California Agriculturist 



^X70 



"wm. s^ 



J' O 'O' ]Ei 21' JL E« 



Vol. 7— No. 7.} 



SAN JOSE, CAL., JULY, 1876- 



J SCBscRrPTiON PliiCE, $1.50 a Year. 

 \ Siuglo Copies, 15 CenU, 



THINNING OUT GROWING 

 FRUITS. 



Our best orchardists pay a great deal 

 of attention to thinning out where too 

 milch fruit sets upon the trees to all 

 grow to perfect size. On an average, at 

 least one half of the fruit is taken from 

 the trees when about the size of hickory 

 nuts, and frequently two-thirds to three- 

 fourths of it is picked off where the tree 

 is crowded with fruit. There are two 

 good reasons for this : one to prevent the 

 limbs from breaking under the load of 

 ripening fruit, and another to insure the 

 large size of the fruit that is left upon 

 the tree, together with superior eating 

 qualities. The size and beauty of fruit 

 has a good deal to do with its marketable 

 value. Pruing the trees severely, re- 

 moving the fruit-bearing twigs, will pre- 

 vent over-bearing, but at the injury of 

 the tree. Better encourage as many 

 fruit spurs to grow as possible, aud 

 make a practice of thinning out the fruit. 

 It will pay to do so. It will look like a 

 waste to one not accustomed to it to pull 

 ofif a large quantity of growing fruit, as 

 is often expedient, but the superior 

 weight and excellence, when grown, of 

 what is left, will surely satisfy anyone 

 that i, is good policy. 



THOUGHTS ON OVER-PRODUC- 

 TION AND FINANCE. 



We read a good deal about over-pi'oduc- 

 iio7i, and consequent idleness of manu- 

 factories and many poor people thrown 

 out of employment. Now, when we see 

 BO many people wanting and needing the 

 very articles which it is claimed are over- 

 abundant — so many people who have not 

 the wherewith to procure these produc- 

 tions which they desire, we are inclined 

 to attribute all such hard times to some 

 other cause. If we.alth consists of the 

 produce of industry, the more produced 

 the more wealth, would seem a fair pro- 

 position; and the less labor performed 

 the less wealfh, as a natural consequence. 

 Now it will not take many words for 

 us to express our convictions upon this 

 point. What is most needed is the abil- 

 ity to consume. We are personally ac- 

 quainted with lots of jjeople who would 

 have better houses, better clothes, a 

 great variety of food, better furniture, 

 and a thousand and one comforts and 

 conveniences if they could afford it. 

 They are willing to work for fair pay, and 

 would be glad to be so situated financial- 

 ly that they could consume and appro- 

 priate the good things of life without 

 neglecting business. Now if everybody 

 should work, see how abundant woulil 

 become all the necessaries, and thous- 

 ands of the luxuries of an advancing 

 civilization. There would be enough 

 for all, at least of the essentials. There 

 never was so big a humbug as this cry of 

 "over-production." 

 J What we want is a financial system 

 ^ which will make money so plenty and 

 cheap — so far as relates to interests — 

 ^ that every one who produces a thing can 

 find purchasers. Then industry will be 



encouraged, instead of shackled as is 

 now the case. There will be no mono- 

 poly of money by the few banks, no us- 

 ury to consume tire earnings, but every 

 one will stand upon a nearly equal plain, 

 where industry will reign supreme. 



Now, how can this thing be brought 

 about? By the Government. Currency 

 should be issued and loaned to the peo- 

 ple at very light rates to cover the ex- 

 pense of doing the business and to assist 

 in raising revenue to support the Gov- 

 ernment, which would lessen the taxes. 

 The Government might deal with the 

 people through States, counties, towns, 

 etc., receiving security in all property for 

 the return of the money and interest. In 

 some such way as this, money might be- 

 come as plenty as desirable, under pro- 

 per restrictions. Instead of being king, 

 money would simply be a servant— a 

 convenience. Instead of being itself a 

 value, it would simply be a representa- 

 tive of values — and in reality it can be 

 of itself no more. Weattk would then 

 consist, as it ought to, of the productions 

 of indtistrt/. 



Although a perfect financial system 

 might not correct all the abuses existing 

 among selfish and dishonest men, it 

 would at least deprive money speculat- 

 ors of the jjower of dictating to industry; 

 it would foster industrial enterprises by 

 paying labor according to its deserts, 

 thus rendering it not only possible, but 

 easy for an honest man to make an hon- 

 est living. 



DESTEUCTIVE CATERPILLARS. 



Last year we noticed the caterpillars 

 in Mr. Watkins' and Mr. Gould's orch- 

 ards in Santa Clara as follows: "In our 

 valley the caterpillars are destroying the 

 fruit crop in some orchards, others they 

 have not troubled. We saw hundreds 

 of trees in Gould's and Watkins' orch- 

 ards with the foliage stripped from them. 

 They are not the tent caterpillars, but 

 when not eating the leaves cluster to- 

 gether on the large limbs and trunks of 

 the trees. When in this position it 

 would not be a difiicult matter to destroy 

 great numbers of them, but we saw no 

 disposition to attempt their destruction, 

 and were told that there was so little 

 profit in fruit culture that it would not 

 pay to spend the time necessary to kill 

 them." 



This season there were literally mil- 

 lions where there were thousands of 

 these pests last year. Mr. Watkins' 

 orchard has been stripped as bare as bean 

 poles or last year's mustard stalks. This 

 was done about the middle to the last of 

 May. The consequence is, the bare 

 trees, exposed to the hot sun with stag- 

 nated sap, become parboiled under the 

 bark, the bark splits open on the sunny 

 side, borers are invited, and the fruit 

 crop is not only destroped this season, 

 but the trees are ruined forever. Think 

 of fifty acres of orchard ruined by these 

 caterpillars in this way. 



Mr. \V. has closely examined the hab- 

 its of this caterpillar this season. He 

 finds that the butterfly lays the eggs onh- 

 upon twigs about one-eighth of an inch 



in diameter, mostly on new growth, and 

 that close shorteuiug-inpruniug'will take 

 the eggs off without injuring the trees. 

 Each insect laj's about 1.50 eggs in a 

 glutinous band about the twig. These 

 are easily discerned by a practiced eye, 

 aud may nearly all be removed from the 

 tree during the fall and winter by prun- 

 ing. What are accidentally left may bo 

 noticed about as soon as hatched, as 

 they at once commence work on tho' 

 nearest foliage in a body and may be de- 

 stroyed. What few are left, if any, may 

 be killed as they collect on the large 

 branches and body of tho trees to rest, 

 when about half grown. One thing we 

 think is clearly proved, it will not pay 

 to let such pesls destroy orchards with- 

 out at least a fair contest of industry and 

 skill against them. 



In a conversation with Mr. J. W. 

 Briggs, orchardist, we learn that his 

 large orchard near Marysville was, a few 

 years since, filled with these caterpillars. 

 He thinks they were first discovered on 

 the willows. He made short work of 

 them in precisely the same manner as 

 Mr. Watkins suggests as being the best. 

 We must warn our orchardists to watch 

 out for these pests, and be sure to get 

 the start of them before they do other 

 serious damage. 



A GRAND EUROPEAN GARDEN. 



Mr. J. C. Schmidt, of Erfurt, Prussia, 

 writes to us an account of his splendid 

 nurseries and garden and conservatories, 

 which we take pleasure in laying before 

 our readers. He accompanies the letter 

 with beautiful illustrations of his places, 

 etc. He says: 



During the season I publish eight cat- 

 alogues: one wholesale list for Germany; 

 one wholesale list for England aud Ame- 

 rica; one wholesale list for France; one 

 catalogue for private persons in Ger- 

 many, and one for private persons in 

 Austria; one wholesale list for seeds; one 

 catalogue for decorative plants, etc., and 

 one for bulbs. 



Under my own cultivation I have 300 

 acres, with flowers and grasses for drying 

 purposes, but I only cultivate the better 

 species, about one-third of the J'early 

 want, the other two-thirds I have con- 

 tracted with gardeners. 



I have a large steam dye for flowers, 

 grasses and moss, in which about fifty 

 persons are engaged; also, a steam en- 

 gine for a drying machine, and steam 

 dye halls and large rooms for drying 

 flowers. 



In the horticultural establishment and 

 nurseries, 75 to 100 men and 100 to 150 

 female persons are working. For bind- 

 ing boqnets about 150 girls are engaged. 

 Working people in aU, 400 to 500 per- 

 sons. 



The department for export contains 

 chiefly fabricates of dyed flowers, grasses, 

 etc., of not surpassed color and arrange- 

 ment. Further, I export all the raw 

 stuft" for florists, viz. : flowers, grasses, 

 mosses, bouquet papers, pot covers, bas- 

 ketware, elegant straw baskets, fabricates 

 of wire, all sorts of home adornment, 

 plants-stands, vases, flower tables, reser- 



voirs for gold fish, etc. 



Tho most important part of my estab- 

 lishment are the hot and cold houses, 

 covering more than three acres of space, 

 one of which is about 180 feet long aud 

 contains only palms, the others are for 

 cultivation of .•\zales, Camellias, and all 

 sorts of plants for cut flowers. 

 Your obedient servant, 



J. C. Schmidt. 



GRAFTING LARGE GRAPE 

 VINES. 



Mr. T. H. Payne, of Santa Cruz, wrote 

 to the editor, last spring, to know the 

 best way to graft large grape vines, five 

 or six inches in diameter. Through 

 somebody's carelesisness, the letter has 

 just reached us. Although out of sea- 

 son, we will answer now, and let those 

 who want the information remember for 

 another season. 



The time we wou'd choose for grafting 

 would be just as the leaves commence to 

 form on the old vine. The scions should 

 be previously taken from the last sea- 

 son's growth of such variety of grape as 

 is most desirable to propagate. Choose 

 the strongest cuttings for scions. Ke- 

 move the earth from about the stalk of 

 the old vine eight inches deep, and at 

 least seven inches below the surface 

 make an incision with a chisel into the 

 stalk deep enough to firmly insert the 

 scion, which should be cut wedge-shaped 

 as usual for grafting. One or more of 

 these scions may be inserted. Trim the 

 old vine b.ack pretty closely, but allow it 

 to grow tho first year. The reason for 

 this way of grafting, instead of cutting 

 the old "stalk off before grafting, is that 

 the circulation of the sap of the vine will 

 not be retarded, and no suckers will be 

 developed and thrown out from the root, 

 as there would be if the old stalk was 

 cut off at once. The next fall or spring, 

 when the new graft is well grown in, the 

 old stalk can be removed with little dan- 

 ger of suckers. When suckers once start 

 below the scion they are very difficult to 

 contend with, as they are likely to come 

 up year after year. By gralting deep 

 enough below the surface, and allowing 

 the scion to get one year's growth before 

 the old stalk is removed, the probability 

 is that no suckers will trouble. 



A New enemy to the farmers, more 

 troublesome than the squirrel, has put 

 in an appearance in Kern county. The 

 tule rats are destroying wheat fields by 

 the hundreds of acres. They harbor in 

 the tulcs and live en the roots, but the 

 high waters this year have driven them 

 up into the wheat fields, and as they 

 equal in numbers the locusts of Egj-pt, 

 they devour a field of grain about as fast 

 as it could be cut with a machine, and 

 having tasted the soft and succulent 

 grain they will not be content to live on 

 the tule roots while the grain lasts. As 

 soon as the farmer discovers that the rats 

 have commenced on a field, he starts in 

 wiih his machine to cut his field for hay, 

 aud if he perseveres he may save about 

 one half of the crop. 



