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ROBBING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



The Carob is not only a striking avenue tree, but it is 



adapted to the driest of locations. The beans make 



fine stock food. 



trees bear enormously, and they are very ornamental. 

 The fruits are very palatable whether processed or not, 

 therefore we have in the jujube combinations which 

 will cause it to become, once its value is better under- 

 stood, a valuable acquisition to our list of fruits. The 

 only varieties on the market now are those produced 

 from seed. 



PROCESSING 



The credit for successfully processing the first jujubes 

 in the United States is due to Mrs. R. L.. Beagles, wife 

 of the Farm Superintendent of the Plant Introduction 

 Field Station, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Chico, California. The process is as follows: First of 

 all provide a tray with tacks driven through it a six- 

 teenth of an inch to prick the fruits. Then cook in a 

 syrup consisting of one cup of sugar to one of water, 

 for a period of one hour. Drain the syrup off, roll the 

 fruits in granulated sugar, and allow them to dry for a 

 period of one week, when they are ready for consump- 

 tion. The fruits should be gathered while firm. 



THE CAROB 



In the Cyclopedia of Horticulture, Bailey refers to 

 the Ceretonia siliqua as a very handsome evergreen 

 tree bearing large pods that are used somewhat for 

 human food but chiefly for forage. The cultivation of 

 this tree dates back to historic times. The impression 

 prevails that this is a tree to which reference is made in 

 the Bible as the honey locust or St. John's bread-fruit 

 tree. It was introduced in California a number of 

 years ago and the largest specimens are to be found 

 growing in Santa Barbara. After it attains an age of 



six years it will withstand the cold weather of the inte- 

 rior valleys, but it must be protected while it is young, 

 otherwise it will freeze to the ground, starting out again 

 in the spring from the roots. There are thousands of 

 acres of land in the southern part of the state on the 

 hillsides and on soils of a rocky nature where this tree 

 could be grown, and it would not only transform the 

 landscape, being an evergreen, but would make entirely 

 unproductive land valuable because of the great nutri- 

 ment which the pods contain for the fattening of cattle, 

 hogs, sheep, etc. Until a few years ago all the varieties 

 grown in California were raised from seed. Probably 

 the largest collection of varieties were those which had 

 been grafted on the seedling tree on one of my places 

 near Fresno, the buds having been received from the 

 Division of Seed and Plant Introduction of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. Fortunately this 

 tree was well protected and has been the source of 

 supply for budding over and replacing trees which have 

 been killed by cold weather in other parts of the state. 

 In the countries bordering on the Mediterranean sea 

 the large pods, which are rich in protein and sugar, are 

 a very important forage crop, being eaten with avidity 

 by all kinds of stock, besides furnishing considerable 

 sustenance to the poor in times of scarcity of other 

 foods. The pods are also used for the manufacture of 



A pruned and unpruned grapevine. The figure to the left 

 shows how to prepare vines for planting. 



