NOVKMBEK, 1922 



GLKANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



A^ 



C 



Lr 



S usual, we 

 ,01iio-Califor- 

 nians have 

 been experien- 

 cing the "very 

 unusual " this 

 September. 

 Whether because 

 of some law of 

 averages or com- 

 pensation or just to enable the weather to 

 keep up its record for superlatives this 

 year, the temperature on Sunday, Sept. 17, 

 reached the highest point since 1913, just 

 as last winter occurred the most disastrous 

 freeze since 1913 and the most rain for 

 years. The official thermometer in Los An- 

 geles recorded a maximum of 102 degrees 

 in the shade, that of Pasadena registered 

 108 degrees, and our west porch thermome- 

 ter, unofficial but apparently reliable, show- 

 ed 103 degrees. Our suburb lies between 

 Pasadena and Los Angeles. 



If this September is a fair sample I am 

 afraid I shall have to admit that I love 

 "My California" in spite of its September 

 climate, not because of it, although today, 

 Sept. 27, the thermometer is behaving beau- 

 tifully, has not showed a temperature of 

 more than 76, and the delightful sea breeze 

 is mingling with mountain air, as it should. 

 During those hot days the sea breeze ap- 

 parently took a long detour across a desert 

 before reaching us, with the result that 

 opening a window was somewhat like open- 

 ing a furnace door. It is a fact that a ther- 

 mometer exposed to the breeze recorded a 

 higher temperature than one sheltered from 

 the breeze. 



But while I never would advise anyone 

 to visit California in September, or perhaps 

 at any time during the fall, it is not a bad 

 place in which to live. During even the 

 warmest weather the temperature falls well 

 down into the sixties before morning, with 

 just enough exceptions to prove the rule. 

 And on account of the cool nights the in- 

 terior of the house preserves a surprising 

 coolness until mid-afternoon, even on hot 

 days, especially if most, of the windows and 

 doors are closed early in the morning. We 

 always leave part of our windows open, 

 for we are not fond of stale air, even if cool, 

 but we have learned to keep out the hot 

 breezes. 



LAST month T believe I wrote that to- 

 matoes and eastern varieties of grapes 

 are not as fine here in California as in 

 the Ea^t. T find T miist retract. Just n few 

 days after my manuscript had started east 

 a nice beekeeper, living some 25 miles from 

 here, sent us some tomatoes, and then a 

 week or two later he did it again. T meas- 

 ured several and found them 14 inches in 

 circumference; they were as uniform in size 

 and shar»e as peas in a r)od, had a most 

 beautiful tomato-red complexion, -were fiTm 

 and i^ne flavored and kept well. And the 

 largest Concord grapes T ever saw, both as to 



OUR CALIFORNIA LETTER 



CONSTANCE ROOT BOYDEN 



(Stancy Puerden) 



3 



r^^^^^^5^ 



TU 



715 



size of indivi- 

 dual grapes and 

 bunches, have 

 been on the mar- 

 ket for some 

 weeks. I am be- 

 ginning to be- 

 lieve California- 

 grown fruits, 

 w i t h the ex- 

 ception of grapefruit, are the finest in the 

 world. Maybe in the future I shall have to 

 retract making that exception of grape- 

 fruit; but, although we have enjoyed some 

 very fair grapefruit from Arizona, I don't 

 believe the California article can equal that 

 grown in Florida as yet. 



Someone has asked me to describe a nec- 

 tarine. I should call it a white peach with 

 au apple skin, or the skin might be likened 

 to that of a plum. Those on our tree were 

 delicious, juicy, refreshing, very sweet and 

 with a flavor a little more delicate than the 

 average peach. The skin was apple-green 

 or pale yellow when ripe, and some of them 

 had dark red on one side. We liked them 

 sliced without peeling, and we also used 

 them sliced over such breakfast foods as 

 shredded wheat. Whether they can be suc- 

 cessfully grown in the East I do not know, 

 but I remember father had one in our yard 

 when I was a girl. Possibly it did not sur- 

 vive the winters, for I do not think it lived 

 to be a very large tree. 



Did you ever hear of roselle buds? They 

 are perhaps a little over an inch long, half 

 an inch in diameter, are striped bright red 

 and green and they grow on shrubs or bushes. 

 A very pretty ruby-red jelly can be made 

 from them, and the flavor is much like that 

 made from currants. They must be very 

 rich in pectin, for the juice jellies very 

 quickly with little boiling. 



Speaking of pectin reminds me of the 

 commercial pectin, sold under the name of 

 Certo. I have used it in making jams and 

 marmalades this summer and have tested it 

 in apricot jam made Avith honey 'instead of 

 sugar. That made with honey jellied more 

 slowly than when sugar was used, perhaps 

 because the honey added a little more liquid, 

 but it finally became firm. The Certo is a 

 great convenience when making jam of 

 fruits deficient in pectin, such as peaches, 

 and it also enables one to use canned fruits 

 for making jam during the winter. The use 

 of it with strawberries, blackberries and 

 raspberries results in a much finer-flavored 

 jam than usual, as it obviates the necessity 

 for the long boiling which injures the flavor 

 and hardens the seeds. 



But for making jelly with roselle buds, 

 grapes, quinces or other fruits rich in pec- 

 tin I prefer not to use the Certo. and T also 

 think orange marmalade is better without 

 the Certo, as oranges and lemons are rich 

 in pectin. The Corto recipes call for so much 

 su-orar that iams made by that method are 

 apt to taste too sweet unless some lemon 

 juice is added. 



