320 Transactions op the 1 



THE CULTURE OF FRUIT. 



REPORT ON HORTICULTURE FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE AMERICAN POMOLOGI- 



CAL SOCIETY. 



"We take the following ably written report, by Dr. J. S. Strentzell, 

 from the California Horticulturist : 



Twenty }-ears only have elapsed since the culture of fruit in Califor- 

 nia has been earnestly engaged in. The liberal recompense realized by 

 the pioneers stimulated others in their efforts to excel. Money and toil 

 were lavishly spent to obtain the best and rarest seeds, and the choice 

 fruits of Eastern nurseries, transplanted here, found a congenial soil and 

 a climate most favorable for their development. Consequently our best 

 orchards and vineyards are overcrowded with varieties, and the owners 

 are forced, by the demands of their markets, to discard even good ones, 

 if not embraced within popular favor. 



As one of the most important labors of the American Pomological So- 

 ciety is to perfect a list of the best varieties of fruits adapted to the 

 greatest extent of country and most profitable culture, your committee 

 will be governed by the same action, and restrict itself to that consid- 

 eration, as regards California. 



Conditions predicated upon mean temperature, rainfall, component con- 

 stituents of the soil, aspect, altitude, an atmosphere more or less infused 

 with moisture, and other meteorological conditions, exercise the sa?ne 

 influence here, and are so favorably arranged for fruit culture, that, upon 

 any given spot in California, a greater variety of fruits can be well 

 grown than under a corresponding latitude on the eastern side of the 

 continent; thus, all the semi tropical fruits can be raised in conjunction 

 with those of the northern clime. Our Astrachans, Baldwins, and Pip- 

 inns will be recognized as such wherever shown; but, if disguised, it is 

 o\\\y by their Sunday clothing, more gorgeous with the tints of the 

 unclouded solar rays; and fed upon the doubly-distilled moisture, derived 

 mainly b}' condensation, they are sweeter and richer. Besides, judicious 

 irrigation can easily modify any deficiency* of juiciness, and protract the 

 season of their ripening. By the time another decade of national life is 

 absorbed, the wastage of water will be economized and retained for the 

 sustenance of plant life during the season of drought. Human knowl- 

 edge can hardly predict the modifications and the perfection fruit culture 

 will ultimately attain by those efforts; but in California will be the 

 throne of Pomona's most exalted realm; the hills clothed with the vine, 

 every nook covered with fruit-bearing trees, mulberry groves skirting 

 the plain, oranges, date palms, olives, and figs, along the grand irri- 

 gating ditches of the San Joaquin, will proclaim her dominion. 



A fortune will reward the originator of a first-class early apple. 

 The Harvest, now heading the list, is only of second quality ; and the 



