2Q0 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Second and Third-Crop Apples. There is a peculiar behavior of 

 the apple tree, most noticeable when winter temperature is mildest, 

 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 fol- 

 lowing spring. Second crops of apples are not of amount nor regu- 

 larity enough to be of much economic importance, as the second 

 crops of pears and grapes sometimes are. The third crop occa- 

 sionally ripens. An instance is on record at Chino, San Bernardino 

 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 

 localities. 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 moder- 

 ate annual rainfall, or where the soil is not well adapted to the 

 retention of moisture. 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 matter of exposure is of less account, and 

 the grower can make the existence of the best soil the test of loca- 

 tion for his orchard. At elevations on the sides of high ranges 

 where late cold storms are liable to rush down 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 pro- 

 tection, and the benefit of all heat available, and then a southerly 

 or southeasterly exposure becomes desirable. The choice of ex- 

 posure is thus seen to be largely a local question and to be deter- 

 mined by a knowledge of local conditions. A newcomer in a region 

 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 stiff clay or adobe on the other, he may plant 

 apples on almost 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 ma- 

 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 difference 

 in varieties as to choice of soil. The Yellow Bellflower, for instance, 

 will do well on a lighter soil than the Yellow Newtown Pippin 



