California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



SPONTANEOUS GENERATION. 



It is still thought, by some persons, as we 

 see by our exchanges, that oak trees spring- 

 ing up, after the destruction of a piue forest, 

 on the same ground, is proof of so-called 

 spontaneous generation of plant:^ We had 

 an opportunity of examining this point per- 

 sonally, and gladly availed ourselves of it. A 

 destructive fire occurred in a piece of forest 

 not far from where we lived. It was only 

 stopped by a heavy fall of rain. In the third 

 or fourth year after the fire the whole face of 

 the earth was covered with young oak trees, 

 from one to three years old. Where did the 

 young oaks come from? Did they grow from 

 acorns? Undoubtedly they did. On examin- 

 ing the soil it was found full of acorns and 

 acorn-shells. The fallen pine trees were also 

 found full of acorns and empty acorn-shells. 

 The red-headed woodpeckers had inserted 

 thousands of them in holes which they had 

 dug in the soft piue bark for their reception. 

 In many cases only the shells were left. 

 These wei-e those on which the birds had 

 lived during the past winters. But in other 

 cases the bark had grown over the acorns and 

 embedded them so deep that they were equal- 

 ly protected from the weather and the birds. 

 When dug out thej were found perfectly 

 sound. Where the fallen trees were partially 

 embedded in the soil, the acorns were found 

 swelling and sprouting as far up as the mois- 

 ture, air, heat and light could reach them. 

 Limbs of the trees were found scattered ev- 

 erywhere in the same condition. Can any 

 one doubt the true source of the oaks in 

 these cases? And yet such phenomena have 

 been erroneously instanced as proofs of spon- 

 taneous generation! It onlj' requires a little 

 observation and research to arrive at the 

 truth in these cases. We apprehend that the 

 same scrutiny will explode all other supposed 

 cases of the same kind, notwithstanding Prof. 

 Tyndall's aphorism that ''matter contains 

 within itself the power and potency of all 

 life;" but robbed of its tautology, this sim- 

 ply means that matter under favorable cir- 

 cumstances produces acorns, and that acorns, 

 uuder the same, produce oaks — all of which 

 no one will deny. 



ALDEN FACTORY RAISINS, ETC. 



We promised to inform our readers as to 

 the success of drying grapes into raisins at 

 the Aldeu Factory in San Jose this season. 



Mr. C. T. Settle, the worthy Superintend- 

 ent, went to considerable expense to thor- 

 oughly inform himself how to proceed and in 

 making preparations for a thorough trial and 

 experiment. He fixed a lot of racks so that he 

 i'oukl cure them slowly, and be several days 

 about it if necessary. He frankly owns that 

 he has not betn as successful as he expected 

 to be. The raisins he dried are not first-class 

 I in flavor or appearance, although some of 

 i them are very fair for cooking purposes. Mr. 

 '^. is satisfied, and so are we, that as good 

 !,'vapes for raisins cannot be produced in Santa 

 ''lara county as in the hotter interior valleys, 

 where the season is longer for their growth 

 and ripening, and the atmosphere is more 

 I drying than it is here. Our grapes are as beauti- 

 ful as those grown anywhere, but are certaiulv 



not as rich in saccharine substance. They 

 are juicy but tarter iu flavor; and while they 

 are superior shipping and table grapes, are 

 not firstrate for curing into raisins. Mr. Set- 

 tle thinks that sun-drying for raisins is best. 

 One lot of valley muscat grapes, which cost 

 2 cents per pound, cost, for fruit and fuel, 

 7 4-5 cents per pound as raisins, without reck- 

 oning other expenses. Another lot of moun- 

 tain grapes — muscats — at 2% cents per pound, 

 cost in raisins, for fruit and fuel, 8% cents 

 per pound. He is satisfied that he could not 

 place raisins cured by the Alden process upon 

 the market for less than 11 or 12 cents, whole- 

 sale, at a profit. A grape, to make a good 

 raisin, must be thoroughly ripened on the 

 vine, and be rich in saccharine matter, as well 

 as firm of pulp. 



On other fruits and on vegetables the Alden 

 factory is a grand success and a paying con- 

 cern. Mr. Settle is now running on onions 

 and potatoes, and they are as good as fresh 

 when ready for niarket. Onions are raised 

 l^lentifuily in our valley, and are afibrded by 

 the farmers for DO cents to $1.00 per hundred 

 pounds at the factory. Ten pounds of on- 

 ions will make one of dried, worth, by the 

 case, 25 cents per pound net. Onions are 

 difficult to dry, as they scorch easily. Mr. S. 

 thinks of making a run on squashes soon. 

 Dried sqiiashes and sweet potatoes are splen- 

 did when made into a flour, for puddings and 

 pies, and, in fact, a hundred different dishes, 

 in combination with other ingredients or 

 alone. 



GRAPES FOR CHRISTMAS. 



For several years past Mr. Dan Hadley of 

 San Jose, who has a small vineyard in the 

 South end of town has managed to put sev- 

 eral tons of fine grapes into market about 

 Christmas time. His method of doing this 

 is extremely simple, and has proved to be re- 

 munerative. His vines are trained up high 

 enough so that the bunches of grapes hang 

 clear of the ground. And he does not pick 

 the fruit until he is ready to market it. Hia 

 system of preserving them is as follows: He 

 takes common barley sacks, rips them open 

 and after trimming the top twigs of the vine 

 so as to allow the sack to be spread evenly 

 over the grapes like a tent, he confines the 

 sack in place by its corners, running branches 

 of the vine like pins through the sack to hold 

 it iu place. This sack shelters the grapes 

 from sun, from rain and from frost. Mr. 

 Hadley has used the same sacks for five or 

 six years for this purpose, and some of them 

 are still good for service. During protracted, 

 rainy, wet weather some of the grapes will 

 rot a little, but the loss is generally trifling. 

 The worst enemies to this enterprise are 

 birds that pick into the grapes, causing some 

 berries to rot, which in turn rot others. To 

 prevent this he always leaves a sufficient quan- 

 tity for the bii'ds on open vines, and with few 

 exceptions they prefer those which are ex- 

 posed. One important thing iu this connec- 

 tion he has observed, and that is, that hon- 

 ey-bees are his friends. They are fond of 

 grapes, making honey out of the rich juice 

 of the fruit, but the}- only work upon the 

 pecked fruit, not being able to penetrate the 



skins of sound grapes. The great advantage 

 in this is, that the bees will at once suck the 

 pecked berries dry, so that they do not rot 

 or cause rottenness. Mr. Hadley thinks 

 these facts too valuable to longer keep to 

 himself, and so generously ad^nses us to pub- 

 lish them for the benefit of whom they may 

 concern, which we gladly do. 



THE SEASON. 



Our first rain this season commenced Tues- 

 day, October 26. The fall was slight iu most 

 places. Monday, November 1st there was 

 quite a storm sprung up — enough rain to 

 moisten the surface soil for plowing. It did 

 not commence without warning; yet, some 

 were caught unprepared as usual. We learn 

 that many raisins were damaged. On Satur- 

 day, November 13th, after a succession of 

 warm, bright and cloudy days, another warm 

 rain commenced and continued at intervals for 

 several days, saturating the soil finely, and 

 shooting up the green grass and grain, that 

 the first rains had sprouted beautifully. Nevtr 

 has a rainy season commenced hero with 

 brighter prospects for flourishing crops. No 

 blighting frosts or winds, but the gentle breath 

 of Spring, fanning the faying leaves and 

 blessing the tender green that carpets the 

 generous and grateful soil. 



What is more lovely than our California 

 Winters? Winters only in name; none of the 

 saddening feelings that a sleeping earth bound 

 in icy chains brings to the people who in- 

 habit more rigorous climes. The falling leaves 

 but shelter the springing plants that smile in 

 rain and laugh in sunshine. Our poets need 

 not sing "the saddest of the year," but can 

 tune their harps to gleeful melody, for the 

 ripeness of lucious fruits and the birth of 

 new vegetable life is lavish amidst blooming 

 roses and singing birds. 



No wonder that the tide of immigration pours 

 into our State when the cheering reports of 

 friends go back. If our lands now held by 

 thousanda of acres by forbidding monopolists 

 and grasping owners, were only so that homes 

 could be secured for the masses, too much 

 could not be said in praise of our blessed 

 country. 



The Stringency i" the money market and 

 the great fluctuation iu stocks and money val- 

 ues are but the natural outgrowths of busi- 

 ness conducted on a speculative basis. In 

 all such cases some who acquire wealth with- 

 out producing it will sufter, but as a general 

 rule, the industrial interestsare made to most 

 keenly feel the burdens they have to bear. 

 As nothing is produced without labor, so no 

 non-productive enterprise or speculation can 

 exist without tapping industry for support. 

 Whatever it gives in exchange, be it money 

 or promise to pay, cannot iu the end lighten 

 the burdens of labor. Speculation injures in- 

 dustry, while every industri;il enterprise of 

 a productive character helps every other. If 

 everybody labored, everybody would be liber- 

 ally supplied with needed comforts, and lux- 

 uries be multiplied, cheapened and within the 

 reach of all. In a community where the ma- 

 jority are non-productive and manage to ac- 

 quire wealth, as an inevitable result, those 

 who work must suffer in a proportion equiva- 

 lent to the wrongs committed. The blame 

 does not rest wholly with individuals, but at- 

 taches to the artificial system of finance 

 which allows money to be lang. 



