184 RURAL CALIFORNIA. 



adapted to fresh fruit shipments and canning. These 

 fruits are largely grown in the districts where early 

 ripening can be counted on. The size and beauty 

 of the canning plums are striking and the product 

 reaches a good volume. 



California produces practically the whole of the 

 almond crop of the United States. The almond de- 

 mands much intelligent judgment on the part of 

 the grower. It is a very restless tree during the 

 winter because the temperature in the valleys is al- 

 ways near the point which induces blooming and 

 rather a light frost may injure blossoms and young 

 nuts. It is very important to select locations where 

 there is a minimum danger of frost. These are on 

 the bench lands around small valleys, while the bot- 

 tom lands in the same valleys might be quite frosty. 

 Frosts are also less frequent on the plains of the in- 

 terior valleys where there is a free circulation of air 

 to equalize temperatures, while on the river bottom 

 lands the trees may be unproductive. The almond 

 does not thrive at elevations in the foothills and 

 seems to be a bench and valley fruit, but even within 

 these limits locations must be chosen with close at- 

 tention to local topography. The wide distribution 

 of the product shows that local conditions rather than 

 wide geographical generalizations should be studied. 



The chestnut product is small and consists almost 

 entirely of the Italian variety grown in the interior 

 valley and foothills. 



On light loams all through the lower lands the 

 peanut thrives well and makes a large product of 



