FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 39 



while the orange and the lemon required some shelter. Grapes 

 succeeded only tolerably ; and the olive, which was early introduced 

 by the French, was entirely lost. In the neighborhood of New 

 Orleans he saw beautiful orange groves, orchards of figs, and other 

 productions of the mildest climate, but neither the olive, date, nor 

 grape. In the city of New Orleans, however, grew a date palm, 

 more than thirty feet high, with a trunk nearly eighteen inches in 

 diameter, but, being a staminate plant, it produced no fruit. 1 



In California the grape, palm, olive, and other fruits, of which 

 venerable specimens still remain, were early planted at the various 

 missions. The olive is said to have been planted about the year 

 1700. Among the most noted plantations, though dating back only 

 to about 1810, was the great pear orchard of Santa Clara College, 

 which sixty years later produced several thousand bushels of fruit. 

 A grape vine at San Buenaventure attained an enormous size, as 

 did also pear, date palm, English walnut, and olive trees. But 

 most famous was the great grape vine at Santa Barbara, the trunk 

 of which, four feet and four inches in circumference, was exhibited 

 at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. The vine, 

 when growing, covered more than an acre of space, and produced 

 annually from five to six tons of fruit. Its age was variously stated 

 at from fifty to a hundred years. It was of the Mission variety, 

 introduced from Mexico, but probably originally from Spain. 2 



As early as 1799 Solomon Lufkin, and, a few years afterwards, 

 Christopher Osgood, both of Salem, were noted for their attention 

 to the cultivation of plants and trees. In 1807 greenhouse plants 

 were advertised for sale at the store of David Swasey in Chestnut 

 Street, Salem. 8 



Ezekiel Hersey Derby of Salem inherited the horticultural tastes 

 of his father, Elias Haskett Derby, and having, about 1802, taken 

 possession of the family estate in South Salem, he transformed it 

 into a delightful residence, with an extensive garden and pleasure 

 grounds, greenhouses, orchards, and belts of forest trees, many of 

 choice foreign varieties. He was one of the founders, and for many 

 years a trustee, of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agri- 

 culture ; and the garden and grounds which he planted retained a 

 portion of their well-deserved fame until within a few years. 4 



1 Journal of Travels into the Arkanea Territory. 



2 Letter of E. J. Hooper. 



Felt's Annals of Salem, Vol. II. pp. 148, 150. 

 * Bulletin of the Essex Institute, Vol. II. p. 23. 



