262 LUTHER BURBANK 



to secure it. It is in considerable demand by 

 canners who find ready sale for the fruit when 

 preserved in this way. But the chief demand, 

 and the one that gives the apricot its real eco- 

 nomic importance is based on the exceptional 

 qualities of the fruit when dried. 



Something like three-quarters of the entire 

 output of the California orchards is preserved 

 in this way and shipped as dried fruit to all parts 

 of the world, and brings about the highest price 

 of any tree fruit under cultivation. 



A perhaps clearer estimate of the value of the 

 industry may be gained if we recall that there 

 are more than three million apricot trees in Cali- 

 fornia orchards. Indeed, this State has a prac- 

 tical monopoly of commercial apricot growing. 



Nowhere else in the world is the fruit of cor- 

 responding economic importance. 



The apricot has been cultivated from an early 

 period of history, like the allied orchard fruits, 

 and it has been grown more or less extensively in 

 America for many years. But it is a fruit that is 

 greatly restricted as to the regions in which it can 

 advantageously be cultivated. The fact that 

 there are very large areas of California where it 

 thrives, sufficiently explains the virtual monopoly 

 in the growth of this fruit that the Pacific Coast 

 enjoys. 



