California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



Purple, Columbia, Rein Claud de Bavy 

 or late Green Gage, Ickworth's Im])era- 

 trice. General Hand. The pruues all do 

 well on peach roots in light soil, also. 

 The plums that do not succeed well on 

 peach roots are: Quaekenboss, Early 

 Golden Drop, Coe's Golden Drop, and 

 Coe's Late Red; also the true Green 

 Gage. The Quaekenboss will grow well 

 on peach roots for a few years, and then 

 all at once die. 



pnxrsEs. 

 Two Grosses Prune de Agen; 2 Petti 

 Prune de Agen; 3 Fellenburg. The Fel- 

 lenbui-g, or German Prune is the best 

 drying prune, and is coming into high 

 favor on that account very fast. It pits 

 naturally, is high flavored with firm 

 flesh. The Petti Prune de Agen stands 

 second, but is rich and fine, though 

 small. The Grosse Prune de Agen is 

 best for shipping, owing to its beauty, 

 size and solidity. It adheres to the pit 

 too tenaciously to be a favorite for dry- 

 ing. This is what we wrote last season. 

 But now that Mr. Tarleton's cling-stoue 

 fruit-pitter is invented, we regard the 

 Grosse Prune de Agen as the most desi- 

 rable drying and canning prune. For a 

 market prune, it is by far the most de- 

 sirable, especially for shipjjiug to the 

 East. 



PEACHES. 



Freestones — Two Early May, 2 Hall's 

 Early, 2 Early Crawford, 2 Strawberry, 

 2 Late Crawford, 2 Salway; or one each 

 if you choose. 



Clingstones — Two Lemon, 2 Orange, 1 

 George 4th, 1 Newingtou. The clings are 

 now made valuable for puttiug-up-fruit, 

 by Tarleton's pitter, and may be culti- 

 vated with profit in large numbers. 

 This list of peaches has been care- 

 fully revised to suit the San Jose cli- 

 mate. Persons selecting varieties for 

 hot, dry sections of country, may choose 

 differently. 



NECTAKISES. 



One Hardwick, 1 New White. The 

 nectarine is not generally a favorite for 

 eating, but as it is smooth-skinned, 

 like the plum, it makes a very fine fruit 

 when dried or canned. 



APKICOTS. 



Two Early Golden, 2 Moorepark. Nice 

 for cooking, canning and drying, as well 

 as for eating. This fruit ripens before 

 peaches, and is an indispensible fruit for 

 succession in a family orchard. The 

 Moorepark is the best market apricot. 



CHEEEIES. 



Two each of Governor Wood, Black 

 Eagle, Black Tartarian, Black Arabian, 

 Coe's Transparent, Kentish or Pie, 

 Cleveland Biggareau, Napoleon Biggar- 

 eau. The Black Tartarean is the most 

 profitable market cherry, owing- to the 

 regular and good bearing quality of the 

 trees, and to the solidity and carrying 

 quality of the fruit, which will not dis- 

 color when bruised, and is large, hand- 

 some, and of fine flavor. There is no 

 better canning fruit than the cherry; also 

 good dried. Do not be deterred from 

 planting cherry trees from fear of the 

 birds destroj'ing them. Better double 

 or treble the number and feed the birds. 

 Remember that the birds want "meat as 

 well as bread," insects as well as fruit, 

 and that you will be the gainer to call 

 them to your orchard, even if the}' eat 

 all of your cherries. But don't be 

 alarmed; you can manage to get a taste 

 while they are enjoying a meal without 

 shooting or otherwise destroying the 

 birds. 



MULBERKIES. 



Black and Downing's Everbearing. 



Trees ornamental as well as good for 



fruit. This fruit ripens about the same 

 time as the cherries. Birds are very 

 fond of them. Plant these for the birds, 

 among or near your cherry trees. 



FIGS. 



Take a variety. The Black Bruns- 

 wick, White Smyrna and Brown Turkey 

 are as good as any. The strong-growing 

 kinds make fine, spreading ornamental 

 trees. 



OEANGES. 



The Navil, St. Michel and Si(!ily are 

 leading grafted sorts. E.xperience is 

 yearly showing more and more the 

 adaptability of this semi-tropical fruit 

 to all poi-tions of our State below the 

 snow line in altitude. It requires shel- 

 ter from winds to succeed first rate any- 

 where. After the tree is largo enough 

 to provide a thick shelter of leaves, it 

 will withstand our heaviest frosts with- 

 out injui-y. But while small it should 

 be protected by a tent shelter made by 

 tying the tops of three stakes together 

 over it and wisping straw around or cov- 

 ering with sacking, so as to break the 

 frosts during winter. The orange should 

 be regarded as a most indispensable fruit 

 in a family orchard, and for market it 

 will pay in any warm sheltered locality. 

 In Italy the finest oranges are grown in 

 the coolest climate near the coast, in a 

 very sheltered place, in light, rich soil. 

 The orange is a beautiful evergreen tree, 

 at an}' season, and when in blossom or 

 in fruit is almost matchless for rich beau- 

 ty. It is worthy a place in every front 

 yard where there is appropriate room for 

 any sort of large evergreen. 



The same may be said of 



LEMONS AND CITRONS, 



Which belong to the same family. Tl),e 

 lemon is quite as hardy as the orange. 

 Plant some of each. 



These trees being evergreens should 

 be treated the same as other evergreens. 

 A ball of earth should be taken up with 

 and about the roots and be either boxed 

 or tied in sacks before moving. In 

 transplanting disturb the ball of earth 

 about the roots as little as possible. 



OLIVES. 



The time will come when no orchard 

 will be considered complete in California 

 without the olive tree. What butter is 

 to the American housewife, that is olive 

 oil to the Spanish and Italian domestics, 

 in those portions of the country at least 

 where the oil is abundantly produced. 

 It is used upon their tables as butter is 

 upon ours; is used in cooking the same, 

 and is an indispensable article for many 

 other purposes, of whi^h it is hardly 

 necessary to make mention here. The 

 tree may be grown as an ornamental ev- 

 ergreen. It is easily propagated from 

 cuttings from one to three inches in di- 

 ameter. The tree will do well on dry 

 soil but the cuttings will grow only in 

 moist. Include a few trees in your order 

 to the nurseryman. 



NOT TREES. 



Black Walnuts — These make tall trees. 

 It would pay any man who has a place 

 to 1 lant a grove of these for fruit and 

 for timber, which is very valuable. Plant 

 several in the orchard anyway. The 

 American Black Walnut is the only sort 

 worth cultivating. The "California" is 

 of no value. 



The Pecan nut is also a valuable fruit, 

 and the timber is nearly as good as hick- 

 ory for wagons, etc. It is native of a 

 climate similar to ours, and will be a 

 success in California. 



The Hickory so far as tried appears at 

 home in California. It is worthy of a 

 trial everywhere. 



Tlie Chestnut is no longer an experi- 

 ment. It grows finely and bears abun- 



dantly. The three leading varieties are 

 the American, Italian and Spanish. Try 

 a half dozen of each. 



The Fnijlish Walnut is really a semi- 

 tropical nut tree of low branching habit. 

 There is no nut of greater value for food. 

 It is at home in California, and must 

 prove of material value to the State. 

 Six trees at least should bo planted. 

 The Black Walnut and so-called English 

 Walnut and Chestnut trees are grown in 

 nurseries quite extensively, and are easi- 

 ly moved at one and two years of age, 

 and can be transplanted with safety. 

 The Pecan and Hickory are better plant- 

 where they are to grow. Good seeds 

 should be furnished by nurserymen and 

 seedsmen generally. 



The Ahnoivl, although a nut, partakes 

 in its nature to the habits of the peach 

 tree. The early blossoms are tender to 

 frost, but it is found to do admirably in 

 California, and quite extensive orchards 

 are now growing in various parts of the 

 State — several near San Jose, with suc- 

 cess. Half a dozen trees should bo in- 

 cluded in every family orchard. The 

 Languedoc and Ladies' Paper-Shell are 

 good standard varieties. The former is 

 a fine bearer and withstands the frosts 

 best. Several new sorts of soft shells 

 have lately been produced from seed, but 

 we do not know which of them to re- 

 commend. 



More attention should be paid to fam- 

 ily vineyards. There is no fruit of more 

 value than the grape for food. 



For a trellis plant out American varie- 

 ties, such as the Sweetwater, Delaware, 

 Catawba, etc. 



A good selection of foreign varieties 

 must include about 10 Rose Peru, 10 

 Flame Tokay, 50 White Sluscat of Alex- 

 andria, 10 Black Bamburg, 10 Black 

 JIalvoise, and 10 Zante Currant Grape. 



The white Muscat of Alexandria is the 

 very best raisin grape. Any family can 

 make their own raisins nicely, and send 

 some to market. The best shipping 

 grapes are White Muscat of Alexandria 

 and Flame Tokay, so far as tried, for 

 profit. For canning, high flavored 

 grapes ai-e best. 



The American grapes are best grown 

 from rooted plants Cuttings of all for- 

 eign varieties do about as well as rooted 

 vines. A cutting should be eighteen 

 inches to two feet long. The strongest 

 new growth of vines make the best cut- 

 tings. The lower end of the cutting 

 should bo planted at least one foot be- 

 low the surface and the vine be bent 

 around or laid slanting to the surface, 

 planted firmly in the soil, leaving one or 

 two buds exposed above the ground. 

 No large hole is needed. A narrow 

 spade will remove all the earth necessary 

 to introduce the cutting. Two men can 

 plant an acre in one day. Lay off the 

 ground so as to plant them about 8 feet 

 apart. 



These should not be planted in an ont- 

 of-the-way place, and neglected. They 

 will as well repay for care as anything 

 else in an orchard or garden. Perhaps 

 they more properly belong to the garden. 

 Irrigate when you can. 



Blackberries. — Plant 50 Lawton and as 

 many Kittatinny. They are excellent 

 fruit for the table, to can, and to dry. 



Raspberries. — Twenty-five plants in 

 variety. Plant blackberries and rasp- 

 berries about three feet distant from each 

 other, in rows eight feet apart. Good 

 healthy roots should be selected; the 

 tops vsill grow from the roots. Irriga- 

 tion is beneficial. 



Currants. — The Cherry Carrant is by 

 far the best, but a few of other varieties 



may be tried. 25 plants will give a fam- 

 ily all they want. A moist soil is best for 

 currants. If they are planted to cor- 

 respond with rows of grapes, plant 8x3 

 feet, and allow the stalks to multiply in 

 stools. It saves trouble in cultivating 

 with a horse, to plant uniformly in rows. 



Gooseberries. — Plant same distance as 

 currants. The Houghton Seedling is the 

 standard kind. Allow them to branch 

 low down, and grow about as they please, 

 trimming once each season. 



tSlrawtjerries. — On almost any kind of 

 soil strawberries will do well if aljun- 

 dantly irrigated. The surface soil must 

 be kept moist. During fruiting time the 

 leaves absorb through the roots a great 

 deal of water. Persons who can irrigate 

 should have a nice bed of strawberries. 

 The Langsworth Prolific and Jocunda 

 are standard sorts on this coast. 



BBtTBABB AN'D ASPABBGUS, 



Though belonging to the garden, aro 

 standard plants, and recjuire special care. 

 Plant Rhubarb about the same distance 

 apart as currants. Manure liberally, and 

 water if convenient. Asparagus may be 

 planted in beds, 18 inches apart, and 

 manured heavily, keeping down all 

 weeds. All nurserymen keep Rhubarb 

 and Asparagus roots for sale, as also the 

 other trees and plants above mentioned. 

 We invite our readers to ask qatslions 

 upon all points wherein they want in- 

 formation not given in this article. We 

 cannot pretend to give every instruction 

 in a single article like this, but we aim 

 to be strictlj' correct in what we do say. 



Semi-Tropical Fruits. 



The following article on semi-tropical 

 fruits we find in the Florida Agriculturist. 

 It was written by Mr. F. Branch, a mem- 

 ber of the Florida Fruit Grower's Asso- 

 ciation. We believe it will be interesting 

 to readers in California, as it contains 

 much desirable information : 



Much has been written upon the sub- 

 ject of oranges, their culture, the soil 

 best adapted to their growth, the proper 

 method of pruning, the diseases to which 

 they are liable, and their cure. There is 

 one disease which prevails ext<!nsively in 

 this part of the State which seems to 

 defy all local remedies. I refer to the 

 scale insect. I have tried most of the 

 remedies that have been recommended, 

 and have failed with everj- one. I have 

 tried diluted carbolic acid, carbolic soap, 

 aloes, potash in solation, spirits of am- 

 monia, &c. I have also tried inserting 

 sulphur into the body of the tree. All 

 have failed. That which seems to be 

 most beneficial is thorough manuring 

 and high cultivation. Much complaint 

 has been made by shippers of fruit on 

 account of a brown discoloration upon 

 oranges (probably a fungi), which has 

 prevailed to some extent in this region. 

 Lime freely scattered over the soil under 

 the trees in winter, and well raked in, 

 has been recommended. I have tried it, 

 and proved it a success. But why do 

 people run mad about the one fruit (the 

 orange), whilst another fruit, probably 

 far more remunerating, is neglected? 

 The Sicily lemon usually sells higher in 

 market: will bear fruit two or three 

 years earlier from the seed: is in con- 

 stant bearing for nine months of the 

 year; will bear transportation far better 

 than oranges, and the tree, if killed by 

 the frost to the ground, will grow up • 

 and commence bearing again in half of 

 the time required by a frost-bitten or- 

 ange tree to recuperate and commence 

 bearing. 



THE GtTAVA 



Is destined, at no distant day, to occupy 

 an important position amongst the fruits 



