458 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



but even in the cities of the Atlantic seaboard. All this has been 

 accomplished within two decades and it is a notable result. One 

 measure of this fact may be found in the shipment of over three 

 thousand five hundred carloads during the season of 1906-7. The 

 California lemon has, however, not yet attained mastery of Amer- 

 ican markets as the orange has, for there is a value of about four 

 millions of dollars in imported lemons while imported oranges are 

 only worth one-fourth as much. It is manifest that the lemon 

 should be encouraged with increased protection to enable producers 

 to push the issue of an American lemon for Americans to a suc- 

 cessful termination. 



The best pack of California lemons has a uniformity of size, a 

 finish of skin, a juiciness and keen acidity which is unrivaled in 

 the world. Numerous careful tests have been made of the Cali- 

 fornia lemon in Atlantic cities in comparison with the best south 

 European product, and the superiority of the American fruit has 

 thus been demonstrated. 



SITUATIONS AND SOILS FOR THE LEMON 



The lemon does best in a practically frostless situation. Such 

 places are found in largest area in the southern half of the coast 

 regions of California, but also exist at favoring elevations in the 

 interior. The moderating influence of proximity to salt water, and 

 the effect of local topography and environment, which give frost- 

 free nooks or belts, are elements favoring the lemon grower. In 

 such situations the lemon blooms and fruits continuously through- 

 out the year. 



While the lemon requires a less extreme of low temperature 

 than the orange, it also thrives with a less extreme of high tem- 

 perature and less duration of it. It apparently does not require as 

 much heat to develop acid, which is the charm of the lemon, as 

 it does sugar, which is essential to an acceptable orange ; therefore, 

 a coast situation which may not yield a sweet orange may produce 

 a good lemon, although it is a fact that in the southern coast region, 

 where the largest commercial production of lemons is now 

 achieved, the orange also does well. Another advantage of the 

 lower summer temperature is that the continuous ripening is not 

 interfered with, as it is by high summer heat, which hastens ma- 

 turity and brings the mass of the fruit to marketable condition 

 in the winter a season when the demand for the lemon is very 

 small. This objection is, however, being measurably overcome 

 by the proper storage and treatment of the fruit for sale, at a con- 

 siderable interval after picking, as will be mentioned presently. 

 But both the curing and storage of lemons are more easily secured 

 in the more equable temperature and moister air of the coast 

 region. 



