THE GEN KSE.& jjakju&k. 



HORTICULTURE IN CALIFOKNIA. 



The California State Fair was held at Sacra- 

 mento, on the last day of September, and notwith- 

 standing the disastrous effects of the late Bobda, 

 there were quite a large number of entries, and a 

 a very good attendance. The California Farmer 

 says that "the city was filled to repletion." 



Figs take a prominent place .among the fruits.— 

 One exhibitor is credited with 21 varieties. Of 

 grapes, the largest collection was 50, and there 

 was another of 48 varieties. Apples seem to be 

 cultivated more than any other fruit, except 

 grapes. Several exhibitors had over twenty varie- 

 ties. One apple, Gloria Mundi, measured 15i 

 inches in circumference. Five plates of Bartlett 

 pears were shown, being specimens of five differ- 

 ent crops grown in the same year, on the same 

 tree ! 



It is difficult to find out how large the various 

 collections were, as they are often all classed to- 

 gether, as " a large collection of apples, pears, 

 peaches and grapes." One exhibitor had two va- 

 rieties of plums, and there was but one other com- 

 petitor and he had only one variety. Jesse Moereli 

 had Japanese pears from a tree five years old from 

 the seed, and Major J. Bidwell, of Ohico county, 

 had two varieties of Japanese pears. Pomegran- 

 ates are in the list, and quinces were shown by 

 several persons. The list of fruits was not large, 

 and there is not a flower mentioned in the cata- 

 logue, except two vase-boquets in the collection of 

 one exhibitor. 



In vegetables the display was not large. A 

 squash, weighing 176 pounds, and a turnip, two 

 feet and 11 inches in circumference, weighing l r J 

 pounds, are mentioned as noticeable for their size. 

 The strong points of the Fair seem to have been 

 the display of stock and of fancy work. The large 

 number of entries in the latter department, prove 

 that the ladies of California are " keepers at home." 

 The absence of " the splendid collection of fruits 

 and flowers" from Smith & Gorden is regretted by 

 the Gal. Farmer, and Mr. Smith is spoken of as one 

 who has done much for the Horticultural interests 

 of the State. His losses were so great by the flood 

 that he was unable to exhibit. Messrs. White & 

 Hollister are also mentioned as being prevented 

 for the same reason from adding to the display. 



In the address by the President, he says that— 

 ''In regard to fruit, soil, and climate, the market 

 of one of our smallest towns will compare favora 

 bly with that of a provincial city in the interior of 

 France. Paris. Vienna, London, Berlin, cannot 



display as large a variety of fruits of their own 

 raising, as the fruit stands of San Francisco or Sac- 

 ramento daily exhibit," 



It is pleasant to see that in the pursuit for gold, 

 the calmer and purer pleasures of horticulture have 

 not been forgotten. 



TREE PLANTING. 



"Have you never heard of the student who, on 

 being told that the" crow would sometimes live a. 



hundred years, bought a young crow to try the ex- 

 periment?" Yes, indeed, we have heard of him— 

 the irony is excellent— and of Dr. Johnson's growl 

 "about the frightful interval between the seed 

 and the timber." Still, we say, plant trees. They 

 who plant at once, instead of wasting their breath 

 in selfish complaints of the shortness of life, find 

 luxuriant foliage waving over them much s.M.ner 

 than expected. But, whether you live to see 

 the maturity of your trees or not, he benevolent 

 enough to plant for posterity. Transmit to your 

 children the inheritance of rural beauty received 

 from your fathers, greatly augmented. By all 

 means plant, and plant well, and the result will 

 overpay the labor. And let not your work end 

 with planting. Feed your trees from year to year 

 with generous food and guard them from injury. 

 And in the words (slightly altered) of an old plan- 

 ter: "What joy may you have in seeing the suc- 

 cess of your labors while you live, and in leaving 

 behind you, to your heirs or successors, a work 

 that, many years after your death, shall record 

 your love to your country! And then rather, 

 when you consider to what length of time your 

 work is like to last." If you have country homes 

 to embellish, be content with simplicity. Remem- 

 ber that a great establishment is a great care, and 

 that the proprietor is apt to become a slave to it. 

 Let your dwelling place be marked with what 

 painters call "repose." Make them the abode ot com- 

 fort and refined enjoyment, places which always af- 

 ford you agre< able occupation, but not oppress you 

 with care, — Fforth American fieri, w'. 



Dead Animals foe Geai-e Vines.— At the last 

 meeting of the Fruit Growers Society of Western 

 New York, the opinion was advanced that dead 

 animals hurled beneath grape vines, imparted a 

 disagreeable flavor to the fruit. In the discussion 

 which followed, J. J. Thomas, to show how soon 

 animal matter decomposed in a porous soil, stated 

 that he once buried a cow in a heap of muck, and 

 that in a year the whole animal had disappeared 

 except the bones. The fact is an interesting one- 

 showing that muck and loam not only absorb the 

 gases eliminated, but also accelerate decomposition. 



Mr Thomas is not in favor of burying dead ani- 

 mals under grape vines. He prefers thorough cul- 

 tivation to high manuring. Like ourselves he 

 recognizes the fact that tilbi'je \< manure, and there 

 is probably no man in the country that has done 

 more to disseminate the idea among farmers and 

 gardeners. 



