California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



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S. HABRIS HERRING, Editor. 



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EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Every farmer who has cultivated a 

 hill sido has experienced more or less 

 trouble by the washing away of fine 

 plowed and cultivated soil, during the 

 season of heavy rains. Mr. Burrell, 

 who owns laud in the Santa Cruz moun- 

 tains, tells us that he does not cultivate 

 his side hills during the rainy season, 

 but allows the grass and weeds to grow 

 until danger of heavy rains is over. The 

 settled soil is held by the roots and debris 

 from washing away. Then, in spring, 

 he turns under the green crop, and aims 

 to leave the soil, after cropping, in such 

 condition iu the fall as to not wash away 

 during wiuter. 



We lately noticed J- Q- A. Baliou, 



an experienced orchardist, pruning his 

 fruit trees in such a way as, in our opin- 

 ion, to greatly lessen their value. The 

 trees were very tall and straight, and ho 

 was cutting out the lower limbs and 

 spurs from the inside of the plum and 

 pear trees. The excuse seemed to be 

 that the fruit growiug on the lower inside 

 limbs was always inferior. We believe 

 the fault is in allowing so tall a growth, 

 that the fruit grows near the end limbs 

 the best. His system of pruning will 

 cause the trees to produce finest fruit no 

 where else but at the ends of the tall, top 

 limbs. We should, in this case, have 

 shortened in the top one-fourth to one-third 

 the distance to the ground, and encour- 

 aged a healthy lower growth throughout 

 the head of the tree. The tree would 

 then bear its fruit nearer within reach, 

 be iu better proportion, and produce 

 more good fruit than when growing so 

 tall and thin a head. Our oliject in mak- 

 ing this criticism is to bring out the ideas 

 of others. There nmst be a right way 

 and a wrong way. Of course experience 

 is the best teacher, and the best'method 

 must, in the end, produce the best re- 

 sults. 



Specie Basis. — The recent attempt to 

 discount silver coin of the United States, 

 on this coast, proves, if it jjroves any- 

 thing, that a specie currency is no safer 

 from the machinations of brokers than 

 paper money. In fact, a paper cun-ency 

 properly issued — in the interests of, and 

 backed up by the wealth and honor of 

 the people — would be so stable as to be 

 absolutely bej'ond the power of any com- 

 bination of brokers to disturb. The 

 excuse for the present discount on silver 

 is, that it is too abundant. Never since 

 we have been on this coast — now twenty 

 years — has money of all kinds been so 

 hard to command as at the present time. 

 The fact is, our money dealers are de- 

 termined to tax the industry of the peo- 

 ple just as long and iu as many ways as 

 they will stand it. The matter is so 

 maneuvered that every cent of discount 

 has to come either directly or indirectly 

 out of industry — a one-sided game, at 

 which the stake-holders win. 



A Good Step in the Right Direc- 

 tion.— Rev. .Jabez Walker, a. W. C. T. 

 of the Good Templars, Geo. Bramall, 

 G. W. P. of Sons of Temperance, and 

 other leading men have counseled to- 

 gether iu the matter of legislation on the 

 liquor question. The result is the fol- 

 lowing circular and petition, asking that 

 the power to grant or withhold license to 

 retail intoxicants be vested in the super- 

 visors of each county. We hope it will 

 succeed. The lovers of morality and 

 good order can then be heard by way of 

 remonstrance in each or all cases. We 

 hope every town in our coiinty will join 

 all other places in sending on such a pe- 

 tion, numerously signed. This should 

 be done at once. Petitions to be sent to 

 Geo. B. Katzenstein, Sacramento, who 

 will see that they are properly presented 

 in good season : 



To the Honorable, the Senate and As- 

 sembly of the State of California. 



We, the undersigned citizens of the 



State of California, County of 



respectfully petition j'our honorable body 

 to enact a law giving greater jirotcction 

 to ourselves and the State from the abuse 

 of the present system of indiscriminately 

 granting license for the sale of intoxicat- 

 ing liquors by retail, by enacting that 

 the jjower to grant or withhold license 

 for the sale ot intoxicating liquors be 

 placed in the hands of the siipervisors 

 of each county, respectively, in the 

 State. And your i^etitiouers ever jn-ay. 



This is the age of rings and mo- 

 nopolies. When a thing can no longer 

 stand on its own merits, if there is money 

 iu it, an attempt is made to bolster it up 

 and force iu some way a respectable 

 recognition and support. The most 

 ridiculous attempt at this sort of game 

 that has for some time come under our 

 notice is that made by the alopathic 

 school . of medical practice — the drug 

 doctors. Because there are other schools 

 of practice which discard their drugs; 

 because, as people become more intelli- 

 gent and better informed uinni health 

 subjects the more likely they are to 

 think and choose for themselves, and 

 consequently discard dug medication, 

 which has killed and injured more per- 

 sons than all other diseases together; be- 

 cause, while free to choose, people will 

 emploj' siich physicians as they believe 

 to practice more in accordance with the 

 laws of health — these alopaths desire to 

 get a law condemning as (juacks all per- 

 sons not liolding diplomas from their 

 particular schools, and making such 

 "quackery" a crime punishable by law. 

 We can compare this outrage upon the 

 sense of a free and enlightened people 

 with nothing excepting the old religious 



intolerances which existed when people 

 begun to question the power of churches 

 and jjriests. We don't expect the matter 

 will result in such bloody wars now as 

 then, but hope these medical bigots, who 

 have martyred millions with their pois- 

 onous drugs in the name of science, will 

 be soon placed where they belong — 

 among the fossilized rubbish of the past. 

 Should they succeed in passing such a 

 law as they are now anxious for, their 

 doom would be sealed all the sooner; for, 

 surely, as the people discuss this svibject 

 and feel that their own rights, intelli- 

 gence and liberties are subverted, they 

 will break from such a "practice" and 

 cause even the drug doctors themselves 

 to become converts to a system nearer in 

 accordance with natural hygienic princi- 

 ples. 



ORCHAKD GRAFTING. 



A farmer who says that he followed 

 our advice and directions for grafting last 

 year with splendid success, although he 

 had never grafted a tree before, requests 

 us to repeat the article this year, as it 

 must benefit evei-youe who has trees that 

 need grafting if they wiU but give projier 

 heed. 



Grafting is a simple process, easy to 

 understand and to do. It is something 

 that every boy should learn how to do, 

 and anyone can be successful with using 

 proper care. There are several methods 

 of grafting and budding, but the same 

 principle, viz., uniting the vital saps 

 under the bark of stalk and scion, is al- 

 ways involved. The only question is 

 the best method of doing the work. 

 Practice has determined this; at any rate, 

 to a conclusion with us. In this i rticle 

 we will give the directions only for graft- 

 ing standing trees. 



For gi-afting orchard trees we find it 

 much betters to apply the grafting wax 

 liquid than plastic; and in order to do this 

 and have the wax acquire proper consis- 

 tency and hardness after application, we 

 melt the wax iu any vessel that is handy 

 to carry, and apply warm, with a flat 

 brush. The brush should be about one 

 inch wide. We found it most conven- 

 ient, where we had to use the wax con- 

 stantly, to have a lamp burning under a 

 vessel near by, whero we could repilenish 

 the wax we carried in a smaller dish as 

 often as we found necess.ai'y. A lard can 

 may be used as a lantern to set the lamp 

 in, and be attached to the bottom of the 

 vessel of wax so as to br handy to carry. 



For grafting wax, take half as much 

 bees' wax as resin, and half as much tal- 

 low, lard or oil as bees' wax. When to 

 be applied warm, it needs no working 

 other than to be stirred and melted to- 

 gether. 



It is better to cut scions some time be- 

 fore grafting especially when the grafting 

 is deferred until late iu the season. They 

 can be preserved by healing them into 

 the Soil in a shady place. During this 

 nKmth the scions may safely be put in 

 the same day they are cut. 



In sawing off large limbs, always saw- 

 in on the under side of the limb first, 

 then when you saw from the upper side 

 there is less danger of splitting. We 

 USB a sharp, fine saw, and cut oiT all the 

 limbs on the tree where we wish to graft 

 them. 



We use a knife of steel, four inches 

 long on the edge (the cutting side quite 

 concave), with a wedge on the outer end 

 one and a half inches long, to insert in 

 the split while we insert the scion. Iu 

 large stalks we put iu two scions— one 

 on each side of the split — and iu very 

 large stalks two splits and four scions. 



The scions should be prepared three to 

 six inches long. Cut the wedge cud long 



and straight, leaving the outside of the ijj 

 bevel thicker than the inside, and with a 

 bud, when convenient, as nearly in the 

 center of the oiitside of the scion as you 

 can, and insert the scion so that the in- 

 ner bark and saps (libers) come exactly 

 together. Be careful in putting on the 

 wax to cover every part of the wound to 

 exclude the air — even the top of the 

 scion should be touched with wax. 



The first year allow all the sprouts and 

 suecers to grow, cutting off nothing until 

 next winter. The removing of all the 

 limbs deprives the tree of leaf-producing 

 surface, and it will need all the leaves it 

 can produce on all the sprouts the first 

 year to keep it healthy. Shade the trunk 

 of the tree, either with boards or by 

 winding sacks about it, as the sun will 

 be likely to scald the exposed bark. This 

 is quite important. 



We have had good success in grafting 

 in California as early as the last of De- 

 cember, but if scions are properly pre- 

 served so as not to swell the buds too 

 much, grafting may be done as late as 

 the last of April, on most soils. On dry 

 soils, early grafting is the best. Stone 

 fruits should be grafted early. 



Grafting is something that any person 

 of intelligence and self-confidence can 

 easily do. And anyone with an orchard 

 that does not produce the kinds of fruit 

 desired should not delay, but at once 

 graft the trees, or get some one else to 

 do it, to the best varieties adapted to our 

 climate. For best vai-ieties for a family 

 orchard, see the Agkicultukist for De- 

 cember. 



RAIN ON THE MOUNTAINS AND 

 IN THE VALLEY. 



Ed. Agriculturist: We are in the 

 Santa Cruz mountains, about five miles 

 due north from the city of Santa Cruz. 

 The rain-fall here is heavy, as is shown 

 by the following amounts taken from my 

 record, which has been very carefully 

 kept: 



Inches of Rain. 

 18.56 

 .. 6.85 

 15.68 



No. OF Raint Days. 



November 13 



December 7 .. 



January 14 



Total 34 .. 



Aaiiing amount for Feb. 7 and 8 



In the town of Santa Cruz the amount 

 up to the last of January was 27.06 — 

 nearly 12 inches less than here in the 

 hills. 



The people of your valley, with their 

 meagre amount, often not sufficient for 

 fair crops, can hardly realize how copi- 

 ously it is poured down upon us " good 

 folks, " just out of sight, over the Santa 

 Cruz ridge. As the rain clouds come 

 drifting iu from the ocean they encoun- 

 ter these mountains, and are turned up- 

 wards into the colder regions, where 

 their vajiors condense and fall; thus giv- 

 ing us too much, and your valley not 

 enough. This is, to say the least, a very 

 unneighborly arrangement; and if the 

 cutting down of our forests would, as 

 many predict, send more rain over to 

 your thirsty valley, I, for one, could not 

 object — much as I prize every one of 

 these noble trees. I?ut this old theory 

 is still in dispute among scientific men. 

 In all general storms, when we get the 

 bulk of our rain, the clouds extend from 

 one to five miles high, and it seems 

 scarcely possible that the forests upon 

 the mountain sides have much, if any, 

 influence upon them. 



D. M. Locke. 

 Springvale Farm, Santa Cruz, Feb. 0. ^ 

 The rain fall in San Jose for the sea- 

 son, up to February 12th, the last rain, 

 was 15 inches. 



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