ROEDING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



29 



Orange Cling, Wheatland. Susquehanna, Late Craw- 

 ford, McDevitt's Cling, McKevitt's Cling, Libbee 

 Cling, Sims' Cling, Phillips' Cling. 



September 

 George's Late Cling, Heath Cling, Salway. 



October 

 Bilyeu's Late, Ward's Late, Levy's Late. 



THE NECTARINE 



There is a mistaken idea that the nectarine is a cross 

 between the peach and something else. As a matter of 

 fact it is nothing more or less than a smooth-skinned 

 peach. Nectarines can be grown in any section where 

 the peach thrives. The nectarine bears fully as well as 

 the peach, and for canning, drying and shipping it has 

 so many points in its favor it is difficult indeed to .com- 

 prehend why planters have not engaged in nectarine 

 culture more extensively than they have. In England 

 and on the continent of Europe the nectarine can only 

 be grown to advantage under glass. It is prized there 

 more highly than any other variety of stone fruit. The 

 prices realized are exceedingly high. As the nectarine 

 has identically the same habit as the peach the cultural 

 directions are the same, therefore any additional in- 

 structions would be superfluous. 



SEASON OF RIPENING 



June 

 Early Newington. 



July 

 Gower, New White, Boston, Advance, Lord Napier. 



August 

 Hardwick, Humboldt, Victoria, Stanwick. 



THE QUINCE 



The quince comes-in at a season of the year when 

 practically all other fruits for preserving purposes are 

 disposed of. California conditions, both in the interior 

 valleys and through the coast sections, are well adapted 

 to its culture. The trees are enormous bearers and in 

 the fall of the year when loaded down with their heavy 

 crops of large, light, lemon-colored fruits, they are 

 strikingly ornamental. For delicateness of flavor 

 there is no jelly superior to that of the quince. The 

 fruits when cooked are very desirable for table use. 

 In California the demand even in our largest cities 

 has never been heavy. The inspiration to plant more 

 quinces is evidently coming from our Middle West 

 and Eastern neighbors. They are taking the few car- 

 loads which are now being produced and paying fancy 

 prices to the growers. Quince culture has a future in 

 California and those growers who are far sighted enough 

 will not fail to plant a few quince trees in connection 

 with their plantings of other fruits. The Smyrna 

 quince is particularly well adapted to the interior sec- 

 tions, due to its very heavy foliage. The quince does 

 remarkably well in alluvial soils, and even on soils which 



are inclined to remain wet a considerable length of time 

 during the growing season. As the trees are of a dwarf 

 habit they should be planted from fifteen feet to twenty 

 feet apart. The quince is grown on its own root. The 

 general practice is to plant the Angers quince cuttings 

 and bud the named varieties on this stock. The trees 

 should be trained to a single stem and headed at about 

 twenty inches. As the tree is of a low, spreading habit, 

 it should be trained to a wide goblet form. To secure 

 a well shaped tree it is very essential to thin out and 

 prune the trees back severely for the first three years. 

 To develop fruit spurs and to keep the heavy fruits 

 close in and to help the trees to sustain their large crops 

 without breaking down under their burden, the cutting 

 back and thinning out of the young growth should be 

 an annual winter's job. The trees are very much in- 

 clined to sucker from the root, and if their vitality is to 

 be conserved these suckers must be removed. Quinces 

 should be gathered as soon as they are matured. They 

 will keep for several months without any particular 

 attention if stored under cover where there is a circula- 

 tion of air and where the temperature is fairly uniform. 



TIME OF RIPENING 

 September 



Apple or Orange, Champion, Pineapple, Meech's 

 Prolific. 



October 

 Rea's Mammoth, Smyrna. 



THE ALMOND 



In normal times we import nine thousand tons of 

 almonds and our annual production is three thousand 

 tons. It requires no great amount of discernment to 

 fully understand that almond culture in California is 

 only in its infancy. It has had many conditions to con- 

 tend with which have held it in check. The European 

 varieties introduced in the early days never bore well, 

 and then again many orchards were planted in localities 

 subject to cold weather in the spring months where, 

 on account of the tendency of the trees to bloom 

 early the crop was severely curtailed. The intro- 

 duction of the Hatch varieties in the early eighties 

 overcame the first problem, and the second one has been 

 mastered by the choosing of localities suited to their 

 culture. The trees do well even in heavy soils if well 

 drained. The tendency has been to plant almond or- 

 chards on soils more or less loamy but well mixed with 

 gravel. The trees are rapid growers and attain large 

 size in time, therefore they should be planted from 

 twenty-five to thirty feet apart. There are many 

 sections in the great interior valleys and in many 

 of the Coast counties, noticeably San Luis Obispo, thirty 

 miles inland, where almonds are an assured success. 

 Thousands of acres have been planted in recent years 

 in this county. The very fact that the rainfall is ample, 

 combined with the necessary elevation, overcoming the 

 danger of injury to either the blossoms or nuts when in 

 their formative stage, has had much to do with the ex- 

 tensive acreage planted to almonds in the aforesaid 



