117, Young apricots 

 sheddrng the ring:. 



APRICOT 



satisfactory to shippers or canners, and to reach the 

 highest grades, if drying is practiced. California apri- 

 cot orchards are all grown with clean tillage, for the 

 main purpose of moisture conservation. In regions of 

 good rainfall and sufficiently 

 retentive loams no irrigation is 

 required ; good tillage will suf- 

 fice for the production of large 

 fruit and perfection of fruit-buds 

 for the following year. As the 

 trees are becoming older and 

 bearing larger crops the demand 

 for moisture increases, and the 

 use of irrigation water is grow- 

 ing. In most places, however, 

 one irrigation is sufficient, and 

 that is given after fruit gather- 

 ing, to carry the tree through the 

 last half of its season's work. In 

 the regularly irrigated regions of 

 the state, water is periodically 

 applied through the growing sea- 

 son, in such amount and at such intervals as the local 

 climate and soils require. 



Though probably all the good varieties of the apricot 

 in the world have been introduced into California during 

 the last half century, and scores of selected seedlings 

 of local origin have been widely tested, the varieties 

 which have survived the tests and are now widely grown 

 are comparatively few in number. Most of the rejected 

 varieties met this fate because of shy bearing, and those 

 which now constitute the bulk of the crop are very regu- 

 lar and full bearers under rational treatment. A local 

 seedling, the Pringle, was for many years chiefly grown 

 for the earliest ripening, but this has recently been 

 largely superseded by another local seedling, the New- 

 castle, which is of superior size and about as early. 

 The European varieties, Large Early and Early Golden, 

 are fine in a few localities where they bear well, and do 

 better in southern California than elsewhere. The uni- 

 versal favorite is the Royal ; probably three-fourths of 

 all the trees in the state are of this variety, though re- 

 cently the area of the Blenheim has been increasing 

 largely. The Hemskirk stands next to the Blenheim in 

 popularity. The Peach is largely grown in the Sacra- 

 mento valley. The best apricot grown in California is 

 the Moorpark ; in size and lusciousness, when well ri- 

 pened, it heads the list. It is, however, rather shy in 

 bearing, and is forsaken for this fault in most regions. 

 It shows the best behavior in the Santa Clara valley, and 

 is there retained, in spite of frequent lapses, because of 

 the high prices which it commands at the canneries. 

 About a dozen other varieties are carried in small num- 

 ber by the nurserymen to meet limited local demands. 



Apricots for canning and drying are graded according 

 to size : Extra, not less than 2J< inches in diameter ; 

 No. 1, 2 inches ; No. 2, IK inches ; No. 3, 1 inch. The 

 first three grades must be sound, clean and free from 

 blemish, and No. 3 must be of good merchantable quality. 

 The shippers and canners require well-colored but only 

 firm-ripe fruit, because both the long rail transportation 

 and the canning process require it ; soft-ripe fruit will 

 neither can nor carry. For drying, riper fruit is used, 

 and yet over-ripeness has to be guarded against to avoid 

 too dark color. For canning, the fruit must be carefully 

 hand-picked ; for drying, much is shaken from the 

 trees. The drying process consists in cutting the fruit 

 in halves longitudinally, dropping out the pits and plac- 

 ing the halves cavity uppermost upon light wooden 

 trays. Breaking or tearing the fruit open will not do ; 

 it must show clean-cut edges. When the trays are cov- 

 ered they are placed in a tight compartment, usually 

 called a "sulfur box," though it may be of considerable 

 size, and the fruit is exposed to the fumes of slowly 

 burning sulfur, to ensure its drying to the light golden 

 color which is most acceptable to the trade. The pro- 

 duction of the right color is the end in view, and differ- 

 ent dryers regulate the amount of sulfur and the length 

 of exposure according to the condition of their fruit and 

 their judgment of what it needs. The exposure varies 

 from half an hour to two or three hours, according to 

 circumstances. After sulfuring, the trays are taken to 

 open ground, and the fruit is cured in the sun. Only a 



6 



AQUARIUM 



81 



very small fraction of the California product of evapo- 

 rated apricots is cured in an evaporator. It requires about 

 six pounds of fresh apricots to make one pound of cured 

 fruit. 



118. A museum-jar aquarium. 

 More animal life would make a better equilibrium. 



A moderate estimate of the yield of apricots might be 

 placed at seven and one-half tons to the acre : extreme 

 yields are far away from this both ways. 



The apricot is, as a rule, a very healthy tree in Cali- 

 fornia. It is, however, subject to injury by scale insects 

 of the lecanium group in some parts of the state. Dur- 

 ing recent years there has been increasing injury by a 

 shot-hole fungus, which perforates the leaves and makes 

 ugly pustules upon the fruit. Such fruit is unfit for 

 canning except the fruit be peeled, which is little done 

 as yet. It also makes low-grade dried product. This 

 fungus can be repressed by fungicides of the copper 



class. 



Edward J. Wickson. 



AQUAEIUM. An aquarium, to be in a healthy condi- 

 tion, should contain living plants— oxygenators— which 

 are as necessary as food, as fish cannot live on food only. 

 The aquarium must be kept clean. The sediment should 

 be removed from the bottom with a dip tube twice a 

 week, and the inner side of the glass cleaned with a 

 wiper once a week. Encourage the growth of the plants 

 at all seasons ; admit plenty of light, but no direct sun- 

 shine. There should also be a few tadpoles and snails 

 in the aquarium. These are very essential, as they are 

 scavengers, and devour the conf ervoid growth that fre- 

 quently accumulates on the plants. In fall, give a thor- 

 ough cleaning and rearrangement of the aquarium, so 

 that all are in the best condition possible before winter 

 sets in. In March 

 it should be care- 

 fully looked over, 

 and undesirable 

 plants removed or 

 transplanted. Ad- 

 ditions may be 

 made, or any change 

 if necessary. Pol- 

 lowing are some of 

 the best plants to 

 place in the aqua- 

 rium, all of which 

 can be easily and 

 cheaply procured 

 from dealers who 

 make a specialty of 

 aquatics : Cahomba viridifolia {C. Caroliniana), the 

 Panwort (sometimes called Washington Fish Grass, 

 being found in quantities in D.C. and southward), is 



119. A rectangular glass aquarium. 



