IV I N D FA LLS. 



119 



for two minutes in boiling water ; dry, and pack for mar- 

 ket. He adds, " The California sun-dried prune is de- 

 licious when stewed, while the French, being already 

 cooked, tastes well before stewing, but is more insipid 

 afterwards." Prunes are usually graded by a machine 

 before they are dried. The fine finishing, or "gloss" 

 varies with different growers. Some expose to steam, 

 some, as Mr. Aiken, dip in hot water. Some use hot 

 sugar-syrup, some dip in boiled prune-juice. The most 

 prevalent practice, however, is to use hot water, with 

 pure glycerine, one pound to twenty gallons, for a 

 " gloss." 



cept to cut off the first blooms. They bloomed again, 

 and this sample may be called the second crop, and the 

 fruit is not ripe yet. I believe with a longer season, that 

 is, no late frosts, it will grow still larger. The tree is a 

 little more vigorous in growth than the Oonshiu. I 

 have it worked on the Citrus irifoliata and expect to 

 plant largely of this variety in orchard. — J. L. Nor- 



MAND, I. a. 



Satsuma and Otaheite. — What is the difference be- 

 tween the Satsuma and Otaheite oranges ? — Etiqiiirer. 



Answer liy E. N. Ki-asoner. — The dwarf stock "Otahe- 

 ite " is probably the " Citrus Aiirautium Sincn^e puiinliini 



i'lG I. K,\wACHi Mandarin Orange, Natural Size. 



In the California methods, the saving of labor is 

 manifest. The yield of prunes per acre is said to be 

 larger here than in France, and the crop is handled, on 

 the whole, more cheaply. — Chas. H. Shinn. 



Kawachi and Oonshiu Oranges. — I send you a 

 sample fruit of the Kawachi and Oonshiu oranges. 

 The Kawachi is probably the largest mandarin in cul- 

 tivation. The fruit measures nearly a foot in circumfer- 

 ence. [See Fig. i, which is exactly natural size. — Ei/.] 

 I find the Ivawachi here in central Louisiana to be fully 

 as hardy as the Oonshiu or Satsuma (Fig. 2), having 

 stood the last March blizzard without much injury, ex- 



fiui'ln dulii oi Gallesio. The leaves resemble the com- 

 mon lemon in growth and shape ; also color of blooms' 

 which are pinkish. The fruit is small, slightly flattened, 

 rough, red in color, and usually so sweet as to be nearly 

 tasteless; some trees, however, have been noticed with 

 sour fruit like the lemon. The tree scarcely attains a 

 height of five feet (and is really only a shrub), but is 

 bushy, and the irregular, loose branches extend out at 

 right angles for four or five feet on each side. This 

 being a prolific bearer of handsome fruit is a decided 

 ornament for a shrubbery. The Satsuma orange is a 

 variety of the sweet "Mandarin" orange, — Citrus An- 



