20 



It will be understood that these prices are all in gold or 

 silver, and were taken on several different days. Prices 

 vary, of course, from day to day, according to the supply 

 and demand. 



Fruits keep much longer on the trees and vines in Cali- 

 fornia than with us. The tig is produced in great abun- 

 dance and of excellent quality in many parts of the coun- 

 try ; indeed, we saw it fruiting heavily along the street 

 side. When the process of drying becomes well under- 

 stood, as it will shortly, the fig culture must become a 

 source of great profit, and will, I think, rank among the 

 most profitable fruits. At preseut much of the crop is 

 lost every year. In a country where fruits cau be grown 

 so cheaply,, modes of profitable consumption will soon 

 suggest themselves. 



For drying fruit, California is superior to most other 

 countries in the world. As a general rule, the fruits 

 are superior to ours in size and beauty, generally sweeter, 

 but not superior in flavor. With a few exceptions, the 

 cherries, apricots, as well as the early pears, are as fine as 

 any raised in any country. The deficiency in flavor, if it 

 be so, may be owing to the unripe condition of the fruit 

 by premature picking and improper ripening. The early 

 fruits, not of overgrown size, are usually of better quality 

 and not so fibrous and mealy as those of autumn. But 

 we are unable to say how far the want of flavor is owing 

 to improper treatment. In the case of strawberries, the 

 best varieties have not yet been adopted by the market 

 growers, and with the exception of the currant, none of 

 the small fruits are as good as ours. The grapes are 

 almost exclusively what we call foreign varieties. Wild 

 native grapes abound in all the woodecl parts of the State, 

 but they are very di9*erent in character from our grapes 

 of the East. American grapes have been tested, but as 

 far as we could ascertain, with unfavorable results; this, 

 however, we do not regard as conclusive, as some experi- 

 ments may yet be successful. 



On arriving in California we were at once struck with 



