138 PROCEEDINGS OF TWENTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



different varieties of almonds during the harvesting season iri 'Cali- 

 fornia for exhibition purposes, some of them having much merit, the 

 above' named form the bulk of the almonds planted in or shipped from 

 California at the present time. 



From this list, for planting purposes, can be eliminated the 

 Languedoc, which is now seldom if ever planted. 



Which of these varieties are the best to plant? This question can 

 not be answered correctly without knowing the location, climatic con- 

 ditions, etc., of the intended orchard. Some varieties do better in one 

 district than they do in another, and some will do well in one district 

 and be a rank failure in all respects in another. 



The two most popular varieties, generally speaking, with both the 

 trade and the producer, at present are the Nonpareil and the Drake 

 Seedling. It would not be advisable, however, no matter how sure we 

 were that the particular variety we favored matured to perfection in the 

 chosen location, to plant solid blocks of any one variety of alnionds. 

 Too little attention has been paid thus far by the planters of almond 

 orchards to the matter of cross-pollination, so as to have mutually 

 fertile varieties, that bloom at the same time, planted near together. 

 To this fact can be traced most of the failures in this branch of orchard 

 work. In most almonds there is a tendency to self-sterility, the tend- 

 ency varying in the different varieties. Like the matter of selecting 

 varieties, no exact rule can be laid down; but this much can be said, 

 that no almond orchard so far has been a success that did not have the 

 opportunity of cross-pollination, either by proximity or through the 

 medium of bees or other insects. When the orchard is a large one, bees 

 and insects can not perform the necessary work, and proximity is the 

 only remedy. What varieties should be planted in proximity for this 

 purpose can not well be given, as different kinds blossom at different 

 comparative times in the several districts, and some varieties partake 

 so much of the nature of others as to be entirely useless for this purpose. 

 Experiment and observation are the only recourse. 



As regards location, the best site for an almond orchard is on the first 

 raise of land or lower slopes of the foothills, if the soil be of the proper 

 kind. Such locations are generally the most immune from killing 

 frosts. 



The soil should be a sandy or gravelly loam, and the almond will do 

 well in much drier soil than any other fruit. The chosen varieties of 

 nuts should be worked onto the bitter almond stock in the nursery. 



The trees in the orchard should be planted at least twenty-four feet 

 apart, and be pruned or cut back the first two years. After this, a 

 yearly thinning out and the removal of superfluous wood and suckers is 

 sufficient. 



The harvesting of almonds should commence as soon as the outer 



