California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



CTire is effected, and if a portion of the 



milk is drawn from the cow before he is 

 given his rations, so he will be obliged 

 to do a good deal of stripping, he will 

 help to reduce the swelling. 



Whoever emploj's the violent remedies 

 ^ shonld uuder.staud that they may do 

 more than is desired. Iodine affects the 

 secretions powirrfully, and causes the ab- 

 sorption of tumors and abnormal 

 growths; may it not also cause a decrease 

 in the secretion of milk? We have 

 found that persistent rubbing and knead- 

 ing was better than anything else. If 

 the bag be very tender, as it often is,take 

 a teaspoonful of tincture of arnica in 

 water, and rub the same dilnted with 

 twice as much water upon the bag, to 

 take onr the soreness. 



Water fok D.4IRY Cows. — The Canada 

 Fanner tr\ily says that no animal should 

 be required to drink water which the 

 owner himself would refuse, and especi- 

 ally so if that animal is the cow from 

 which you hope to make good butter. 

 It is sufficient on this point to say that 

 pure water is an indispensable article to 

 the success of the dairyman, for good 

 butter or cheese cannot be made where 

 good water cannot be obtained. 



It has been discovered, says an ex- 

 change, that cows that do not give down 

 their milk may be cured of the habit by 

 milking with only one baud at a time. 

 This is said to be nearly imitating the 

 calf, which ever asks for but one teat at 

 a time, and hence the greater certainty 

 in obtaining the milk. This has been 

 proved a sure remedy for cows with- 

 holding their milk, at least in one invet- 

 erate case, and it may be worthy of a 

 general trial. 



Warts at the end of the teat are occa- 

 sionally found, and are a great annoy- 

 ance, not only obstructing the milk, but 

 from their soreness causing the cow to 

 become fidgety and uneasy while milked. 

 In such cases they must be removed, 

 either by the knife, or by a ligature of 

 fine silk tied round it; the latter is the 

 preferable mode, as warts when excised 

 with the knife are more liable to return 

 than when sloughed off. 



^vovti(«lt«n\ 



ORANCE GROWTH AND CULTURE 



Valuable liifi>Miiatioii for California — 

 Horficultiiri^lH^ Practical Hints 

 and Advice, Base<l on Tliirty 

 Years^ Exijerience— Etc. 



[From the S. F. Bulletin.) 

 The State Department, a few months 

 ago, issued a circular, addressed to all 

 United States Consuls in foreign ports 

 wherever tropical fruits are cultivated, 

 requesting them to report upon the 

 mode, conditions and extent of culture 

 within the districts under their observa- 

 tions. This circular was issued at the 

 instance of Senator Sargent, with a view 

 to obtaining iufiirnuition that might be 

 turned to practical a(^count in various 

 portions of California. The first re- 

 sponse is now at hand. It comes from 

 Edward (iillespio, our Consul at San 

 Jose, Ijower California, and abounds in 

 vaUnible observations founded ujion the 

 experience of thirty years' residence in 

 that cnuntry. and derived also, as he 

 states, from (he opinions of the most 

 successful fruit-growi'rs with whom he 

 has, during so prolonged a period, been 

 brought in contact. 



I I.IMATIC CONlnriONS- - AliTIFiriAL lUlOTEC- 

 TION. 



Mr. Gillespie writes as follows: First, 



elt me state that a considerable difference 

 is found in the orange fruit grown in 

 different localities in this district; and I 

 attribute this more to a difference of soil 

 than of climate, for, although the tem- 

 perature changes as you ascend the Sier- 

 ra, ytt, as far up as gardens are found, 

 it does not fall to the freezing jioint. 

 The rainy season here occurs during the 

 summer months, and therefore the leaf 

 or bud are not liable to cold storms. 

 The leaf has its time to fall, but the in- 

 cessant production of the new preserves 

 the tree in its perpetual green. Any 

 thing that blights or injures the leaf de- 

 stroys or deteriorates the fruit, and, 

 therefore, in a climate like that of San 

 Diego, artificial means of protection 

 must be resorted to, or sheltered spots 

 selected for the groves. The fog from 

 the sea is also injurious. A gentleman 

 living near the beach at C.ipe San Lucas 

 had some apparently fine trees in his 

 garden which bore very little fruit, and 

 that small and acid, and always on the 

 leeward side from the sea breeze. He 

 was an Englishman, and bad seen wall 

 fruit, and this reminded him of an idea; 

 so he built, at little expense, a fence of 

 long poles three feet apart, interwoven 

 with brush (what they call here cerco en- 

 ramado), some fifteen feet high, hiding 

 its deformities by wild running vines. 

 After that, all lower branches every year 

 were tilled with good fruit. 



SELECTION OF SOIL — MODE OF PLANTINfi — 

 IKItlGATION ETC. 



Now, as to the soil, there is no ques- 

 tion that the rich alluvial of the bottom 

 lands or mould of the valley is best for 

 the iiroduction of fruit, though manur- 

 ing may be a good substitute elsewhere. 

 In a mixture of soil and gravel, or even 

 in rocky soil, however, the tree thrives 

 equally well. In fact, if you plant your 

 tree in a crevice of rock, where there is 

 sufficient soil below for the roots to ex- 

 pand, it is at home, but the fruit is not 

 sweet, so full of juice, or so large. It is 

 claimed for it however, that it rijiens 

 earlier. 



The earth about the roots should be 

 kept moist, but il is not necessary to del- 

 uge the ground near the trunk, and least 

 of all with cold well water or water im- 

 pregnated n-ith minerals. The practice 

 here is to irrigate every eight days. 



Some of those who have the finest 

 trees and best fruit here give their advice 

 decidedly against ever transplanting the 

 orange tree, and I have examined several 

 trees which seem to warrant the asser- 

 tion. The experiment is recommended 

 of planting tlie seeds four or five in a 

 hill, with the hills twenty-five feet apart 

 each way, and rooting out afterwards all 

 but one plant, the best in each. The 

 seed is planted here from November to 

 January, as soon as the fruit is ripe and 

 the seed dry. The tree is transplanted 

 two years afterwards in the last of Janu- 

 ary or the first part of February, during 

 the full of the moon. The orange tree 

 is never grafted here now. All trials 

 have resulted in a dwarfed body and in- 

 ferior and diminished yield of fruit. 



PRUNINCi AND CARE OF THE YOUNG TRF.B. 



There is a difference of opinion as to 

 pruning. The general conviction is that 

 the lower limbs should not be cut off 

 more than six feet from the ground. 

 The sprouts below this should be re- 

 moved immediately when thi'y appear, 

 for they thrive with wonderful vigor on 

 the tree and roots at the expense of the 

 vitality of the fruit branches above. All 

 superfluous limbs should be cut off and 

 shortened in the spring. It would be 

 comiuonjjlace to advise against alhuviug 

 dead or dying limbs to remain on the 

 tree. I should say the same regarding 



any limbs that appear sickly, producing 

 a small and imperfect leaf. But the 

 symmetry of the tree must be preserved 

 as far as possible, not crowded by too 

 much growth of wood, and thorns kept 

 down with constant care. A fruit-grower 

 requires no advice of this kind, and un- 

 derstands that the orange is a delicate 

 tree and cannot thrive under neglect. 

 To produce superior ruit it requires at- 

 tention and cleanliness; and without this 

 the tree, as it advances in age, becomes 

 deceased or loses its vigor. 



The time for thorough pruning and 

 shortening the limbs here is the last of 

 January. No mulching is done here or 

 root-pruning; and the practice among our 

 nurserymen of thinning out the fruit 

 when overloaded is unwisely neglected. 



THE YIELD OF FRUIT — HOW IT CAN BE 

 GATHERED SO AS NEVER TO HOT. 



The orange tree, if taken care. of, lives 

 to a great age. It begins to bear at six 

 years, and, on attaining its growth will 

 give from 1.500 to 2,. 000 oranges in a 

 season. The tree here blossoms in 

 March, and bears from the last of Sep- 

 tember to December. 



Too much care cannot be taken in 

 gathering the fruit, which, if the thorn 

 has been kept properly clipped, can be 

 reached and cut ofl' by a dexterous hand 

 without even squeezing. Much harm is 

 done by allowing it to be bruised. Of 

 all things, it must not be plucked; the 

 stem should be cut off close to the fruit. 

 With these precautions it will never rot. 

 Laid upon a platform of cane and venti- 

 lated from all sides, it will dry up in 

 time, but not decay. 



EFFECT OF RAIN — COMMERCIAL QUESTIONS. 



The effect of rain upon the trees and 

 fruit during the months when rain is to 

 be expected here, (July to 1.5th of Octo- 

 ber) is beneficial, clearing the leaf and 

 giving it respiration; but what the result 

 further north would be of the cold storms 

 upon the stem, the leaf and the blossom, 

 I leave for others to determine. We 

 have in this country, however, (years 

 apart) during the season of rain, chubari- 

 O'S — hurricanes of wind and rain — which 

 precipitate all the frit to the ground and 

 make sad havoc with the trees. 



Oranges are worth here, piled under 

 the trees, $3 50 per thousand; and packed 

 in crates, with expense of freight to the 

 beach and placed on board, about $5 

 per thousand. But, as very little atten- 

 tion is given to the delicate handling of 

 this juicy fruit or to wrapping in paper 

 or packing in boxes, the loss from rotting 

 is a large percentage; so that after paying 

 freight to San Francisco ($5), together 

 with duties and other heavy expenses 

 upon the gross amount shipped, the re- 

 sult is not always enccmraging. 



Of other tropical productions, such as 

 the pineapple, sugar-cane, cocoanut,date, 

 etc., it is not worth while here to speak. 

 They are not adapted to the climate of 

 Upper California. Cotton, indigo, rice, 

 tobacco and coffee, grow in perfection 

 here. The first two arc indigenous. 



In conclusion Mr. Gillespie says: "If 

 Lower California were apart of the Unit- 

 ed States, exemjit from heavy duties for 

 exports of thjs kind to San Francisco, it 

 would be, for all tropical fruits, the gar- 

 den of California." 



Do not suppose for a single moment 

 that your neighbor cannot teach you any 

 thing. The wisest man may sometimes 

 learn a valuable lesson from a fool. The 

 farmer who thinks he knows all there is 

 to be learned will soon lind himself con- 

 siderably behind the times. Agriculture 

 is now a progressive science and its pro- 

 fessors and students must bo wide awake 

 and stirring. 



Political Economy. 



The Southern Farmer, of Memphis, 

 Tenn., gives expression to the following 

 strong sentiments upon Important ques- 

 tions: 



There was less corruption in the public 

 service when the jiay of Congressmen 

 was small. Now it is ten thousand dol- 

 lars and perquisites which runs up the 

 compensation very high. And ever since 

 then there has been more or less corrup- 

 tion in our legislation. Unscrupulous 

 politicians now seek office for the pay it 

 promises, and they know beforehand 

 how much they can afford to spend in 

 corrupting suffragists, to obtain the prize. 

 The more pay there is attached to the 

 office, the more corruption funds will be 

 dispensed to obtain office. The main 

 remedy is in a reduction of salaries. Let 

 all legislators. State and National, have 

 no higher wages than are earned by the 

 industrious farmer and mechanic, and 

 the temptation to use corrupt means to 

 obtain office will be at once removed. In 

 this way the honest and patriotic who 

 will not consent to be assessed to pay 

 whisky bills and lying newspapers will 

 be offered some inducements to seek of- 

 fice for the good of the community. Let 

 us have a general reduction of official 

 salaries from Congressmen down in the 

 National, and from Governor down in 

 all the State governments. The great 

 want of the times is honesty and econo- 

 my in all departments of government. 



There is a small minoritj- of the peo- 

 ple who are flourishing beyond all pre- 

 cedent. These are the money-lenders 

 who, falsely claiming that money is pro- 

 perty, demand unprecedentedly usurious 

 rates for money loans. In this way they 

 grow rich with great rapidity. But the 

 high rates of interest demanded soon 

 produced suspension and demoralized 

 trade, and these a depression in prices 

 unheard of ; and now these money-Iend- 

 ere, who have all along demanded the 

 pound of flesh of the agriculturist, are 

 flourishing off' the misfortunes which 

 their own avarice and unwise State leg- 

 islation have brought upon the great 

 mass of the people. Let us have cheap 

 money rates and thus encourage all 

 branches of useful manufactories, and 

 these will give profitable employment to 

 all, and thus restore a healthy trade and 

 general prosperity. 



The people of this country want econ- 

 omy and honests in the administration o- 

 government. They want fewer officef 

 holders and smaller salaries for those 

 that are really necessary. They want 

 less expensive State governments, and 

 less taxation. They want less legisla- 

 tion and better laws, more faithfully en- 

 forced. They want the State officials, 

 who have been the head-centers of rings 

 adverse to the interests of the people, to 

 take back seats. They want all indus- 

 trial interests developed, and all educa- 

 tional interests fostered. Let them make 

 known their wants, and demand that an 

 honest effort shall be made to promote 

 them in all legislative halls during this 

 Centennial year. 



A California Gem. — The California 

 Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal, 

 published at San Jose, Cal., is the neat- 

 est agricultural work received at this of- 

 fice. The typographical appeai'ance of 

 this work is sujierb, and its contents 

 leave nothing to be desired. We have 

 but one fault to find with the Western 

 cotemporary — it is furnished to subscrib- 

 ers for $1 50 a year, a price by no means 

 commensurate with its merits. — CliiaK/fK 

 Jit., Drovers' Jonmal. 



