18 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



than from cold. The immense weight of fruit, the vigorous growth 

 of wood, and the exhaustion of moisture from the soil by the 

 draught of the roots to compass this growth, are the chief causes 

 which bring the sere and yellow leaf in California. It is not frost, 

 for the petunias may be blooming and the tomato vines still green 

 in the fields. But the time has come for a rest. The trees sleep; 

 but it is merely as a nap at midday; the early rains wake them 

 soon. The roots are active first, then the buds swell, and the 

 blossoms burst forth sometimes as early as January the almond 

 first heralding the advent of California springtime. 



Sometimes this season of rest is too short for the good of the 

 tree or vine. The early rains, when followed by a spring-like 

 temperature, as sometimes happens, induce activity in the top as 

 well as the root, and the tree is not in condition to withstand cold 

 weather, which may follow. It is probable that such stimulated 

 activity, suddenly checked, is responsible for more ills to tree and 

 vine than are usually attributed to it. 



