California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal, 



l[0vticultttit. 



Plant Olive Trees. 



f HERE is no rink in planting olive trees 

 in the southern part of our Stute, for 

 there they have grown luxuriantly and 

 borne fruit abundantly for nearly a hun- 

 dred years. The fine olives of the 

 church gardens in San Luis Obispo havo 

 yielded fruit since 17S2. The olive orchards 

 of 8an Diego, San Fernando, San Buenaven- 

 tura and Santa Barbara, have all flourished 

 and given forth their exquisite berries for 

 nearly the same length of time. Thus it will 

 be seen that there is no experimental risk in 

 trying to grow olive trees almost anywhere in 

 Southern California; and we have seen them 

 doing nicely on the foothills of Monterey, 

 Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra 

 Costa, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador 

 counties, and believe that they will succeed 

 ■well in parts of forty out of the fifty-three 

 counties in our State, at a certain height on 

 the hills, so as to come within what is termed 

 the warm belt. It is a tree that can be easily 

 raised in this climate, requiring but little or 

 no irrigation, and once it has taken root, will 

 grow with about as little care as any of the 

 ornamental sorts of trees planted on this 

 coast. And there are but few trees more beau- 

 tiful to the eye than the olive after it com- 

 mences bearing. Its oblong, lance-shaped 

 leaves, with their deep green shade on top 

 and light feathery color underneath, when 

 disturbed by the gentle winds produce a pecu- 

 liar and pleasing effect. The trees grow to 

 the height of from thirty to forty feet and its 

 branches spread laterally in every direction, 

 with an erect, jaunty form, making a very in- 

 viting shade-tree for roadways and dwellings 

 accompanied with the substantial ailvantage 

 of bearing fruit that wiU pay for the cultiva- 

 tion. — Pacific Grocer. 



Obanoes and Lemons. — Orange and lemon 

 plantations, in the Mediterranean countries, 

 are called gardens and vary in size, the small- 

 est containing only a small number of trees, 

 and the largest many thousands. The fruit 

 is gathered in baskets similar to peach bas 

 kets, lined with canvas, the basket being held 

 by a strap attached and passed around the 

 neck or shoulders. From the garden the fruit 

 goes to the repacking magazine, where it is 

 removed from the boxes in which it was packed 

 in the gardens, and repacked for shipment 

 by experienced female packers, after having 

 been carefully assorted by women and wrap- 

 ped in separate papers by young girls. As 

 many as live hundred persons, mostly women 

 and children, are employed by some of the 

 fruit-growers in their gardens and magazines 

 in gathering, sorting and repacking for ship- 

 ment, the wages paid them varying from nine 

 to sixteen ceuts a day. A full-grown orange 

 tree yields from five hundred to two thousand 

 fruit annually, and arrives at the bearing state 

 in three or five years, as does the lemon tree. 

 In sorting, every fruit that wants a stem is 

 rejected. The boxes are then securely cov- 

 ered, strapped and marked with the brand of 

 the grower, when they are ready for ship- 

 ment. Twenty years ago this trade was noth- 

 ing in its commercial characteristics, or the 

 inducements it offered to capitalists. Now it 

 is progressing with giant strides into promi- 

 nence, and is a considerable source of reve- 

 nue to the Government. 



Tamarind. 



This beautiful tree is a native of the East 

 Indies, but is now considerably cultivated in 

 warm climates elsewhere. Only one species 

 seems to be known — a spreading tree, thirty 

 or forty feet high, with alternate pinnate 

 leaves, which have from twelve to fifteen pairs 

 of small leaflets, and fragrant flowers with 

 three petals, the pods brown and many-seed- 

 ed, as thick as a man's fingt^r and about six 

 inches long. The pods are filled with a plea- 

 sant, aciduous, sweet, reddish-black jjulp. 

 They are usually preserved by putting hot 

 syrup on the ripe pulp, but a better method 

 is to put alternate layers of tamarinds and 

 sugar in a stone jar, the color and taste being 

 thus more like those of the fresh pulp. 



The wood of the tamarind tree, and espe- 

 cially, of its roots, is a cabinet wood of much 

 beauty but of extreme hardness, so that it is 

 wrought with much difficulty. 



On chemical analysis, the pulp is found to 

 contain citric, tartaric and malic acids, pot- 

 ash, sugar, vegetable jelly, etc. 



As salt of copper is a common adulteration, 

 a piece of polished iron — a knife for example 

 — should be pluuged into the pulp and left in 

 it for an hour, when, if copper be present, 

 it will bo deposited on the iron. 



The pulp is cooling and gently laxative, 

 and is often employed in febrile complaints. 

 It is used in India as a soothing article of 

 diet, and a kind of sherbet is made from it. 

 It is also an excellent addition to curries. 



Tamarind tea is made by infusing them in 

 boiling water; when cold it forms an agreea- 

 ble and cooling ilriuk iu inflammatory and fe- 

 brile disorders. 



AVhey is prepared by boiling an ounce of 

 tamariids with a pint of new milk, and 

 stiainiug. This also is an oxcelleut drink in 

 similar cases. 



MnsHEOoMs. — In the whole range of gar- 

 den crops there is not one of easier cultiva- 

 tion or more certain product. To grow these 

 fungi on a small scale for family use, procure 

 two cartloads of good, fresh stable manure 

 and shake out the longest straw, then turn it 

 over iu the open air two or three times to get 

 rid of the rank steam. When this is done 

 take the dung into any shed or outhouse, and 

 mix with it thoroughly about four barrowfuls 

 of ordinary fresh soil. The bed is then to 

 be made up on the floor of the shed or room 

 to the depth of about twelve inches, pressed 

 rather firmly, and spawned when at a temper- 

 ature of between 75 and 80 degi-ees. A cov- 

 ering of about one inch of good strong loam 

 in rather a rough state is then added and 

 beaten level with a spade. By using heavy 

 loam as a covering, the mushrooms produced 

 are of a much more solid character than when 

 light, sifted soil is used. They are conse- 

 quently more valuable, commanding a much 

 higher price in the market. The whole is then 

 covered up with at least nine inches of straw 

 or long litter. 



Here, in a nutshell, is the whole secret of 

 growing this most delicious of esculents. We 

 know a lady near Baltimore, who, by the 

 above process, not only supplied her own ta- 

 ble with mushrooms, but had enough to spare 

 to bring her the snug sum of $1,500. — Turf, 

 Field and Farm. 



To distinguish mushrooms from toadstools: 

 1. Sprinkle a little salt on the sjiongy part 

 or gills of the sample to be tried. If they 

 turn yellow they are poisonous, if black they 

 are wholesome. Allow the salt to act before 

 you decide the qiiestion. 2. False mush- 

 rooms have a warty cap or else fragments of 

 ments of memlirane adhering to the upper 

 surface, arc heavy, and emerge from a vidva 

 or bag; they grow in tuft or clusters iu woods, 

 on the stumps of trees, etc., whereas the true 

 muslirooms grow in pastures. 3. False 

 mushrooms have an astringent, styptic and 

 disagreeable taste. 4. When cut they turn 

 blue. 5. They are moist on the surface, and 

 generally — (!. Of a rose or orange color. 7. 

 The gills of a true mushroom are of a ]>inky 

 red, changing to a liver color. 8. The flesh 

 is white, il. The stem is white, solid and 

 cvliudiical. — Ohio Farmer. 



.R. TENNYSON'S alluMon to the slow 

 movement of science from point to 

 »lil point is very true in general, for by the 

 Cdlx time we are reaping the benefits of an 

 X^S^ improvement wo often forget its in- 

 auguration. The progress of fish culture, 

 however, is a notable exception. It is only a 

 very few years since it was thought of in ref- 

 erence to our own waters, and the actual 

 adoption of public measures to that end is 

 still fresher in our memories. The result is 

 already evident to every one in this vicinity 

 who has occasion to pay market bills ; and in 

 all the States where efficient commissions 

 have been appointed, for two or three years a 

 like increase in the supply of fish and de- 

 crease in the prices is noted. Indeed, the 

 fishermen and dealers are iu some quarters 

 grumbliug because they have to take and sell 

 more fish in order to make their accustomed 

 profit ; but they will not be apt to arouse 

 much sympathy in the public heart on that 

 account. In the Hudson River, this spring, 

 the shad are very abundant and of excellent 

 quality. As some five million artificially 

 hatched youug ones are set free every year, 

 and the catch can not, under existing con- 

 ditions, much exceed a third of that number, 

 the prospect is that we shall see a still further 

 increase. Probably it would be well for us, 

 as a people, if we ate more fish and less meat, 

 and as our waters are adapted for the cultiva- 

 tion of a score or two of species, we should 

 not lack a varied bill of fare. Then, too, 

 there is the moral effect upon the rising gen- 

 eration. What small boy, not abnormally de- 

 veloped in the back of his head, will not pre- 

 fer to go a fishing, with a fair chance of good 

 luck, to engaging in the mischievous pursuits 

 now so common to his kind ? We regard the 

 black bass recently introduced in our inland 

 lakes and streams as potent missionary agents 

 for the reclamation of youthful criminals. If 

 Jesse Pomeroy had been able to keep his 

 mother's table supplied with fish, perhaps he 

 would not have been the murderer that he is. 

 — Uro. and Prov. Peview. 



Peojilo who must draw the line somewhere 

 -anglers. 



Fish Interchange.— Prof. Baird, United 

 States fish commissioner, has received a con- 

 signment of hve fish from the Danube. They 

 were four weeks on the way. Of the three 

 hundred shipped only 27 were received alive. 

 They have been sent to Mr. Hessel, one of 

 the Maryland fish commissioners. Seven of 

 them are carp, eight gold tench, and eleven 

 common teuch. Mr. Hessel expects at least 

 2,000.000 eggs from these specimens this sea- 

 son. In return for the courtesy. Prof. Baird 

 has sent to Germany 400.000 shad eggs. The 

 eggs Avill be sent on flanuel trays, arranged in 

 a case, the cloth being kept moist by dripping 

 water. This arraugcnieut is the patent of N. 

 W. Clark, a Michigan pisciculturist. The 

 hatching of the eggs cannot be retarded more 

 than five or six days, aud they will then bo 

 transferred for hatching to water in i)atent 

 cans, by the two persons whom Prof. Baird 

 has stlected to take the shad to Europe. 

 After landing to Bremen the young fish wdl 

 be carried to the river Weser, where they will 

 be put as far iis possible from the mouth of 

 the stream.— i'c<i;-jre Farmer. 



Veky Singular. — " A curious method of 

 fish hatching is said to be followed iu China. 

 Having collected the lu'cessary spawn from 

 the water's edge, the fisherman places a cer- 

 tain quantity in an empty hen's egg, which is 

 sealed up with wax, and put under a setting 

 hen. After some days they break the egg, 

 and empty the fry into water well warmed by 

 the sun, aud there nurse them until they are 

 sufficiently strong to bo turned into a lake or 

 river." 



This is certainly a curious mode, and we 



