16 



One of the finest pear orchards at Sacramento con- 

 tained 10.000 trees. The oldest trees had been phmted 

 nine years, and some of them were twenty-five or thirty 

 feet high. Like others, the trees were crowded in plant- 

 ing. Here we saw the Benrre Clairgeau and Winter 

 Nelis pear after onl}^ four years' planting, twenty feet 

 high and stems full six inches in diameter, heavily laden 

 with fruit. The following varieties were very fine: 

 Benrre Gifiisird, Rostiezier, Bartlett, Winter Nelis, Du- 

 chesse d'Angouleme, Vicar of Winkfield, and Seckel. Of 

 the last named the orchard contained 1000 trees ; of Win- 

 ter Nelis a long avenue. This gentleman sent to the New 

 York market, last year, 800 bushels of the Vicar of 

 Winkfield pear ; and by November 1st of this year he 

 will send to the East more than 6000 bushels of pears, of 

 wdiieh 500 bushels will be Lawrence ; and also five tons of 

 Muscat of Alexandria grapes ; and here in a grove of fig 

 trees as large as apple trees and twenty-five feet high, we 

 partook of figs, apricots, peaches, plums, pears, black- 

 berries, melons and grapes at the same time. Of the 

 grape he had one vineyard containing 10,000 vines, all of 

 the JSIuscat of Alexandria, and of these he will send this 

 autumn to Chicago five tons or more. 



On the 5th of July, we visited the Alhambra gardens, 

 in the Alhambra valley, near Martinez. The ranch em- 

 braces some 700 acres, ninety of Avhich are planted with 

 fruit; thirty-four acres are covered with grape, half with 

 the Mission grape, so called ; the other sorts embrace 

 White Muscat of Alexandria, Flame Tokay, White Chas- 

 selas. Black Hamburg, White Corinth, Palestine, &c. 

 Bunches of the last named we found, on measurement, to 

 be eighteen inches in length, though of course the berries 

 were not half grown. Isabella and Catawba have been 

 tested and found unsuccessful. The orchard contained 

 1200 apple trees, 1000 pear trees, 1800 peach trees, be- 

 sides plums, cherries, almonds, apricots, figs, walnuts, 

 pomegranates, quinces, and oranges. Pear trees looked 

 well, and the varieties run the same as in other places. 



