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the fourteenth held under the auspices of the State Board of Horti- 

 culture. These yearly conventions are held to enable the fruit growers 

 of the State to come together for a general interchange of ideas on 

 various topics connected with the fruit industry — the greatest in the 

 State — and to discuss the best methods of advancing the same in all its 

 branches. 



The first fruit growers' convention was held in this city, on December 

 6, 1881 — thirteen years ago. Horticulture even then began to give 

 promise of future importance, but no one then thought that it would, in 

 so short a time, assume the important position which the industry now 

 occupies. A report made to the State Agricultural Society in the later 

 sixties, says: "There are single farms in this State containing each over 

 half a million fruit trees, in orchard and nursery — one person owning 

 enough trees, when fully matured, to provide as much fruit, other than 

 grapes, as will be sold this year throughout our State. The day is not 

 far distant when fruit will be an important crop for raising and fatten- 

 ing swine." Notwithstanding this dolorous prediction, the orchard 

 industry grew steadily for the next thirty years. In 1871, C. W. Reed, 

 who for that period took a very rose-colored view of the future of fruit 

 growing, made an address before the State Agricultural Society, in 

 which he said: "The business of shipping green fruit should increase 

 until we can send one thousand carloads annually from California." 

 Mr. Reed's thousand-carload mark, the limit of his hopes, has long 

 since been passed, and last year we exported 7,995 carloads of fresh 

 fruit alone,' and snipped of all kinds 27,326 carloads, while the ship- 

 ments of the present season will far exceed this. Statistics of the 

 Southern Pacific Company up to October of the present year show that 

 to this date there had been an increase in the shipments of fresh fruit 

 this year over last of 1,050 carloads, and a total increase in all kinds of 

 fruit — fresh, canned, and dried — of 2,600 cars. 



With the larger demands for our products have come lower transpor- 

 tation rates, more rapid transit, and improved methods of shipping, and 

 by. these means our markets are steadily widening. New and better 

 varieties have been introduced, better methods of treatment have been 

 followed, better and wider markets discovered, and we have conquered 

 the entire United States and invaded England with our fresh fruits, 

 and the entire civilized world with our dried products. 



In glancing over the season just closed I hardly know whether we 

 can congratulate ourselves or not. With the exception of prunes, 

 which after all have turned out a passably fair crop, we have had a 

 very large yield. Our trees have borne heavily and the fruit has been 

 of exceptional quality. We have suffered little from insect pests or 

 ravages, and so far as nature is concerned, taking the State as a whole, 

 we have much to be thankful for. But with it we have had serious 

 drawbacks. In the southern portion of the State a severe frost on 

 January 6th swept over the citrus region and did considerable damage 

 directly in the injury inflicted upon the fruit, but more indirectly in 

 depreciating the price of those oranges which escaped uninjured, which 

 dropped in value with the damaged fruit. The cherry districts suffered 

 somewhat from late May and June rains, which came in the picking 

 season and rendered the fruit unfit for shipment. Despite this, however, 

 there was a very large output of cherries and the later varieties brought 

 fair prices. Apricots have yielded a very large crop and all other fruits 



