192 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



There is, in fact, almost an absence of pure amateurs enthusiastic 

 critical, discriminating, athirst for novelties. Even suburban planters 

 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 commercial in spirit, 

 policy and point of . view, which is perhaps only natural in a state 

 where the fruit products reach an annual aggregate value of something 

 like one hundred 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 toward trial of novelties among commercial growers, especially 

 manifested in search of specific characters which are seen to be desir- 

 able rather than desire for newness for its own sake, which is often 

 a point of pride among amateurs. To this enterprising and discrimin- 

 ating 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 characters, 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 keeping qualities ; for varieties, similar in kind, 

 which fill gaps in the ripening season so that he can employ help 

 continuously, and shippers 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, t nd 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, 

 because a profitable orchard is not a pomological museum. There 

 must be a large quantity of uniform fruit to make any district commer- 

 cially prominent. 



For these reasons the number of varieties now planted is but a 

 fraction of what it was a third of a century ago, and, stopping at this 

 point, one might get the idea of the California grower was a monu- 

 ment of conservatism and lacking in enterprise and adventure. Subse- 

 quent chapters will, however, show that he has very definite ideas of 

 the suitability and desirability of the varieties which he chooses for 

 planting. 



It should therefore be noted by the reader that the preference for 

 certain varieties, which is embodied in this statement, does not involve 

 pomological standards as a leading factor. The claim is distinctly not 

 made that these varieties are chosen exclusively 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 



