72 



ROEDING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



The Hachiya Persimmon, very much reduced. There 

 is hardly a place in California where the Persimmon 

 will not thrive well and produce heavy crops annually. 



A new simple process of alcohol inoculation has been 

 practissd lately. Fierce the fruit at the bottom several 

 times with a common needle dipped in alcohol and pack 

 them in a tight box or container lined with straw and 

 with layers between the rows, keeping the box closed 

 for ten days. 



It is not generally known that the persimmon is de- 

 licious when dried. It is so sweet, so rich in sugar and 

 has such a unique flavor that one who has never eaten 

 the dried persimmon before immediately comes to the 

 conclusion that the fruits have been crystallized. The 

 method of drying is simple: the skin is pared off and the 

 fruits are suspended by the stems, tying them with 

 string to a rope or a stick and exposing to the sun; 

 they gradually lose their original form, turn quite 

 dark and are covered with sugar crystals; The 

 dried persimmon is considered by many to be more 

 delicious than the "date of commerce." Fruit should 

 be picked for drying when yellow and firm. 



COMMERCIAL VARIETIES 



Dai-Dai-Maru, Hachiya, Hyakume, Tane-Nashi, 

 Yemen. 



VARIETIES WORTHY OF TRIAL 



Delicious, Fuyugaki, Mammoth Gosho, Sato, Tamo- 

 pan, Twentieth Century, Yami-Yemon. 



TIME OF RIPENING OF COMMERCIAL 



VARIETIES 



September November 



Tane-Nashi. Hyakume. 



October December 



Hachiya, Dai-Dai-Maru. Yemon. 



THE POMEGRANATE 



The fruit of the pomegranate will be remembered in 

 connection with Scriptural history, where it is men- 

 tioned in conjunction with that of the vine, fig and 

 olive. Its cultivation, therefore, dates back to remote 

 antiquity. It is much prized in the south of Europe as 

 an ornamental tree, and in countries around the Medi- 

 terranean it is valued very highly for its effective flower- 

 ing qualities as well as for its delicious fruits. As our 

 climatic conditions in the interior valleys are very simi- 

 lar to those countries in the south of Europe where it 

 flourishes so well, it is coming more and more into 

 favor. The fruits are very showy, this being true more 

 particularly of the Wonderful. As a table decoration 

 there is no fruit which is more attractive. If there is 

 any objection to the pomegranate at all it may be sum- 

 marized as being due to the seeds in the pulp. It is 

 said that there is a variety in which these seeds are en- 

 tirely absent. In my travels abroad I endeavored to 

 find a seedless variety in Asia Minor and in southern 

 Europe, but met with no success in my quest. Numer- 

 ous varieties have been introduced by the Division 

 of Plant Industry of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture and by private individuals, but thus far 

 none have been found which are in any way superior to 

 the well established varieties. As the pomegranate 

 bears heavily and regularly every year, requiring very 

 little care, and adapts itself to a great variety of soils, 

 there is no reason why it should not eventually become 

 a very important commercial fruit. A cooling drink 

 known as grenadine is made from the pulpy seeds with 

 the addition of water and sugar. This is used very 

 extensively in the southern part of Europe. It is said 

 to be especially grateful in fevers. The rind of the 

 fruit, when boiled, has for many generations past been 

 the remedy for taeniae, and a jet black, smooth writing 

 ink is also made from it. 



SITUATION AND SOILS 



I have used the pomegranate for a number of years 

 in depressions in my vineyard where the ground was so 

 damp for a good part of the year that grape vines in- 

 variably died. The pomegranate luxuriates in these 

 spots, and their spontaneity of growth is simply 

 astounding. The pomegranate will thrive in any part 

 of the state, but commercial planting should be -con- 

 fined to sections having comparatively high tempera- 

 tures during the summer months. In such localities it 

 reaches its highest point of perfection. It is not very 

 particular as to soil and it will thrive in water-logged 

 soils and those more or less impregnated with alkali in 

 which other trees will fail entirely. 



DISTANCES APART AND PRUNING 



The very fact that the pomegranate produces so 

 heavily with so little care has caused many growers to 

 allow the shrubs to grow at their own sweet will. This 

 is a mistake. To get the best results it should be started 

 with a single stem about sixteen inches high. If allowed 

 to throw out numerous suckers from the ground- it is 

 more difficult to keep the bush in shape and under 

 control than when starting with a single stem. The 



