence in date-growing countries, the tree does not require rich soil, put on the contrary, will thrive in a soil poor in humus — too poor and too purely mineral for any other fruit tree ; and it produces the finest and best flavored dates, nourished by water too alkaline for man and beast to drink. These observations warrant the trials of the tree which are now being made in situations not adapted to other fruits. PROPAGATION OF THE DATE The date palm grows readily from the seeds of the dried date of commerce, and, as has been intimated, the trees now fruiting in this State have been obtained in this way. By the use of seed one gets, HOW TO GROW DATES 381 however, only seedlings, and the chance of thus securing a really fine variety is probably not greater than with other fruit tree seedlings. In date-growing countries the best varieties are propagated by rooting the off-sets, sprouts, or suckers which appear at the base of the old palms. To secure the best foreign varieties such plants must be imported. The first successful enterprise of this kind was accomplished in the summer of 1890 by the United States Department of Agriculture, under the direction of H. E. Van Deman, then chief of the Division of Pomology. The plants were divided between New Mexico, Arizona and California. The plants for California were sent to the Department of Agriculture of the University of California, and were planted at the experiment sta- tions at Tulare and at Pomona, some of them being subsequently trans- planted to the United States Date Garden at Mecca in the Colorado desert region. Upon fruiting a number of these plants, they seemed to be only seedlings and not the best foreign varieties, as represented. A full account of this effort and its outcome is given in Bulletin 29, of the Arizona Experiment Station. The United States Department of Agriculture undertook arrange- ments in 1899 for new importations, which were successfully made, but all that was anticipated in securing valuable varieties was not at- tained. Director R. H. Forbes, of the Arizona Experiment Station, writes in Timely Hints No. 72 (April, 1908) : "Several of the Old World varieties which have thus far fruited have failed to make good for various reasons. Some have required a longer growing season to mature ; others have soured in damp or cool weather, and still others do not appeal to the American consumer. A few varieties have proved acceptable in all respects, and to such as these we must look for future commercial developments." Of the foreign varieties thus introduced the following have been produced in small commercial quantities : Rhars, Tedalla, Birket el Haggi and Deglet Noor. Growing Palms from Seed. — Seeds taken from the dried dates of commerce germinate readily ; in fact, seedlings frequently appear in the gutters of unpaved streets where the seeds have been thrown dur- ing the rainy season. Director Forbes, of the Arizona Station, says that seeds will come up more promptly if first stratified. This may be done by taking a gasoline can or deep box and placing three inches of sand in the bottom after making a number of holes in it for drain- age. The seeds are placed upon this layer and the can or box filled with sand, the whole then being put in a sheltered place and kept moist from three to six weeks, when the seeds will be soft and ready for prompt growth when planted. The seedlings may be started in nursery rows for transplanting after one to three years, or if frequent irrigations may be relied on, in the field where the trees are to remain. 382 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Dr. W. T. Swingle, whose work on date growing has already been cited, gives the following suggestions on the growing of seedlings and their subsequent handling to determine sex and to select bearing palms of desirable type : The seed should be planted rather thickly in well-drained beds of fertile soil, free from alkali. These beds should be watered frequently, as the young date seedlings need an abundance of moisture. If properly cared for, the seedlings will reach a height of from 12 to 18 inches the first year and can be transplanted into the permanent orchard the second year. These seedlings should be set out in rows about 30 feet apart and placed 5 or 6 feet apart in the row. Ordinarily field crops can be grown between the rows until long after the palms come into bearing. After three or four years, when the young palms begin to flower, the male trees can be dug up and destroyed, thus thinning out about half of the trees. Then when the female trees come into fruit, those which yield decidedly inferior fruit can also be removed, so that finally about one-fourth of the original number of seedlings will be left standing. The spaces between the seedlings will be irregular and offshoots can be taken from the best sorts and planted where the largest gaps occur. By preventing offshoots from growing on the poorer sorts they will yield more fruit and finally can be destroyed and replaced by offshoots from some of the better sorts. In this way, by degrees, the orchard can be improved without expense for offshoots aside from the labor of planting them. Rooting Suckers. — Suckers taken off in warm weather and watered freely usually take root readily. Care should be taken not to let the plants dry. Director Forbes gives these points : Suckers should not be taken from the parent tree until they have attained a diameter of 5 to 6 inches and a weight of 15 to 20 pounds. Suckers should be removed by cutting in and down along the line of cleavage between them and the main trunk, with a strong chisel or a flat-pointed bar. If possible the cut should be carried down so as to bring away at least one or two sound roots. The leaves should be closely pruned and for shipment the cut bases had better be protected against drying out by layer of wet moss or similar material. In planting, the sucker should be set in previously irrigated and well settled soil to the depth of its greatest diameter, taking care that the center of the palm is not below the irrigating water level For convenience in irrigating, a shallow basin of earth should be made about the sucker, in which, to lessen evaporation and the rise of alkali, a mulch of fine barnyard litter three or four inches deep should be spread. The soil about the newly transplanted suckers should be kept constantly wet by frequent irrigations. Suckers should be cut and transplanted April to August, inclusive, but not during or ap- proaching cool weather. Bearing Age of the Date. — There is much difference in the ages at which the seedlings have come in fruit in the hands of different growers. Fruit has been reported on seedlings six years old and even on plants four years from the seed. Such early maturity must not, however, be generally expected. Blooming of the Date. — The date palm is dioecious, and, its staminate (male) and pistillate (female) blooms appearing on different BLOOM OF THE DATE PALM 383 trees, it requires the association of the two for perfect fruiting. Grow- ing plants from seed, as already stated, leaves the grower in doubt as to the sex of his plants until they bloom. Usually one obtains a large preponderance of male plants. In propagating from suckers the new tree is of the same sex as the parent. It is advised to have about one male to twenty female trees. The pollen can be transported long dis- tances and maintains its vitality for a long time. Artificial fertilization of the bloom of the bearing palm has been found of advantage in this State and was probably first practiced by J. R. Wolfskin. Though the staminate tree was but a few feet away from the pistillate, the male bloom was broken in pieces and hung to the leaves of the female tree near to the pistillate flowers. It was found that the parts of the date cluster which are nearest to the sus- pended male blooms have more perfect fruit than the more distant parts. Other California date growers have had similar experience. In Winters the bearing date palms bloom in April and May, and the fruit ripens in November. Beauty of the Date Palm. — The date palm in fruit is a beau- tiful sight. The glaucous green pinnate leaves arch outward. Between two of these emerge the bright orange-yellow polished fruit stalks, which divide into a spray of slender bright yellow stems a foot or so in length ; and thickly set upon these in clusters are the various colored fruits covered with a rich bloom. It is a sight not easily forgotten by a lover of nature, and especially by one reared in a northern zone, the characteristic vegetation of which is so different. CHAPTER XXX THE FIG The fig is, perhaps, the grandest fruit tree of California. Its majestic size and its symmetry make it a crowning feature of the land- scape, and its dense foliage renders the wide space embowered by it a harbor of refuge from mid-summer heat, both for idlers and for the industrious. On adjacent farms in Pleasant's Valley, Solano County, there are large fig groves; one serves as a shelter for the packers of fruit from the contiguous orchard, and the other incloses and shades a croquet ground. Measurements of large trees are abundant, for old trees are numerous in the interior of the State, both in the valley and on the slopes of the Sierra foothills. At Knight's Ferry, in Stanislaus County, there is a fig tree sixty feet in height, with branches of such length as to shade a circle seventy feet in diameter. The trunk at the base is eleven feet around, and nine feet at a distance of three feet from the ground. A little higher the trunk divides into seven or eight large branches, each of which is nearly five feet in circumference. At thirty feet from the ground the limbs are seven and eight inches through. The largest grove is in the neighborhood of Knight's Ferry, and consists of fifteen massive black fig trees, which, though set sixty feet apart, mingle their branches overhead and form a network through which, in the summer, hardly a beam of light can pass. Such groves are frequently seen in the older settled parts of the State. Perhaps the most interesting single fig tree is that on Rancho Chico, quite near the residence of General Bidwell. It was planted in 1856, and has attained a marvelous growth. One foot above the ground the trunk measures eleven feet in circumference ; the wide- spreading branches have been trained toward the ground and, taking root there, banyan-like, they now form a wonderful enclosure over one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, the tree is loaded every year. The crop on these large trees is proportionate to their size and, entering their area in the morning during the ripening season, one can scarcely step without crushing figs, though the fruit may be gathered up each day and placed in the sun for drying. REGIONS SUITED FOR THE FIG Though there are still many fine points to be determined as to what situations and conditions favor the production of the very finest figs, and there are indications that there is possibly much difference, it may be truly said that a very small part of the State is really un- suited to its growth. If one shuns the immediate coast of the upper 384 SOILS FOR THE FIG 385 part of the State, where the summer temperature is too low for suc- cessful ripening, and keeps below the altitude of the mountains where winter killing of the tree is possible, he can grow figs almost anywhere. Selections of varieties adapted to particular situations has much to do with the success of the fig, as with other fruits, and, therefore, a broad statement of adaptability must be received with such an under- standing. The intrusion of the coast influences borne eastward by the winds of summer, as described in Chapter I, gives a night temperature too low for ripening of some varieties, which turn sour upon the trees. Present indications are that the finest dried figs, having the thinnest skin and the nearest approach generally to the fig of Smyrna, the commercial standard for dried figs, will be produced in the drier por- tions of the valleys and foot-hills. Even in Southern California fig- souring is quite prevalent, and selection of locations must be circum- spectly made. More time is requisite for the final demonstration of these matters, although years have already been devoted to the problem. SOILS FOR THE FIG As it must be left with the future to determine the mooted point as to the influence of special situations upon the bearing of the fig, and the more minute characteristics of the fruit, so more experience is needed to demonstrate the comparative effects of different soils. It might seem, from the fact of the age of our trees in different parts of the State, that time enough had elapsed to determine these points, but it must be remembered that all our oldest trees are of the very hardy variety found at the missions, and conclusions drawn from them as to all varieties are unsafe. The fig will thrive in any soil that one would think of selecting for any of our common orchard trees, and, in fact, the fig succeeds on a wider range of soils than any one of them. One is safe in planting figs for family use, or for marketing, wherever the summer temperature is high enough to ripen the fruit well, and the winter temperature high enough to preserve the life of the tree. This applies merely to the successful growth of the fig; to secure ripening at a time when the fruit can be profitably sold for table use, is another question. The selection of soils especially suitable to the production of the best figs for drying involves more considerations than rule in the growth of table fruit. For drying, the fig should attain a good size, but should not contain excess of moisture. In some parts of the State the first crop of figs in the season has been found unfit for drying. The second, and, in some localities, the third crop, appearing later in the season, when the moisture supply of the soil is reduced, dry well. This condition of the first crop is, however, affected by local condi- tions, for there are places in the Sierra foothills where the soil 386 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM moisture has to be replenished early in the season by irrigation to prevent even the first crop from falling prematurely, and subsequent irrigation brings to perfection the second and third crops. The fig tree needs plenty of moisture in the soil, but not too much. As with other fruits, if the soil does not retain the needed amount naturally, it must be supplied by irrigation wisely administered. PROPAGATION OF THE FIG The fig grows very rapidly from cuttings, and this is the chief method of propagation. Cuttings should be made while the tree is fully dormant, in the winter, of well-matured wood of the previous season's growth, giving preference to the stocky, short- jointed shoots, and making the cuttings about six to eight inches in length. The cut at the lower end should be made at the joint, or where solid wood is found. The planting and care of the cuttings is essentially the same as of vine cuttings, already described. If well made and cared for, a very satisfactory growth is made the first season, and the trees are ready for planting out in permanent place the following season. Single Bud Cuttings. — If one desires to multiply a new variety very rapidly, single-eye cuttings will make plants. This is, also, analo- gous to single-eye grape cuttings, as already described. Budding the Fig. — The foregoing means enable one to propa- gate a fig so rapidly that recourse is not had to budding, as in propa- gating other trees ; still, budding is feasible, either on small plants or on young shoots of old trees which it is described to bud over. The fig may be budded by the common shield method, as used for ordinary fruit trees, and described in Chapter IX, but owing to the tendency of the fig bark to shrink in drying, the bud should be closely bound in with a narrow waxed band, to exclude the air. As the bark is thick, it is often desirable to cut out a little of the edges closest to the bud when in place. Another method of budding the fig is by annular or "ring budding," a method also relied upon with the walnut and chestnut. Annular budding is done in the fall. A circular ring of bark is taken off from the stock by the aid of a budding knife, by running two circular cuts around the stock, and a longitudinal one between the two circular cuts ; the ring of bark taken off must be at least one inch wide, and from that up to two inches. A like ring of bark is taken off in the same manner from a scion of the variety to be budded in, and from a branch of the year, or preceding one, well in sap, and having about the same diameter as the stock. This ring should have on it one or two buds. It must fit exactly the space prepared on the stock, and more particularly at the lower circular cut, so that both barks will exactly unite at that BUDDING AND GRAFTING THE FIG 387 point. When the ring is too long, a little bit of it might be cut off with a very sharp knife till it fits well ; if the ring is too large for the stock, a longitudinal strip would be cut out, and if too narrow, such a strip, if with a bud on so much the better, will have to be used to fill up the empty space. One must be very careful while drawing the knife around the stock not to go too deep into the wood to injure the cambium layer, or to weaken the stock. Tie a bandage pretty firmly over the whole. After two or three weeks the bandage has to be taken off, and, in the ensuing spring, the top of the stock or limb is cut down three inches above the budding. Another way of working such trees is by "whistle budding," which is done in the spring, when the sap is well up. The stock and scion must be both of the same size and well in sap. The top of the stock is cut down to several inches from the ground ; a circular ring of bark is then taken off, and a corresponding ring from the scion, but without a longitudinal cut, is put in its place. In inserting it care should be taken that the top of the stock, which is to receive the ring from the scion, be very smooth, and the latter is then easily pushed down around it and bandaged. In the case of the fig, it is especially desirable to use the latter method when the sap is up, because if the top of the stock is not removed, the exudation from above sours around the bud and jire- vents the union of stock and bud. To prepare an old tree for budding over, the limbs may be cut back in February within two to six feet of the trunk, covering the ends with paint of grafting wax. Allow two shoots to start near the end of each of these amputated limbs, and rub off all other shoots. Ikit the shoots when they attain the thickness of one's finger, taking green buds from the growth it is desired to introduce, or let them grow and bud in the fall, which ever is most convenient ; or bud in the growing shoot, and rebud in the fall where buds have failed. Grafting the Fig, — The fig can be grafted by the cleft-graft method, as described in Chapter IX, but the cleft should be made to one side of the stub and not through the central pith. Especial care must be taken in excluding the air. Fill the cleft between the scions with warm wax, which will run in and fill the cavity. Then bind the stock with wax bands, taking the greatest care to cover the exposed wood surface, the cut end of the bark (which in the fig is very prone to shrink and draw back), and as far down the stock as the bark has been split. Cut the shield from a iimb of about y'2 inch in diameter, length of shield about IJ^ inches, its thickness from H to ^ inch, and its bud near the middle of the shield. Do not remove the wood from behind the bud. Make a cut in the stock, through the bark and into the wood, its length and width a little greater than those of the shield. Insert the shield into the cut, so that the inner bark of the top of the shield and cut will coincide, so that one side of shield and cut — and I'oth sides, if practicable— will coincide. Place the flap of the cut over the shield (removing a part of the flap so the bud will not be covered), and fasten flap, 388 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM shield and stock together very firmly with twine, and protect them with paper tied around them. They may be grafted in that mode, whenever dormant buds are found, for the shields. Twenty-four shields were inserted at several times, during one spring, and there was only one failure. A method of bark grafting applied to the fig by George C. Roeding of Fresno and approved by him after several years of successful ex- perience, afifords an excellent way of grafting over large trees. It does away with splitting the stock and therefore hastens the barking- over of an amputation. The branches to be grafted are cut off within 18 to 24 inches from the point of divergence from the main body of the tree, allowing at least two branches to remain, one of which should be on the southwest, if possible, so that the grafts will be protected from the afternoon sun. After having sawed off the branches, the stumps neatly smoothed over, with a sharp knife, so as to have a clean, smooth surface, par- ticularly along the edge, two, four or six scions should be placed on each stock, the number, of course, being regulated by the size of the stump. Cut out a V-shaped piece of bark. The distance from the top of the stock to the point of the V should be about 1 ^ inches. Another method is to make slightly outward and downward cuts into the stub with a sharp knife, so as not to cause a split, but rather deep, clean cuts, into which the wedge-shaped scions are firmly pushed and a cord wound around the stub to hold all strongly in place before waxing thoroughly. This form of grafting will be shown in the chap- ter on the walnut, for it is very successfully used on that tree also. The form of side-graft with a saw cut as described in the chapter on the peach is also available. A form of bud-graft, that is, budding with a large shield into old bark, is also successful. Judge Rhodes of San Jose describes his method, both with the olive and the fig, in this way: Select a scion of the proper size, never be smaller than an ordinary lead pencil. As a rule scions from two-year-old wood, with very little pith and with a diameter of about ^ inch, will give the best results. The scions should have a sloping cut at the lower end, with the bevel all on one side and not like a wedge. The bevel should be as long or a little longer than the V-shaped opening in the stock and should fit snugly into this opening, so that the bark on both edges of the scion touches the bark of the stock. After the scions are placed, wrap tightly with five or six-ply cotton twine, and cover the wounds as well as the stub with liquid grafting wax. Wax the top of the scion to prevent drying out. If waxed cloth is used it must be removed before the warm weather sets in or the bark will be smothered and will die. After the scions have become well united, which takes from two to three months, the strings should be cut. This method of grafting can not be made successfully until the sap begins to flow, say from the latter part of February to the first of April. The scions should never be more than four inches long. PLANTING AND PRUNING THE FIG 389 Seedling Figs. — Figs are readily grown from the imported fig of commerce. Dr. Gustav Eisen of San Francisco, our leading writer on the fig. gives the following explicit directions for growing the fio- from seed : Cut open imported Smyrna figs; wash out the seeds in warm water, those that float are empty and worthless; those that sink are generally fertile. Sow these in shallow boxes of sand and loam mixed, and place in a frame under glass. In three weeks they will be up and must be very sparingly watered. Set out next season in nursery row. In three years from the seed such plants will be found to bear. The tendency of the plants grown from Smyrna figs is to revert to the wild type, and there is a small chance of securing good varieties. PLANTING AND PRUNING THE FIG The chief point to observe in planting the fig trees is to get them far enough apart, because of the great spread of branches which they attain. Of course they may be planted twenty feet apart if the owner intends to remove alternate rows, but to plant at forty feet, or even farther apart, with other fruit trees or vines between, on the plan of alternate or double squares, described in Chapter X, would be the best way to lay out a fig orchard — tiie intermediate growths to be removed as the figs require more room. Very handsome effects are produced by planting the figs along avenues to inclose orchards of other fruits. Fig trees are grand for shade around buildings, and wild or Capri figs are desirable to plant in this way for a purpose which will be mentioned later. In transplanting fig trees extra care must be taken to keep the roots from drying. After planting, the stem must be diligently guarded from sunburn, to which it is liable in the warmer parts of the State. Pruning the Fig. — The fig requires very little pruning after its shape is outlined. There is difference of opinion and practice as to the height at which the head should be formed ; some head nearly as low as already advised for cominon orchard trees ; others, having in mind the immense thickness attained by the limbs, and their disposition to droop, head as high as four to six feet, which is the better way to proceed when the trees are wide-spaced and expected to attain large size. In shaping the tree, branches should be brought out at a distance apart on the stem, so that there may be room for their expansion without crowding each other, and care should be taken not to leave too many main limbs. Three limbs, well placed around the stem, are enough. The branches putting out on the under side of these limbs should be suppressed, and those growing upright, or obliquely upright, retained. As the fig has pithy shoots it is very desirable to cover all cuts with paint or wax. After getting the general shape of the tree 390 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM fixed, there is little need of pruning' except to remove defective branches or those which will cross and interfere with each other and to prevent the interior of the tree from becoming too dense. It is better to remove branches entirely than to shorten them ; or, in shortening, always cut to a strong lateral. Stubs left at pruning are very undesirable in the fig. Cultivation. — Young fig orchards are cultivated as are other fruit areas. Old trees which completely shade the ground are usually left to themselves, without cultivation, except cutting out weeds. Irri- gation is governed by local conditions, as already stated. In starting the orchard it is exceedingly important that the young trees should not be allowed to suffer from drying out of the soil. Bearing Age of the Fig. — The fig often, and, perhaps, usually, begins its bearing very early, in the most favorable situations in this State. Some fruit is often had the second year, and a crop worth handling the third year. Still, it is wiser not to calculate definitely upon such returns, for four or five years sometimes pass without a satisfactory crop. We have, also, instances of "barren fig trees," which persist in "dropping their untimely figs," year after year, during their youth. How much of this is due to variety, and how much to locality, is not definitely known, but successful fruiting has been secured by grafting over barren trees, using scions from bearing trees growing adjacent to them. This has no relation to the subject which will be next discussed. CAPRIFICATION* Caprification consists in suspending the fruit of the wild or Capri fig in the branches of the tree of improved variety, that the pollen may be carried by an insect from the former to the latter. Until the present decade California has never been able to produce dried figs equal to the fig of commerce or the Smyrna fig. This was, at first, thought to be due to lack of the Smyrna variety. After painstaking effort this variety was introduced. Trees grew readily from the cuttings ; fruit appeared upon them and dropped before maturity. Doubt then arose as to whether importers had not been deceived, and other efforts were made which resulted in other importations. These also cast to the ground immature figs. Discussion turned then upon the fact of caprifi- cation — the necessity of having the fruit of the Capri or wild fig * In a general treatise like this only a passing reference can be made of this subject, which is perhaps the most interesting in the whole realm of entomo-horticuUure. The fig grower should secure the following monographs: "Smyrna Fig Culture in the United States," by L. O. Howard. Year Book of U. S. Dept. of Agr. for 1900; "The Fig— its History, Culture and Curing," by Gustav Eisen, Bulletin No. 9, Div. of Pomology, U. S. Dept. of Agr., 1901; "The Smyrna Fig at Home and Abroad," by George C. Roeding, Fresno, Cal., 1903; "Some Points in the History of Caprification in the Life History of the Fig," by W. T. Swingle; Report of Riverside Fruit Growers' Convention, 1908; "The Latest. Develop- ment in Fig Culture," by G. P. Rixford, Pacific Rural Press, December 18 and 25, 1909; also December 17, 1910. THE SMYRNA FIG 391 adjacent to the fruit of the Smyrna fig so that insects from the Capri might visit the fruit of the improved variety and polhnate its inclosed flowers, which, appearing upon the inner wall of an almost closed cavity, could not be reached by ordinary visiting insects. The wild trees had already been introduced and were freely growing near the others, but this fact availed nothing — the figs fell just the same from the Smyrna trees. In 1890 Mr. George C. Roeding, of Fresno, essayed to demonstrate the fact that the Ijick of the pollination was the secret of failure, and he succeeded in introducing the Capri pollen into the eye of the Smyrna fig, and secured thereby the retention of such pollinated figs upon the trees, and when ripened and dried these had the Smyrna character. The demonstration was complete than Cali- fornia could not grow Smyrna figs without the pollinating agency found to be essential to success in Smyrna. This agent is a minute wasp called the blastophaga — an insect so minute that it can make its way through the mesh of ordinary cheese-cloth and can enter the al- most closed eye of the young Fig — so minute that a magnifying glass is necessary to give one any clear idea of its outline. For years con- stant effort has been made by various parties to secure the introduc- tion of this insect. Urgent appeals were made to the United States Department of Agriculture, after private undertakings failed, to secure the insect alive or otherwise in form for permanent residence. In April, 1899, the feat was accomplished, the blastophagas being received from Algiers as collected and forwarded by W. T. Swingle to Mr. Roeding. Their offspring appeared in large numbers during the sum- mer and fall of the same year. On the basis of this achievement the commercial production of a true Smyrna fig in California began and has rapidly developed. Mr. Roeding gave his product the musical patronymic "Calimyrna," which now adheres also to the variety from which it is produced. It is an interesting fact that after this strenuous work was success- fully accomplished it was ascertained that the fig wasp had really reached California without assistance before 1880 and has been estab- lished in San Joaquin county since that remote date. To avail himself of the benefits of caprification, every grower of varieties which require it must also grow suitable' Capril figs and establish the insect in them. California nurserymen supply these and the insects also when the trees are of suitable age to receive them. FOES OF THE FIG The fig is freer from insect pests than other fruit trees, and yet it is a mistake to consider it wholly free. The writer has seen the leaves well covered with a lecanium scale and has found a moth larva boring in the pith of the young shoots ; still, practically, the fig tree in Cali- fornia has not yet suffered from insects. 392 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The gophers have a pronounced appetite for fig roots, and their presence should be carefully watched for. Swine have a liking for fig bark. The trees of the grand grove planted at Hock Farm, on the Feather River, by General Sutter, were completely girdled from the ground as high as. a pig could reach by standing on its hind legs. Figs make good food for hogs, and plantations have been made with this in view, but if the hogs are to be harvesters, it will be well to protect the stems of the trees from them. VARIETIES OF THE FIG The fig presents what may be termed an aggravated example of the confused nomenclature which pervades California fruits. Dr. Eisen has made a commendable effort to bring order out of chaos by a study of foreign records and locally-grown fruit, and has published a cata- logue of varieties chiefly grown in California, with descriptions of each in Bulletin 5 of the Division of Pomology of the U. S. Department of Ao-riculture.* The following enumeration is largely restricted to varieties which have been commercially propagated : Adriatic. — Size, medium, roundish; neck medium; stalk short; ribs obscure; eye open, with red iris; skin very thin, greenish in the shade, yellowish in the sun; pulp bright strawberry red or white, with violet streaks in the meat; varies in quality according to location. This has been found very useful in California, but is not of fine flavor when dried. It requires rich soil, with con- siderable moisture and a very large percentage of lime. This variety is not identical with that known in Italy as Adriatic. Agen. — Medium size, roundish; skin bright green, cracking longitudinally when ripe, showing white bands; flesh deep red, very rich; a good bearer, but very late, requiring a long hot season. Angeliquc; syn. Angelica. — Medium, pyriform ; ribs prominent; yellowish white ; pulp white, with rose-colored center : leaves five-lobed. A very good variety in some of the coast valleys. Bardajic. — "Very large, obovate, pyriform, long neck and stalk, skin very thin, grayish green ; pulp rich crimson, fine table fig and largest of Smyrna class." — Roeding. Bcllona. — Large, pyriform, dark purple, red flesh, fine flavor when dried. Black Bulletin Smyrna. — Large, obtuse, pyriform, short neck, long stalk, light purple, flesh pink, luscious. Black Smyrna. — Small, globular, short stem, pulp dark amlier, good for home use. Bourjassottc, White; syn. Barnissotte, White. — Medium, round and some- what flattened, eye large, sunk ; skin waxy, green ; pulp bright red. A very fine fig. Tree very large. Brown Turkey. — Large, turbinate, pyriform, with hardly distinct neck; stalk short; apex flattened; ribs few; slightly elevated; eye medium, slightly open, scales large; skin smooth, greenish to violet-brown in sun, with darker ribs; *A much fuller discussion of fig varieties is to be found in Dr. Eisen's Bulletin 9, already cited. Many notes are made of the fruiting in the late John Rock's collection on the grounds of the California Nursery Co., at Niles, Alameda County, of many introduced varieties which have not been commercially propagated in California. FIGS GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 393 pulp dark rosy red, quality good, and tree a good bearer. Brunswick is fre- quently confounded with this fig. A distinct variety is grown in Vacaville as Brown Turkey, which is named by Dr. Eisen "Warren." Brunszi'ick. — Very large, pyriform, with swollen cheeks, one of which is larger than the other; apex very obtuse; neck and stalk very short; ribs dis- tinct, but not much elevated ; eye medium, open ; skin nale amber, with violet tint; pulp amber. An early, large fig, but lacking flavor. Very common; re- quires rich, moist soil. Celeste, JVhife. — Very small, amber ; suitable for preserves. Celeste, Blue; syn. Violette. — Small, ovate, turbinate; ribs few, but distinct, especially near apex; eye raised, rough; color dark violet amber, without red- dish blush ; bloom confined to the neck ; skin thin ; pulp deep rose ; meat amber, sweet, but lacking in flavor. Checker Iiiittr. — "Roundish, oblate, short neck, flesh reddish, skin greenish yellow, very thin, dries well." — Roediii!^. Col. de Siiiiiora Bianeo. — Medium sized, pyriform; long riblied neck; skin green, changing to yellow ; flesh deep red, very rich and luscious a strong grower; late, suited for a warm region. Datiphinc. — Large, round turbinate, purple with blue bloom; flesh amber. Doree. — Medium, oblong, bright yellow, flesh rose-color. Dottato. — Medium ovate, pyriform; neck well set; stalk very short or none; ribs low; skin smooth; eye medium; skin thin, vellowish green, meat white; pulp yellowish amber, sometimes with violet flush. One of the best figs for drying; tree a strong grower, requiring moist, ricli soil. Lately introduced into California. Drap d'Or. — Large, pyriform, with very low neck and stalk; ribs elevated; apex obtuse and concave; color light violet-reddish amber, not dark; pulp rosy red. A fig of very fine quality; especially useful for confections and crystallizing; not identical with Brunswick. Du Roi. — Above medium; round, pyriform; stalk verv short; eye large or variable, with scales standing out; sl-.i^o^ ^^^ jK : ..-''-' — Lemon tree with fruit near ground but capable of under-cultivation between the laterals. Strong, upright shoots (wrongly called '''suck- ers") which break out at points where branches are not desired, should be rubbed off or cleanly cut away. Having secured about the right branching in about the right places no strong sprouts should be allowed, and the tree should be encouraged to make smaller laterals, which will be the bearing wood. It must be admitted, however, that this rational plan of restricting wood growth and directing the ener- gies of the tree to fruit has in some cases been pursued too far and the tree has resented repression by diminished thrift. The pruner must allow freer growth of shoot to secure better foliage. The pruning of the lemon as of other trees must always be pursued with judgment rather than by recipe. When the adequate growth of bearing wood within reach is borne in mind it appears that the pruning of the lemon involves many of the considerations urged in Chapter XII for deciduous fruits ; the method of making a strong, short trunk, the arrangement of branches, the prevention of long growths, the encouragement of low, bearing PRUNING THE LEMON 461 twigs, the thinning of twigs to prevent the tree from becoming too dense, the points to be observed in cutting back, not by shearing but by treating each branch according to its position and vigor — all these must be borne in mind by the lemon pruner. It must also be remem- bered that the work must be resolutely continued and the tree always prevented from wild growth and kept down to bearing on the smaller n:>m^ ^nJ^ rjy^_ ^ii* • ■^:i^'^->'•^ .* ^yy--.^:^fx^X s(i>^xi«c».i.i;jraiuWiS!^'>M'» Lemon tree under-pruned to bring fruit a distance from the soil. twigs, which are promoted and retained for that purpose. The build- ing-down process described for the young orange is easily applicable to the lemon. Old lemon trees which have been allowed to grow away into a long, rangy form and to bear fruit too high for profit, can be brought down to good form by severe cutting back and after-treatment of the new shoots, keeping the smaller horizontal growths and cutting out cleanly the strong upright shoots, or cutting them back if more branches are needed. The time for pruning the lemon depends upon the end in view ; if a young tree, to promote wood growth, prune at the opening of the growing season in the spring; in older trees, to repress growth and advance fruiting, prune in midsummer. When it is remembered that harvesting lemons is a continuous operation as will be stated presently, keeping the bearing wood of the tree within easy reach is more imperative from an economic point of view than with trees from which fewer pickings gather the crop. Adjacent engravings give suggestive views of rationally controlled 462 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM lemon trees. Pruning is also related to escaping infection of the fruit from the ground which will be discussed in the Chapter on Diseases of Trees and Vines. Lemon tree with medium amount of under-pruning. PREPARATION OF LEMONS FOR MARKETING The lemon as taken from the tree is not in condition for marketing except to packers who wish to undertake the curing. To secure best results in quality and in keeping properties, the lemon should be carefully cut from the tree as soon as proper size is reached. To allow the fruit to hang upon the tree until lemon color is assumed, gives a lemon which is deficient in juice, oversized, apt to develop bitterness, and prone to decay. Two and five-sixteenths rings are used for winter pickings and 2^ for spring and summer, never more than six weeks being allowed to elapse between pickings, and the fruit is usually picked once a month. By careful attention to this, desirable sizes and good-keeping stock are obtained. Neglect of this is the weak point of many of the lemon growers of California. Mr. C. C. Teague, manager of the Limoneira Company of Santa Paula, Ventura County, the largest lemon growing concern in California, has made close exam- ination of practice among lemon growers, and concludes that the carelessness with which picking is done is almost criminal. In grove LEMON PACKING AND CURING 463 after grove which he visited at least 50 per cent, of the vahies had been lost by allowing the fruit to hang on the tree too long. Not only on account of large sizes would it have to be discounted 50 cents per box, but the keeping quality of the lemon which is allowed to mature on the tree is never good. Good results can not be obtained, even by the best methods of keeping lemons, unless the fruit is picked Washinsr Lemons — Curing Tent in background. 464 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM at the proper time and properly handled. Mr. Teague says a lemon should be handled as carefully as an egg. If gathered before the color begins to turn properly cured lemons may be kept for months, and they will improve in market qualities, by a thinning and toughening of the skin, and by increase of juice contents. This curing of the fruit, as it is called, is accomplished in many simple ways. If the fruit is gathered and placed in piles under the trees, where, with low-headed trees, it is completely shaded by the foliage, it processes well and comes out beautiful in color and excel- lent in quality, providing it is a good variety. Some have trusted wholly to this open-air curing under the trees, merely protecting the fruit by a thin covering of straw, or other light, dry materials. Others let the fruit lie a few days under the trees, carefully shaded from the sun, and place it in boxes or upon trays, and keep it months in a darkened fruit-house, providing ventilation but guarding the fruit against draughts of air. Gathering the fruit while still green and packing with alternate layers of dry sand, has given excellent market- able fruit, but of course the handling of so much sand is too expensive nor is it at all necessary. Much attention has been given to lemon storage in southern California, and many curing and storage houses have been constructed. Naturally there is great variation in design and method of operation. The essential conditions to be secured are exclusion of light ; regula- tion of temperature ; ample ventilation, under control, however, so as to prevent entrance of air which is too dry or too hot; convenience and cheapness of handling, for the lemon is expensive in handling at best during the months of storage which is often desirable. Some of these conditions are relatively of much more importance in the interior than in the coast region, because heat and dry air reach occasionally extremes which are not experienced near the ocean which is a great regulator of temperature and atmospheric moisture. For these reasons a much simpler system of storage is now in large use in the coast district, while in the interior suitable special buildings or basements are apparently necessary. Anyone entering upon lemon handling should certainly visit establishments now in satisfactory use and learn by careful observation of their suitability to his purposes. Near the coast, and so far toward the interior as ocean influences extend m adequate degree, the building of special cui-ing houses has been abandoned and some quite expensive structures have been turned to other uses. An objection to house-storage lies in the fact that the fruit is apt to be massed in the house and that which is just picked given the same ventilation as that which has been in the house several months, when, as a matter of fact, lemons in different stages of curing require radically different treatment as regards ventilation. As a LEMON CURING HOUSE 465 result of this treatment some of the fruit is usually wilted from receiving too much air, while the greater portion of it is badly decayed from receiving too little. Proper ventilation is the keynote of success in keeping lemons, and after extensive and expensive experience along the old lines, Mr. Teague of the Limoneira Company, already cited, concluded that lemon handlers had been on the wrong track in believing a low temperature first in importance. If the ventilation is right the temperature will take care of itself. Mr. Teague decided that proper conditions for keeping lemons lie just between the points where they wilt and where they sweat, inducing neither if possible, for too much moisture induces decay and too little causes shriveling. The fragment of the stem left on the fruit by the cutter may be used as a test ; if it adheres, the conditions are right for slow curing; if it detaches easily, the best keeping quality is not being secured. The Limoneira Company was first to equip a house on the open air plan. The house is 300x100 feet. The flooring is 2-inch planking and the roof covered with gravel-paper roofing. The building has no sides whatever, allowing free circulation of air. The fruit for storage is put into regular shipping boxes, piled in blocks of 560 boxes. There is a double row of these blocks on either side of a 20-foot space which extends to the entire length of the building, and which answers the double purpose of a work room and an air space. The boxes are so piled as to permit of the circulation of air around each box. Each block of fruit is covered by a canvas 10x10x20, made box shape by a canvas cover and four canvas curtains on rollers, the openings at the corners being closed by lacings as desirable. The ventilation is con- trolled by raising or lowering the canvas, and each block of fruit can be given exactly the ventilation that it requires, irrespective of the other fruit in the house. By this method 50 or 100 cars of fruit can be handled and kept in as good condition as if there was only one. Each block being numbered, a complete record of the lemons from each of the six sections of the ranch is kept from the time it is picked until the fruit is shipped. The fruit is all washed in a lemon washing machine, and is piled up in the house wet, just as it comes from the machine. The canvas covers are not dropped over it, however, until it is thoroughly dry. An idea of these curing tents can be had from an adjacent engraving which shows them on both sides of a central space which is used for packing the fruit in the shipping boxes. With proper curing facilities lemons picked in November and December may be kept until the following July. Later pickings may not keep so well and may be marketed first. Of the finer points in lemon handling, however, there is much which must be learned by experience. 466 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM VARIETIES OF LEMONS FOR CALIFORNIA During the earlier years of California lemon growing- there were continuous efforts put forth to secure better lemon varieties. During the last decade three varieties have been accepted as satisfactory and nearly all others have been dropped. The three are Eureka, Lisbon, and Villa Franca, arranged according to present degree of popularity in southern California, where nearly the whole commercial product is now made, although some plantings have been undertaken farther north, shiefly in the citrus belt on the east side of the San Joaquin valley. Eureka. — A native of California, originated by C. R. Workman, at Los Angeles, from seed imported from Hamburg in 1872, only one seed growing, from which buds were put by him on orange stock. Distributed by T. A. Garey, of Los Angeles. Tree very free from thorns. Fruit medium size, sweet rind, a good keeper, few seeds ; very popular, especially in coast regions. Less popular in the interior because of scant foliage. Lisbon. — Imported from Portugal; first grown by D. M. Burnham, of Riverside. Fruit uniformly medium size, rather oblong, fine grain, thin sweet rind, strong acid ; few seeds ; a good keeper ; tree is a strong grower, with com- pact foliage, prolific bearer, but starts bearing late; quite thorny, but thorns decrease in size as the tree grows older; popular at interior points especially. Villa FraMca.— Imported from Europe. Medium size, oblong, slightly pointed at the blossom end, rind thin, without bitterness, acid, strong, juicy, nearb' seedless. Tree thornless, branches spreading and somewhat drooping, foliage abundant; withstands lower temperature than other imported varieties. THE LIME The lime {Citrus incdica acida) has proved much less hardy than the lemon. It has been killed in situations where the orange and lemon have not been injured. Unless adequate protection is thought worth the effort, there is little use in planting the lime, except in a frostless situation. Such localities are found near the ocean in southern Cali- fornia, and here and there at proper elevation in the interior both north and south, still the growth of the lime must be counted very hazardous. There is less inducement to experiment with the fruit from the fact that the Pacific Coast markets are well supplied with Mexican limes, usually at prices which leave no opportunity for com- petitors. Limes are grown from seed, the variety usually coming true from seed. The trees are small and are frequently grown in hedge form. The common variety is the Mexican. The Imperial, a large, rather hardy variety, is favorably reported by several growers. THE CITRON This fruit (Citrus incdica cedra) is little grown in California, although it is quite hardy and could be produced over a large area. The only use for the fruit, which resembles a monstrous lemon, is in THE BERGAMOT 467 its candied rind, and no one has deemed it worth while to push com- petition with the imported candied citron, though very fine experi- mental lots have been produced, and the interest of the fruit-preserving establishments in the product recurs periodically. There have been collections of citron trees imported from the Mediterranean region by the United States Department of Agriculture planted at several points in southern California. As yet no considerable product has been reached. There is, however, no cessation of interest, and experimental planting continues, with a prospect of satisfactory attainment ere long. Samples of the candied article have been approved by experts as very satisfactory. ORNAMENTAL CITRUS SPECIES There are grown in this State for curiosity or ornament various minor citrus species, including the Bergatnot and the dwarf ornamental sorts from Asia. There are, of course, the ornamental species grown by florists for their fragrant bloom. CHAPTER XXXV MINOR SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS IN CALIFORNIA A number of interesting fruits are now grown in this State which, for one reason or another, have not yet attained any great commercial importance, although some of them are advancing in popular esteem and likely to gain much higher place in the markets. Others will probably never be grown except for home use and garden ornament. THE BANANA The banana has been a favorite plant for experimental culture for many years, and though good fruit has been grown at various points in the State, the culture is too hazardous to warrant large investment, and if this danger was not present, the abundant supplies available from the islands of the Pacific would probably reduce the profits to a narrow margin. The banana can be trusted only in protected situations and in small numbers which can be given special attention. With these conditions the banana may yield very acceptable fruit for home use and be an ornament to the garden. Its beauty is, however, seriously impaired by winds, which whip its tender leaves into shreds and give the plant an unkempt appearance. The largest number of bananas are seen in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, and one grower at an elevation near the latter place reports his table supplied daily throughout the year with the fruit of the Cavendish species, which is the most commonly grown sort. The Yellow Martinique or Yellow Costa Rica, the Orinoco, the Hawaiian Lele, Hart's Choice, and a large-fruited variety known in Los Angeles county as the Baldwin, are also approved by growers. How to grow bananas in the garden, according to the experience of the late S. H. Gerrish, of Sacramento, is as follows : By experiment I have found that the banana will live — if in a proper soil — • without injury to the roots, at a temperature as low as sixteen degrees Fahr. ; the stalk will stand a temperature of twenty-five degrees without injury, and the leaves are not wilted until the air is chilled to thirty degrees. My method has been to supply the richest food for this gigantic plant and force it to its extreme growth. Every one has old chip dirt, ashes, boots, shoes, clothes, and manure, which are often a nuisance. Dig a big hole, burv this up, in the center of the mass place a pailful of sand, and plant the fresh bulb. This is to preserve the dormant plant from the wire-worms and insects, which will not attack the growing plant. As the plant grows, give it an abundance of water and all the slops of the house. Any kind of manure, fresh or old, ashes, leaves, and vegetables will soon disappear and be absorbed bv this gigantic king of plants. As the rainy season approaches, pile all the leaves and twigs of trees around the plants. It protects the bulbs and makes the soil rich for next season. 468 CHERIMOYER AND CHOCHO 469 THE CHERIMOYER OR PERUVIAN CUSTARD APPLE The oldest cherimoyer (Anona chenmoUa) is growing in Santa Barbara. The fruit was introduced about fifty years ago, and the parent tree has for many years produced abundant fruit in such perfection that the seeds have readily germinated, and the trees thus propagated have been in successful bearing in several Santa Barbara gardens. The leaves are oval and pointed at both ends; flowers solitary, very fragrant, and having a greenish color. Good specimens of the fruit are three or four inches in diameter, often heart-shaped, grayish brown or nearly black when fully ripe. The flesh, in which thirty or forty brown seeds are found, is soft, sweet, and pleasant to the taste, being most palatable when near decay. Mr. I. H. Cammack, of Whittier, describes the pulp as of the consistency of ice cream or a custard flavored with a blending of pineapples and bananas. If it has a fault it is too rich. Apparently it has no particular season for ripening, yet the best specimens seem to be found in Santa Barbara in April and May. The cherimoyer is also found in gardens in San Diego and Los Angeles counties. It needs a well-protected situation. The fruit has been marketed on a limited scale in Los Angeles, and larger plantations have been made, especially in the Cahuenga Valley, near Los Angeles. The plant comes true from seed and the tree bears in its fourth year, and should have as much room as an orange tree. Mr. C. P. Taft, of Orange, points out the fact that much can be gained by selection and propagation from the most satisfactory trees, as follows: Cherimoyers found in the gardens of southern California are almost always seedlings, and generallv shy bearers. There is but one named variety, so far as I am aware, the Golden Russet. This is very prolific and frequently attains large size. Specimens above one pound in weight are not uncommon. The quality is as good as any, but is variable owing to the season and time of ripening, much cold having a marked deteriorating effect. The normal shape is like that of the strawberry, and the variations from the normal are equally abundant ; in fact, in this respect the cherimolia is quite extraordinary, as the same tree will have on it fully matured fruit from less than an inch in diameter up to six or eight inches. In size the tree averages about the same as the peach. The market is a good one, large fruit commanding $3 per dozen or more, while the smaller ones sell by the pound at a relatively lower price. THE CHOCHO OR CHAYOTA The chocho plant is fruiting in Santa Barbara county, for Mr. Kinton Stevens, of Montecito, who obtained the seed from Samoa. Scchinm edule is the botanical name of this plant, but it is perhaps better known as "choco," "chocho," "chayota," and "Portuguese squash." It belongs to the order cucurbitacae, and is a perennial vine, resembling in growth and fruit our summer squash or vegetable mar- row. It is a very prolific bearer. Both the fruit and the great yam- like tuber are used as food by man and beast in the West Indies, where 470 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM it is considered a wholesome article of diet. The roots often weigh as much as twenty pounds. They have a flavor similar to the yam, and are considered a greater delicacy than the fruit, which in a raw state resembles the chestnut in flavor, and under favorable conditions weighs over three pounds. The proper way to grow them is to plant the whole fruit, as they have but one seed, and they produce fruit in three months, under favorable conditions. THE GUAVA Two species of guava have been quite widely tried in this State — the strawberry guava (Psidimn cattlcyanum) and the lemon guava {Psidium guayava) .' The former is the hardier, and, in fact, seems to be about as hardy as the orange, and it has fruited in widely-separated parts of the State ; the latter is quite tender, and is at present only grown in favorable places along our southern coast, and even there it is found inferior in quality and usefulness to the strawberry guava. Mr. C. P. Taft, of Orange, has confidence in the lemon guava through the selection of better varieties. It is far larger than the Strawberry, and of quite attractive appearance. Sometimes the color is almost white, sometimes quite green, and frequently of a bright yellow, often with a red check. These variations are only what is naturally to be expected from seedlings, and almost no others have yet been planted. Mr. Taft has fruited quite a number, perhaps a hundred, and finds it to possess qualities which if properly selected and developed will cause it to equal the Strawberry guava in hardiness and flavor and early ripening. The guava grows quite readily from the seed, and grows from cuttings under glass. In regions of generous rainfall and on retentive soil it does not require irrigation, but it must have sufficient moisture at command. A light loam seems best adapted to the shrub. THE FEIJOA Along with the guava should be mentioned the Feijoa Sellowiana, a member also of the myrtle family. In habits of growth it is much the same as the guava and while the foliage is not so handsome, being of a generally silver gray effect, the flower is very showy. In May it sends forth a great profusion of blossoms, which may be called red, white and blue, unless one desires to be perfectly accurate, in which case the blue would have to be changed to purple. The petals are unusually thick and fleshy and are very sweet to the taste. The highly perfumed fruit, about one and one-half to two inches or more in length, comes in November. The flavor is delicious, like the strawberry but THE LOQUAT 471 lacking- the acid. The seeds are very small, almost unnoticable ; quite a contrast in this respect to the guava. F. W. Popenoe, Altadena, Los Angele? County, has published an excellent monograph on this fruit. THE GRANADILLA The granadilla is the term applied to the edible fruit of a species of passion vine (Passiflora cdiilis) w^hich is quite hardy, and is g-row- ing in different parts of the State. The fruit is about the size of a small hen's Q^g, purple exterior when ripe, the thin, brittle shell inclos- ing a mass of small seeds covered with a brilliant yellow pulp, mildly acid, and of very agreeable flavor. Very good jelly has been made of the fruit. Another passion vine with large pink flowers is very widely distributed in California, and bears a large, yellowish-brown fruit with edible pulp. THE JUJUBE The jujube {^^yziphiis jujube), from the fruit of which the delicate paste of the confectioner is, or should be, made, was introduced by Mr. G P. Rixford in 1876, and is fruiting regularly and freely in sev- eral parts of the State. The plant is easily grown from seed or cuttings. The orange-red berries are produced three years from planting, and ripen in November and December. They are edible fresh or dried. As yet the fruit has not been turned to commercial account. THE LOQUAT The loquat (Eriobotrya Japonica) is widely grown in California as an ornamental plant, and a small amount of fruit is profitably marketed each year. During the last twenty years a very marked improvement in loquats has been achieved by painstaking effort by Mr, C. P. Taft, of Orange, whose experience is freely drawn upon in this chapter. Mr. Taft's work has demonstrated that this fruit is sus- ceptible of improvement in size, flavor, appearance, in bearing habit of the tree, and in direction of early and late varieties, and in all these directions not only in the line of better fruit, but fruit which com- mands in the market several times the value of the common types. Upon the basis of the new varieties the season for the loquat is from February to June, the bulk of the crop coming in April and the first half of May. The Advance Loquat was the first of the new varieties to attract attention. It is very prolific. The fruit is often as much as three inches in length, and from one inch to one and one-half inches iu diameter ; it being of a peculiar pear shape. The clusters frequently 472 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM contain twenty specimens. Its color is a bright orange yellow when fully ripe, and it should never be picked until it is so. The flavor is distinct and very sweet. Many compare it to the cherry. If not bruised when handled it will keep easily two weeks, growing sweeter by the process, and will eventually shrivel up without decay, thus proving itself capable of being shipped long distances. Mr. Taft has named the following varieties : Blush. — ^Very large, much like Advance resistant to diseases. Advance. — Yellow, pear-shaped, from two to three inches in length, clusters very large, very sweet when fully ripe. Premier. — Salmon-colored, oval, large, but not as large as the Advance, sweet, but peculiar flavor. Victor. — Largest, color pink to red, probably the best for canning. Pineapple. — Very large, round, immense clusters ; flesh white, skin yellow. Commercial. — Very large, pear-shaped, yellow with white flesh. THE PERSIMMON The persimmon of the southern States (Diospyros Virginiana) was introduced into California in early days some time ago, as there are trees thirty to forty feet high growing on Rancho Chico. The widely- distributed species, however, is the Japanese (Diospyros Kaki), of which many varieties are now fruiting in different parts of the State. The tree is quite hardy, and fruits freely both along the coast region and in the interior. It easily takes the form of a low standard, and with its large, glossy leaves during the summer, and its immense, high-colored fruit clinging to the twigs after the leaves have fallen, it is a striking object in the orchard or in the house garden. Persimmons grow readily from seed, but in most cases the im- proved varieties must be reproduced by grafting on seedlings either of the Japanese or American species. The tree seems to thrive in any fair fruit soil, taking very kindly to close soils if well cultivated. The amounts of fruit now reaching our markets are increasing and a de- mand is found for certain amounts at fair prices, but there is no object now apparent for large increase of production. This fruit, so highly esteemed in the Orient and so highly praised by travelers, has not become as popular as expected on this coast, nor have the great markets at the East required more than a carload or two a year so far. Americans who wish persimmons at all seem to prefer the smaller but more piquant Virginia species. Recently, however, the local demand has increased because of the large numbers of Japanese who are now upon the Pacific Coast and a shipping demand for the fruit from Seattle to the Hawaiian Islands and other Pacific ports, has arisen. The removal of astringency while the fruit remains firm has been successfully accomplished by Mr. POMEGRANATE AND PAWPAW 473 George C. Roeding" of Fresno, following a Japanese method. It is simply to place the fruit in tubs, from which saki, or Japanese "rice beer," has been lately removed. The tubs are hermetically sealed, and the fruit left in them from eight to ten days. When it is then removed, it is found to have altogether lost the puckering power. Mr. Roeding says that he used eight large saki tubs, each of which would hold twenty-five gallons, and in those treated one thousand pounds of per- simmons. THE PINEAPPLE Casual experiments with the pineapple in the open air in this State have been made for a number of years, the fruit being occasionally produced. Most has been accomplished by Mr. J. B. Rapp, of Holly- wood, Los Angeles County. Mr. Rapp's place is in the Cahuenga Valley, and in that part of the valley which is famed as frostless, where even beans and tomatoes survive winter temperatures. Mr. Rapp set out his first twenty-five plants in 1891, and a number of his neighbors also set out groups of plants, but two years finished up all but his. In 1893 the first of his plants fruited, but they did not seem to take kindly to the situation at first. They grew very slowly and the first fruit only weighed half a pound. After setting out his own acclimated plants, they have done better each year, and the fruit which Mr. Rapp has sold recently has weighed from two to four pounds each. If the strongest offsets or suckers are planted they bear inside of a year, and Mr. Rapp is endeavoring to have his fruit set from May to November, as the fruit setting at other times in the year is usually undersized on account of the slow growth during the winter and early spring. It seems probable that the pineapple resents the dry air of our summer as well as the lack of winter heat, and a lath covering and a summer spraying may be desirable. It is very doubtful whether the fruit can be profitably grown in this State on a commercial scale. The pineapple thrives best on a fine sandy loam, but will grow well on many soils if well drained and cultivated. The plants can be set three by three or four by five feet, so as to allow cultivation both ways while the plants are young. Plants are secured from "suckers," which come from the root, from "slips," which grow on the stem just below the "apple," and from "crowns" or the tufts of leaves at the top of the fruit. Suckers are said to bear in one year, and slips and crowns in two years. Strong suckers are best for planting, and they should be set out early in the spring as soon as the danger of cold weather is over. THE POMEGRANATE This fruit (Punica granatum) , famed in literature and art, is grown in various parts of the State, and certain amounts are profitably sold. 474 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The shrub or low tree, in good soil, will reach the height of twenty- feet. It is a hardy plant, easy of propagation from seed or cutting. The beauty of the tree, not taking the fruit into account, has caused it to be planted in many gardens. Exposed to the raw sea winds it does not bloom well nor set with fruit, and is best adapted to the warmer regions of the interior, where it is an early and abundant bearer. The variety chiefly cultivated is a bright orange color, but there is found a large variety of them, varying from almost pure white with a faint blush, to dark red. The fruit ripens in the warmer parts of the State, north and south, in October. THE STRAWBERRY TREE The Spanish madrono (Arbutus uncdo) is now quite widely grown, chiefly as an ornamental shrub or tree. The growth is exceedingly beautiful if kept free from scale insects, the fruit ranging as it ripens througli shades of yellow, orange, and deep red, and contrasting beau- tifully with the glossy evergreen foliage. The fruit is of pleasant flavor. MELON SHRUB This plant (Solanum Guatemalcnse) is a small, half-herbaceous shrub fiom the table-land of Guatemala. The fruit is yellow, splashed with violet, somewhat of the shape of the egg-plant, but is usually seedless, and is readily propagated from cuttings. There are thriving plants in many protected places in the State, and some fruit reaches the market, but few seem to like the flavor, which is something like a tomato and melon mixed. Its greatest use will probably be for salads. THE MELON TREE The melon pawpaw (Carica papaya) has been widely introduced experimentally in this State, and many situations are found unfitted for its growth, but satisfactory fruiting has been secured at several places in southern California, especially if protected the first year it will stand light frosts afterwards. With Mr. Cammack, at Whittier, Los Angeles County, it ripens fruit the third year from the seed — the fruit being pleasant to eat as one would a mushroom. The large fig-like leaves and the peculiar markings of the trunk make the tree a very striking object. THE PRICKLY PEAR The tuna, or fruit of the cactus (Opuntia vulgaris), is produced in nearly all parts of the State except on the mountains. It was one of THE ALLIGATOR PEAR 475 the old mission fruits, and was enjoyed by the early mining population until better fruits were available It is about as large as a medium- sized pear, and has a pleasant acid flavor if one succeeds in escaping ■the prickles in getting at the interior of the fruit. The tuna is still a commercial article in a small way. Plants are grown readily from cut- tings of the fleshy leaves. Quite a distinction must now be made between the foregoing and the smooth or spineless fruits which are superior in quality as well as unarmed with prickles, and therefore readily handled and eaten. Varieties more or less innocent in this respect were introduced from the Mediterranean region many years ago, and propagated to a limited extent. Recently Mr. Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa has undertaken special work with the cactus, both for fruiting and forage purposes, and has attained remarkable results which are attracting wide attention, and upon which producing enterprises are being undertaken. THE ALLIGATOR PEAR The avocado, or Aguacatc of the Mexicans {Persea gratissima) has proved hardy in several districts in the State, north and south. It is not likely that it will be satisfactory without high summer heat and freedom from heavy frosts. It is, however, one of the most promising of its class of fruits, as it is known to epicures, and its marketing at a high price reasonably assured. Mr. J. C. Harvey, of Los Angeles, gives tliis interesting account of it : It is a handsome evergreen tree, and, in the typical form, bears elHptical leaves from two and one-half to three inches in width narrow toward the base, and about six inches long. In some varieties the new growth is of a reddish brown, ultimately becoming deep sreen. The fruits are pear-shaped, about the size of a Bartlett pear, and contain a single, rather large seed. When ripe, tlie skin, which is much thinner than that of an orange, parts easily from the pulp, which is of a moderately firm though buttery consistency, and forms, with lime juice or pepper and salt, one of the most delicious salads known to epicures. Indeed, the fruit is a perfect mayonnaise in itself. Few persons fail to like it, even at first, and in countries where it is common, it is esteemed above all other vegetable productions, both by natives and foreigners alike. The pulp is quite rich in a bland and most agreeable oil, said to be very nutritious. The tree attains a height of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet, and forms a hand- some object when liberally cultivated. The tree is a gross feeder. Good- sized trees carry a large crop, which, after attaining a certain size, can be picked at intervals of a week or two extending over a period of two or three months, the fruits in each instance ripening in a week or ten days after gathering; and a very remarkable fact is that the quality or flavor of the last picking seems just the same as the first. The alligator pear must be considered as one of the most promising fruits included in this chapter ; it may prove the most profitable of the group. Efforts are in progress in California and elsewhere for im- proved varieties by selection and propagation by budding with the 476 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM ordinary shield-bud and a waxed cloth binding, is easily done. The literature of the alligator pear is increasing and should be consulted.* Of progress in its growth thus far in southern California Mr. Taft writes : It is hardly probable that here in California we can ever produce fruit quite equal in size to the largest from the tropics, but there are smaller and hardier varieties which are no whit inferior but rather better in flavor and richness which have been found to do well. These are from local or Mexican seeds whose ancestors for many generations have grown in a climate much like our own. In southern California there are perhaps a hundred trees old enough to bear. Of these about ten produce abundant and regular crops. Fortunately they are so located as to indicate that there is a considerable area adapted to Avocado. Of these first class trees one or two grow at Hollywood, two or three in Los Angeles, one at Monrovia, one at Santa Ana, and I have two or three at Orange. One of those at Hollywood is probably the most prolific. It is from these trees that we should establish our groves. Probably the safest olan is to plant in orchard seedling trees, direct from the can or pot in which they are started, for many have found the Avocado rather cranky about transplanting. When balled, though, it moves readily enough. Trees which do not fruit satisfactorily can be budded over as soon as this fact is shown. As there is an uncommonly great variation in the time of blooming and also in the period required for the fruit of different types of trees to came to maturity, an orchard may be obtained by selection which will bear continu- ously. This is of course very desirable to the consumer and immaterial to the market grower, as there is plenty of demand at all times. The tree at Monrovia was grown by W. Chappelow and has been named for him by W. A. Taylor of the U. S. Department of Agricul- ture who- imported the seed from Mexico. THE WHITE SAPOTA There are two old trees in Santa Barbara, one believed to have survived from the mission planting in the early part of the last cen- tury, the other half as old, of the white sapota {Casimiroa edulis). Dr. .Franceschi commends the tree for every garden. Mr. Harvey of Los Angeles describes the sapota as growing with him from seed from Vera Cruz as follows : This tree endures slight frosts unharmed. It is indigenous in northwest Mex- ico and is remarkable among the Anrantiacca, producing green colored flowers, and supperficially bears little resemblance to an otherwise well-marked order of plants. The fruits are the size of apples, and are esteemed in that portion of Mexico where it is common ; according to some botanical authorities it is not considered altogether wholesome, possessing narcotic properties. The pulp is described as possessing a delicious, melting, peach-like taste. Mr. Taft reports the sapota as bearing well with him. The tree is an exceedingly rapid grower, much after the habit of the walnut, but evergreen. In August and September the peach-like fruit, greenish * The Avocado, by G. N. Collins. Bulletin 77, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., 1907. Consult also Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agr. for 1905 and 1906. The Avocado in Southern California and the Development of the Avocado Industry by F. W. Popenoe, Altadena, Los Angeles county. OTHER FRUITS 477 yellow, with large seeds shaped like those of an orange, matures well and is excellent, this being the normal season for ripening. At other times fruit is often found, but is apt to be worthless and even danger- ous. As it will not ripen well off the trees and must be quite soft when eaten, it will never be of much market value. THE TREE TOMATO This plant (Cyphomandra bctacca) is a native of Central America and is of shrubby habit, growing five or six feet high, with large, shining leaves, often a foot long. The flowers are fragrant, of a pale flesh color, with yellow stamens, and are followed by fruit the shape and size of a duck's egg, at first of a purple tint, but gradually assum- ing a warm, reddish color as it ripens. When ripe the fruit may be used raw as a tomato is. If the skin is removed and the fruit stewed with sugar, it has a slight sub-acid flavor which is very refreshing. It makes a fine jelly. The plants bear the second year from the seed and the fruit ripens continuously for several months. The seeds should be started just as are those of the common tomato, and the plants set out eight or ten feet apart. THE KAI APPLE This name is applied to the fruit of Aberia Caffra, a native of Natal and Kaffaria, a tall shrub, yielding an edible fruit of a golden yellow color, about an inch in diameter. It is commended as a hedge plant, as it is densely clothed with strong dry spines. The leaves are small and of a rich green hue. The fruit, which is produced freely in the warmer parts of the State, is chiefly used for making preserves. OTHER FRUITS' The foregoing enumeration does not include all the exotic fruits which have found a place on California soil. There are many more, some of which are demonstrating their fitness to add to the graces or the gains of our horticultural life. The caricas, carissas, eugenias, hovenia, etc., are all gaining places in California gardens. Even the more strictly tropical mango, the monstera, sapodilla and the like are claiming the attention of amateurs. Of the mango in southern Cali- fornia the best account is by F. W. Popenoe, Altadena. PART SIX : SMALL FRUITS CHAPTER XXXVI BERRIES AND CURRANTS IN CALIFORNIA In suitable soils and situations, and with proper care and cultivation, the small fruits sustain the general reputation of California by the size and quality of the product, and by the long-continued and abundant fruiting of the plants. Probably nowhere else in the world do small fruits better repay generous treatment than in this State, and probably nowhere do they sufifer more from neglect. There are parts of the State, of course, where some small fruits, left to their own resources, thrive and bear abundantly, but, speaking of the State as a whole, the price of success is intelligent devotion on the part of the grower. There are localities in California which favor almost continuous growth and fruiting of some of the small fruits, and it is no fiction to say that in such a place one may have raspberries and strawberries upon his table every month of the year. Such situations are the thermal belts, which are practically frostless, and, by securing favoring moisture conditions in the soil and proper varieties of the fruits, the existing temperature conditions will produce the results indicated. Though this be the case, the profitable growth of small fruits is not, of course, restricted to such situations, but the largest commercial enterprises are carried on in places where the summer-crop rule prevails, but the bear- ing season is much larger than in the eastern States. Small fruits for family use may be grown on all fertile soils, and therefore they should be produced on every farm. Growing for market on a large scale involves considerations of suitability of soil and climate, ease of cultivation, water supply, and facilities for transportation, which will probably occur to any one who gives the matter the thought and personal observation of existing small fruit farms, which such an important commercial venture should command. It is often claimed that soil for small fruits should be deep and rich of the types generally called garden soils. There is an advantage in this because of amount of plant food and retention of moisture when well cultivated, but at the same time shallow soils even when overlying hardpan, which may not suit deep rooting trees or garden roots, can be profitably used for small fruits if water and fertilizers are intel- ligently used. This will be stated more fully in the discussion of the strawberry, but the general fact is pertinent to the growth of other small fruits also. 478 GROWING BLACKBERRIES 479 Preparation of soil for small fruits should be most thorough and careful. Even more generous work than that commanded in Chapter X for trees and vines should be done. It is the more necessary to work deeply because subsequent culture of small fruits must be shallow. THE BLACKBERRY The blackberry is a great favorite in California markets. It thrives in all parts of the State, and the plant is best suited of all small fruits to yield generously without irrigation, though it relishes sufficient moisture and repays it with fruit. There is great difference in practice as to supplying water artificially. The growth of cane, and the size and appearance of the fruit, will show the observing grower what should be the practice in his situation, and the general suggestions as to irrigation in Chapter XV are applicable. There are regions in which blackberries are irrigated weekly throughout the summer, and others in which the berries are gathered from June to November without irri- gation. Of course, with such wide local variations there can be no general rule for practice. Let the grower simply bear in mind that if he does not get good, plump, and glistening fruit and good strong growth of new canes at the same time, he should give irrigation. The requirements of the plant during the fruiting season are great, and they must be met. Many failures are due to lack of irrigation when needed. Propagation. — Blackberry plants are secured by digging up the shoots from old stools, securing therewith a bunch of fibrous roots with a portion of the main root. To propagate on a large scale dig up the roots entirely, and, cutting them up with pruning shears into pieces about two inches long, plant them in a well-prepared bed in the garden or nursery. Place the root cuttings about two inches apart and cover about three inches deep with well-pulverized soil, the depth being regulated of course, according to the nature of the soil, deeper in light than heavy soils. A light mulch will assist in retaining moisture. The time for this work is at the dormant period of the plant. One sum- mer's growth gives good plants for setting out. Planting out Blackberries. — Blackberries should be planted in rows far enough apart to admit of the use of the horse and cultivator. As the constant tendency of the plant is to extend itself in the growth of new canes, the rows should not be less than six to eight feet apart, and the plants about three feet apart in the row. The plants soon occupy the full space in the row, and cultivation is only possible between the rows. Some growers plant blackberries as they do grapevines, seven or eight feet apart both ways, and then cultivate with the horse both ways. Planting in rows is better. The number of plants to fill 480 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM an acre at different distances can be calculated as described in Chapter XXVI for grapevines. D. Edson Smith, of Orange County, who had much experience with small fruits, described his method of laying out and planting on a large scale, with a view to irrigation, as follows : Plow deeply and harrow thoroughly several times before setting out. Lastly, open a trench with your nlow where the row is to be, twenty inches deep; go along with a basket of plants, a four-foot lath and a shovel, and set a plant in this trench every four feet and fill the dirt around it with the shovel. If this trench is too deep in places for the length of the plant root, fill in with a little dirt; if not quite deep enough in places, scoop out a shovelful. Aim, in preparing the ground with plow and smoother, to leave it dishing each way toward the row of young plants, so that irrigating water turned in at the upper end will run along the row of plants as in a trough. Aim to have the ground around the set plants a few inches below the general level of the land. After the plants are all set in a row, go along with a rake if there are but a few plants, or with a horse-hoe if there are manv. and fill in the trench between the plants. It is a pleasure to set out plants in this way, and such deep, rich well-stirred soil delights the plant roots, so that they grow rapidly in every direction, and the plants throw up their heads in a manner entirely satisfac- tory to all concerned. If the ground is dry, or there is no rain soon after setting out the plants, irrigating water should be turned down the row or at least a quart or two of water poured around each plant ; then, before the_ soil hardens, stir it well with cultivator and hoe. All future care resolves itself into frequent waterings and frequent stirrings of the soil. Allow no weeds to appear, and keeo three inches of surface soil well loosened with the horse and hoes. These small fruits require frequent waterings, especially when forming fruit and during the fruiting season. Cultivation. — Thorough cultivation of the surface soil is essen- tial for retention of moisture. After the plants attain size, cultivation should be secured with as shallow-cutting tools as possible so as to prevent injury to the roots, which not only weakens the plant, but increases the growth of suckers between the rows. A horse-hoe with a long knife running horizontally, or with duck-foot teeth, well sharp- ened, answers well in keeping the ground clear of weeds and suckers, and the surface loose. Due regard must, however, be paid to securing sufficient depth in this surface layer to prevent the soil beneath baking hard and drying out, as discussed in the chapter on cultivation. Frequency of cultivation depends upon irrigation, for the cultivator must always follow the application of water. The spaces in the row which can not be reached with the cultivator must be kept clean from weeds, and free from baking, by the use of the hoe. It is advisable that the cultivation be the cleanest possible, for moisture exhaustion by weeds can not be afforded. Pruning and Training. — There is a little difference in the way of training blackberries practiced in this State. Of course this does not include the "let alone" system, which is not followed by any good grower. The difference lies mainly in the use or disuse of artificial supports for the canes — the prevailing practice being to dispense with them. In either case the pruning of the canes is similar in kind but PRUNING BLACKBERRIES 481 different in degree, for if no supports are used, the canes are headed lower. At planting- out, cut back the cane to near the surface of the ground and mark the plant with a small stake. At first the top growth should not be checked, but when new canes grow out strongly they should be pinched at the tip to force out lateral branches for fruiting the next year. Those w^ho intend to tie canes to a stake or trellis let them attain a height of five or six feet before pinching off the terminal bud ; those who intend to teach the cane to stand alone pinch when it is from two to four feet high. All agree to pinch off the ends of the lateral branches at about twelve inches from the main stem. This pinching of blackberry canes may be done by the watchful grower of a few plants, with the thumb and finger, but thrifty blackberry plants are such rapid cane growers that in large plantations cutting back is often done with a sickle or corn hook or sharp butcher-knife, several times in the course of the summer. It is also advisable to thin out the suckers with the hoe while cutting out weeds, leaving only about as many as it is desired to have for fruit the next season. This method gives stout canes, with plenty of short side branches, well supplied with buds, which will send out fruiting shoots the following spring. If supports are used, the four to six canes which are left to each stool are gathered within a loosely- drawn bale rope and tied to the stake ; or if a trellis is used, the branches are brought up to the wire or slat so that the distance is about evenly divided between the shoots. Though these systematic methods of summer pruning are practiced and advocated by the most careful growers, it should be stated that there are large plantations which are conducted upon a more simple system. The pruning consists in cutting out old canes in the winter, and the only summer pruning is slashing off these canes which interfere with cultivation. The canes are sometimes held up by tying bunches of them together with ropes. Of course this system costs less than the more careful one which has been described, and yields profit enough to induce adherence to it. No doubt quite as great weight of berries could be had from a smaller area by a better system of growing. After the leaves fall, the canes which have borne fruit during the summer are all cut off even with the surface of the ground with long- handled pruning shears or with a short hooked knife with a long handle, and all debris removed from the rows. Application of Manure. — The blackberry loves very rich ground, and plenty of well-rotted stable manure or compost, as described in Chapter XIV, should be applied. It is a good plan to apply in a thick covering all over the ground and between the canes as soon as the patch is cleaned up in the fall. The early rains carry down the soluble parts of the manure, and later in the season the whole is plowed in ^^u K«f>>* • ^ #%4 >» '*^ ,1*^ ^\I\ 'i^-'^' «^<%i_' ^l*?»^; r-. ■ ■ val»,_■ *'^^I ,.%-**• The Mammoth Blackberry. 482 BLACKBERRY-RASPBERRY HYBRIDS 483 between the rows, leaving a foot or more next the plants to be carefully forked in, as the digging fork does not cut the roots like the spade. Mulching. — The mulch, to keep the ground moist and to obviate summer cultivation, is very satisfactory where it is thoroughly done. Apply coarse manure or partially-rotted straw and the like, after the last spring cultivation, and use the hoe to keep down weeds and suckers which come up between the rows. Some growers use mulch close to the canes, cultivating the remainder of the ground between the rows. Bearing Age and Longevity. — If blackberry plants are well treated the first year after planting out, there will be considerable fruit the following summer. How long the plants will bear satisfactorily depends, also, on situation and treatment. Sometimes the plants fail early ; even with good, generous treatment in good soil, the old stool becomes weak, the shoots are thin, and the fruit small. Some count about eight years as the profitable age of the plant, and then cut out plants and give the land a change. Of course berry growers prepare for this by frequently making new plantations. Varieties of the Blackberry. — Comparatively few kinds are largely grown. The Wilson Junior, Lawton, and Kittatinny were for- merly tlie prevailing kinds, ri])ening in the order named. The Erie is favored by some as a middle season variety. The Early Harvest has been favorably reported by a number of growers. These have, however, been largely superseded by a renamed variety, Crandall's Early, which is the earliest of the improved varieties, and has a very long fruiting season. The fruit was named after Dr. J. R. Crandall, of Auburn, who first fruited the variety from plants given him by a stranger hailing from Texas, and the proper name of the variety is probably Texas Early. It is a strong, vigorous, hardy plant, very productive, of firm, handsome berries ; resembles Lawton in canes, leaves, and flavor of fruit ; not given to sprouting from running roots. Another variety which has advanced in favor is the Oregon Ever- green, introduced from Oregon but not native nor originated in that State. The late John Rock described it as follows : "Origin unknown ; beautiful ; cut-leaved foliage, which it retains during the winter ; berries large, black, sweet, rich, and delicious. It continues to ripen from July to November, which makes it one of the best berries for family use." It loses size and quality notably on scant moisture. Some effort has been made to secure improved varieties of our na- tive blackberry, and a most striking result has been secured by Judge J. H. Logan, of Santa Cruz, by crossing the wild berry with Crandall's Early, producing a fruit so large that it has been named "Mammoth" by its originator. The canes of the Mammoth are very peculiar, being very large and thickly covered with small, short spines. The canes start early in March,, grow thick and stout until about five feet 484 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM high. They then take on a running habit and grow from twenty-five to thirty feet in a season. Late in the fall the tips or stolons seek the ground' and take root. The Mammoth is not an evergreen like its Texas parent, although it does not entirely lose its leaves in winter. It begins to grow and flower very early in spring and ripens its fruit the last of May, some weeks earlier than the Lawton. The fruit is more acid than the Lawton, but, when perfectly ripe, is sweet and of superior flavor. When cooked or canned the flavor is identical with the wild berry of California. This variety is often wrongly called "Black Loganberry." The Himalaya is a blackberry of wonderful growth and prolificness, highly praised by amateurs, but not yet fully made out from a com- mercial point of view. It is magnificent on a garden fence or trellis. The Dewberry. — The improved varieties of the dewberry, or trailing blackberry, are now quite widely known and highly praised. Some growers use trellises ; others train the vines along rows on the ground surface. The following is the method of Mr. A. M. Munger, of Fresno, and includes irrigation arrangements : For planting the Lucretia dewberry, prepare the ground by plowing deep and cultivating until the dirt is thoroughly pulverized. Set the plants about three inches deep and four feet apart, in rows, leaving a space of six feet between the rows. Plant between February iSth and March 15th. Irrigate as often as once a month, always thoroughly cultivating after each irrigation. Bv so doing a sufficient growth is secured to produce a good crop the second year. Immediately after the first rainfall, generally in October, the vines should be pruned by cuttine back within about sixteen inches of the base of the vine. In February of the second year, plow between the rows with a small one- horse plow, turning the furrows toward the vines, but using a shield so as not to cover them. Follow immediatelv with a hoe, drawing the dirt up under the vines and forming a ridge. This ridge should be high enough to keep the vines up out of the water when irrigating. After this ridge is formed, water should be run quite often, as the dewberry requires a great deal of water to mature properly. The vines should be irrigated as often as three times at least during the spring. The fruit begins to ripen in Fresno about May 25th, and continues about one month. The dewberry roots readily from the tips without covering if the soil is loose and moist. If many plants are desired it is advisable to cover slightly, and the tips will root as soon as the soil is moistened by the fall rains. The dewberry which has recently been most largely planted in cen- tral and southern California is known as the Gardena because of the prolificness and profitability of a patch grown by W. M. Gray, of Gar- dena, Los Angeles county. Its qualities are vigorous growth, hardi- ness, regular and profuse yield of large, early berries. Pruning and Training Trailing Berries. — With reference to the handling of trailing blackberries and the blackberry-raspberry hybrids which are continually becoming more popular, it may be said that there is no one best way. There are several good ways, according to the desires and convenience of the growers, and this is the reason why there is an apparent conflict in which all contestants may be right, each BLACKBERRY-RASPBERRY HYBRIDS 485 from his own point of view. The varieties are sufficiently aUke to be discussed together. What seem to us the essentials in pruning them are these. First, they all bear on canes which grow the previous year, and the fruit comes on laterals which break from them. In this mild climate there is continuous break of laterals which may cover quite a long period and the same wood may seem to be bearing twice. This second bearing is of so little account that the general rule to remove old wood after its main fruiting is a good one. Second, the wood which grows this year will therefore bear next year, and it will send out bearing laterals sufficiently with a number of treatments. The new cane may be pinched at any time during growth and it will then send wood laterals (not fruit laterals) at once and each of these laterals will have the same character that the main shoot would have had if it had not been pinched ; that is, it will send out fruit- ing laterals at the same date the following season. Third, it does not matter whether you make the new growth bunchy by laterals following pinching or whether you let it run out and cut ofif part of it at the end of the growing season or whether you shorten it in and at the same time cut away closely all the laterals which it may have made on its own account when it was running out. In all cases there will be dormant buds enough to give fruiting shoots on whatever part of the cane you reserve. Fourth, the way you prune, then, depends upon serving your own convenience in the training of these shoots up to a post, along on a wire or along on a ridge on the ground — whatever suits you best to keep the fruit out of the dirt, and to promote such cultivation as is de- sirable, etc., will be accepted by the plant as not interfering with its starting fruiting shoots from whatever dormant buds you have allowed it to retain on the wood which it matured the previous season. Fifth, there is in addition the application of the principle that good large fruit is the product of a plant which is not carrying too much bearing wood ; that is, is not endeavoring to perfect too much fruit at the same time. For this reason, as well as for convenience, it is de- sirable not to allow a plant to retain all the cane it grows, but to shorten it or to remove the laterals or part of them or to shorten the laterals or in any other way to require the plant to direct its energy to the better development of fewer fruits. Sixth, growers are, of course, influenced bydififerent considerations. Amateur growers delighting in running vines on fences or trellises would not prune as would a commercial grower, who can not have canes running all over his fields. The amateur can pinch a main shoot and send the laterals up the arms of a fan-shaped trellis if he likes and make an object of rare garden beauty, and he can reduce the excess of bearing 486 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM wood by cutting away the parts of the laterals which run beyond his arms or extra ones beyond those he can carry on his trellis. From the point of view of the plant, he does the same thing that the commercial grower does when he comes along with his scythe or sickle and cuts away indiscriminately all the growth which goes beyond the space where it is convenient for him to have the fruit. Seventh, do not be too particular about exact methods to imitate ; try rather to discern principles which may be served by many different methods. THE CRANBERRY Though attention has been given to experiments with the growth of the Cranberry in California for many years, it has not been demon- strated that the culture is successful or profitable. Cranberries have been produced, and the fruit shown at fairs, but beyond this nothing has yet been accomplished. It would seem to be a fair conclusion that even in the most moist regions our summer air is too dry to suit the plant. THE CURRANT The Currant reaches perfection in size and quality in parts of Cali- fornia adapted to its growth, but its area is comparatively small. The plant does not thrive in the dry, heated air of the interior either at the north or south. It does well near the coast, especially in the upper half of the State, and is grown for market chiefly, on lands adjacent to the bay of San Francisco. The comparatively cool and moist air of the ocean favors it, but even here the sunburn, which is the bane of its ex- istence in the interior valleys, occasionally injures the fruit. Away from the coast, currants are grown to a limited extent along the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, near their confluence, but not in the hot val- leys whence they flow. On the foothills, too, where the plant has a northerly slope, or other cooling influence, and sufficiently moist soil, it will do moderately well. It is quite possible that the currant may be satisfactorily grown for home use, or for local market in parts of the State where at present one does not find it, providing the moderating effect of elevation and northerly exposure, coupled with the shade of trees, be secured, but even then the hot north wind of the early summer may often injure the fruit. So far as the metropolitan market is con- cerned, it does not matter that the currant area is limited, for existing plantations produce all, and sometimes more, than can be profitably disposed of at present. It is possible, however, that the future may show a larger demand, for the pure food laws are likely to prevent the CRANBERRY AND CURRANT 487 further selling of apple jelly with a currant color and flavor under the name of currant jelly. Propagation. — The currant is readily grown from cuttings. As soon as the bush drops its leaves, and the ground is in condition, as to moisture, secure the cuttings a foot in length from straight wood of the last growth, and place them in nursery or in permanent place, in good sandy or garden loam, deeply spaded and well broken up. Set the cut- ting firmly in the earth, six or seven inches deep. If they are to be trained as small trees, every bud below where the lowest limb is to start should be cut out — even to the end of the cutting underground — otherwise they will be continually throwing up suckers. If they are to grow as bushes, the natural and more productive form of the currant, set them as they are taken from the parent bush. Planting and Care. — Currants are usually grown in rows about five or six feet apart, the plants standing two and a half or three feet apart in the rows. Most of the currant plantations are between orchard rows, the partial shade of the trees being considered desirable. It is claimed that currants do best when interplanted with cherry, apricot, apple, and pear, not so well when associated with plum and peach, and the almond is least desirable — possibly because the almond is often given less cultivation than the pulpy fruits or is grown on lighter, drier soils. The cultivation is such as is usually given to the orchard, except that in heavy soil the plow is not allowed to come near the cuttings the first season for fear of tearing them from their rooting. After the first year the plow is used in the winter and the cultivator in summer. Currants will repay generous applications of well-rotted manure, and relish sufficient moisture in the soil. Where this can not be had from rainfall, and retained by cultivation and mulching, irrigation must be resorted to. Pruning. — If the currant is to be grown in tree form, the branches from the upper buds of the cutting should be shortened in at the end of the first summer, and branches growing horizontally should be removed. The weaker shoots in the head are thinned out, but not so much as to leave the top too open. If the plant is to grow as a bush, the only winter pruning will consist in removing dead wood, and thin- ning the new shoots as may seem desirable. Summer pinching of the new growth is desirable, as it causes the fruit to set closely and tends to a thick growth of foliage also, and this is necessary, for the bark is liable to sunburn, and the best fruit is that which is well sheltered by the leaves. Another advantage of the bush form is the less likeli- hood of killing by borers, which is imminent when the growth depends upon a single stem. Bearing. — The currant bears a quantity of excellent fruit the second year from the cutting, and reaches its fullest product about the 488 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM fifth to the eighth year, when the yield in the Hayward region is said to range from one and a half to three tons to the acre. Varieties. — The Cherry currant is the prevailing variety, although the old sorts, the Red and White Dutch, the Red and White Grape, etc., are grown in some localities, and Fay's Prolific is approved by some growers. Pomona is one of the best of the newer red varieties and the old Fertile de Palluau is reported as doing better than others in hot, interior situations. Black currants are but little grown, the market de- mand for them being very light. THE GOOSEBERRY The Gooseberry is another fruit with somewhat circumscribed area in this State. In localities which favor it, the fruit is often found very profitable, but the demand does not warrant any great increase of prod- uct. Though the gooseberry thrives in some situations which do not suit the currant, they may both be described as averse to the hot and dry parts of the State. Still, for home use or local sale one can grow certain varieties of gooseberries successfully, by protecting them from too great exposure to the sun, and by keeping the soil sufficiently rich and moist. The choice of varieties is of the greatest importance, as will be mentioned presently. At present the chief supplies of the goose- berry, as of the currant, are produced in the country adjacent to San Francisco Bay, though thriving and profitable plantations are found elsewhere near the coast, here and there in the interior, and at consid- erable elevations on the slope of the Sierra Nevada. Propagation, Pruning, etc. — The gooseberry is grown from cut- tings, very much as already described for the currant. The common and the best method is to start the cuttings early in the winter, though some have succeeded with cuttings taken in the spring just as the new growth is starting out. Disbudding the lower part of the cutting if it is desired to train in tree form is also practised with the gooseberry, but a smaller percentage of cuttings is found to grow after disbudding. Gooseberries are planted out and cultivated as already described for currant?, and the requirements of the plant in soil, moisture, and ma- nuring are much the same. If the gooseberry is to be grown in tree form, constant attention to removal of suckers is necessary ; if in bush form, it will only be neces- sary to remove too old wood and thin out the new shoots. Suckers should be removed clean from the stem, so as to eradicate the latent buds, and pulling ofl: with a gloved hand, when the suckers become woody enough to withstand breaking, is advised. As with the currant, the borer is a constant menace to the life of a gooseberry plant confined to a single stem. THE GOOSEBERRY 489 Diseases and Pests. — The gooseberry is subject to insect depre- dation both in wood and fruit and leaf. The prevailing trouble, how- ever, and that which causes the failure of so many foreign kinds, is the mildew. To escape this nothing is usually done except to select varieties not subject to the disease, but susceptible varieties can be protected by spraying just as the leaves are opening and once a month afterwards with potassium sulphide half an ounce to the gallon of water. This does not stam nor poison the fruit. The cooler and moister the air the less the mildew. Varieties of the Gooseberry. — The American varieties, Downing and Hor.ghton's Seedling, chiefly the latter, constituted for a long time the main varieties marketed in San Francisco. Early experiments with collections of English varieties showed that most of them were fail- ures because of mildew ; still a few of the green and white sorts, nota- bly the Whitesmith, have succeeded. The proportion of large berries now being marketed is much greater than formerly, and the superior price warrants especial effort to produce them. A large English variety, which was brought to California many years ago by the late John W. Dwindle, is now the most widely dis- tributed large kind. Its true name was lost and it has been propagated under various names, viz., Dwindle, Kelsey, New French ; but the name Berkeley, adopted by W. P. Hammon, in his wide distribution of it in 1884, now prevails. It is large and handsome, very prolific, ripens early, and is usually free from mildew. The Champion, an Oregon seedling grown by Seth Lewdling, is medium sized, very smooth, and thick fleshed, the seeds being few and small. They are entirely free from mildew, and are clean, bright and beautiful. The Columbus, a New York variety, is large and of good quality and resists mildew well. THE MULBERRY Nearly all varieties of the mulberry have been introduced in Cali- fornia and grown rapidly and thriftily. Most attention has been paid to those varieties most suitable for feeding silk-worms, but the fruiting varieties are also grown here, though the fruit has assumed no com- mercial importance. The mulberry is grown readily from cuttings. The fruiting varieties thus far chiefly distributed are the Downing, Ever- bearing, the Persian, the New American, the Russian, and the Black Mulberry of Spain. All these bear large and desirable fruit. The last named, introduced by Felix Gillett, of Nevada City, is grown quite widely. The mulberry has a long season ; the Persian ripens in Tu- lare the last of May and continuously thereafter until October. 490 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM THE RASPBERRY The raspberry is another of the great small fruits of California. It thrives over a great area of the State ; in fact, there are few situations in which it can not be grown with at least a measure of success if proper attention is given to retention of moisture in the surface soil, and to giving the plants partial shade in the heated valleys, and the cooler ex- posures in the foothills. The raspberry, skillfully pruned and gener- ously fed and cared for, is almost a constant bearer, as has already been intimated. It is a continual delight in the home garden, and al- ways brings a high average rate in local and metropolitan markets. The culture of the raspberry is in the main like that of the black- berry, as already described. The red varieties, which are the kinds al- most exclusively grown in this State, are propagated by suckers and root cuttings like the blackberry, but the "black caps" are propagated by layering the cane tips during the growing season, and this method is also necessary with the Loganberry and other blackberry-raspberry hybrids. Bending down a cane with its branches and covering lightly with soil and with a light mulch to retain moisture, will result in free rooting of the buried parts, and one can sometimes secure a dozen plants by the layering of a single cane with its laterals. The pruning of the raspberry is also by the renewal system, as ad- vised for the blackberry. The topping off of new canes, when they reach about three feet in height, the subsequent pinching of the laterals which are thus forced out, the resolute thinning out of sprouts so that but three or four strong canes are allowed from one root, the faithful repression of all weeds, the maintenance of a loose surface layer of the soil by very shallow cultivation, the free application of manure and of water unless a continually moist condition near the surface can be se- cured by cultivation and mulching — all these are among the essentials of cultivation which will secure abundant fruit and a long bearing sea- son. However, as has already been stated with regard to blackberries, there are large plantations which pursue a less careful system of culti- vation especially in the moderate heat and drouth of the coast district. Continuous bearing of the raspberry may be secured in those varie- ties which endure the treatment, by cutting out a cane as soon as its fruit is gathered, the force of the plant being then devoted to the fruit- ing of ?. second cane, which has previously been pinched, and a third shoot is pinched and allowed to mature its wood to carry over and bear the first crop of the following year. A succession of sprouts is gained by pinching off the tips of some as soon as they have grown up a few inches, which results in the growth of later shoots lower on the stems. In this way a succession of fruit is obtained. The Cuthbert and other strong-growing varieties, after the pinching at about three feet from the ground, will send out laterals which will 491 The Loganberry (natural size), a California Hybrid. CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM bear late in the fall, and the same cane will bear a crop early in the following spring-, when its career is ended and it should be removed. Raspberries are planted about three feet apart in rows, and the rows about six feet apart. They can be well grown nearer together than is required for blackberries. Varieties of the Raspberry. — The old varieties have been largely replaced by the Cuthbert, which is the universally popular and most largely-planted sort, having been found trustworthy as a grower and as a free and constant bearer. The good points of the Cuthbert, as representing the experience of many California growers, include the following: A profuse grower, with healthy and rich foliage, which protects fruit from sunburn ; an excellent bearer with the fruit well dis- tributed through the bush ; the fruit comes off easily, and does not crumble, is of fine flavor, and ships well. The Herstine, Franconia, King and Marlboro varieties are grown to a limited extent ; and the Barter, a renamed variety, the identity of which is unknown, has al- ways retained a degree of popularity in the foothill region of Placer County, where it first appeared. The Black Cap varieties thrive fairly in most parts of the State but do not sell well in the markets, and are only grown for home use. The golden or yellow raspberries are also out of favor because they are shy bearers and cut no figure in the California product. Blackberry-Raspberry Hybrids. — Two crosses of California ori- gin have been widely distributed and have demonstrated great value. The Loganberry was originated by Judge J. H. Logan of Santa Cruz, and is a cross between the California wild blackberry and a red raspberry, thought to be the red Antwerp. It was a chance hybrid de- veloped by growing plants from the seed of the wild blackberry in 1881. The plant was multiplied by its originator and fruited for more than ten years, plants being meantime given to Mr. James Waters, of Wat- sonville, who grew it on a commercial scale and was gratified at the results of his marketing of the fruit. The variety was first given to the public throug"h the University of California in 1893 and has since then been propagated by nurserymen and sold in large quantities. It has proved a most valuable fruit in all parts of California, and has com- manded the attention of pomologists and growers all over the world. The Loganberry is an exceedingly robust grower, and has unique foli- age and cane growth as well as fruit. The fruit is strikingly large and handsome ; sometimes an inch and a quarter long, with the shape of a blackberry, and sometimes the hue of a dark red raspberry. Its flavor is unique and peculiar, and gives to many tastes suggestions of the com- bination of blackberry and raspberry flavors. The culture of the Lo- ganberry is like that of the dewberry — both in growth and propagation, rooting readily from cane tips without covering, unless many plants are desired and then a covered cane will root at each joint. STRAWBERRY GROWING 493 The Phenomenal is a hybrid which has recently been largely grown for a trade which prefers a less sharp acid than that of the Loganberry. It is one of the notable achievements of Air. Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, and is a cross between the California dewberry and a red rasp- berry. It is exceedingly large, bright crimson, very productive and of delicious flavor. The fruit comes in large clusters and single berries have weighed four to the ounce. In shipping it holds shape and color well. THE STRAWBERRY "Strawberries all the year round'' is the trite expression by which the charms of the California climate are characterized. It is no fiction, for in the wonderfully-even climate of regions adjacent to the coast and in thermal belts in the interior, the strawberry plant blooms and bears almost continuously, providing proper moisture conditions are maintained in the soil. There are, however, more or less well-defined crops, and "strawberries all the year" does not mean a uniform supply ; nor does it mean that everywhere in California can one expect such constant fruiting. In the very hot interior situations the plant rebels against the atmospheric conditions of midsummer, even though the ground be moist ; and in frosty places the plant becomes dormant dur- ing the wintry portion of the year. The conditions of constant growth and bearing are moderation of temperature and of atmospheric and soil moisture throughout the year. SITUATIONS AND SOILS FOR THE STRAWBERRY Bearing in mind the conditions described, the strawberry can be grown anywhere in California. The native species, as mentioned in Chapter V, flourish from the sand of the ocean beach to the rich valleys of the Sierra, just below the line of perpetual snow, and the deduction is that wherever fertile soil and sweet water can be brought together in California, the strawberry will reward the grower. Strawberries do well on a variety of soils, but as a rule a deep, moist, loamy soil will yield best results. Boggy or swampy spots should be avoided unless drainage is provided, and in this way most excellent strawberry ground may sometimes be secured. Land which will pro- duce good potatoes or corn will generally yield good results with straw- berries, provided irrigation is furnished. In many regions the plants will hardly survive the summer without irrigation and everywhere a suc- cession of crops during the season depends upon irrigation. It is the common experience that light, warm soils yield the earliest and highest- flavored berries, and heavy soils the later and larger ones ; but the size of the berry depends more upon the supply of available moisture, and 494 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM immense fruit can be produced on loose, open soils by free irrigation, And yet the heavier soil, both because of its usually superior fertility and retention of moisture, is preferred for the strawberry. The larg- est producing regions for the San Francisco market in the Santa Clara and Pajaro Valleys are comprised mainly of low-lying, heavy valley soils, naturally moist and rich, and furnished with abundant water sup- ply for irrigation. And yet in southern California the chief market crops are produced upon light sandy loams with water equal to the needs of the plants upon such a footing. It must be remembered that the strawberry is a shallow-rooting plant and must have moisture re- tained near the surface. Some loose soils, especially on uplands, are almost out of the question for strawberry growing. They are so leachy that they will not hold moisture near the surface though one should stand with a hose and almost continually pour it on. The plants would also dry up though the water were running near by in a ditch. To grow strawberries it is often an advantage to have a shallow loam over a clay or hardpan, for then the tight layer below will prevent the escape of the water below the reach of the roots. If this can not be had, the best way to grow strawberries on leachy soils for home use is to mulch and sprinkle. Propagation of the Strawberry. — Seedlings undertaken in the hope of originating valuable new varieties are easily grown by taking off the outside layer of the choicest berries, which carries with it the small, yellow seeds. Wash these from the skin and cover them slightly in a sandy soil partially shaded and kept moist by sprinkling, or a light •mulch, and the plants are readily grown. As with seedlings of other fruits, few, if any, will be found superior to the parent variety. Plants for setting out are secured by taking off the small growths rooted from runners. The strongest plants are those nearest to the parent plant. When these are allowed to root in small pots plunged into the soil, they are called "pot-grown," and are superior for plant- ing out, but they are not largely used in this State. When plants of any variety are desired for new beds or fields, a row or more are al- lowed to send out runners during the summer, and these are fit for taking up and replanting the following winter or spring. Laying off Ground for Strawberries. — The essentials are deep and thorough pulverization of the soil and grading of the surface so that water will flow slowly in the ditches. Suggestions as to location of grade lines may be found in Chapter XV. The inclination which answers for water distribution may be very slight ; about two inches to the hundred feet answers on the level lands of the Pajaro Valley, while in the foothills much greater fall is made use of, and on hillsides rows are located on contour lines and not in straight lines. A grade of three and three-quarters inches to the hundred feet is sometimes used. The triangle described in Chapter XV can be used to fix the grades. LAYING OFF FOR STRAWBERRY 495 Of course, in grading the field it is often necessary to give adja- cent blocks opposite inclinations to provide for the return of the water. On hillsides, where the water is carried down a ridge to a flume, it is usual to keep the water always running away from the flume, and only enough is taken out to reach the ends of the small ditches. A grade of six inches to the rod is practicable for hillside irrigation, but of course only a small flow of water is employed. A Valley Strawberry Patch with Windbreaks. There are various ways of laying out strawberry beds and planta- tions. Some give flat cultivation and lay out in single rows two and a half to three and a half feet apart, and in some districts flat culture is unquestionably the best. Others lay out in double rows a foot and one- half to two feet apart, and between each pair of rows the soil from the center is drawn up to each side, making a low ridge or level a little higher than the surface on which the plants are set. This levee serves as a walk between the beds and holds back the water upon the bed when irrigated by flooding. Another, and the generally adopted plan, is to have the plants in double rows on a slight ridge, while bteween the beds is a furrow which serves as a walk and for irrigation. This is accomplished by throwing up the soil with the plow into ridges about two feet wide, with a double furrow between. On the sides of these ridges the plants are set, and often on the top of the ridge between the rows of strawberries a single row of onions or lettuce, or some other vegetable, is grown the first year. In irrigation the water is drawn up from the trenches by the roots and by capillary attraction, and the up- per surface does not bake as it would by flooding if the soil be heavy. 496 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM In hoeing out weeds and in fruit gathering, the workman walks in the ditch and does not pack the soil around the plant by tramping. This is the best method for laying out for large plantations. The rows are a uniform distance apart across the field, whether the space between be a ridge or a ditch. The method of making the beds a little lower than the general surface of the ground, answers best on free, open soils with perfect drainage. Cultivation can be reduced by covering the depressed surface of the bed with mulch of fine, clean litter, such as chaff, cut straw, etc. This retains moisture and givgs the berry a clean surface to rest on. Such a bed is an excellent arrangement for the home gar- den. In all arrangements the plants are set at less distances in the rows than the rows are from each other. Probably the prevailing distance is one foot between the plants ; the range is from eight to eighteen inches in the practice of different growers, and determined, of course, largely by the habit of the variety. A vine like the Sharpless, with a spreading growth and long fruit stem needs, perhaps, sixteen inches which some growers give it, while the smaller, more compact, Longworth Prolific, may do well with half that distance. ' Planting Strawberries. — Strawberry plants are set out either in spring or fall, or at any time in the winter when the ground is warm or in good condition. Fall planting usually gives a fuller spring crop though planting as late as February has brought two crops the follow- ing spring and summer, and planting in April has secured fruit the same year, but it is better to prevent it and induce more growth. Spring planting is in April and May. In the drier parts of the State, early fall or winter planting is more essential than elsewhere. If the ground is dry, water should always be used in planting. This may be given by thorough irrigation of the ground before planting, or a little water may be used in setting each plant. At planting it is usually best to remove all leaves from the plant, shorten the roots to three inches or less, and be sure the plants do not dry while planting progresses. As with handl- ing rooted grape-vines, it is advisable to carry around the plants in a vessel which has water in it. If the plants have been received by mail they are invigorated by soaking in water a few hours before planting. In setting the plants, scoop out a little excavation with the hand or a trowel, spread the roots well, cover with fine soil, being sure that the crown of the plant shall not be below the surface when the soil is lev- eled. Too many strawberry plants are buried, not planted. Some plant very rapidly by using a dibble to make a hole, into which the roots are dropped and soil pressed around them by using the dibble alongside ; others set the plants on the side of the furrow, trusting to the next fur- row to complete the covering. Nearly all ways succeed if the plant is not set too deeply and the ground is moist at planting and not allowed LAYING OFF FOR STRAWBERRIES 497 to dry out afterwards — providing good, strong plants are used. In buying plants it is often poor economy to buy the cheapest. Staminate and Pistillate. — In associating varieties be sure the pistillate varieties are not set by themselves. Some sorts have perfect flowers and are self- fertilizing; others have only the pistillate element in the bloom and must have the staminate adjacent in another variety. All the varieties largely grown in California have perfect flowers, though some pistillate sorts have been locally approved. Care of the Strawberry Plantation. — Herein lies the secret of success with the strawberry. Neglect has led to disappointment and condemnation of the strawberry, where intelligent care would have rendered it a constant delight. The cheap elements of proper care may be thus enumerated : Retention of moisture very near the surface by careful, shallow cultivation or by mulching, persistent destruction of weeds, and com- pensation for summer evaporation by frequent irrigation. The plants during the bearing season should never be allowed to show any leaf- shriveling from drouth. Frequency of irrigation depends upon local conditions. Irrigation at intervals of four to ten days, according to the soil, are the outlines of prevailing practice. Constant removal of runners from all plants except those it is de- sired to multiply to furnish new plants or to fill the rows. Pinching of runners should always accompany picking or hoeing of weeds, and on the garden bed there can be no excuse for neglect in this respect. The young plants should be faithfully freed from runners to strengthen them up for bearing. Though, as already stated, strawberries may in some locations be had all winter, it is better practice, as a general rule, to lay the plants away for a rest. The market season in the regions supplying the San Francisco market extends from April to December, and fruit is con- tinuously shipped during that period. At the approach of winter in the last-named month, it is usual to go over the beds with a sickle, cutting off the old crops of leaves close to the root crown, carefully cleaning up the plantation for the heavy rains. In most cases it will be a great advantage then to cover over all with a light coat of good manure, which the winter rains will leach down into the soils. The result of the fall clipping and enriching will be an early and strong start of the plant in the spring, and a most abundant fruitage. Duration of the Plantation. — Strawberry plants well cared for and not visited by insect pests, have a long, productive, and profitable life in California. Twelve-year-old plants are sometimes reported as still producing abundantly. It is customary to count from five to eight years as the profitable life of a plant, though some growers replant after two bearing years. The effective duration depends directly upon pre- venting growth of plants and too close matting of the rows. 498 CALIFORNIA FRtJiTS : HOW TO GROW THEM Varieties of the Strawberry. — Though all new varieties are tried by California growers, and quite a number may be considered success- ful either for market or for home use, only a very few may be said to be widely grown. In the Watsonville district, which largely supplies San Francisco, the Melinda, which some growers hold to be indis- tinguishable from the Dollar, is chiefly grown, with Brandywine as a distant second. In the Florin district, near Sacramento, growing ber- ries to ship all through the northern States of the coast and eastward to Colorado, the Dollar is grown almost exclusively, with a few Jessies for extra early. Excelsior is also grown. In the districts near Los Angeles, the Brandywine prevails. It is best for shipping and is held to be sweeter than at the east and next to it, in the commercial fields at the south, is Klondyke. The Arizona Everbearing is declin- ing in popularity although still favored by amateurs for home use. Three old kinds which still hold favor for home use and local sale are the Longworth Prolific, the Sharpless, and the Monarch of the West. The Sharpless is the most widely grown ; the Monarch shows better size and color in southern California and on the Sierra foothills than in the regions adjacent to San Francisco, although it is still grown therein to some extent. The Longworth is an old favorite, early, pro- ductive and hardy, and its style has become very popular in the mar- kets. Wilson's Albany also holds favor. It has been demonstrated that varieties show marked difference in behavior in different soils and situations. In planting for market or home use the planter will be safer in making his largest plantations of the varieties commended by leading growers and well informed nursery- men, and at the same time he should put out experimental plants of other varieties. The most notable work for new varieties in California is being pur- sued by Albert F. Etter, of Briceland, Humboldt county. He is cross- ing cultivated varieties with local wild species and is thus introducing factors not employed hitherto with results which promise to be notable. His first named variety is Rose Ettersburg, which is a cross of a third generation Sharpless x Parry with a novel type of Fragaria Chiloensis. It has remarkable drouth resistance and thrift on poor soils. The blos- soms are often as large as a silver dollar, the berries large, often 1^^ inches in diameter, and bluish pink in color. Single stocks from sets 18 months out measured 22 inches high and over 10 feet in circumference. Mr, Etter's work is described in detail in the Pacific Rural Press for August 22 and 29 and September 5 and 19, 1908, and is very inter- esting. PART SEVEN: NUTS CHAPTER XXXVII NUT GROWING IN CALIFORNIA Two nuts have risen to large commercial importance in California: The English walnut and the almond. Other nuts than these, except peanuts, have never attained great acreage, although several have suc- ceeded and promise to become popular. The commercial production of almonds and walnuts in California during the last thirteen years has been estimated by the trade as fol- lows, in tons of 2,000 lbs. : Year Almonds Walnuts 1895 825 2,310 1896 1,605 4,115 1897 2,375 3.985 1898 450 5,660 1899 2,320 5,530 1900 2,740 5,430 1901 1,560 6.910 1902 3.270 8,520 1903.'. 3,200 5,500 1904 800 7,590 1905 2.125 5,750 1906 900 6.125 1907 750 6,500 1908 2.900 8,500 1909 1.500 8,000 1910 3,300 9.600 1911 1,700 12,500 The walnuts are chiefly grown in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los An- geles and Orange counties in southern California. The almonds are from interior counties in the central regions of the State. Reasons for the extreme fluctuations in production will be suggested by the discussion of each nut which will follow. THE ALMOND The almond has an interesting history in California, but it can be outlined in a few sentences. The importation of the best European va- rieties began very early, and a number of them had been planted in 499 500 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 1853. They proved irregular bearers, though the trees grew thriftily and in some cases showed fruit very soon after planting. The barren almond trees were largely grafted into prunes or made into firewood and the conclusion was reached that to secure regularity and abundance in fruiting, locations for almond orchards must be sought with the ut- most care, and that the secret of success lay in the location. After that local seedlings seemed to demonstrate their value in regular crops, and in characteristics and qualities superior to foreign kinds. Large plant- ing was then undertaken on the ground that the choice of soil and situ- ation, and the selection of trustworthy varieties, are both factors of success, but that possibly more lay in the choice of variety than of lo- cation. This belief led to wide planting in locations now seen to be unfitted by reason of frosts and losses were again encountered. Now it seems to be fully demonstrated that no matter what variety is planted locations for the almond must be selected with great care. It has also been demonstrated that association of varieties promotes pollination and satisfactory bearing. Situations and Soils for the Almond. — Almonds are now doing best on the higher lands in coast valleys, free from fogs and protected from direct winds, but subject to tempered breezes; also at various points in the interior valleys and foothills. The general proposition that low lands in small valleys should be avoided, and bench or hill- side situations preferred, seems to be a safe one. Lands directly upon the coast have not proved satisfactory. In the large interior valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, almonds are successfully grown on flat valley lands but little lifted above sea level and from such plains the chief product comes. Why almonds are safer on the low lands of a great valley than of a small valley is explained by the discussion on page 15. The almond prefers a loose, light, warm soil, and heavy, poorly- drained soils should be avoided. Though they need moisture enough to make good, thrifty growth they will produce good crops on soils that are too light or dry to grow satisfactory peaches, apricots, nec- tarines, cherries, or similar pulpy fruits. The almond is, however, a very deep-rooting tree, and may succeed by reaching deeply for mois- ture rather than by denying itself, as some think. The tree certainly suffers and is barren from drouth in some cases. Propagating, Planting, and Pruning. — The almond is propa- gated from seedlings grown as described in Chapter VIII, and budded as described in Chapter IX. The almond root is preferred, though the peach answers well. The apricot root should be avoided. For planting out, trees in dormant bud are very successful if given proper care. Yearling trees are, on the whole, best and usually those which have made a moderate instead of a very large growth are to be ALMOND HARVESTING 501 preferred. The almond makes a comparatively large tree and should have plenty of room — not less than twenty-four feet apart (though some plantations are made at twenty feet), and thirty feet is better. Old almond trees are readily worked over to other varieties by grafting and by budding into new shoots forced out by cutting off large branches. Methods with the peach described on page 282 are applicable to the almond. The pruning of the almond is very simple. The tree should be headed low and pruned during the first three years, as described in Chapter XII, to secure a shapely, strong tree. After the third year little pruning is required except to thin out objectionable branches by winter pruning. There is danger of allowing the trees to become too dense. Shortening in, as practiced with the peach, is sometimes pro- posed for the almond, for the thrift of the tree and the size of the nut, but growers have not had courage enough to assume the increased cost of production which would be involved. The cultivation of the almond orchard is the same as commended for other fruit trees, and as the trees are often planted in naturally dry soils, the greater care in cultivation is needed to retain sufficient moisture to give good size to the nuts. In certain locations, of course, irrigation will be necessary, but usually a light rainfall will answer if good cultivation is given. Gathering, Hulling, and Bleaching. — Almonds are gathered by spreading canvas under the tree and shaking the branches separately ; the few nuts remaining can be displaced by striking with a light stick. The gathering should be done after the hulls have burst open, but should not be delayed until the nuts are badly discolored. Discoloration of the nut depends upon local atmospheric conditions and is worst in regions subject to moist winds or fogs from the ocean, and they often extend considerable distances into the interior valleys. On the dry pla- teaux adjacent to the Mojave Desert perfectly bright almonds are pro- duced naturally, but at these elevations frost injuries are frequent and notable. Hulling is done with machines devised for that purpose. There are several in use and recently great capacity and cheapness of opera- tion have been attained. For the greater part of the almond product bleaching is appar- ently demanded by market requirements. Sulphur should not be ap- plied until the nut is thoroughly dry, or else the fumes will penetrate it, and not only spoil its flavor, but will destroy its germinating power. The nuts are dried by exposure to the sun on platforms or trays, and in dewy places should be covered during the night. After being well dried, sprinkle the nuts sufficiently to moisten the shell surface only and apply sulphur fumes. Various home-made contrivances are used for bleaching, such as piling up several of the slat-bottom trays one 502 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Upon another, placing around them sides made of boards so as to hook together at the corners, cover the top with a damp canvas, and burn the sulphur in a hole in the ground below the bottom tray. Webster Treat, formerly a large grower of almonds, describes his sulphuring-house for almonds : My bleaching house is about twenty-five feet by eight feet, and I generally put in about four thousand pounds of almonds and expose them to sulphur fumes for three or four hours. The house is boarded with tongue and groove flooring, inside and out, and roofed with well-laid shingles, and has a flue about two feet high on the apex, to help draft the sulphur smoke up. The floor is of one-by- three-inch stuff, set up edgewise, three-eighths of an inch apart, or just wide enough to admit the fumes from the sulphur burning below, and narrow enough to prevent the nuts from falling through. The floor is about two and one-half feet above the ground, and the lower space is boarded up with tongue and groove also and fitted with small doors every five feet, so that the sulphur pans can be placed underneath the floor. Sulphur fumes are applied until the nuts are of a light yellowish color ; the proper shade is to be learned by securing approved samples from some trustworthy dealer. The following explicit account of handling almonds on a large scale is by Mr. J. P. Dargitz, of Acampo, San Joaquin county : "When the hulls on the nuts are loose from the shell, as will be in- dicated by their bursting open, it is time to begin gathering if you wish to hull them. If they get too dry you will have to wet them before hulling or you will break the shells. If you wish to shell them then, the drier they get the better. It will not pay to begin until the nuts about the crotches of the trees are ready and they will be the last to ripen. When they are all ready you can get all at one gathering. Have some sheets made of heavy unbleached sheeting or light duck or sail cloth. Mine for large trees are 15x30 feet, handled by two men to a sheet and two sheets to a tree. Spread the sheets under the tree, one on each side, lapping the edges where they join. Then the men take wil- low or bamboo poles and by jarring the limbs cause the nuts to fall on the sheets. Always strike the limb sideways, for if you strike a glancing blow down the limb, you will reduce next year's crop. The object is to get the huts and disturb the foliage as little as possible. Of course, you will get some nuts and twigs with the leaves anyway. When the nuts are all off the tree, the men toss their poles to the next tree and then gather up the sheets, one man at each end of each sheet and, lifting them, carry them to the next tree where the process is re- peated. When enough nuts are in sheets to fill several lug boxes, the boxes are placed on the ground side by side, and the sheets are emp- tied of their burden. These boxes are then stacked up so as to be easily seen, and the teamster gathers them up and hauls them into the shed where they are run through the huller and then placed in the hoppers ready for the hand sorting. After sorting they are placed on trays or board platforms in the dry-yard to cure. They should be POLLINIZING THE ALMOND 503 cured until the kernel will break without bending. Then they are ready for bleaching; but be sure they are thoroughly cured before bleaching or the kernel will absorb the sulphur and be spoiled. When properly cured, any means may be employed which will thoroughly dampen the shell but not penetrate to the kernel and then be sub- jected to the fumes of burning sulphur for a period of 30 minutes to one or two hours, owing to the variety and condition of the nut. A yellowish-white color of the shell is demanded by the trade. Do not over-sulphur. When sufficiently bleached they are removed and placed in the sun for a few hours to dry, and then sacked up ready for the market. My present plan of bleaching, given me by Mr. Reed, of Suisun, is as follows : When cured we place nuts about one inch thick on fruit trays and run them into a division of the sulphur house which has been connected with a steam boiler (five horse-power), and low pressure steam (20 pounds), is turned into the house for a half or three-quarters of an hour. Then they are removed and quickly run in another division which has a sulphur charge ready fired and bleached from 40 minutes to an hour, when they are removed and immediately sacked. The same help will bleach twice as many in a day with steam as without it. Be careful not to use high pressure steam or you will cook the nuts." Pollination and Late Blooming. — The advantage of cross pol- lination lictwccn different varieties and the surer bearing of late bloom- ing varieties are related subjects which are worthy of close attention. Mr. J. P. Dargitz, whose harvesting method has just been given, has pointed out that, according to his observation as a rule all the paper- shells are deficient in pollen, and will not bear well if planted alone and he concludes that the only two which warrant planting in his section are the Nonpareil and the Ne Plus Ultra. The latter is not a very good nut, and needs much more moisture than the other. The Nonpa- reil will give good results if planted with some other variety as pol- lenizer. It is one of the very best of nuts and is well worth planting. Mr. Dargitz regards the Texas Prolific the very best pollinizer, and when planted in alternate double rows with the Nonpareil will cause it to set fruit freely in spite of the fact that the Nonpareil begins blooming two weeks earlier than the Texas but still has bloom to catch the Texas pollen when it is ready. This late blooming of the Texas places it in the same class for surety with Drake's Seedling. Both nuts are medium soft shell and small but are being largely chosen because of sure bearing and large product. As to the relative return per sack, Mr. Dargitz says : The Nonpareil at 14 cents per pound, the Drake Seedling at 11 cents per pound, and the Texas Prolific at 10 cents per pound, will each bring about $10.50 per standard sack, the IXL at 13 cents per pound about $9 per sack, and the Ne Plug Ultra at 12 cents per pound about $8.50 per sack. 504 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Varieties of the Almond. — Almonds should bear well every year, hull easily, have clean, thin, soft shells, and a smooth, bright, and plump kernel. Almonds with long, single kernels are preferred in general to those which have double ones. These are the characters which ruled in the selection of new varieties by the pioneer propagator of new almonds, A. T. Hatch, formerly of Suisun. In 1878 Mr. Hatch planted out about two thousand five hundred seedling almond trees grown from the bitter almond seed. He afterward budded all the seed- lings but about three hundred which were left to bearing age unbudded. The fruit of these seedlings was of all degrees of excellence. A few of the best of them were selected for propagation and naming, and they constitute the chief part of the acreage which is now bearing almonds, but other late bloomers and surer bearers are being preferred in cur- rent planting. Excellent seedling almonds have also been produced by other growers. The following list includes the sorts most widely grown : IXL. — Tree a sturdy, rather upright grower, with large leaves; nuts large with, as a rule, single kernels ; hulls easily, no machine being needed, nor is any bleaching necessary ; shell soft, but perfect ; largely discarded for shy bearing, but desirable in some places. Ne Plus Ultra. — Large and very long in shape; heavy and regular bearer; soft shell ; hull free. Nonpareil. — First called Extra. Of a weeping style of growth ; smaller foli- age than the IXL, but still forms a beautiful tree. An extraordinarily heavy and regular bearer, with very thin shell, of the Paper Shell t3'pe. Ripens early and can be gathered before other varieties are ready. Lewelling's Proliftc. — Originated with the late Mr. John Lewelling; "tree a great bearer ; of drooping habit ; nut large and good ; soft shell ; hull free." — Leonard Coates. Harriott's Seedling (or Commercial). — From Visalia, where it is a surer crop- per than elsewhere; shell softer than the Languedoc; nut long, of peculiar shape, quite large; kernel sweet. King's Soft 5/!c//.— Originated in San Jose; shell very thin and soft; regular and abundant bearer. Princess. — The finest of the Paper Shell class; long, oval, kernel large, white and sweet. Languedoc. — Nut large; shell thin; kernel sweet; condemned for irregular bearing. Paper Shell. — Medium size ; shell very tender, easily broken between the finger and thumb ; kernel large, white and sweet. Drake's Seedling. — Originated with Mr. Drake, of Suisun, of the Languedoc class ; very prolific, and a regular, abundant bearer. A late blooming variety. Golden State. — Originated by Webster Treat. A large soft-shell, somewhat longer than the Languedoc, with a full, smooth-skinned meat; parts from the hull readily. An early variety, but in less favor than formerly. Peerless. — Resembling IXL. Popular in Yolo county for regular and heavy bearing. Texas Prolific. — Brought from Texas by Robert Williamson, of W. R. Strong & Co., of Sacramento, about 1891, as a seedling originated at Dallas, and the only almond which would bear there. Planted at Acampo by Robert Adams, THE CHESTNUT 505 who had charge of the company's nurseries at that place ; fully discussed by J. P. Dargitz, of Acampo, and described by the introducer as resembling Lan- guedoc in tree and nut, but with softer shell, which is filled with very sweet ker- nel. Blooms two weeks later than Drake. Mr. Dargitz reports fifteen years without failure to bear and usually prolific. Jordan Almond. — This long, hard-shelled almond, notable because of its long, slim kernel for "salted almonds" and imported at high cost for that purpose, has been introduced both through government distribution and private enterprise, notably that of the late John Rock, of the California Nursery Co., of Niles. Too little has yet been seen to determine the value of the variety in local production. THE CHESTNUT The chestnut is not yet produced in large amount in Cahfornia, and certain quantities of the nuts are annually imported, the American, Italian, or Spanish and Japanese all being- found in the San Francisco markets. Of chestnuts grown in California, the Italian predominates, and the Japanese is more common than the American, which is slow of growth and late in fruiting, as compared with the other kinds. Judg- ing the success of the Italian, it may be said that a large area of Cali- fornia is well suited for the growth of the chestnut, as there are bear- ing trees in nearly all parts of tlie State. The chestnut succeeds on heavy, clayey soil, even if it be quite rocky. Chestnut trees are readily grown from the seed, and thus grown come into bearing from six to eight years, though the Japanese some- times bear sooner. The growth of chestnuts from the seed is described in Chapter VIII. In growing from seed of the improved varieties, there is a tendency toward reversion, and budding and grafting may be resorted to ; and can be done by the methods described in the chap- ter on the fig. The chestnut can also be grafted with the ordinary cleft graft. Buds or scions should be taken from trees which are fruiting satisfactorily, and in this way seedlings which have a tendency to bear empty burs can be turned to good account. Chestnuts can be grown in the nursery until several years old, providing they are lifted at the end of the first year, the tap-root cut off, and the trees reset, giving them rather more room than during their first year's growth. In permanent plantings the trees should have plenty of room, as they ultimately attain great size. Trees at Grass Valley, Nevada county, when about twenty years old, fifteen inches in diameter of trunk, and forty feet high, and reported to bear a barrel of nuts to the tree regu- larly. Felix Gillet of Nevada City, has for many years made a speci- alty of propagating a large collection of the improved French varieties of the chestnut, known as Marrons, which were distributed to some ex- tent. The chestnut chiefly grown is the Italian but it has not attained any considerable product as yet. The chestnut, aside from its desira- bility as an orchard tree, can be commended as a tree for hillsides or a shade tree for waysides or pastures, and should be more widely planted in California. The chief product is in the foothill district east of the San Joaquin valley. 506 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW TMEM THE FILBERT The best English cob-nuts have been quite widely tried in Califor- nia without successful results. Improved Spanish and French va- rieties of the filbert were early introduced by Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, and have been favorably reported by him as to growth and bear- ing. A few other growers in foothill situations have reported success, but as a rule disappointment has attended ventures with the filbert. The most favorable regions for farther experiment are apparently the north slopes of the Coast Range, and other cooler and moister situa- tions, as well as at an elevation on the Sierra foothills where Mr. Gil- let found them satisfactory. THE PEANUT During the last few years the peanut product of California has notably increased, and the crop is a popular one in some parts of the San Joaquin Valley and southern California. The nuts are consid- erably grown between the rows in young orchards and vineyards, as well as upon ground wholly given to them. The following explicit directions are given by R. M. Hargrave, a grower in Orange County. Some slight modifications in practice may be needed, according to lo- cality, as, for example, in time of planting, which is usually a little earlier than the date given : Planting. — The best time to plant peanuts is about the middle of May, say, 10th to 15th, in rows about three to four feet apart and sixteen to twenty inches the other way, and not cover too deep — three to four inches. Peanuts planted the middle of May ripen evenly and are of uniform size. Very early peanuts ripen unevenly, and the first nuts that set on get so ripe they turn to a pink color, and if the land is a little sandy the stems pet soft, lose their strength, and will not lift the nuts from the ground. It takes about thirty pounds of the California or White Virginia, and fifty pounds of the Tennessee Reds to plant an acre. Tennessee peanuts can be planted much closer in the rows. The California peanut is the best to plant, as it yields three or four times as much as the Tennessee Reds do, and has more ready sale. The Quality of Land. — Peanuts require a rich sandy soil loam that is known as upland. Damp land gives the nuts a straw color, and they are not as good prob- ably as those raised on higher land. They require no irrigation, except on very sandy land, where some have found it profitable ; but, as a usual thing, when irri- gated the ground is liable to get hard, making the nuts crooked, ill-shaped, and many times coloring them. Cultivation. — Peanuts should be cultivated about the same as corn, not allow- ing any weeds to grow in them, keeping the "-round loose and mellow, and when the spikes begin to form, they should not be disturbed. If they are, it causes the nuts to blight or not fill out. The blooms do not require to be covered. Harvesting. — Peanuts should be harvested when ripe, and not allowed to stand too long, in hopes that the last ones set out will fill out and ripen, as you lose more than you gain. The little ones spoil the sale of the crop, and many are left in the ground that get over-ripe. Peanuts should be cut or plowed out and thrown into windrows, nuts down, and let lie a week or ten days, and then sacked, as the best nuts are cured in that way, and they do not mold so badly, and cure fEANUT AND PECAN 507 a better color. They must not be allowed to ^et wet. The tops are good feed if stored away in a shed for winter use. All kinds of stock like them, and small nuts can be left on the vines. They make the best chicken feed. An average yield is about twenty-five to thirty sacks to the acre, forty pounds to a sack, but many have raised fifty sacks, with extra care and good land well adapted to peanuts. The price for picking is from 30 to 3Sc per grain sack holding from 40 to 45 pounds. The nuts are cleaned in revolving drums, and followed with a grain fanning mill which blows out the light ones. THE PECAN The pecan, by rapid Q^rowth, early fruiting, and general thrift, seems to be the member of the hickory family best fitted for California conditions. A tree grown from a nut planted by J. R. Wolfskill, on Putah Creek, in 1878, was, when twenty-five years old, over fifty feet high, with a trunk twelve inches in diameter, growing luxuriantly and bearing freely. Still older trees, also very satisfactory in growth and bearings are to be seen at Chico and Visalia. The pecan, though grown for thirty years by different parties around the bay of San Francisco, either does not bear or keeps the nuts hanging on until sometimes they sprout on the tree. The wider extremes in temperature or in humidity in the interior seem to teach the tree better habits of growth, and rest and moist lowlands in the great valleys seem best for pecan planting. As yet, California has no marketable product of pecans but the total number of trees in the State is insignificant. Pecan trees grow readily from the nuts if these are fresh. Plant- ers should secure nuts of selected varieties (for there is a great differ- ence in size and quality) direct from growers in the southern states, and plant as soon as received, in the early winter, or if conditions are not favorable for planting, the nuts should be stored as described in Chapter VIII. Nuts planted in good nursery ground in rows as there suggested, and covered about two inches or a little deeper in dry, loose soil, and then mulched to retain moisture, will germinate freely. The trees should be transplanted to permanent place at the end of the first year and then usually the tap-root can be retained, as some growers deem very desirable ; if the trees are to be put in permanent place later they should be transplanted in the nursery and the tap-root cut off. The nuts can, of course, be planted at once in permanent place if one will take the extra trouble necessary to properly care for them. THE PISTACHIO The pistachio nut (Pistachia vera) was introduced a number of years ago but no results have been reported. The species upon its own root makes a low shrub and is slow of growth. We have also imported the Pistachia terehinthus, from which is derived the "chio 508 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM turpentine," the stock the true pistachio is grafted upon in Europe and which is growing thriftily at several points in the State. The pistachio needs more time to declare its California career. THE ENGLISH OR PERSIAN WALNUT The nut which is signified in California when the term walnut is used, is the English walnut or Madeira nut (Juglans regia) and its many varieties. This tree makes a grand growth in California. Speci- mens are seen here and there, which, at about twenty years of age, are from fifty to sixty feet in height, with a spread of branches of forty to sixty feet, and in some cases bearing four to eight hundred pounds of nuts. Much larger and older trees can be found in the coast and interior valleys of central California where the nut was first planted, although, as has already been stated, the nut has thus far been produced in large quantities only in regions adjacent to the coast in southern California. The equable temperature and moisture of the southern coast seems to specially favor the nut, but it must not be inferred that success can only be attained in such situations. A num- ber of French varieties, which have been widely enough distributed to test their growth, have been found to thrive in many situations where the old Los Angeles variety is a failure, and there is at present quite a disposition to larger plantings of the walnut in all California val- leys, either as a sole occupant of the land or as border trees around fruit orchards. At the South the walnut area has largely increased in those situations where the tree shows most satisfactory bearing quali- ties, and newer varieties of California origin, like the Improved Soft Shell, constitute most of the present area. In all untried places, or in all places where the old Los Angeles Walnut has failed, trial should be made of the hardy French varieties, which will be described farther on. Recently considerable planting has been done in the coast and in- terior valleys and foothills of central California upon the quite fully demonstrated success of these varieties. It is, however, very desirable to secure satisfactory depth and retentiveness, without excess of water, in the soil. The walnut abhors drouth as well as standing water. Soils for the Walnut. — The walnut makes most rapid growth upon a deep, rich, moist, loamy soil, and shows its appreciation of good things of the earth as do other fruit trees, and yet it attains satisfactory size and bearing in less favorable situations. Thriving trees can be found in the clays and decomposed granite soils of the foothills, as well as in the valley silts and loams. Adequate moisture must, however, be had, and the walnut cannot be commended for dry, neglected places nor for soils which overlie leachy subsoils described on page 36. ROOTS FOR THE ENGLISH WALNUT 509 Propagation. — The walnut tree grows readily from nuts treated as described in Chapter VIII. In the main the use of seedlings has hith- erto prevailed, and the nut has been looked upon as coming sufficiently true from seed. Recently, however, this has changed rapidly, and grafting to secure a high, uniform grade and to secure fruitfulness in spite of the blight is commanding wide attention. Excellent results have been obtained by using the California black as a stock for the English walnut, and in that case budding or grafting must be resorted to. Many instances of the success of the English walnut on our native stock might be cited, but the most notable tree known to the writer is to be seen on the grounds of John R. Wolfskill, on Putah Creek, in Solano County. He put in a bud in 1875 and the tree has reached immense size and large product. Since then many large native black walnuts have been top-grafted with the English walnut with notable success, not only in orchards, but along highways where the native black walnut has been planted for shade and orna- ment. Mr. F. S. Leib, of San Jose, who has given much attention to stocks for the English walnut, believes that the cross of the California black and the Eastern black walnuts and the California black walnut straight afford the best seedlings for roots for the English walnut, but advises close selection to secure the best growth. This is his prescription: "The Royal hybrid (every cross between the native Eastern black walnut and the native California black walnut is called a Royal hybrid), is, in my opinion, the most magnificent growing tree in the walnut line, and I believe that in the future some Royal hybrids can, by persistent selection, be sufficiently fixed to furnish the strongest possible roots of substantial unifonnity on which to graft. At present I know of only one tree, picked out from many hundreds, which is sufficiently fixed to grow a fair percentage of seedlings equal to itself. Only from one to two per cent of the seedlings of most Royal hybrids is equal to the parent, and the percentage of even the best straight California is only from fifteen to twenty per cent, and the poorest give less than one per cent. At present, we, by a system of sprouting, are able to eliminate four-fifths of the weakest growing nuts, and we plant the remaining fifth in the nursery. Twenty-five per cent of such remaining nuts from our selected trees of Royal hybrid blood, and fifteen to twenty per cent from our selected California trees, grow three to four feet in the first year. The three to four foot seedlings in the nursery are grafted when one year old, and the remaining smaller trees are left for another year ; and for this reason a small per cent make a disproportionately large growth of root compared to its moderate top the first year, and make an immense growth of top the second year. 510 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Eleven Nuts on Two-Year Grafts on Three- Year California Root. All Paradox hybrids (English walnuts crossed with California black), make a large root and but a moderate top the first year, as do many seedlings from the Royal hybrid, and as do very, very few from the straight California. These few trees, which make good the second year, three or four per cent, possibly, of the trees left to grow another year in the nursery, are grafted at the end of the second year, and the balance thrown away as unworthy to be grafted and given a chance in orchard form ; for a tree which is to have in the orchard from six- teen hundred to thirty-six hundred square feet can not be too good, either as to root or top. BUDDING WALNUTS 511 Budding the Walnut. — In working on the native Cahfornia seedhng stocks, Mr. Clowes, of Stockton, buds by the common method, removing the wood from the inside of the plate of bark, as advised for the orange. Twig buds as used with the oHve are also successful, and Four months' growth of Walnut Grafts — J. B. Neff, Anaheim. ring budding works well on shoots of a year's growth, which have at least attained the thickness of the middle finger. Mr. Gillet advises that the buds should be set at the base of these shoots where the wood is perfectly round. The bandage should pass above and below the bud so that the bark under it may be pressed down close upon the stock, and this is more surely gained by shaving off the base of the leaf stem, below the bud, about to the point where it would separate when the leaf naturally falls off. Mr. A. W. Keith, of Selma, has hit upon a very interesting method of preparing walnut buds. In taking a fresh bud from the new growth of the walnut he found the large leaf stem a serious impediment in 512 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Yearling seedling Black Walnuts grown on moist, subirrigated land. firmly placing a shield bud upon the cambium of the stock and binding it there. Shaving it away with a knife left too much exposed tissue. If the leaf stem would drop ofif as it does when mature and leave a healed-over scar, the result would be a flat surface with only the bud protruding, and this could be easily bound in place so as to exclude the air. He tried cutting oil the compound leaf, leaving a stub of an inch or so, and was delighted to find that a stub thus left became dry and BUDDING WALNUTS 513 parted from the stem just as a mature leaf does in the autumn. By cutting off the leaves in this way about August 15, the stubs part read- ily before September 1, and then he takes off clean, flat buds and uses them just as he does in budding the peach, except that he leaves no wood behind the bud. He takes rather a large shield and puts it un- der the bark of the stock through a "T" cut, then wraps well with a strip of cheese cloth and waxes over the cloth with ordinary grafting wax. The wrapping is applied so as to cover most of the bark slit, every- thing beyond being waxed over. The bud is then allowed to remain dormant until the following spring. Mr. Pennington of Vacaville has been very successful in budding by cutting buds in the regular shield form, about 1^ inches long, cut from branches 5^ to ^ inch in diameter, so as to get wide buds with but little wood left in them. He also prefers to have stocks large, and consid- ers a stock \y2 inches in diameter not too large. He uses ordinary bud- ding twine for tying, but does not use wax to cover the incisions. He says it is best to put off budding as late as it is possible to get a good flow of sap, as then the weather is likely to be cooler, which is an im- portant factor, and the growing season is about finished, which will al- low the twine to be left in place all winter, which he considers advis- able. Buds are more apt to succeed when pushed upward from the cross- cut than downward from it. The cuts would then be an inverted "T." No preparation of the budding wood is made, except that mature buds are taken. About 90 per cent of the buds placed are said to grow. Grafting the Walnut. — Grafting into black walnut seedling root can also be well done by a triangular cut into the edge of the root stump, as described for grafting into grape-vine stumps in Chapter XXVI. In the case of the walnut, close binding with a wax band is desirable. Large walnut trees can be worked over either by budding or graft- ing. If by budding, the large limbs are cut back in the winter, and in autumn following, buds are put in, as just described, on as many of the new shoots as may be desired. In grafting, the common cleft graft is used with a degree of suc- cess particularly when the split is not made through the pitch, but at one side ; the scion should be whittled so as to show as little pith as pos- sible. This is done by cutting down to a point at one side and not in the center of the scion. Care should be taken to cover all exposed surfaces. Grafting over is desirable either for substituting a better variety of English walnut, or for working over a California black walnut into an English variety, and as much attention is now being paid to blight re- sistant, interest is sharpened in grafting methods. Mr. J. B. Neff, of Anaheim, who has looked into the subject deeply and worked over many old trees, gives the following practical suggestions on this work : 514 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM If the trees are from three to five inches in diameter they may be cut off at about four feet above the ground and below the branches, then four or five scions may be placed in one stock, or three or four of the branches may be cut back to v.ithin 10 to 24 inches of the trunk and two to three scions placed in each. All the other branches should be removed from the trunk. Walnut grafting by modified cleft graft. Old trees of from 12 to 20 years should have the branches cut at places where thev are from three to six inches in diameter, and from five to eight stubs left, which will be from three to six feet in length and should have as many as six scions in the large stubs, the other branches being removed before the scions are put in place. In sawing large branches it is necessary to make two cuts, the first beine some distance above or outside the final cut, to prevent splitting the stub, or the trunk, when the severed part falls. The scions should always be of solid, mature wood, that is, with as small pith as can be had readily, and must have good living buds. Each scion should be about one-quarter inch in diameter and have at least two buds. The growth having buds close together is best, as shorter scions can be used. To receive the scions use a heavy butcher knife and mallet to split the stubs. placing the knife across the stub as if a chin one-half to five-eighths-inch tliick was to be taken off. Then depress the handle of the knife to an angle of 30 to 45 degrees and split the edge down to 2^ to 3 inches, allowing the knife to reach the farther side of the stub, but not making the split entirely across the stub. Open the cleft with an iron wedge ^ to 5^-inch wide and thickest on one edge, placing the thickest edge toward the outside. Trim the cleft in the stub with a sharp knife so it will be smooth. Then cut the scion so as to fit perfectly and place it so the inner bark (the cambium layer) of both will be on the same line, or at least will cross twice, then remove the wedge and put hot wax over all the cuts on both stock and scion at once. GRAFTING WALNUTS 515 The scions should be examined frequently and any excessive flow of sap wiped off, and the stub re-covered with wax as soon as dry. Excessive flow of sap for several weeks will cause the loss of the scions, as the callus can not form in water. This may be controlled bv boring one-fourth inch holes in the body of the tree near the ground. Three or four holes four inches deep will be suffi- cient to control the flow of the largest trees. No damage is done to the body of the tree, as the holes soon grow over. The last two wax formulas on page 86 are largely used in walnut grafting. For grafting in the stems of seedlings or in the smaller branches of young trees a side graft as described on page 87 is suc- cessfully used as are also several styles of cleft grafting. One which is Side graft made with a saw-cut. Enlargement can be prevented by slitting the bark below it. used by Mr. R. Wiltz and others at San Jose consist in splitting a short stub of a small branch which has been cut about four inches from its attachment to a larger branch of stem. In this case the split can only extend to the closely knit wood in the crotch and the scion is pushed down strongly to the bottom of such a split and it is held tightly. The two pieces of the deep split are not cut away but are allowed to protect the short scion which is between them and if buds start on these pieces they are allowed to grow a little to keep the stock from dying back. When the scion starts well they are removed. A method of side grafting (so called because the stock is not cut across but a cleft made in the side of it) has been very successfully practiced by Mr. Weinshank, of Whittier, both with nursery seedlings and on branches of large trees. His work has shown eighty to ninety per cent successfuHn the nursery and even more on branches of large trees. The following is a condensed description of the method : 516 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM The scion is prepared as for a whip graft (page 88), cutting a cross obhquely and making another cut right straight down with the grain in the scion. Then, instead of cutting the stock completely across like the scion, just simply make a little cut on the side. Do not cut into the pith of the wood at all. Then, place the two together by pushing the tongue of the scion (made by the cut on its shorter side) into the lip cut in the stock ; tie with a string, and wax over. The same method on larger trees is performed exactly in the same way, except that the lip of course on the larger limbs, which are three or four inches through, would be considerably larger, and the scion instead of being placed directly in the middle of the lip, or in the center, would be placed on the side so as to have the cambium of the scion connecting with the cambium on the stock at least on one side. Three or four, or sometimes five scions are put on a large limb, and in most cases three or four Split Grafting the Walnut by Mr. Geo. Payne, of Santa Clara. PLANTING THE WALNUT 517 scions would grow, x^fter the scion has reached a certain stage of growth, this string will commence to bind, and must be cut down right over where the scion is. The wax on either side will tend to hold the string, but as the wood naturally grows, the strings will draw apart, and it will not bind it as it would if the string was not cut. Planting Walnut Orchards. — There is much difiference in prac- tice in planting out walnut trees in permanent place. Some advocate the use of trees two or three years from the seed, getting as much of One-year Franquette Graft on one-year Selected Hybrid Root. the tap-root as possible ; others allow the tree to remain in nursery until it throws out laterals, which is usually done the fourth or fifth year. Two-year-old trees are generally preferred, but walnut trees of many times that age can be successfully transplanted if the work is carefully done. Walnut trees are usually set forty feet in squares, though some give the large-growing varieties fifty feet. Planting in hexagonals at forty-five feet distance gives very satisfactory results. 518 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM A thrifty young English Walnut. Some growers plant in squares at thirty feet distance, intending to re- move alternate trees as they crowd each other, first cutting back, for a time, the trees which are finally to be removed. Intercultures with the Walnuts. — In the southern walnut regions it is common to grow beans, squashes, etc., between the rows of trees until the latter reach' bearing age ; root crops which attract go- phers should be avoided. Inter-planting of smaller, early-fruiting trees is also practiced to a considerable extent. Pruning the Walnut. — The walnut is usually headed higher than ordinary orchard trees, but preference is now given to starting the first branch at about four feet from the ground instead of six feet as form- erly. All the pruning needed is in shaping the tree as described for the fig. Upward trend of the branches should be secured, sometimes by cutting out the shoots which grow downward, sometimes by tying them up for a time to the central stem until they are stiff enough to re- tain this position. Placing branches on the stem according to the prin- ciples advanced in Chapter XII, should be borne in mind. The stem THE WHITE SAPOTA 519 should be protected from sunburn until the foliage accomplishes this. Whenever shoots are killed back by sunburn or frost, they should be cut off cleanly below the black mark which shows how far the injury has extended. If this is done, the die-back down the branch is usually prevented. Bloom and Bearing of the Walnut.— ^The walnut has its stam- inate and pistillate blooms separate, but both occur on the same tree. Successful fruiting depends upon the appearance of these two forms of bloom, without too great interval of time, and although there seems to be quite a retention of vitality, the lack of bearing of some varieties has been found to be due to the fact that the catkins disappear too long before the pistillate bloom was sufficiently developed to receive the pollen. The bearing age of the walnut depends upon the variety. Some of the French varieties are very precocious and have borne fruit in nurs- ery row at two and three years old, but the pistillate blooms were then fertilized from catkins growing on older trees. The practical bearing age of the seedling English walnut in this State may be rated at six to eight years, according to the variety. Trees grafted with scions from bearing trees fruit much sooner. Harvesting Walnuts. — Gathering walnuts is done in different ways ; some gather them from the ground at intervals during the months of September and October; others use poles and clean the trees at one operation; some go over the ground three times; first, picking up what have fallen ; second, picking up what have fallen and striking the limbs lightly to dislodge others which are ripest; third, picking up again and then knocktng off all that remain on the trees. In this way gathering lasts a month or six weeks. Walnuts, after gathering, are usually treated as described by F. E. Kellogg, of Santa Barbara County: As fast as gathered tlie nuts are placed in slat-bottomed trays, 6x3 feet, by six inches deep, about fifty pounds in a tray, being thoroughly shaken up once or twice a day. If the weather is very hot, they should be dried in the shade. When the nuts are dry they are passed through an inclined revolving grader, making about twelve revolutions per minute, having a one-inch mesh wire screen, and all that fall through this are called "seconds." The lower end of the grader dips into a vat of water, thoroughly wetting the nuts and washing them to a certain extent — entirely sufficient for paper shells and soft shells, and usually enough for hard shells. A system of buckets attached to the drum of the grader then elevates the nuts to a chute, which discharges them into a large box 4x4x8 feet hieh. with an inclined slat bottom two and one-half feet above the ground. While in this box they are subjected to the fumes of sulphur for twenty to thirty minutes for the purpose of improving the color. The second grade walnuts are also put through the washing and sulphuring process. The nuts are next drawn off from the bleachers into the drying trays, piled one on top of the other, to prevent the sun from shining directly on the nuts, and remain there for ten or twelve hours, until the nuts are thoroughly dried of. The trays are then emp- tied into a hopper, from which the nuts are drawn off into bags containing something over one hundred pounds each ; the bags are securely sewed up and stamped with the producer's brand, and the nuts are ready for shipment. 520 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Col. A. S. Heath, of Carpinteria, uses a moist bleach and a drier afterward, as follows : When the nuts leave the rotary washer they are entirely free of hulls and clean. They are taken to the bleaching boxes, and here subjected to the very minimum amount of sulphur necessary, and cold steam, being in the bleachers about one hour. From the bleachers they are taken to the steam drier. In the drier are 100 drawers, each capable of holding 40 to 50 pounds of walnuts. These drawers have wire bottoms to allow the heat to pass through them. In the basement beneath the drier Mr. Heath has some modern furnaces constructed, and during the course of the drying about 130 degrees of heat is maintained. The nuts are kept under this heat for eight hours. During the drying it is possi- ble to watch the progress by pulling out drawers for inspection. Dipping Instead of Sulphuring. — Sulphuring often injures the flavor of the kernel and dipping is coming into wide use. The follow- ing formula has been furnished to growers by the University Experi- ment Station : Six pounds of bleaching powder (also called chloride of lime), twelve pounds sal-soda, fifty gallons of water. Dissolve the bleaching powder in about four gallons of water, stirring till dissolved. Dissolve the sal-soda in about four gallons of water. Add one solution to the other and stir well ; let the carbonate of lime settle to the bottom and draw off the clear liquor and add water to make a total of fifty gallons. Put the nuts in large dripping box or lath crate, im- merse in the fluid, and then add one and one-fourth pounds of fifty per cent sul- phuric acid and agitate by raising and lowering the dipping box. The bleach should be reached in five to ten seconds, and the nuts are then washed in clear water and put out to dry. Of course to employ this process cheaply, specially contrived dipping appliances are used. The same liquor can be used with new batches of nuts so long as the proper effect is produced, and small additions of acid will prolong the efficiency of the liquor. Since the foregoing method was published, certain California courts have decided that the process is co-^iered by a patent previously issued and controlled by the Anderson-Barngrover Co., of San Jose, who demand a royalty for its use. The walnut growers employed Prof. Stabler of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, to devise a new process in the public interest. His early results indicate that by running an electric current through a four per cent solution of common salt (four pounds of salt to one hundred pounds of water) the chlorine is set free from the soda and becomes available for bleach- ing. It is possible also that the electric current may exert bleaching action of its own. Varieties of the Walnut. — Of walnuts of California origin there are two classes, which are called "hard" and "soft" shell, but the ac- cepted commercial product is largely composed of the soft-shell class. Several varieties of French walnuts are now being widely distributed An attempt will be made to give some of the distinctive points of each variety mentioned : Common English Walnut; Los Angeles Nut. etc. — This is the ordinary Eng- lish walnut of commerce. It was planted at an early day in Los Angeles county, but is now largely replaced by the Improved Soft Shell. VARIETIES OF ENGLISH WALNUTS 521 Santa Barbara Soft Shell: Sexton's Soft Shell. — Originated by Joseph Sex- ton, who gives this account of its origin and characteristics: "The winter of 1867 I bought in San Francisco a large sack of English walnuts. I raised about one thousand trees that season, and planted two hundred of them the following spring, in orchard form, at Goleta. Sixty of them proved to be the soft-shell variety. The soft shell is a little later in starting in the spring than the com- mon nut, and blooms about ten days later. It commences to fruit at six years old from the seed, and some have been known to fruit as young as the fourth year. The hard shell commences to fruit about the ninth year, and bears full crops alternate years. The soft shell is not as strong a grower as the other walnut; it being so prolific, retards its growth. It is a superior nut; the kernel is white. The shell is thin, rendering them easily broken by the hand, at the same time strong enough to bear transportation to any part of the United States." Ford's Imt^roved Soft Shell. — G. W. Ford, of Santa Ana, propagated an "Im- proved Soft Shell," gained by selection from the variety of Joseph Sexton, which has been largely planted. Santa Rosa. — A seedling by Luther Burbank, which has been distributed quite widely ; but by variation in its seedling, its character is somewhat ill-de- fined and the name is applied to several types, some of which are less desirable than the one receiving the name. Proeparturiens. — Introduced in California in 1871, by the late Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, and afterward by other parties, and widely distributed. Its chief characteristic, as its name indicates, is early bearing. It blooms from two to four weeks later than the common Los Angeles seedling; it shows both kinds of bloom simultaneously, and has the characteristics of ripening its wood well, and is a good nut, but it has been little planted recently because of its disposition to run to small sizes. Mayettc. — This variety chiefly constitutes the imported Grenoble walnuts. It is large, roundish, with a broad base, on which the nut will sit up ; shell thin and white; kernel full and rich; a good bearer and late bloomer; local Mayette seedlings are being named ; one is the "San Jose," by R. Wiltz, of San Jose — a fine nut, believed to be blight resistant. Concord — Seedling of Cluster : of the Mayette type, grown by Messrs. West- gate and Hutchinson of Concord from seedling tree by Felix Gillet. Introduced by Mr. Leonard Coates in 1908. Claimed to be blight resistant. Franquette. — This French variety has risen to great favor and has been largely planted upon the successful experience of Mrs. Emily M. Vrooman, of Santa Rosa, and the extensive effort at its distribution by the Oregon Nursery Co., of Salem, Ore. It is a large, elongate-oval nut with shell rather thick and kernel of high quality. It is a late bloomer, and escapes blight to a certain extent. Bijou Seedlings.—Scveral of these are being grown. Willson's Wonder, in- troduced by F. C. Willson, of Santa Clara, is a large, smooth, desirable nut, and the tree 's reported an early and prolific bearer. Other French Varieties.— Other French varieties introduced by Mr. Gillet and others include the following : The Cluster, which fruits, as its name indi- cates, in long bunches, sometimes as many as fifteen in a bunch ; otherwise the tree resembles the common English walnut. The Parisienne is a beautiful variety, the nut large, broad, and shapely ; the tree blooms very late. All the foregoing varieties and the Franquette, Serotina, Barthere, Mesange, Gant and Chaberte. were introduced by Mr. Gillet in 1871. Ka^haci. — A variety called Kaghazi was grown and propagated for several years by the late James Shinn, of Niles, who described it as follows : "Very much larger than the ordinary kinds, and thinner shelled. The tree is late in putting out leaves and blossoms, and is, therefore, especially good for places that are in danger of late frosts." Japanese Walnut; Juglans Sicboldiana. — This species, native of the north of ^apan, was introduced to California about 1860, and a tree grown from seed 522 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM planted about that time is growing at the Tower House, in Shasta county. Recently the good points of the tree have been more widely recognized. The following excellent description is by Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa : "This species is found growing wild in the mountains of northern Japan, and is, without doubt, as hardy as an oak. The leaves are of immense size, and a charming shade of green. The nuts, which are produced in extreme abundance, grow in clusters of fifteen or twenty, have a shell thicker than the English walnut, but not as thick as the black walnut, very much resembling pecan nuts. The meat is sweet, of the very best quality, flavor like butternut, but less oily, and much superior. The trees grow with great vigor, assume a very handsome form, need no pruning, mature early, bear young, and are more regular and productive than the English walnut." The nut has an exceedingly hard shell and does not rate commercially with the popular varieties of the English walnut. NEW CALIFORNIA VARIETIES Since the walnut blight invaded the commercial orchards and re- sisted all remedies tried against it, great interest has arisen in particu- lar trees which bore well in spite of the disease. As California has such a large acreage of seedling trees there was a full opportunity for the full manifestation of such resistance and a wide field in which to ex- ercise the art of selection. The result is that many trees were found which were profitable even when the blight is worst, and such trees are being given distinct varietal names. The progress of this work should be watched in the publications of the University Experiment Station at Berkeley, for the experts at its branch laboratory and trial grounds in the walnut region of southern California, at Whittier, Los Angeles county, are largely engaged in this work. Individual growers are alert at selection within their own orchards and the prospect is that a general escape from the blight and the establishment in our local pomology of a group of especially desirable varieties will ere long l)e attained. PART EIGHT: FRUIT PRESERVATION CHAPTER XXXVIII FRUIT CANNING, CRYSTALLIZING, AND DRYING The preservation of fruit in various ways for home use and distant shipment, is one of the leading industries of CaUfornia, employing a large amount of capital and labor, and distributing a vast amount of money among our people. These facts can be best emphasized by statements of the product of 1910, in the leading methods of preserva- tion, by canning and drying: Canned Fruit Product of 1910. Cases. Tabic fruits, 2j^-lb. cans, 24 per case 3,242,942 Pie fruits, 1-gal. cans, 12 per case 765,607 Total, 113,631,512 2^M1). cans, or 4,008,549 The relative use of different fruits i? as follows : Cases. Apples 76,830 Apricots 774,160 Cherries, black 19,620 Cherries, white 136,290 Figs 1,000 Grapes 45,645 Nectarines 1,000 Pears 619,356 Peaches, freestone 748,825 Peaches, clingstone 1,396,625 Plums 80,360 Quinces 65 Strawberries 14,073 Raspberries 10,126 Blackberries 62,025 Loganberries 12,639 Currants 150 Gooseberries 75 Miscellaneous 1,400 523 524 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM' THE CANNING INDUSTRY California stands first in the United States in the vakie of canned and dried fruits produced and in the amount of money as wages paid for labor in fruit canning and curing establishments. In point of cap- ital invested therein California is credited by the United States census office in 1905 with a total of ten and one quarter million dollars ; thus standing second only to New York, which has ten and one-half mil- lions. The style and capacity of the establishments is characteristically Californian, because California's ten millions are invested in 184 con- cerns, while New York has 565 concerns ; only a quarter of a million more value in three times as many outfits. Fruit canning began in California about fifty years ago, but during the last three decades has attained its greatness, and is still promis- ing much wider extension. The process is simple, and yet is attended at every point, from the purchase of the fruit, to the sale of the product, with operations which require experience, wisdom and good judgment. It will be obviously impossible to give in print a guide to the pursuit of such an industry. The principles involved in the process of com- mercial canning are, of course, the same as rule in the old kitchen processes, but to secure uniformity and cheapness of product a vast number of manipulations and labor ; saving appliances have been devised. These begin with the manufacture of cans and attend the product to the end, and the realization of the commercial and uniform production which they assure involves the employment of large capital and the keenest business ability. The canning interest has, therefore, segregated itself more and more widely from the growing interest. Orchard canning on a small scale, which was once thought feasible, has passed out of sight except as it is seen to lie in the foundations of a few of the smaller canneries which have been built upon it. It seems clear now that as a rule the fruit grower's duty to the canning interest ceases with the production of acceptable fruit unless individuals or associations can command capital enough to enter the field on equal vantage with the large commercial canneries. Capital is flowing to- ward the business ; the field for the product seems to be constantly ex- panding, and canning centers are multiplying throughout the State wherever ample supplies of good fruits and vegetables are available. Varieties for Canning. — The table previously given showmg the fruits which enter in various amounts into the canned product gives a general idea of what fruits should be planted to minister to the can- ner's demand. As to varieties, it is not easy to make a general pre- scription, because the choice dififers somewhat with diflferent localities. It is a good idea for the new planter to consult with owners of adja- cent bearing orchards and to secure from the nearest canneries lists of varieties which are acceptable to them. CANDIED OR GLACE FRUITS S2S CRYSTALLIZED FRUITS Progress is being continually made in the production of candied, crystallized, or glace fruits, but the product is not a large one. Special establishments are now doing this work in Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco. They have processes which are the result of consid- erable experimentation, and they do not make them public. To others the way lies open to similar experimentation. The general theory and an outline of practice as given by J. J. Pratt, an experienced processor, is as follows : The theory is to extract the juice from the fruit, and replace it with sugar syrup, which, upon hardening, preserves the fruit from decay, and at the same time retains the natural shape of the fruit. All kinds of fruit are capable of being preserved under this process. Though the method is very simple, there is a certain skill required that is acquired only by practice. The several successive steps in the process are about as follows : First, the same care in selecting and grading the fruit should be taken as for canning; that is, the fruit should all be of one size, and as near the same ripeness as possible. The exact degree of ripeness is of great importance, which is at that stage when fruit is best for canning; peaches, pears, etc., are oared and cut in halves, as for canning; plums, cherries, etc., are pitted. The fruit, having thus been carefully prepared, is put into a basket, or a bucket with a perforated bottom, and immersed in boiling water. The object of this is to dilute and extract the juice of the fruit. The length of time the fruit is immersed is the most important part of the process. If left too long, it is overcooked, and becomes soft ; if not immersed long enough, the juice is not sufficiently extracted, which prevents a perfect absorption of the sugar. After the fruit has been thus scalded and allowed to cool, it can again be assorted as to softness. The next step is the syrup, which is made of white sugar and water. The softer the fruit, the heavier the syrup required. Ordi- narily about seventy degree, Ballings' saccharometer, is about the proper weight for the syrup. The fruit is then placed in earthen pans, and covered with the syrup, where it is left to remain about a week. The sugar enters the fruit and displaces what juice remained after the scalding process. The fruit now requires careful watching, as fermentation will soon take place, and when this has reached a certain stage, the fruit and syrup are heated to a boiling degree, which checks the fermentation. This heating process should be repeated as often as necessary for about six weeks. The fruit is then taken out of the syrup, and washed in clean water, and it is then ready to be either glaced or crystallized, as the operator may wish. If glaced, the fruit is dipped in thick sugar syrup and left to harden quickly in the open air. If it is to be crystallized, dip in the same kind of syrup, but allow to cool and harden slowly, thus causing the sugar which covers the fruit to crystallize. The fruit is now ready for boxing and shipping. Fruit thus prepared will keep in any climate and stand transportation. Thus far the crystallized fruit produced in California has sold well. There is a considerable importation of French fruit to the United States, which may be displaced by the California product, and the busi- ness commends itself to those who have ingenuity, patience, and capital enough to enable them to experiment and wait for future success. The California producer has the advantage of an abundance of very fine fruit at a low price, but he carries a handicap in the high cost of trans- portation and of labor. 526 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM CALIFORNIA DRIED FRUIT INDUSTRY A special census of the fruit-preserving manufactures of the United States in 1905 shows not only that California stands first in the dried fruit industry, hut that the product (excluding- raisins) was in that year valued at about fourteen, million dollars and was over eighty-eight per cent of the whole national product. An adjacent tabulation com- piled from the records of the California State Board of Trade gives interesting details of this product for a number of years. As suggested on page 21 it is the function of the sunshine and dry air of California not only to bring vigorous growth to the tree and vine and carry the fruit of both to fullness of size, beauty and quality, but to continue its beneficent action until the fruit, which is not re- quired by the trade in fresh ripeness, is given imperishable form, in which its beauty, flavors, aromas and nutritive qualities remain avail- able to delight and nourish mankind until the following year's sunshine wins from the earth another supply of fresh ripeness. There are many parts of the earth where good fruit is grown : there are few where con- ditions producing such fruit continue to accomplish its preservation, as they do in California, and this climatic endowment of the State yields an annual income of something like twenty millions of dollars, as the years run. Product of California Cured Fruits in Tons— 1900-1910. Year Peaches Apricots Apples Pears Plums Nec- Grapes Figs Prunes Raisins tarines 1900 17,170 14,000 3,150 7,275 1,950 435 240 2,000 87,000 47,167 1901 14,755 7,776 3,225 3,290 1,725 317 180 3,260 40,000 37,125 1902 25,210 18,762 4,875 2,625 1,280 455 188 3,625 98,500 54,375 1903 16,075 10,500 1,800 2,325 1,435 317 205 3,000 82,500 60,000 1904 11,500 8,500 1 500 1,750 1,150 210 170 2,850 67,500 37,500 1905 17,500 19,250 3,250 1,750 930 185 193 3,625 37,500 43,750 1906 11,250 3,250 2,750 3,500 1,100 170 200 3,375 90,000 47,500 1907 12,000 1,500 1,500 500 750 137 188 3,000 40,000 60,000 1908 22,500 19,000 3,000 1,200 1,000 350 1,500 3,000 25,000 60,000 1909 20,000 14,500 2,500 1,200 500 375 325 3,500 77,500 70,000 1910 25,000 16,000 3,100 1,000 375 250 350 3,775 45,000 56,000 Averages 16,796 12,000 2,755 2,547 1,257 295 399 3,126 66,772 51,856 In connection with this notable factor of our horticultural endow- ment, certain facts of its utilization and its significance should be clearly understood not only by those who actually employ it in their business, but by those who desire to properly appreciate the industrial resources of the State. First. Cured fruits in California are a primary and not a second- ary or by-product. It is true, of course, that curing fruit does, to a limited extent, save from loss fruit which shippers and canners are not CURED FRUIT NOT A BY-PRODUCT 527 at the time paying profitable prices for, and it is true also that the recourse to curing frees growers from helpless dependence upon fresh fruit buyers. But this does not mean that curing is a way of getting something from refuse fruit, not suited for other purposes. It should be taken as evidence that, for the most part, grades of fruit which are cured are the same which are also available for higher uses when prices are right. It is very important in many ways to have it clearly under- stood that, except to an insignificant extent, California fruit drying is not undertaken to save wastes or to get something from fruit which is not suited to higher uses. Second. As our cured fruits are a primary and not a by-product, it becomes intelligible why such free investment is made in acres of well-made trays ; in tramways and turntables for their movement from the shelter of convenient cutting or dipping and spreading houses ; in capacious apartments and mechanical devises for giving the cut fruit its bath in sulphur fumes to preserve natural colors and to prevent fermentation and insect invasion ; in the carefully prepared drying floors ; in well-fitted packing houses. Such investment has reached millions of dollars in the aggregate, and the standing of cured fruits as primary products is the justification of such outlay. Third. The provision of such equipment is not alone evidence of the standing of the industry; it constitutes an obligation upon producers to put out a product which shall be true to its opportunity as a primary product, and not merely a makeshift to prevent loss or waste. Thirty years ago California dried fruit was a makeshift, and a disgracefully poor one. As enterprise and investment proceeded it was soon seen that style and quality alone could requite them. Next it was discerned that fruit for curing, to command profitable prices, must be as good as fruit for any other high purpose, as has been suggested. It was then believed that to secure handsome cured fruit which should only be relieved of its excess of water and still retain color, flavor and winning beauty, could only be produced in machine-evaporators with artificial heat, and a few years were given to invention, purchase and rejection of all such devices except as occasional refuges when the California climate forgets itself. When the demonstration came that with proper pre-treatment California sunshine and dry air would produce notably fine evaporated fruits without houses and furnaces, cured fruits entered upon their career as primary products, and planting to produce them began. Fourth. The obligations upon producers, to make their output worthy of such standing, extended to the whole process of growing and curing. The fruit must be well grown, and fruit for curing should have size and quality which make it first class for other pur- poses, with the added excellence of being somewhat more mature, because it is not required to stand hauling and shipment. It should, 528 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM however, be carefully handled to escape bruising, because discolora- tions are blemishes. It must be cleanly cut for removal of pit or core, because trimness. neatness and shapeliness are all essential to beauty. Before it reaches exposure to the protecting fumes of sulphur, it must be often saved from darkening by handling in water, when the nature of the fruit is such as to require it. It must be carefully and evenly spread upon the trays, especially if it be a cut fruit, so that no interference can prevent each piece from reaching its best estate. Sulphuring must be adequate, and yet not excessive, for sulphuring is a protecting and not a resurrecting process ; it is not to improve bad fruit, but to keep good fruit from becoming bad. The fruit must be sufficiently dried and yet not over-dried, and during the process must be protected from dust by the situation and character of the ground used, even if such protection costs trouble and outlay. Although the sun drying of fruit may be a simple process, so many little arts, methods and appliances are continually being introduced to facilitate work or improve the product, that one can learn much by visiting the different fruit regions during the drying season. Such a course is commended to growers who contemplate large drying operations, for suggestions of great economic importance can be se- cured. The notes of practice which can be given in this connection must be brief and greneral. =S Cross-sections of drying trays. Trays for Drying. — The greater part of the fruit, including raisins, is placed upon trays for exposure to the sun. There is great variation in the size of the trays. The common small tray is made of one-half inch sugar-pine lumber two feet wide and three feet long, the boards forming it being held together by nailing to a cleat on each end, one by one and a quarter inches, and a lath or narrow piece of half-inch stuff is nailed over the ends of the boards, thus stiffening the tray and aiding to prevent warping. A cross-section of such a tray is shown at A. A large tray which is used by some growers is four feet square, and is made of slats three-eighths of an inch thick, and one and a half inches wide, the slats being nailed to three cross slats three- eighths of an inch thick and three inches wide, and the ends nailed to a narrow strip one-half inch thick by three-quarters of an inch wide on the other side. A cross-section of this tray is shown at B. ARRANGEMENTS FOR FRUIT DRYING 529 Since large drying yards have been supplied with tramways and trucks for moving the fruit instead of hand carriage, larger trays, three feet by six or three feet by eight, have been largely employed. These tramways lead from the cutting sheds to the sulphur boxes and thence to various parts of the large drying grounds, making it possible to handle large amounts of fruit at a minimum cost. Protecting Fruit from Dew. — In the interior there are seldom any deposit of dew in the drying season, but occasionally there are early rains before the drying season is over. The fruit is then pro- tected by piling the trays one upon another, in which operation the thick cleats serve a good purpose. In dewy regions the trays are piled at night, or cloth or paper is sometimes stretched over the fruit, thus reducing the discoloration resulting from deposits of* moisture upon it. Drying Floors. — For the most part the trays are laid directly on the ground, but sometimes a staging of posts and rails is built to support them, about twenty inches from the ground. The drying trays are sometimes distributed through the orchard or vineyard, thus drying the fruit with as little carrying as possible. Others clear off a large space outside the plantation and spread the trays where full sunshine can be obtained. Drying spaces should be selected at a distance from traveled roads, to prevent the deposit of dust on the fruit. Spaces used for drying are often idle the rest of the year and are weed-covered and unsightly during the rainy season, or are culti- vated for grain-hay which loosens the surface and deepens the dust. When one has water for irrigation it is often practicable to reduce dust and secure an amount of desirable feed or hay by putting the piece down in alfalfa. Mr. P. F. Gannon of Yolo county proceeded in this way. He lowered the tramway tracks to the ground level, and turned up a furrow on the sides to hold the water from flooding the adjacent ground. In the fall, after the fruit-drying was over, he flooded the space, which is a little over half an acre (125 by 225 feet). Then it was disked both ways and leveled and harrowed and planted to alfalfa before the rains. The land was moist at the time and the seed came up and the plants grew more or less through the winter. In April he cut the first crop. Just before the space is needed for a drying yard, make another cutting, about June 20, cutting it down close and raking it clean. The yard is then ready for the trays and fruit. When the drying season is over the yard is cleared, and the space then is as clean as a clay floor, from being used so much. In three weeks the top of the ground is green all over, and before the rains come there is another cutting crop, making three crops a year, a ton at each cutting. So something is made from 530 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM the space and the dust problem is solved, which means clean fruit and better prices. Grading. — It is of great advantage in drying to have all the fruit on a tray of approximately the same size, and grading before cutting is advisable. Machines are now made which accomplish this very cheaply and quickly.* Cutting-Sheds. — Shelter of some kind is always provided for the fruit-cutters. Sometimes it is only a temporary bower made of poles and beams upon which tree branches are spread as a thatch ; sometimes open-side sheds with boarded roof, and sometimes a finished fruit- house is built, two stories high, the lower story opening with large doors on the north side, and with a large loft above, where the dried fruit can be sweated, packed, and stored for sale. The climate is such that almost any shelter which suits the taste and purse of the pro- ducer will answer the purpose. Sulphuring. — The regulations promulgated under the pure food law enacted by Congress in 1906 established an arbitrary limit to the percentage of sulphur compounds in evaporated fruits, which was shown by producers to be destructive to their industry, and otherwise unwarranted and unreasonable. As a result of their pro- test the enforcement of such regulations was indefinitely postponed, pending the results of scientific investigation which began in 1908. From the point of view of the California producer it must be held that before the employment of the sulphur process, California cured fruits were suitable only to the lowest culinary uses. They were of undesirable color, devoid of natural flavor, offensive by content of insect life. They had no value which would induce production and discernible future. Placing the trays of freshly cut fruit in boxes or small "houses," with the fumes of burning sulphur, made it possible to preserve its natural color and flavor during the evaporation of its surplus moisture in the clear sunshine and dry air of the California summer. It also prevented souring, which with some fruits is other- wise not preventable in such open air drying, and it protected the fruit from insect attack during the drying process. By the use of sulphur and by no other agency has it been possible to lift the pro- duction of cured fruits of certain kinds from a low-value haphazard by-product to a primary product for which Californians have planted orchards, constructed packing houses and made a name in the world's markets. The action of sulphuring is not alone to protect the fruit, it facilitates evaporation so that about one-half less time is required there- for. Not the least important bearing of this fact is the feasilibity of curing fruits in larger pieces. The grand half-peaches, half-apricots^ * See under "plums and prunes," page 536. i c " ?S1 ;S C « •o o J! •3 -5 o ;r5f C .S 1 ?->. R) ^^ (U TO r- J2 > ;=^ X to C s .2 'c Ih O «S2 & ii <« O C "L* be— > M O 531 532 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM half-pears of the CaHfornia cured fruits are the direct result of the sulphur process. Without it the fruit must be cut into small sections or ribbons, which in cooking break down into an uninviting mass, while, with the sulphuring, it is ordinary practice to produce the splendid halves with their natural color so preserved that they lie in cut glass dishes in suggestive semblance to the finest product of the canners. and are secured at a fraction of the cost. There are various contrivances for the application of sulphur fumes to the freshly-cut fruit. Some are small for hand carriage of trays ; some are large and the trays are wheeled into them upon trucks. The most common is a bottomless cabinet about five or six feet high, of a width equal to the length of the tray and a depth a little more than the width of the tray. The cabinet has a door the whole width of one side, and on the sides within cleats are nailed so that the trays of fruit slip in like drawers into a bureau. Some push in the trays so that the bottom one leaves a little space at the back, the next a little space at the front, and so on, that the fumes may be forced by the draft to pass between the trays back and forward. The essentials seem to be open holes or dampers in the bottom and top of the cabinet so that the fumes from the sulphur burning at the bottom may be thoroughly distributed through the interior, and then all openings are tightly closed. To secure a tight chamber the door has its edge felted and the cabinet is made of matched lumber. The sulphur is usually put on a shovel or iron pot, and it is ignited by a hot coal, or a hot iron, or it is thrown on paper of which the edges are set on fire, or a little alcohol is put on the sulphur and lighted, etc. The sulphur is usually burned in a pit in the ground under the cabinet. The application of sulphur must be watchfully and carefully made, and the exposure of the fruit should only be long enough to accomplish the end desired. The exposure required dififers with different fruits, and with the same fruits in different conditions, as must be learned by experience. Grading and Cleaning. — After the fruit is sufficiently dried.(and it is impossible to describe how this point may be recognized except by the experienced touch), it is gathered from the trays into large boxes and taken to the fruit house. Some growers put it into a revolving drum of punctured sheet iron, which rubs the pieces together and separates it from dust, etc., which falls out through the apertures as the drum revolves. Others empty the fruit upon a large wire-cloth table and pick it over, grading it according to size and color, and at the same time the dust and small particles of foreign matter fall through the wire cloth. The fanning mill for cleaning grain may also be used for rapid separation of dirt, leaves, etc., with proper arrangement of metal screens. DIPPING AND PACKING 533 Sweating. — All fruit, if stored in mass after drying, becomes moist. This action should take place before packing. To facilitate it, the fruit is put in piles on the floor of the fruit-house and turned occasionally with a scoop shovel ; or, if allowed to sweat in boxes, the fruit is occasionally poured from one box to another. The sweating equalizes the moisture throughout the mass. Some large producers have sweat-rooms with tight walls, which preserve an even temper- ature. No fruit should be packed before "going through the sweat." If this is not done, discoloration and injury will result. Dipping Before Packing. — All fruits except prunes can be packed in good condition with out dipping, provided the fruit is not over-dried. Efforts should be made to take up the fruit when it is just suflficiently cured to prevent subsequent fermentation. If taken from the trays in the heat of the day and covered so that the fruit moth can not reach it there is little danger of worms. The high- est grades of fruit are made in this way. If. however, the fruit has been overdried or neglected, it can be dipped in boiling water to kill eggs of vermin and to make the fruit a little more pliable for the press. The dipping should be done quickly, and the fruit allowed to drain and then lie in a dark room, carefully covered, for twenty-four hours before packing. Packing. — To open well, packages of dried fruit should be "faced." The many fine arts of paper lining, etc., must be learned by observation. Flatten some fair specimens of the fruit to be packed (and reference is especially made to such fruits as apricots, peaches and nectarines) by running them through a clothes wringer or similar pair of rollers set to flatten but not crush the fruit. Do not face with better fruit than the package is to contain. It is a fraud which will not in the end be profitable. Lay the flattened fruit (cup side down) neatly in the bottom of the box. Fill the box until it reaches the amount the box is to contain, and then apply the press until the bottom can be nailed on. Invert the box and put on the label or brand ; the bottom then becomes the top. Many different kinds of boxes are used. A very good size is made of seasoned pine, six inches deep by nine inches wide by fifteen inches long, inside measurements, and it will hold twenty-five pounds of fruit. METHODS WITH DIFFERENT FRUITS As already intimated, it will be impossible to enter minutely into the operations of drying and packing on a commercial scale, or even to notice all the small and ingenious arts by which the work is facil- itated. Any one who contemplates production on a large scale should personally visit leading regions and inform himself by inquiry and 534 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM observation. Such an education will save mistakes, which may cost many times more than the expense of getting it. California producers are usually quite willing to show visitors the methods they employ. Though this is the better way of proceeding, a few general hints will be given of methods with different fruits. Apples. — There seems little use of drying apples unless a very light-colored, handsome product can be turned out. This can be done by sulphuring as soon as cut, and sun drying in a dry region, or by the use of a machine evaporator in regions of greater atmospheric humidity. Recently the product has largely increased in such large producing regions as the Pajaro valley, and new labor saving devices are being continually introduced. Apricots. — Apricots for drying should be fully ripe but not soft enough to be mushy. By the use of sulphur and sun heat, an amber- colored, semi-translucent fruit is obtained. The prevailing method of gathering is to shake down the fruit upon sheets, but the best product is hand picked. Pit the fruit by a clean cut completely around in the suture ; do not cut part way round and then tear apart — a clean-cut edge is essential. Put on the trays with the skin down, or with the cut up, as it is sometimes described ; sulphur, and then put in the sun. About three days of interior valley sunshine will finish the apricots. Apricots will yield on the average one pound of dried fruit to five pounds of fresh. Berries and Cherries. — These fruits are only dried in the sun in small quantities for local sale, and ordinary farm-house methods are employed. Figs.* — The fruit may be carefully picked from the tree so as to secure the whole of the stem, when the fruit is fully ripe, as is known by the seaming or slight shriveling of the skin. In drying the common black fig from large trees, however, the fruit is generally gathered from the ground, which is cleaned and smoothed before the crop ripens. In drying black figs the fruit is placed on trays and in most cases exposed to the sun, but some foothill growers maintain the advantage of drying in the shade. The figs should not be allowed to dry hard. When sufficiently cured, put in sweat-boxes for several days, and when ready to pack dip in boiling salt water, or, as is the practice of some producers, dip in a thin syrup, boiling hot. In either method a good pliable condition and handsome color are obtained. In drying white figs many sulphur the fruit from fifteen minutes to an hour before putting out on the trays. Figs which dry slowly have to be turned several times during the drying, and those which are apt to run juice are placed so that the eye is raised a little until the juice is thickened. *A special illustrated account of handling dried figs in California is given in "The Smyrna Fig at Home and Abroad," by George C. Roeding, Fresno, Cal. CURING PEACHES AND PEARS 535 The white figs are also put in sweat-boxes and dipped in hot salt water before packing. In packing, the figs are often flattened and drawn out by the hand. Such manipulation gives the fig a lighter and more translucent appearance. The time required in drying figs is usually from five to eight or ten days, according to location and weather. The fruit does not cure evenly, and those which are finished (as determined by sight and touch — to be learned by experience) are picked from the trays, and others given more time. A California Sunshine Evaporator. Pears. — The dried pear product is increasing, and, as with apples, only a light-colored product is profitable. These are made by sul- phuring and sun drying, or by the use of the machine drier. For sun drying the fruit of medium size is halved, the large fruit being quartered. Peaches. — Peaches are sim dried in much the same way as apri- cots, already described. Take the fruit when it is fully ripe, but not mushy; cut cleanly all around to extract the pit and put on trays 536 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM cup side up ; get into the sulphur box as soon as possible after cut- ting. Peaches are dried both peeled and unpeeled, but drying with- out peeling is chiefly done. Peeling is done with the small paring machines or with a knife. Peeling with lye has been generally abandoned because of discoloration of the fruit after packing, al- though it can be successfully done by frequently changing the lye and using ample quantities of fresh water for rinsing after dipping. Clingstone peaches are successfully handled with curved knives and spoon-shaped pitters in conjunction with ordinary fruit knives. Different styles are carried at the general stores in the fruit dis- tricts, and individuals dififer widely in their preferences. The weight of dried peaches which can be obtained from a cer- tain weight of fresh fruit, depends upon the variety ; some varieties yield at least a third more than others, and clings yield more than freestones as a rule. Dry-fleshed peaches, like the ]\Iuir, yield one pound dry from four or five pounds fresh, while other more juicy fruits may require six or seven pounds. Nectarines. — Nectarines are handled like peaches ; the produc- tion of translucent amber fruit in the sun depends upon the skillful use of sulphur. Plums and Prunes.— Our pitted plums, which are an acid fruit, are meeting with more favor than formerly, and the product is in- creasing. Pitting is done by hand or by the use of foot-power "pitters." More rapid and capacious machines are being brought out by in- ventors. Prunes are one of our greatest and most promising products. Several varieties which dry sweet with the pit in are used in making prunes, as already stated in Chapter XXIII, but the prevailing variety is the Prune D'Agen. Prunes are gathered by shaking from the trees, usually upon sheets spread beneath. Several gatherings are made by light shakings which cause only the ripe specimens to fall. Prunes are usually graded before drying, and various homemade contrivances are employed. Some use inclined planes of adjustable slats, the grader being thus available for other fruits than prunes ; the large fruit rolls along into receptacles at the bottom, while the small fruit falls through into other receptacles. Other grading devices are made with wire screens or riddles of different sizes of mesh. Some of them work on the principle of a fanning mill, three to four riddles, placed above one another, each with a slight incline and a spot on the side where each grade drops into a box. Some have a long riddle, say twelve feet long, with three different sizes of wire screen on it. This riddle is hung upon four ropes with an incline ; the prunes are thrown in the higher end, and by siiaking it they roll down and fall through THE CALIFORNIA WAY WITH PRUNES ^37 the holes into boxes underneath. The first piece of screen should be small, to let only stems and dirt through, and no prunes. This long hanging screen is also used to grade prunes after drying. There are now several excellent manufactured fruit graders on sale in this State. Their work is very satisfactory, and they have largely displaced home- made contrivances. The next step in the process is dipping in lye to thin and crack the skin, which facilitates the escape of moisture in the drying pro- cess. In the large caldron lye is made with one pound of concentrated lye to each twenty gallons of water, and kept boiling hot. The fruit is put into wire baskets or galvanized pails with perforated sides and bottoms, and dipped in the boiling lye for about a minute, or until the skin has a wrinkled appearance, then the basket is plunged into clean cold water to rinse ofif the lye. This rinsing water must be frequently changed, for it soon becomes very alkaline. Some begin with a stronger lye solution, one pound to ten gallons of water, claiming that a very short dip in stronger lye is better than long exposure in a weaker solution. After this dipping, the prunes are placed on trays. In the sun the prune dries sufficiently in from one to two weeks, according to the situation and weather. A process of puncturing the skin of the prunes by causing them to roll over needle points has also been employed to some extent. There are now manufactured very capacious appliances for contin- uous dipping, rinsing, puncturing and spreading on the trays so that the fruit is handled in large quantities at a minimum cost. In no branch of our fruit industry perhaps has there been greater advance in labor- saving devices than in prune handling. When sufficiently dried the prunes are put through the "sweat," which takes from several days to two or three weeks, and then are ready for grading, finishing, and packing. In grading, the prunes are separated by the use of a grader, as already described, into a number of grades, the largest, forty prunes to the pound, and so on, fifty, sixty, etc., to the smallest, which may run one hundred or more to the pound. Finishing consists in exposing to steam, in dipping in clear hot water, or hot sugar syrup, or in dipping in boiled juice of ripe prunes, or peaches or apples, etc. Although there is a great variety of materials used for "glossing" prunes by different producers, the prevailing prac- tice is to rely upon hot water, to which pure glycerine is added at the rate of one pound to twenty gallons. Some growers also add a little brine (having first dissolved the salt and skimmed ofif the impurities). This final hot dip kills insect eggs, and the fruit, after drying ofif away from the access of insects, should be packed tightly in boxes. The following explicit hints on the curing of- prunes are based upon wide experience and observation in the Santa Clara valley : 538 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Be sure to allow the prunes to obtain all of the sugar they can from the trees by hanging until they drop of their own accord. Do not pick up until prunes are soft to the touch. These two rules are productive of nice black prunes. They may not be black when gathered in the" bins but will color with age, without any foreign coloring matter. Do not keep prunes in boxes over night. They go through a sweat, and do not make a first quality of dried fruit, and take much longer to dry. It is better to let the prunes lie on the ground under the tree for several days than to let the picked prunes lie in the boxes over one night. The dipping fluid must be kept at the boiling point and no prunes put in unless it is boiling. It is not a matter of how strong the lye is, but how hot is the water. On the trays prunes will either dry or ferment. Unless the dip is hot enough the prune will not immediately commence to dry, but will, in a few days, become a chocolate color and refuse to dry, sometimes a few on a tray, often half and sometimes nearly all. If the water is at the boiling point all through the dip, two pounds of lye to the 100 gallons of water, may be sufficient. If the water is not boiling, ten pounds of lye to the 100 gallons of water may be required. Weather conditions govern the time prunes should remain on the tray. Grasp a handful of prunes and give them a gentle squeeze and open the hand quickly, if the prunes separate they are ready to stack the trays and the fruit should be placed in the bin before it rattles on the trays. When the prunes are sufficiently dry put them in a dry place where it will not rain on them, but do not prevent the air from getting to them. Let the wind have free access until the rains set in then close doors and make the house as snug as you can. In making bins, be sure the boards are dry and the bins well above ground, or you will have trouble. Do not let prunes get damaged by rain. For dipping before packing, some use a brine dip — about five pounds of sail to 100 gallons of water is about right. This salt dip can be used more safelj- for prunes than for peaches or other pitted fruit, as in some instances it has attracted moisture and caused mold. As to the respective results of a sal solution and glycerine solution, the salt seems to be a cleansing process, which leaves the skin of the fruit in a bright, clear condition and brings out the blue bloom, which is desirable. The glycerine is more of a svrupy or glossy nature, and on prunes that are inclined to be reddish this solution can be used to ad- vantage. A common method of treating prunes is to use the small prunes and suspend them in the steam-heated tank of the Anderson dipper, where they can not come in contact with the steam (which causes the skin and meat of the prune to turn dark), dissolve out the juice, thus forming a dip liquor, and this is quite extensively used. Raisins. — The varieties of grapes used for raisins are described in Chapter XXVIII. The production of raisins has readied such an extent, and employs so much skill and capital, that the processes employed to facilitate the curing and packing are so various that a description of them can not be attempted. Besides an excellent special treatise has been written on this subject.* However, in beginning the commercial production of raisins, one should visit the raisin farms and packing-houses during the harvest. The following description by T. C. White, of Fresno, gives an outline of practice in the vineyard: In Fresno picking commences about the first of September, although there have been seasons when it occurred as early as the 20th of August. The grapes under no circumstances should be picked for raisins until they are ripe. There are three ways by which to ascertain this fact : First, by the color, which should be a light amber ; second, by taste ; and third, by the saccharometer, which is by far the most accurate. A grape may be ripe, and not have the proper color, when grown entirely in the shade. The juice of the grape should contain at least twenty-five per cent saccharine, to produce a good raisin. * The Raisin Industry by Gustav Eisen, San Francisco. CURING R.\ISINS 539 The method of drying is with trays placed upon the ground. The almost entire absence of dew in our locality greatly facilitates this method. The trays are usually twenty-four by twenty-six inches, which hold about twenty pounds of fruit, and should produce from six to seven pounds of raisins. The product of a vineyard depends largely upon its age and favorable conditions, varying from two to nine tons of grapes per acre. The trays are distributed along the sides of the roads, from which they are taken by the pickers as they are needed. As the grapes are picked from the vines, all imperfect berries, sticks, and dead leaves are removed from the bunches, which are then placed upon the trays, right side up. A cluster has what is called a right and a wrong side, the wrong side having more of the stems exposed than the right side. Great care should be used in picking, so as to handle the bunches only by the stem. If the berries come in contact with the hands, some of thie bloom will be removed, which will injure the appearance of the raisins. The trays are placed, after filling, between the vines, one end being elevated so that the grapes mav receive the more direct rays of the sun. Too rapid drying is not desirable. The grapes arc left upon the trays until about two-thirds dry, which, with us, will be from six to eight days. They are then turned. This is accomplished by placing an empty "tray on too of the one filled with partiallv-dried raisins, and turning them both over. Then take off the upper or original tray, and you have the raisins turned without han- dling or damage. After turning, curing will proceed more rapidly, and fre- quently is completed in four or five days. During this time they should be carefully watched to prevent any from becoming too dry. When it is found they are dry enough, the trays are gathered and stacked one upon another as high as convenient for the sorting which follows. This protects them from the sun and prevents overdrying. Stacking should be attended to early in the morninsr. while the stems and berries are slightly moist and cool from the night air, as they will retain this moisture after being transferred to the sweat-boxes, and assist in quickening the sweating process. As the raisins are taken off the trays, some of the berries on the bunch will be dry enough and a few will not be sufficiently cured. To remove the moist ones would destroy the appearance of the cluster, and to leave them out longer would shrivel the dry ones, hence the sweat-box. The moisture is dif- fused through the box, some being absorbed by the dry raisins, and the stems also taking their share are thus rendered tough and pliable and easily manipu- lated when ready for packing. Sorting and grading require great care and iudgmcnt, and although a tedious process, it greatly facilitates rapid packing. The sweat-box is a little larger than the tray and about eight inches deep, and contains about one hundred and twenty-five pounds of raisins. Heavy manila paper is used in the sweat- ^ boxes, one sheet being placed in the bottom, and three or four more at equal' distance as the filling progresses. The object of the paper is to prevent the tangling of the stems and consequent brcakin"- of the bunches when removed for packing. The sorters have three sweat-boxes, one for the first, second and third quali- ties, as the grade will justify. The bunches should be handled by the stem and placed carefully in the sweat-boxes to avoid breaking the stems, thereby de- stroying the symmetry of the clusters. Any found to be too damp are returned to the trays and left a day or two longer in the sun. To ascertain if the fruit is perfectly cured, take a raisin between the thumb and forefinger and roll it gently until softened, when either jelly or water will exude from the stem end — if water, it requires further drying. When the boxes are filled, they are taken to the equalizer. This should be built of brick or adobe, and as near air- tight as possible, but provided with windows to allow ventilation when necessary. The windows should have shutters to keep it dark. The filled boxes are placed one exactly above another to a convenient height, and should remain from ten to twenty days or more, when they will have passed through the sweating process. When the raisins are sufficiently equalized, the sweat-boxes are re- moved to the packing-room, which is provided with tables, presses, scales, etc. 540 CALIFORNIA FRTJITS : HOW TO GROW THEM The foregoing relates to the preparation of the standard clusters. Loose raisins are now being produced in increasing quantities. Loose Muscatels are prepared by being put through the stemmer and grader. The stemmer removes the berries from the stems, and the grader, by- separating according to size, determines the grade. During the last few years the seeding of raisins has increased rapidly, and large estab- lishments for this work, with very ingenious machinery, have been erected. Seeded raisins constitute a considerable portion of the product. A considerable quantity of dipped raisins are also made of the Sultana and Thompson seedless grapes and of loose or inferior Mus- catels. A lye dip of about one pound of potash to twelve gallons of water is used, and the solution is kept boiling hot. The ripe fruit is dipped for an instant, then plunged in fresh water for a thorough rinsing, and then placed on the trays. During warm, dry weather in the interior, the raisins are dried in the shade by leaving the trays in piles, but if cooler, moister weather prevails, the trays must be spread out. The product is a handsome amber color. An oil dip has been profitably used -with Thompson's Seedless : One quart of olive oil ; ^ pound Greenbank soda and 3 quarts water are made into an emulsion, and then reduced with 10 gallons water in the dipping tank, adding more soda to get lye-strength enough to cut the skins, and more soda has to be added from time to time to keep up the strength. The grapes are dipped in this solution and sulphured to the proper color. GRAPE SYRUP The manufacture of grape syrup, which was formerly of consid- erable prominence as a means of disposing of wine grapes, has recently received less attention because of low prices in competition with the vast amount of syrup available from the sugar refineries. MACHINE EVAPORATION Although California summer conditions of adequate heat and dry air favor open-air evaporation to such an extent that nearly all our product of cured fruit is secured in that way, there are some parts of the State where artificial heat would be a safer recourse and there are late fruits which sometimes collide with early rains in a way to cause losses even in our best sun-curing regions. It is interesting, therefore, to describe a machine evaporator con- structed upon true principles and having capacity sufficiently large to encourage its use. Mr. L. W. Parsons of Campbell, Santa Clara county, has given most of his life to the design and construction of \u iiiiiiiiiininii ff iiiiiiiiiimmmiiiiiiiminTnm Si ■0.5 > c E> _ c .^ •« a w O ^A. AC w ^ nrm k % »* <-« ^ .^ >, rt Ui ■u b2 B *■' a V X (. ^ c- '^ u V y Q ^ 2 pound soap in 1 gallon hot water; add 1 gallon kerosene. Mix thoroughly with spray pump by turning nozzle back into mix- ture. a. For plant lice and other sucking insects during growing season, dilute with 15 to 25 gallons water. b. For scale insects, Woolly Aphis and other sucking insects during dormant season, dilute with 5 to 10 gallons water. For use on small scale with hand sprayer. 572 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 6a. Kerosene Emulsion. Kitchen formula : Dissolve 1 inch cube soap in 1 pint hot water ; add 1 pint kerosene. Churn with egg beater. For growing plants, dilute to 2 or 3 gallons water. For dormant plants, 1 gallon. 7. MisciBLE Oils : Commercial preparations of oil so treated as to mix directly with water. Follow directions on container. Uses same as 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. 8. Straight Kerosene or Water White Oil : Water white oil (42° Baume) or kerosene, 20 gallons ; water, 200 gallons. In use for scale insects of citrus trees. Application by power outfit. 9. Soap Solution : Soap, 1 pound; water, 5 to 15 gallons. Whale-oil or fish-oil soap preferable, but for small amounts any yellow laundry soap will answer. For plant lice and other sucking insects during summer. 9a. Soap Solution. Kitchen formula: 1% inch cube soap; 1 gallon warm water. 10. Homemade Soap : Water, 6 gallons; lye (98%), 2 pounds; fish oil, V/2 gallons. Add lye to water in boiler. When dissolved and water boiling, pour in the fish oil, stirring in mean time, and boil slowly for two hour's. This will give about 40 pounds soap. For use dilute with 5 to 15 gallons water for each pound. For same pests as No. 9. 11. Tobacco or Nicotine: a. Blackleaf 40 (40% nicotine), 1 pint; water, 200 gallons. b. Tobacco stems, 1 pound ; water, 4 gallons. Steep stems in 1 gallon warm water and dilute to 4 gallons. For plant lice and other sucking insects during growing season. For Woolly Aphis and Peach Aphis underground. A liberal solution, or the dry dust in early winter, about the base of the tree, the surface soil first being removed. 12. Tobacco Soap: Blackleaf 40, 1 pound (1-10 gal.) ; cresol soap, 1 gallon — or Whale-oil soap, 10 pounds ; water, 200 gallons. The cresol soap requires no heating. Uses same as 11. Penetrating and wetting power better. 13. Lime Sulphur Tobacco: Commercial lime sulphur 36°, 2.1 gallons; blackleaf 40, 14 fluidounces ; water, 200 gallons. For Orange Thrips. 14. Carbolic -Lime: Quicklime, 150 pounds; crude carbolic acid, 2 gallons; water, 200 gallons. For Pear Thrips. various insecticides 573 15. Sulphur: a. Dry. Thoroughly dust over foliage, preferably when moist with dew. Hydrated lime about equal parts with sulfur will increase adhesiveness. b. Spray. Sulfur, 30 pounds; lime (as milk of lime), 15 pounds; water, 200 gallons. c. Spray. Commercial lime sulphur, 4 to 5 gallons; water, 200 gallons. For Red Spiders and Silver Mite. 16. Le.\d Arsenate : Lead arsenate, 6 to 12 pounds; water, 200 gallons. First mix arsenate with 2 or 3 gallons of water. For Codlin Moth and most defoliating insects. 16a. Lead Arsenate. Kitchen formula : Lead arsenate, 1 tablespoonful (1 oz.) ; water, 1 gallon. 1 7. Paris Green : Paris green. 1 1-3 to 2 pounds; water, 200 gallons. For Codlin Moth and most defoliating insects. Not to be used along- coast or moist situations where injury is likely to result to foliage. 17a. Paris Green. Kitchen formula: Paris green, 1 teaspoonful (^ oz.) ; lime, 3 tcaspoonfuls ; water, 2 gallons. 18. Zinc Arsenite: Zinc arsenite, 2 to 6 pounds ; water, 200 gallons. A powerful poison for resistant insects, as the Tussock Moth, or for early .spraying for Canker Worm and Codling Moth in the dry interior climates. 19a. Poisoned Bait. Kitchen formula : Bran, 10 pounds ; Paris green, 1 pound — or White arsenic, J^ pound ; molasses, 14 gallon ; water, 2 gallons. Mix paris green with the bran dry. Add the molasses to the water and mix into the bran, making a moist paste. For Cut Worms and Grasshoppers, distribute a small handful about the base of the vine or tree, or scatter about plants in the garden. May be distributed broadcast for Grasshoppers and Army Worms. 20. Carbon Bisulphide: For treatment of stored products and underground insects. Usual dosage, 1 pint to 1,000 cubic feet space. Place liquid in saucers or shallow vessels above material to be treated. Inflammable ; avoid lights. For underground insects, a tablespoonful in holes 3 or 4 feet apart. 21. Resin Dipping Solution : Resin, 20 oounds; caustic soda or Ive, 8 poimds ; fish oil, 3 pints; water, 100 gallons. Boil resin and caustic soda in 50 gallons of water for 1 hour. Dilute to 100 gallons. In use for dipping citrus nursery stock for scale insects and Red Spiders. Kerosene emulsion and lime sulphur solution also used for dipping deciduous nursery stock. CHAPTER XL DISEASES OF TREES AND VINES A few suggestions concerning pathological conditions which arise in trees and vines and prescription of treatment and remedies may be helpful : First, diseases demonstrated to be caused by fungi and bacteria ; second, abnormal conditions, of which the causes are not yet clear. ^Bl^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^KitflwL^^ A^fl^^^l J^ ^^^^^91' ^N^r^ni^^Si ^» A * ^F j^hT *^^^^h "1 \^^^m^( 'J^^Sb' T^H^I 4 m K ^KBSW^M^- '.^^^^^I^^H fm^BTm .,/y '^^EJm^ ^ Effect of mildew on young growth of grape vine. Powdery Mildews. — Fungi which bring upon the leaf surface the appearance of a whitish powder and afterwards cause the leaf to curl and dry without producing marked swelling, perforation or discolora- tion, can be checked by the use of sulphur. The chief of these is the mildew of the grape, the mildew of the apple, appearing chiefly on the young growth, etc. The way to use sulphur for these fungi is to throw finely ground or sublimed sulphur on the young foliage at the first sign of the trouble, either by hand or with suitable machinery which is fully discussed in Bulletin 186 of the California Experiment Station. 574 LEAF SPOT FUNGI 575 Leaf-Spotting, Puncturing or Deforming Fungi, — These classes are usually distinguishable by the results they produce. The mildew of the peach produces dense, whitish patches on the leaves and grow- ing fruit; the curl-leaf fungus of the peach produces swellings and contortions of the leaf; the scab of the apple and pear produces first a smoky appearance on the leaf and afterwards causes black scabby patches on the fruit and on the young twigs; the slot-hole fungus of Effect of brown rot on fruit and twigs of apricots. the apricot, plum, cherry, and almond cuts roundish holes in the leaves as though a shotgun had been discharged through the foliage, and then, in the case of the apricot, produces roundish, dark red pustules on the fruit ; the brown rot which attacks both twigs and fruit of apri- cots, prune, blackberry, etc., produced eruptions on plums and peaches ; the rust fungi of the under sides of the leaves, first of a yellowish or orange color, changing to dark brown or black, and causing the leaf to fall. These fungi are only slightly, if at all, checked by the dry sulphur treatment, and are best subdued by the use of copper solutions : 576 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM The Bordeaux Mixture. — Lime, four pounds; bluestone (sulphate of copper), four pounds ; water, forty gallons. Use part of the water to slake the lime and dissolve the bluestone, which should be done in separate vessels. The bluestone should not be put in a metal vessel. If put into a bag and suspended near the surface of the water, it will dissolve more readily, or hot water may be used in_ making the solution. Both should be cold when mixed, and the resultant mixture will be a beautiful blue wash. If mixed hot, a black compound (copper oxide) is produced, which reduces the value of the wash. After thorough mixing of the solutions, water should be added to bring the bulk up to forty gallons. This is safe to use on foliage. It may be used much stronger when trees are dormant — as strong as ten pounds of lime and ten pounds of bluestone to forty gallons of water to kill spores of fungi on the bark, but the chief advantage of the stronger mixture is not directly in spore-killing but in the longer resistance to removal by rains. This winter treatment is a successful preventive of curl-leaf on the peach, shot-hole on the apricot, scab on the apple and pear, rust on the prune, etc. In the case of the peach blight, which is an invasion of the young bark by the shot-hole fungus, an autumn spraying is imper- ative to protect the dormant twigs.* When the fungus survives winter treatment or when it attacks the fruit, as in case of the apricot partic- ularly, or the leaf in the peach, there should follow the weaker Bor- deaux in the spring or summer, as early as indications of the diseases may appear. In spraying for apple and pear scab, the addition of five pounds of lead arsenate to each one hundred gallons of the Bor- deaux Mixture makes the application answer also for the codlin moth, as described in the preceding chapter. When it is desirable to use a fungicide on fruit near the picking season, or on ornamental plants, which would be disfigured with the lime wash, the ammonical copper carbonate may be submitted for the Bordeaux Mixture, viz. : Copper carbonate, four ounces ; ammonia, forty ounces ; water forty gallons. The usual way of making this wash is to dissolve copper carbonate in ammonia, and then dilute. If the carbonate is not fully dissolved before the water is added, it can not be further dissolved, and not only is the carbonate wasted, but the fluid will not be up to standard strength. It is well, therefore, to give the ammonia ample time to act, say over night, before adding the water. The lime, salt and sulphur mixture, as already prescribed for scale insects in the preceding chapter, is an active fungicide for winter use. It is sometimes a satisfactory curl-leaf preventive in the interior valleys especially. * Consult Bulletin 191 of the University Experiment Station on "California Peach Blight." BLIGHTS AND DECAYS 577 Toadstool Destruction. — Trees are often destroyed through in- vasion by toadstool fungi from the decaying roots or wood with which their roots come in contact. The injury is often not detected until the tree is ruined and it is too late for treatment. If only part is affected, the disease may sometimes be arrested by cutting away the diseased parts and disinfection of the exposed tissue with the Bordeaux Mixture. Moss, Lichens, etc., on the Bark. — It has been clearly shown by investigation at the University Experiment Station that the growth of moss, etc., upon the bark of fruit trees is a decided injury. All trees should be assisted to maintain clean, healthy bark. This is accomplished Effect upon the nuts of the bacterial blight of walnuts. by the use of the lime, salt and sulphur mixture already prescribed for scale insects. It can also be done by winter spraying with caustic soda or potash, one pound to six gallons of water. Blights and Decays. — There are several blights which are trace- able to bacteria, parasitic growths which are not discernable as are the fungi, and not usually amenable to spray treatment, because they exist wholly within the tissues of the plant and are not reached by applica- tions. The blights of the pear, the black heart of the apricot, the olive tuberculosis, etc., are instances. Cutting back to healthy wood (with U 578 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM tools dipped after each cut in corrosive sublimate, one part to one thousand parts of water), and burning all removed parts as the best treatment which can at present be prescribed. The walnut blight, demonstrated by Newton B. Pierce, of Santa Ana, to be caused by a bacterium, has so far resisted treatment. The disease also affects the leaves and young wood. The recourse seems walnut ; generally worst at the blossom end and usually first seen there early in the season ; later the spots run together and encompass considerable areas of the surface. As the disease progresses the nut is transformed into a hateful black mass and is utterly destroyed. The disease also affects the leaves and young wood. The recourse seems to be toward resistant varieties, as stated in the chapter on the walnut. Lemon Rot, a fungus disease destructive to the fruit in the orchard and during curing or in transit, is fully expounded in Bulletin 190 of the University Experiment Station. Crown knot on peach just below ground DIE-BACK AND GUM DISEASE 579 DISEASES NOT TRACEABLE TO PARASITIC GROWTHS There are a number of prominent troubles which are not traceable to parasitic invasion of any kind, and yet may be in some cases pro- moted by bacterial growth invited by preceding conditions. Sour Sap. — There is a fermentation of the sap, quite noticeable by its odor, which may be found in all parts of the tree, from the root to the topmost twigs ; sometimes in one part and not in another. Sour. sap in the root is generally due to standing water in the soil, and the remedy is drainage. Trees thus affected make an effort to grow and then the young growth shrivels. Severe cutting back of the top to reduce evaporation until the roots can restore their feeding fibers is the only treatment of the tree, and its success depends upon the extent of the root injury. Sour sap may also be caused in the branches by the occurrence of frost after the sap flow has actually started. Cut- ting back the diseased parts, as soon as discovered, to sound wood, is the proper treatment. Die-Back. — Dying back of twigs or branches may occur without parasitic invasion through root-weakness or partial failure. It may Tuberculosis of the olive. 580 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM be due to standing water or to lack of soil moisture, either of which will destroy the root-hairs and bring the tree into distress. The treat- ment is cutting back to sound wood and correcting the soil conditions, either by irrigation or drainage, as one or the other may be needed to advance vigorous growth in the tree. Gummosis. — This is a convenient term to designate the gumming which is seen on many kinds of trees. As has been said of die-back, gumming may result from excess of water or of drouth in the soil The peach blight — twigs from sorayed and unsprayed trees. ROOT KNOT 581 Gumming is, therefore, not considered in itself a disease, but rather an indication of conditions unfavorable to the thrifty growth of the tree. It has been usually found by investigation that trees in perfect condition of health, with the moisture just enough and not excessive, are not troubled with gumming; but there are cases in which this statement does not wholly apply. There is very much in this connec- tion which is not fully demonstrated as yet and the University Plant Disease Laboratory, at Whittier, is undertaking careful and wide studies of which preliminary results appear in the University Bulletin No. 200. When there is an outbreak of gum where it can be treated it is desirable to cleanly remove all the unhealthy bark — cutting clean to sound bark and covering the wound with paint or wax to exclude the air. Root Knots. — These are excrescences upon the roots or at the root crown of various trees and of grape-vines, and they have been a serious trouble in this State for a good many years. Some of the knots have been studied by experts in plant pathology and the cause of the trouble demonstrated to be a fungus and the disease infectious. A satisfactory treatment has, however, been discovered. If the knot has not increased in size sufficiently to seriously interfere with the growth of the tree it can be smoothly removed, the wound treated with the Bordeaux Mixture, and the knot will not reappear at the same place. Success has also been had with boring a hole into the knot and filling the hole with blucstonc solution, but some trees have been killed in this way. Bluestone can be used with least danger when the tree is dormant. Plant Diseases Generally. — A connected statement of California plant diseases by R. E. and E. H. Smith, with suggestion of treat- ments to suppress them, can be had by application to the University Experiment Station at Berkeley. CHAPTER XLI SUPPRESSION OF INJURIOUS ANIMALS AND BIRDS The beasts of the field and the fowls of the air are sometimes such grievous trespassers upon the fruit plantation that protection has to be sought against them. The animals which figure in this evil work are mainly species of rodentia, some of them burrowers, as, for exam- ple, the ground-squirrel and gopher; others, surface dwellers, like the hare or jackass rabbit. Occasionally there is injury done by deer in the orchard and vineyard, and coons in the melon patch, but these larger animals may usually be left to the hunters and the dogs. RABBITS Though there are three species, prevalent, none are burrowers. This fact has led to united efforts at their suppression by driving them, with mounted horsemen, from a wide stretch of country into a narrow, fenced inclosure, where they are killed with clubs. During the last few years tens of thousands have been killed in this way, and com- paratively few are now found in the localities where the method has been adopted. Still, however, there are plenty at large to vex the fruit planter, and he must protect himself against them. Rabbit Fences. — The surest protection against rabbits is a fence which prevents their entrance, and many miles of such fence have been built in this State. Several styles prevail. The ordinary board fence, with the boards running horizontally, is made rabit-proof by placing the lower boards close together, with openings of but about A rabbit-proof fence in successful use in the San Joaquin Valley. two inches between them. A barbed wire, with barbs about two and one-half inches apart, can be used to advantage by running it along at or a little below the surface of the ground to prevent scratching imder. 582 RABBIT FENCE AND POISON 583 The cost of board fences has led to the use of barbed wire and wire netting, or of perpendicular slats interwoven with wire. Such materials are sold in large quantities. A very effective combination of barbed wire and netting, which is used in the upper San Joaquin Valley, is described as follows : The tall posts arc regular split redwood nosts. The intermediate small ones are made by sawing in two the regular posts and splitting them into eight small posts, or rather, large stakes. The netting is of galvanized wire. No. 19 gauge, and one and one-half inch mesh. This netting is stapled to the posts and stakes on the inside, or toward the field. This is of prime importance, as it will not serve the purpose if it is placed on the outside. The bottom of the netting is to come down to the ground, and the ground must be left hard, and not plowed to prevent burrowing or scratching the dirt from underneath, which can be easily done if the dirt is softened up. It is not at all necessary to set the netting below the ground. In the sketch are shown three barbed wires, with barbs two and a half inches apart. These wires must be placed on the outside of the posts. This position is also a prime necessity. The lower wire is stretched just clear of the surface of the ground. The middle wire is one inch higher than the top of the netting, and the top wire, which is intended only as against cattle, is at a height .suitable for the purpose. The rabbit-proof portion is comprised in the netting and the two lower wires. Hence, if cattle are not feared, and rabbits arc the only foe, the top wire can be dispensed with, and the posts can be all short with a greater proportion of stakes, having only enough stout posts to stand the strain of the wires. The theory of this construction is that a rabbit can only pass the fence over the top or under the bottom of the netting, and this is efifectually prevented by the barbed wires, which tear the animal if it attempts either to leap or climb over or to scratch under. Smears Distasteful to Rabbits. — A\'hcre the expense of a fence can not be assumed, measurable protection can be had by sprinkling the leaves or smearing the stems of plants with substances distasteful to the animals, which are quite dainty in this respect. Commercial aloes, one pound to four gallons of water, both sprinkled on leaves and painted on the bark, gives a bitter taste, which repels rabbits. A tea made of steeping quassia chips is said to produce the same effect. Rancid grease, liquid manure, putrescent flesh or blood, have been approved as a daub for tree trunks, but the efficacy is only of limited duration. Rabbit Poison. — Pieces of watermelon rind, cantaloupe, or other vegetable of which they are very fond, may be poisoned with strych- nine and then scattered around the orchard. Rabbits will not touch the bark as long as they can find this bait, and one meal is effective, for the rabbit never gets far away from it. The same results can be obtained by the following mixture : To one hundred pounds of wheat take nine gallons of water and one pound of phosphorus, one pound of sugar, and one ounce of oil of rhodium. Heat the water to boiling point and let it stand all night. Next morning stir in flour sufficient to make a sort of paste. The rabbits eat it with avidity if scattered about. Another preparation is half a teaspoonful of powdered strychnine, two teaspoonfuls of fine salt, and four of granulated sugar. Put all in 584 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM a tin box and shake well. Pour in small heaps on a board. It hardens into a solid mass. They Hck it for the salt, and the sugar disguises the poison, which kills great numbers. GROUND-SQUIRRELS Ground-squirrels are poisoned by the use of the poisoned wheats which are sold in the markets, or by use of bisulphide of carbon, or "smokers," which are arranged to force smoke into the holes. A small quantity of bisulphide of carbon poured into the hole, and the hole closed with dirt, is probably the most effective squirrel killer, when the ground is wet, so that the vapor is held in the burrow. Smokers are also most effective when the soil is moist. When the ground is dry, poison is the best means of reducing squirrels. The following is an exceedingly effective preparation, of which a few grains should be placed in or near each hole : Take strychnine, one ounce ; cyanide of potassium, one and one-half ounces ; eggs, one dozen ; honey, one pint ; vinegar, one and one-half pints ; wheat or barley, thirty pounds. Dissolve strychnine in the vinegar ; and you will have to pulverize it in the vinegar, or it will gather into a lump. See that it is all dis- solved. Dissolve the cyanide of potassium in a little water. Beat the eggs. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly before adding to the barley. Let it stand twenty-four hours, mi.xing often. Spread to dry before using, as it will mold if put away wet. To keep squirrels from gnawing fruit trees, or climbing and getting the fruit, tying a newspaper around the trunk of the tree, letting the paper extend out four inches at the upper edges, is said to be effective. The rattle of the paper when the squirrels attempt to get over it will frighten them. GOPHERS Gophers can often be destroyed by the use of poisoned wheat, especially prepared with a little oil of rhodium, which seems to be very attractive to all rodents. Pieces of fruits or vegetable, or the succulent stems of alfalfa, into which a few grains of strychnine have been in- serted by making a cut with a knife-blade and then squeezing it together again, are also handy conveyors of death to gophers. There are two ways to put poisoned materials into a gopher runway. One is to look for fresh open holes and put in the poison as far as possible with a long-handled spoon ; another is to take a round, pointed stick and shove it into the ground near the gopher mounds until it strikes their runway, then drop in the poisoned bait. Close up the hole with some grass ; level down mounds, so that if the poison does not kill all the gophers, you will soon discover their new mounds. If there are many mounds, put the poison in a number of places. DESTROYING GOPHERS 585 Bisulphide of carbon is also successfully used in killing gophers, while the ground is wet, using an injector which is furnished with the poison to force the vapor through the long burrows. Trapping Gophers. — Some are very successful in using gopher traps, of which there are several styles sold. Gophers come to the surface in the night, and generally close their holes soon after day- break. They frequently emerge again about noon, and a third time late in the afternoon. It is best to set the trap in an open hole ; still, the holes may be opened if the dirt is still fresh, with a good prospect of the gopher's return. Therefore, the trapper may make his rounds three times a day, as above indicated. Care should be exercised in preparing the hole for the insertion of the trap, a straight hole for a distance of at least ten inches, with no lateral branches, otherwise the gopher in pushing out the dirt will likely enough thrust the trap to one side, cover it up, or spring it, without being exposed to its grasp. The trapper should be supplied with at least two varieties of traps — one for the larger gophers, and the other for the smaller ones. The common iron gopher trap, which springs downward, is excellent for the former, and the small wire trap, which springs upward, is generally successful with the latter. The size of the hole is indicative of the size of the gopher. Either trap should be inserted nearly its full length into the hole, pressed down firmly, and a little dirt piled at the outer end to prevent its being easily pushed out. After the trap is set, it is well to cover the opening with some grass or weeds. Sometimes the holes require a little enlarging, but care should be taken to make the fit as close as possible, that the body of the gopher may be kept near the center, and thus more exposed to the prongs of the trap. In the fourth place, the trapper should have a small spade and a little gouge- shaped instrument for trimming the hole. Gopher Pitfalls. — If gophers are abundant, large numbers can be captured in this way : Dig a trench around the orchard or vineyard about the width of a spade and from fourteen to sixteen inches deep. In the bottom of the ditches, about a hundred feet apart, sink five- gallon oil cans, leaving the tops level with the ditch bottom. The gophers migrate in the night, and in attempting to come into the inclosure will fall into the ditch and then run along the bottom until they drop into the cans. Of course the ditch must not be wider than the cans. As many as fifteen live gophers have been found in one can. The cats soon learn to help themselves out of the cans. The ditch must be kept clean, and if any roads cross the tract, set up a board at night, to compel the gophers to tumble in the ditch. This ditch should be constructed about the first of June, when the outside feed begins to dry up, and the pests rush for the cultivated ground. With such protection from the outside, and the use of poison and traps inside, the trees and vines can be saved. 586 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM DESTRUCTIVE BIRDS Fruit growers generally appreciate the value of insectivorous birds, but there are feathered pests which do such ruinous work in disbudding the trees in spring-time, and in destroying ripe fruit that protective measures have to be adopted against them. The so-called "Cali- fornia linnet," which is not a linnet, but a finch (Carpodacus frontalis), a persistent destroyer of buds, and the English sparrow, infamous the world over, are probably the most grievous pests, though there are other destructive birds, including the beautiful California quail, which is protected by law, and yet must be destroyed in some parts of the State or the grape crop must be abandoned. For the killing of the smaller birds poison is usually employed, and it is best administered in water. Poisoned water made of one-eighth ounce of strychnine to three gallons of water and placed in shallow tin pans in the trees, has been widely approved. Cutting oranges in halves, spreading strychnine over the cut surface and empaling the half oranges on twigs high up in the apricot trees, has destroyed hundreds of linnets. Some advocate the use of the shotgun, No. 30 caliber, with a small charge of good powder and No. 10 shot. As many as five hundred linnets have been killed in two days. The advantage of this plan is that one kills linnets and not other birds, while poison kills both friends and foes. CHAPTER XLII PROTECTION FROM WIND AND FROSTS Though the cHmate of California renders unnecessary the protection against rigorous weather which fruit growers in some other parts of the world have to provide, there is often advantage in securing shelter from winds and protection from late frosts. The general subject of forest planting in California, and the effect of preservation and extension of our forest area upon our fruit indus- tries, has received the attention of our best-informed growers. The planting of shelter belts at intervals across our broad valleys at right angles to the courses of prevailing or most violent winds, has also been urged with great force. These greater enterprises and projects are beyond the scope of this treatise. It is rather concerning the planting of trees to shelter individual possessions that a few suggestions will be offered. It has been already remarked that on the immediate coast the successful growth of fruit will sometimes be wholly dependent upon proper shelter from prevailing winds, and in regions farther from the ocean the topography may induce strong currents of air which will illy affect trees and vines. In all such places the fruit grower should plant windbreaks, and will find himself well repaid for the ground they occupy, by the successful production on the protected area. In the interior valleys there is also need of shelter from occasional high winds which may visit the orchards either in summer or winter, and prove destructive both to trees and fruit. In some cases long lines of the sheltering trees have been cut down because they affected the fruiting of orchard tres planted too near them, and afterwards the losses through lack of protection were far -greater than would have been incurred by retaining them. What Kind of Trees to Plant. — This is a question concerning which there is much to be learned. Data is accumulating in the growth of trees planted to test their suitability, and the future planter will have more certain ground to proceed upon than is now available. Mention will be made, however, of a few trees, which are now most widely grown. The most widely-planted shelter tree is the Eucalyptus globulus, or Australian blue gum. It is a rapid grower and voracious feeder, and wonderful for root extension, for which it has been roundly abused. It is doubtful, however, whether we have a better tree for high growth, and consequent large area over which its shelter will be felt. It is deficient in undergrowth, and if a close screen is desired, the planting 587 588 PROTECTION FROM FROST 589 of eucalyptus and Monterey cypress (Cnprcssiis niacrocarpa) is a com- mon practice. The latter also attains good height, but its broad, thick base fills the gaps between the bare stems of the gum trees. Another tree which has often been planted with the blue gum, to supply a thick, low growth, is the pepper tree {Schiniis molle). It is also grown in rows by itself. It makes a dense head, grows rapidly, and flourishes without much care. Trees planted eighteen feet apart will soon come together and make a dense wall of very beautiful, bright, light-green foliage. The pepper is not only a good windbreak, but also an excel- lent dust-catcher. Unlike most trees which are used for this purpose, it does not become laden with dust. The leaves are smooth and glossy, and therefore repel the dust particles, which, stopped in their flight by the dense foliage of the tree, instead of clinging to it drop to the ground. The growth of the pepper tree near the coast is much slower than that of the Monterey cypress. The eucalyptus and the cypress for the coast, and the eucalyptus and pepper for the interior valleys, make, probably, as perfect a wall of foliage all the year round as can be had. The blue gum is, however, somewhat subject to frost killing, especially when young, and in very frosty places is objected to on that account. A number of other species of eucalyptus are now being planted, and are being found more hardy than the blue gum. The rostrata, rudis, tercticornis, polyanthcma, amyi^dali)ia, vimiiialis and others are of this character. The Monterey pine (Piiius iiisigtiis) is a rapid, high-growing tree, and, though a native of the coast, has proved itself well adapted to the interior valleys of the central portion of the State. Its foliage is dense for a pine, and its shelter, therefore, the more complete. A native white cedar (Liboccdrus dccurrens) has also been employed as a shelter tree in the San Joaquin Valley, and is commended as a rapid grower in the interior as on the coast. Its ability to stand drouth, heat and frost is said to exceed that of any of the conifers of the seacoast. It stands well in the most exposed situations, as its roots run very deep into the earth and it is claimed that it does not sap the fertility from the soil around its base, as with the blue gum. It is also said to be less subject to frost injury than the Monterey cypress and pine. All the foregoing are evergreen trees, and therefore afford protec- tion summer and winter alike. Of deciduous trees there ar many which may be well employed. The California black walnut makes a very satisfactory growth both in the interior and upon the coast, and is largely used for roadside planting. The California broad-leaved maple {Acer macro phylla) is very beautiful, rapid in growth, and dense in foliage, and the same is true of the box elder {Acer negrundo), but probably both trees are especially suited to the coast regions. Of the poplars, the Carolina {Populus monilifera) is best, because of its 590 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM breadth^ density of foilag-e, and comparative freedom from suckering. The locust (Robinia pseudacacia) is used to some extent, but its suck- ering is very objectionable. Quite a number of the larger-growing- deciduous fruit trees are used to some extent along the exterior lines of orchards for the protection of the inclosure. The fig, the walnut, the chestnut, seedling almonds, and apricots are especially commended for such use. Growing Trees from Seed. — Much that has been said in Chapter VIII will be suggestive to one who desires to grow his own shelter trees from seed. Trees from small seeds are best grown in boxes, and in many cases, as with eucalyptus and cypress especially, do best when put in permanent place when quite small. Whether put at once in permanent place, or in nursery, the land should be deeply worked and the young plant well planted and cared for. Cultivation of Shelter Trees. — If one desires rapid growth of shelter trees, they should be cultivated the first few years as thoroughly as an orchard. Much disappointment results from allowing roadside trees to shift for themselves in a hard, dry soil. With such treatment the root extension is naturally most rapid into cultivated orchard ground, which is undesirable. Cultivate and enrich the roadside, and the tree will grow chiefly on the waste land. At the same time the roadside will be prevented from producing vast quantities of weed seed, to be blown over the fence, and the place will have a name for neatness, which is too rare even in California. PROTECTION FROM FROSTS Much attention has been given during recent years to the protection of citrus fruits as they approach maturity, and of deciduous fruits as they are starting on their growth, from occasional fall of the mercury a few degrees below the freezing point. It has been shown by ample experience that fruits may escape injury by a temperature of 28 degrees if the ground surface is wet and the exposure be but of short duration. Fruit has, therefore, been saved by irrigation, while that over dry ground has been nipped by the same temperature. About the same re- sult has been secured by checking radiation of heat by covering the or- chard or vineyard with a cloud of smoke. Both these protective meas- ures fail when the temperature falls a few degrees below 28 degrees or when such freezing temperature is continued several hours. During recent years much progress has been made in preventing frost by numerous small fires distributed among the trees to be pro- tected and many devices to secure such distributed heat easily and economically are being enterprisingly promoted by inventors and man- ufacturers. A general statement on this subject by Dr. J. Elliot Coit, PROTECTION FROM FROST 591 superintendent of the University Citrus Experiment Station at River- side, contains the following: Adding heat directly to the air through the agency of fires distributed throughout the orchard, has been demonstrated to be the most successful and practical way to handle the frost problem in commercial citrus orchards. A great many devices and many kinds of fuel have been experimented with, and the best fire so far tried is distillate oil, burned in some form of sheet-iron receptacle. Provision must be made in the frosty areas for ten hours of effective firing. Many small fires are much l)ctter than a few large ones. The amount of heat given off by pots when nearly burned out is very much less than when first lighted, hence it is wise to light the alternating receptacles before the first are burned out. Additional extra receptacles should be placed about the orchard and on the windward side for use in case of an emergency. Experience has shown that in an old, fairly thick orcliard. on a quiet night, 40 two-gallon receptacles per acre, burning slop distillate, will raise the temperature four or five degrees. With a temperature of 24° or below, it will be necessary to have one two-gallon receptacle per tree burning simultaneously at the coldest period of the night in order to save a crop of lemons. It is still better to have not less than 120 per acre, 40 of which can be burned early in the night, and the remaining 8(^ during the coldest period toward morning. p"or small isolated orchards, where there is little or no cumulative effect of the fires, a two-gallon heater to each tree with a double row around the windward side should be provided. This apolies to large bearing trees, which tend to hold the heat. With small trees, still more equipment is advisable. It has been demonstrated that by orchard heating properly carried on, citrus crops may be safely carried tliroueh nights when the temperature falls to 20°F., at a cost which is nominal when compared to the value of the fruit. As this edition is being prepared it is evident that frost prevention by direct heat, which was first undertaken in CaHfornia about 1895. and has since that date been employed in otiier States, accomplished results in December, 1911, which bid fair to permanently enroll the method among accepted horticultural practices. Systematic research and experiment on this basis are being undertaken, the conclusions of which should be looked for in Experiment Station bulletins, in the publications of the U. S. Weather Ilurcau and in the horticultural journals. CHAPTER XLin UTILIZING FRUIT WASTES Some progress has been recently attained in the securing- of horti- cultural by-products from various kinds of fruit wastes. There is a considerable product of cream of tartar from the pomace and lees of the wineries in central California. In southern California citric acid factories have to some extent used lemons rejected in packing, and some other by-products of citrus fruits have been secured in small quantities. Vinegar from wine and cider are, of course, made here as everywhere in fruit countries. There has arisen also a profitable export demand for fruit pits and apricot and peach pits, which formerly were burned, are now selling profitably — machinery for cheap extraction of the kernels having been contrived by California inventors. The kernels are bought by agents of European manufacturers of oils and essences. Apricot kernels are used by confectioners in place of almonds. Comparative Value of Fruits, and Hay, Grains, Meals, etc. 100 Pounds Fruit Equivalent to Pounds of ^^ ^ < O FRESH FRUITS Apples 34 20 24 Oranges 33 19 23 Pears 40 23 30 Plums 50 30 36 Prunes 46 27 33 Apricots 40 23 29 Nectarines 43 26 30 Figs 50 30 37 Grapes SO 30 Z7 Watermelons .... 22 13 16 Nutmeg Melons.. 19 11 13 DRIED FRUITS Dried prunes 175 104 125 Dried apricots 194 115 138 Dried peaches 190 113 135 Dried figs 186 110 132 Raisins 216 128 153 97 100 108 103 111 103 82 59 84 The disposition of waste fruit by growers must, however, always lie chiefly in the line of feeding animals unless denatured alcohol enter- prises should arise to consume it at prices to pay something more than 592 o U •5 .Se o o ?'^ •-.•■•>' 1 '>^H -"•;;! '^ ^^ ?»m^ >'t^-{j^t . ^_.' #^- ^*^il i ^ 1 i 1 •.^H :?^?^ iS'>C*'-/'?» ••" j^. . - > .<^ "/clifiuvviv, *»•■ 1 I , ] •' "fll J j^ I't V ' ^''^HH '^^^^^^^^^^Hi ^ i'' jy-- ^ ;^^^^^W If i-'Mi '^^^^^^^^s^^sl :&* :' SL 1 t^^^^^s^^P^Mpy ^ 1>1 . 'wK"'J '^^^^ShE !»■■"' '"1|P c o to C ■> fe 595 INDEX Page Acorns, edible 45 Alkaline Soils 38 Alligator Pear 475 Almond, The 499 growing from seed 75 hulling and bleaching 501 pollination 503 propagation 500 pruning 501 situations and soils 500 wild 45 varieties 504 Animals, injurious 582 Ants, killing 569 Apple in California 224 aphis resistant 227 aphis woolly 558 drying 534 exposures for 226 gathering 231 irrigation 230 localities for 234 mildew 574 mission 47 native crab 40 planting, distance 229 picking and packing 233 pollination 235 propagation 226 pruning 229 scab or smut 575 second crop 225 seedlings, growing IZ shipping 234 . soils for 226 Southern California 242 storehouse for 232 summer and fall 233 table of varieties 242 thinning 141, 229, 230 varieties, most popular 222, 242 when to pick 231 winter 234 worm 567 varieties 222, 236 to 240 Apricot 244 climatic requirements . . . . • 245 diseases of • 252 distances for 248 drying 534 exposures for 245 growing seedlings 74 irrigation 252 localities for 245 mission 47 Page Apricot — continued old trees 244 on almond root 247 planting 248 pruning 249 shot-hole fungus 253, 575 stocks and soils for 247 table of varieties 253 thinning 139, 251 varieties 222, 253 to 255 Army Worms 546 Atmospheric humidity 23 Banana, The 468 Barberry, native 44 Bear berry 44 Bergamot 467 Berries and currants 478 Berries, various wild 44 Birds, poisoning 586 Blackberry, The 479 cultivation 480 hybrids 492 distances for 479 longevity of 483 propagation 479 pruning 480, 484 wild 42 varieties 483 Blasting for planting 106, 149 Borers 117, 564 Bones, treatment of 160 Bordeaux Mixture 576 Brush, cutting to kill 67 Budding, common method 81 June •....-.... 90 over old trees 92 spring 84 Bud, cutting to a 136 Buds, dormant 90 Buffalo berry 44 Burbank's varieties 221, 318, 327 Cactus fruits 45 Canned fruit product 523 Canning industry 524, 526 Canker worms 548 Caterpillars 549, 550 Chain for laying out 104 Chamisal and chaparral 62 Charcoal making 67 Cherimoyer 469 596 INDEX 597 Page Cherry 257 dela\-ed fruiting of 261 distances for 262 exposures for 261 gum disease 266 grafting the 262, 265 localities for 259 moisture requirements 260 old trees • 257 pests and diseases 266 pruning the 263 seedlings growing li slug "....• 550 soils for the 259 stocks for the 262 table of varieties 268 wild 41 varieties 222. 267, 271 Chestnut, The 505 seedlings 75 wild 44 Choco or Chayota 469 Citron, Tlie 467 Clearing land for fruit 62 brushjr 66 cost of 63 grading 69 steam puller 65 stump puller 65 with powder 65 time to cut to kill 67 Climate, divisions of California.... 11 of California, characteristics of. .10, 19 of California, whv mild 10 foothill ■ 16 mountain 16 coast • • . . 13 valley 15 value of 24 Cloudiness, east and west 22 Coast pests and diseases 11 Codlin moth 567 Composting 162 Corner, to find true 100 Cover crops 167 Cranberries 486 wild 43 Crops between trees or vines 145 Crystalizing fruit 525 Cultivation 142 adequate 144 hillside 149 methods of 146 purposes of 142 shallow, results of 144 summer 152, 153 to retain moisture 142 without plowing 152 Page Currants 486 culture of 487 regions for 486 varieties grown 488 wild 42 Custard apple 469 Cutworms 546 Cuttings, fruit trees from 76 Dates 379 at the missions 379 bearing age of 380 bearing in Solano Countv 380 blooming of •...." 380, Z'iZ first fruit ■ 380 from seed 381 from suckers 382 propagation of 381 requirements of 380 transplanting 382 Dewberry 484 Diabroticas 569 Die-back 579 Dormant buds 91 Drainage desirable 68, 216 Dried fruits (see fruits) 526 boxes for 533 covering 529 cutting sheds 530 dipping 533, 540 drying floors 529 grading and cleaning 530, 532 packing 532 product of 526 sulphuring 530 sweating 533 trays for 528 worm 533, 569 Elderberries 42 Evaporated Fruits 540 Evaporator, sunshine ■ • 535 Fertilizers in California 156 caution in use of 157, 165 for trees and vines 157 methods of applying 165, 166 value of green 167 when necessary 157 sources of nitrogen 161 sources of phosphoric acid 159 sources of potash 160 Feijoa Sellowiana 470 Fig 384 bearing age 390 budding 386 capritication 390 drying 534 foes of 391 from cuttings 386 598 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Page Fig — continued from seeds 389 grafting 387 mission 47 planting and pruning 389 regions for 384 size of old trees 384 soils for 385 varieties 392 to 396 Filbert growing 506 wild 45 Frosts, protection from 590, 591 Fruit cultivation 142 Fruit gardens, early 52 Fruit industries, influence of 58 Fruit industries, outlook of 59 Fruit interest, extent of 54, 57 Fruit shipments 56 Fruit thinning 137 Fruit tree acreage 57 Fruit products, value of 57 Fruits, crystallizing • 525 drying • 526 drying floors 529 graders 532 grafted, first in California 50 locations for 12 value as stock food 592 Fruit shipments, eastern 56 Fruit trees, dwarf 52 Fruits, commercial varieties 220 Fruits, locations for 12 Fruits, mission 46 Fruits, native 40 Fruits, Russian 40 Goat nut, or jajoba 45 Gooseberry, The 488 culture of 488 requirements of 488 varieties 489 wild 43 Gophers, killing 584 pitfall for • 585 trapping 585 Grafting • 84 bark' 89 cleft 87 root 88 side 87 time for 94 top 92 whip 88 wax for 85 waxed bands 86 Graft, time to 94 Page Grafts, planting out 88 Granadilla 471 Grape, area of 331 budding 339 conditions of ripening 20 cutting grafts 347 dibbles for planting 350 diseases of 368 distance 348 from cuttings 334, 345 from layers 334 from seed 334 frost injuries 367 grafting • 340, 348 insects • 553 industry 330 length of season 333 mildew 574 mission 47 number per acre 349 planting devices 351 planting in rows 349, 352 products 58 pruning 355, 367 pruning, long 364 pruning, short 355 resistant 342 rooting in nursery 337 soils for 332 stakes, twine, etc 355 suckering 359 sulphuring 574 summer pruning 360, 366 syrup 540 tliinning 332 trellising 336 varieties ..'. 223, 370 wild 41 wine, varieties of 375 Grasshoppers, killing 556 Growing season, long 24 Guava, The 471 Varieties : strawberry 471 lemon 471 Gummosis • 580 Gypsum, uses of 161 Hardpan, breaking up 106, 149 Heat, deficient on coast 13 importance of 19 summer, records of 20 Heeling in young trees Ill Hexagonal planting 99 Hillside, rows on 102 use of triangle on 103 Holes for trees 105 INDEX' 599 Page Huckleberries, wild 43 Humiditv, atmospheric 23 deficient 26 east and west 23 excessive 23 Insects, injurious 545 Insects, remedies 571 Irrigation 171 distributing manure by 166 ditches ' 206 drainage and 216 evils of excessive 172 flooding 184 for citrus fruits 177 for deciduous fruits 176 flume building for 201 hillside ! • 196 how much • 173 implements for 186 in early days 53 in basins 185. 19() in checks 185, 191 in furrows 193, 19-5 leveling for 69 locating contour lines 205 manure with irrigation water.... 166 manurial value of 166 measurement of water 211 methods of 184 nursery 80 objections answered 172 relation to cultivation 180 relation to rainfall 174 relation to soil 177 relation to tillage 179 reservoirs, small 206 running ditches for 204 subirrigation 216 suggestions for 216 summer 182 taken from ditches 209 wells and pumps for 210 wheels for 209 when desirable 181 winter 181 Jajoba • ■ 4~ Jujube of commerce 471 Jujube, native 44 Kai Apple 477 Laying out land for fruit 98 Leaf lice 552 Lemon berry 44 Lemon, The 457 curing 462 packing 453 planting and pruning 459 propagation 459 situations and soils for 458 Page Lemon-continued Varieties : Eureka 466 Lisbon 466 Villa Franca 466 Lemon berry 44 Lice, leaf 558 Lime, The 466 V.^RIETIES : Mexican 466 Imperial • 466 Lime, uses of • 161 Loganberry 492 Loquat, The 471 Varieties : Advance 472 Blush 472 Commercial 472 Pineapple 472 Premier 472 Victor 472 Manure, care of • 162 green 167 sheep, use of 164 Manuring at planting 115 Manzanita berries 44 Map of orchard and vineyard 116 Marls 162 Mealy bugs • • 563 Measuring wire 98 Melon shrub 474 Melon tree 474 Mildew 574 Miner's inch 211 Mission fruits 46 Moisture lost by weed growth 144 retained by cultivation 143 Morning Glory, killing 154 Moss, removing 577 Mulberry, The 489 Mulching, after planting 116 Mulching as substitute for cultivation 155 Nectarine 293 compared with peach 293 dried 293, 536 future of 295 varieties 294 Nitrogen for fruits 161, 167 Nursery • 70 budding and grafting 81 classes of nursery stock 90 growing seedlings • 72 imported seedlings 76 600 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM Page Nursery — continued irrigation 80 laying out and planting 78 pruning in 90 selection of site for 71 soil, preparation of 72 soil, proper for 70 trees, ages of 90 trees, digging 110 trees, disinfecting 570 trees, selecting 108 when to plant 112 Nuts growing in California 499 growing from seed 75 wild 45 Olives 398 at old missions 47 budding 403 canning 414 climate for 398 from cuttings 400, 401 from seed 400 grafting 404 localities for 399 oil making • . .' 411 oil yield of varieties ■ 421 planting 406 preferred varieties 415 pruning 407 pickling 410, 413 small cuttings 401 soils for 400 truncheons 402 twig borer 564 wild 44 varieties 415 Orchard land, preparation of 96 laying out in squares 97 alternating squares 97 measure and sight 98 measuring wire 100 quincunx planting 101 time for planting Ill Orange 422 all the year from California 428 budding and grafting 441 California regions discussed 424 conditions for citrus fruits 432 diseases 451 distances for 442 from cuttings 436 from layers 436 from seed 437 in central California 426 in southern California 424 mission 47 nursery • 439 packing • 453 planting in orchard 443 product 57, 425 Page Orange — continued pruning 447 ripening first at the north 433 seedlings, care of 438 situation and soils for 436 superiority of semi-tropical 423 transplanting 444 world's industry 422 varieties 452, 453 Orchard planting 105 Oregon grape 44 Oso berry 41 Popular fruit varieties 220 Palm nuts 45 Peach 272 age at planting 277 approved lists of 287 blight 576 blooming of varieties 286 curl-leaf 283 diseases 283 distance in planting 277 dormant buds 278 drying 535 early bearing 273 grafting 282 growing season of 24 irrigation 282 localities for 274 longevity of 272 mildew 284 mission '. 46 moth 564 "peach almond" 277 pitting clings 536 propagation 277 pruning 127, 279 ripening of varieties 286 root borer 565 seedlings 74 soils for 275 stocks for 277 table of varieties 285 thinning 141, 281 varieties 222, 285 to 293 Peanut growing 506 Pear 296 Bartlett, why popular 298 blight 304 characteristics in CaHfornia 298 diseases 305 distances for the 300 drying 535 dwarf 301 for alkali soil 298 irrigation 302 largest on record .' . . 298 localities for 297 INDEX 601 Page Pear — continued mission ■ 47 on quince stock • 301 pollination 305 propagation of 301 pruning 301 seedlings, growing 73 slug 550 soils for 299 storing and ripening 304 tables of varieties -309 thinning 302 varieties 223. 306 to 30:-i Pear, Alligator 475 Pecan, The 507 Persimmon, Jananese 472 Persimmon, Virginian 472 Persimmons, curing 473 Phenomenal berry 492 Phosphates 159 Phylloxera 558 Pioneers, planting by 47 Pineapple 473 Pine nuts 45 Pistachio, The 507 Planting, conditions favoring 112 bar for setting 107 cutting- back after 117, 124 depth of 115 digging holes for 105 laying off for 98 mulching 116 operation of 113 preparing land for 95 soeed in 115 time for 11> triangular tree setter 108 use of manure 115 use of water 114 Plowing, devices for 147 orchard and vineyard 147 on hillside 149 to break hardpan 96 Plow, laying off with 98 Phims and prunes 310 California false 40 confusion in names 318 definition of a prune 310 drying 536 from the root 313 in southern California 312 length of season 310 localities for 311 mission 47 myrobalan 312 planting 314 Page Plums and Prunes — continued pollination 320 propagation 312 pruning the 314 seedlings 74 stocks and soils 312 table of varieties 321 varieties 223, 321 to 327 wikl 40 Plumcot. The 317 Pomegranate, The 473 Pomelo 455 packing 453 varieties 456 Potash 160 Prickly Pear 45, 474 Prune curing 536 Pruning 1 18 bearing trees 1 28 California stvle 121 effects of ..'. 120 gathering brush 137 influenced by location 122 low, advantages of 119 nursery 90 prunings as fertilizer 164 purposes of 119 times for 131 tools 135 to renew old trees 128, 134 vase form, securing 122 wounds, covering 137 Quince 328 demand for 328 propagation 32R pruning 329 soils for 329 varieties 329 Quincunx planting 101 Rabbit, fences 582 Rabbits, destroying 583 poisons for 583 smears for 583 Rainfall, records of 12 Raisin making 53, 538 Raspberr3\ The 490 bJack-caps 49i hybrids 492 pruning 49l) varieties, popular 492 wild 42 Red Spider 556 Root rot 578, 581 Root-knots 581 Russian introduction of fruits 49 Salal 44 602 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Page Salmon berrv 42 Scale Insects 558 black 561 brown apricot 562 cottony cushion 563 pear 559 orange, red 560 orange, soft 561 oyster shell 559 rose and berry 559 San Jose 559 remedies for 571 Sapota, white 476 Scions, care of 85 selection of 85 Sea Fig 44 Seed, growing trees from 75 Seedlings, imported 72, 76 Septuple laying off 100 Service Berry 44 Soils for fruits 28 adobe 34 alkali 38 alluvial 34 bed-rock or hardpan Z7 blasting 106 characteristic of California 28 classification of 31 clay 35 defective 36 desert ^^ examination of 39 granitic 35 loams 35 mesa 35 plains "^2 red 35 river bottom 35 sedimentary or silty 34 shallow, blasting 106 Sour sap 579 Spider, red 556 Stock, fruit as food for 593 Squares, laying off in 97 Squirrels, destroying 584 Strawberry 493 care of 497 continuous bearing 497 laying out for 494 planting 496 propagation 493 situations and soils 493 varieties, popular 498 wild 44, 498 Strawberry tree 474 Page Summer pruning 133 Sunburn, protection from 117 Sunlight, value of direct 21 Sunshine, evaporating 530 Sunshine, records of 22 Temperature, lowest 20 Temperature, records of 21 Thinning fruit 137 Thrios 553 Tomato tree 477 Toyon 44 Trees, activity and rest of 17 heeling in Ill selecting 108 Tree-setters 107, 108 Triangle for laying out 103 Tuna fruit 45, 474 Tussock moth 550 Vine hoppers 553 Vineyard — see grape Walnut, black .45, 513 Walnut, English 508 bacteriosis or blight 578 bleaching 520 blossoms of 519 budding 511 culture and soils 508 gathering and drying 519 grafting 513 growing seedlings 75, 509 hybrids 509 propagation and planting 509, 517 pruning 518 varieties 521 Water measurements 211 Weed killing by cultivation 154 Weeds, evaporation by 144 Weir measurement 211 Whitewash against sunburn 117 Wild fruits of California 40 Windbreaks 587 trees for 588 Wine grapes 375 Winery refuse as manure 165 Winter-killing, unknown 19 Wire, measuring 100 Woolly aphis 558 Wounds, covering 137 Yellow jackets, killing 570 California Vegetables IN GARDEN AND FIELD A MANUAL OF PRACTICE WITH AND WITHOUT IRRIGATION By EDWARD J. WICKSON , A. M. CONTENTS Chapter. Chat'ter. I. N'egetable Growing in California. XX. Corn. II. Farmers' Gardens in California. XXI. Cucumber. III. California Climate as Related to XXII. Kgg Plant. Vegetable Growing. XXIII. Lettuce. IV. Vegetable Soils of California. XXIV. Melons. V. Garden Irrigation. XXV. Onion Family. VI. Garden Drainage in California. XXVI. Peas. VII. Cultivation. XXVII. Peppers. VIII. Fertilization. XXVIII. Potatoes. IX. Garden Location and Arrange- XXIX. Radishes. ment. XXX. Rhubarb. X. The Planting Season. XXXI. Spinach. XI. Propagation. XXXII. Squashes. XII. Asparagus. XXXIII. Tomato. XIII. Artichokes. XXXIV. Turnip. XIV. Beans. XXXV. N'cgetable Sundries. XV. Beet. XXXVI. X'egetables for Canning XVI. Cabbage Family. and Drying. XVII. Carrot, Parsnip and Salsify. XXXVII. Seed Growing in California. XVIII. Celery. XXXVIII. Garden Protection. XIX. Chicory. XXXIX. Weeds in California. Second Edition— Revised and Extended COMMENDATION OF "CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES" The work will be found of inestimable assistance to those who are interested in vegetable growing in California, not only on a large scale, but to the large number who cultivate these products for their own consumption. — San Francisco Call. We take no risk in advising every Californian who has a garden spot to procure a copy. — San Francisco Chronicle. Not only interesting but valuable to every one in this State who cultivates ever so small a lot of ground. The author is eminently qualified for the work which he has just completed. — San Francisco Bulletin. It treats of the proper culture of all leading vegetables in California. It is full of infor- mation and instruction. It is so clear that whoever uses it as a guide book can not go astray in vegetable culture. The work is freely illustrated and handsomely bound. — Sacra- mento Record-Union. Covers every part of the State in technical analysis and physical demonstration. — Peta- lunia Courier. It treats of every feature of vegetable production in plain, common-sense terms, and gives reasons for its assertions. — Pomona Times. Price $2.00, Postpaid Anywhere Address, PACIFIC RURAL PRESS, Publishers SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. ESTABLISHED IN 1870 OLDEST AND MOST RELIABLE FARM PAPER ON THE PACIFIC COAST Its Pacific Rural Press WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED Edited by Prof. E. J. WICKSON You need the PACIFIC RURAL PRESS in your work in the orchard. It will keep you po^ed on the latest and be^ in horticultural pradice. i $2.00 per year in the U. S. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: -^ -^ ^- fflj-j aa Foreign countries, . $3.00 Address: PACIFIC RURAL PRESS 420 Market Street San Francisco, Cal., U. S. A. . 1912 BmSl 1^ OF CONGRESS \