242 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



cold, and furious storms, protect us against a failure of the 

 fruit crop. 



Our apples, pears, apricots, and plums, are larger than the 

 same varieties usually are elsewhere ; other fruits are about 

 the same in size. 



Dried fruit will probably in a few years occupy a large place 

 among the productions of California, including raisins, figs, 

 prunes, plums, apricots, peaches, apples, pears, and currants. 

 At present, the Alden process of drying is considered prefera- 

 ble to any other. 



172. Abundance of fruit. Of the temperate fruit trees 

 California has about 4,000,000, including 2,446,000 apple, 

 835,000 peach, 356,000 pear, 243,000 plum, 122,000 cherry, 

 78,000 apple, 31,000 nectarine, and 19,000 prune. Of the 

 apple kind, including apple and pear, there are 2,800,000 ; and 

 of the peach kind, including peach, apricot, and nectarine, 

 930,000, and the two classes together make up more than 

 ninety per cent, of the whole number. 



Of the sub-tropical fruit and nut trees we have 250,000, 

 including 59,000 almonds, 58,000 walnut, 50,000 fig, 38,000 

 orange, 38,000 olive, and 7,000 lemon. 



Besides these, we have 26,000,000 grape vines, 12,000,000 

 strawberry vines, and 1,000,000 raspberry bushes. In all, we 

 have 37,000,000 trees, vines, and bushes, bearing fruits or nuts, 

 under cultivation, covering an area of more than 100,000 

 acres, or nearly half an acre in fruit for every man in the 

 State. 



The trees generally are healthy and in good condition. Our 

 cherries and plums are not troubled by the curculio, and our 

 apples are free from the worms which abound in the Eastern 

 orchards. 



173. Grape. California is a favorite land of the grape ; 

 and indeed many of our vine-growers suppose it to be the best 

 grape country in the world. The grape region of Califor- 

 nia extends from the southern boundary, at latitude 32 30', 



