SOIL SURVEY OF THE REDDING AREA, CALIFORNIA. 11 



greatly increased b}" more recent development of the fruit-producing 

 industries. The season is in general somewhat later than that of 

 the Santa Clara and more southern Sacramento Valley points. The 

 products are shipped in both the green and dried states, in carload 

 lots, to the Eastern States and to Europe. 



Prunes probably constitute the leading crop, the production for 

 the season of 1907 being estimated at 2,200 tons, or 110 carloads at 

 20 tons })er car. The crop usually brings from 3 to 3h cents a ])oun(i. 

 The French prune is the leading variety, and the harvesting begins 

 about September 1, at which time weather conditions are favorable, 

 although showers sometimes occur during the curing period. Peaches 

 are next in importance. The fruit is shipped both green and dried. 

 Most of the smaller express shipments of the green fruit go to north- 

 ern California and Oregon. The leading varieties are the Muir, 

 Crawford, Imperial, and Foster, the Muir and Crawford predom- 

 inating. For diying the Muir is reported to be the favorite. The 

 total production of dried peaches in favorable seasons is in the 

 neighborhood of 500 tons. 



Pear growing, both for sliipment green and for drying, has been an 

 attractive and important industry, but o^\dng to ravages of the blight 

 production in this section has of late fallen off. Many of the orchards 

 have ceased bearing and are being replaced by other crops. This 

 disease, of a bacterial nature, can be checked and eradicated only by 

 persistent and vigorous cutting. Mr. Chris Thorsing, horticultural 

 commissioner of Shasta County, reports excellent success in combat- 

 ing the blight in his orchard, located 5 miles southeast of Anderson.'* 

 With the certaint}^ of a scarcity of pears, the grower who is able to 

 maintain clean and productive orchards of this fruit should be able to 

 obtain a very good profit. Many, however, prefer to replace pear 

 trees with prune and peach trees. 



Of the truck crops produced, tomatoes are of particularly fine 

 quality and large size and bear abundantly. 



The raising of cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs is an industry of con- 

 siderable importance and yields good returns, although improvement 

 in breeds and types and in care of the stock is to be desired. The 

 herds are usually grazed m the mountains during the dry summer 

 season. 



The adaptability of certain soils to particular fruits is usually well 

 recognized. The prune industry is practical^ confined to the deeper 

 friable loams of the Sacramento and other stream bottoms. Pears 

 are mostly grown upon soils of a similar character, although those 



o See Report of Thirty-first Fruit Growers' Convention of California, 1906. See Pear 

 Blight, Cause and Preventative, Reprint of Ignited States Department of Agriculture, 

 190G; Commercial Pear Culture, Reprint of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, 1900. 



