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FRUITS. 



California is one of the best fruit producing countries in the world. 

 The quality of our fruits is unsurpassed, and we grow as great a variety 

 as any other portion of the earth embraced in an equal area of territory. 

 The common varieties — such as apples, peaches, peai's, plums, apricots 

 and nectarines — are produced in quantities more than equal to home con- 

 sumption, and yet we are large importers of dried fruits of some of 

 these same varieties. Our importations of dried apples for this year 

 will not be less than six thousand barrels. And this in the face of the 

 fact that hundreds of thousands of bushels of apples, far superior in 

 quality to the imported, were allowed to go to decaj* under our trees. 

 Such facts are not much to the credit of our orchardists, and we hope 

 for better management in the future. 



EXPORTING GREEN FRUITS. 



All fruits in the Atlantic States seem to be decreasing both in quantity 

 and quality. The cause of this fact can only be explained on the suppo- 

 sition of a gradual change of climate, unfavorable to fruit culture. 

 These facts, in connection with the fact that fruits of the same varieties 

 ripen earlier in our State than there, may be turned very much to our 

 advantage if we can lay ours down in the Eastern cities in good order 

 and at cheap freights. This experiment has been tried this year, with 

 varied success. Some shipments have gone through in fine condition, 

 and have paid well, while others have been almost an entire loss to the 

 shippers. There has been about three hundred tons of pears, apples, 

 grapes and plums sent out of the State for the East, by railroad. The 

 opinion of shippers is, that fruit of all kinds, for so long a trip by rail, 

 should be packed in smaller boxes. Say for pears and apples, packages 

 from ten to fifteen pounds, and for grapes not exceeding five pounds 

 should be used. While pears and apples should be picked and shipped 

 before thej' are quite ripe, grapes should be fully ripe before taken from 

 the vine. Pears and apples should be picked in the middle ofthedayand 

 exposed to the sun at least one day before packing. Grapes should also 

 be picked in the middle of the day and allowed to lay in heaps until the}' 

 have passed through a sweating process, and then thoroughly dried and 

 exposed to the sun at least a day before packing. AVith care and expe- 

 rience we have no doubt the business may be made highly remunerative, 

 and will encourage the greater production of varieties adapted to this 

 trade. The average price netted for pears in good order was about 

 fifteen cents a pound. Grapes of Muscat of Alexandria, Flame-colored 

 Tokay, and Black Hamburg varieties, netted thirty cents, while the 

 native California grape brought twenty cents a pound. 



ORANGES, LEMONS, LIMES AND OLIVES. 



All these fruits, of excellent quality, have for many years been pro- 

 duced with good success in the south coast counties of the State. A few 

 isolated trees of all these fruits have, within a few years past, come into 

 bearing in many other localities. The quality of the fruit and the bear- 

 ing habits of the trees show conclusively that nearly all portions of the 

 State are well adapted to their successful cultivation. These fruits can 

 all be shipped great distances without injury, and it is believed that the}' 

 can be cultivated here for the markets of the Atlantic States with good 



