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are universally used. Several stocks may be used for various soil conditions, 

 but experience has taught that the Myrobalan root is generally used, particularly 

 if the soil is heavy or drainage conditions are bad. The peach and almond root 

 are used considerably, on the lighter soils and where the drainage is good. 

 It is usually better to obtain trees from some reliable nursery firm, of which 

 there are a great many in the state. The trees are planted in squares, rect- 

 angles, or triangles. The usual distance is twenty-two to twenty-six feet, 

 depending on local conditions, varieties, etc. The general practice is to cut the 

 tree back to a single stock twenty to twenty-four inches high at the time 

 of planting, then shape the tree, by pruning, the next two or three years. 

 Others do not prune at all, but let the tree grow as it will. The cultural methods 

 will vary a little in different sections, but is not unlike the general care given 

 other orchards in regard to plowing, cultivating, and irrigating. 



Handling the Crop. There are three general methods of handling the crop. 

 These are governed usually by the size of the farm. The first and most common 

 is the case of the owner who has ten or twenty acres and he and his family 

 do all the work, with perhaps, additional help at harvest time. The second 

 class is of large tracts of from twenty to one hundred acres, which are handled 

 almost entirely with hired labor. Third, the renter. In this case, the land is 

 rented for a cash rental, or on a crop basis, which is usually one-third to one- 

 half for the man who rents and one-half to two-thirds to the owner. The 

 labor is supplied chiefly by white people who live in the community and by 

 transients, mostly Orientals, who are employed during the rush season. The fruit 

 ripens on the tree and falls to the ground, when it is gathered, hauled to the 

 dipping shed, dipped in a solution of lye, and placed on trays in the sun to 

 dry. After the fruit has been dried, it is put in sacks and sold to the large 

 packing concerns, or handled by the farmers' co-operative organizations. 



Insect Pests and Diseases. The prune, like other fruit trees, is attacked by 

 certain insects and diseases. The most serious insect pests are thrips, root 

 borers, and red spider. The worst diseases are crown gall and gummosis. 



SEMI-TKOPICAL FRUITS 

 By I. J. CONDIT, Instructor in Citriculture 



The following semi-tropical fruits, aside from citrus fruits, olives and figs, 

 are now being grown in California, and are of sufficient importance to warrant 

 commercial plantings: Pomegranate, guava, feijoa, loquat, Japanese persimmon, 

 avocado, and date. All these crops require irrigation. 



The pomegranate is grown more or less commonly throughout California 

 except at elevations above 1500 feet. As a commercial fruit it is now found 

 in the Imperial and Coachella valleys and other parts of Southern California, 

 and in the San Joaquin Valley; at Lindsay and Porterville it is largely planted 

 as a border around citrus orchards, thus serving both ornamental and com- 

 mercial purposes. The guava is commercially grown in San Diego, Los Angeles, 

 Orange, and Santa Barbara counties. 



The feijoa is a new fruit introduced into California in 1901; it is closely 

 related to the guava and is sometimes known as the pineapple guava. It is 

 quite hardy, not being injured by a temperature as low as 5 F. A few 



