i8o 



THEY SA V. 



Fruit Notes from Washington and the Colum- 

 bia. — W/u'i-e Grapes [l-'iJts 7'i>ii'/ern) Suicecd. — Upon my 

 way to Puget Sound, I tarried sometime in the Columbia 

 valley. It did not take long to discover here a rival to 

 California. In some important respects this region ap- 

 pears to be a superior wine-producing country. There 

 are serious climatic obstacles to be overcome in fermen- 

 tation in California that do not appear in the Columbia 

 valley, because the climate in the latter region is so 

 much cooler that the sucrose stage may be maintained 

 long enough to develop superior qualities, flavor and 

 bouquet, before running into the acetic stage. As I 

 studied the matter I discovered that I was becoming 

 musically inclined; my song was "Hail Columbia, 

 Land of the Vine." My mind, seizing the varied phases 

 of the problem, carried me in imagination to that other 

 great river, the Rhine, where for a thousand years ro- 

 mance, song and story have been associated with its 

 vine-clad hills, where the finest wine of the world has 

 so long been produced. If I should dare to allow my- 

 self to prophesy, I should predict great things in store 

 for this favored region. 



The Columbia river is much larger than the Rhine 

 and the valley many times larger than the Rhine valley 

 wherein the conditions for grape culture are present. 

 There is but a narrow strip along the immediate shores 

 of the Rhine where grapes may be grown, but here in 

 this valley of the Columbia the climatic conditions are 

 favorable wherever water for irrigation can be carried ; 

 indeed, large portions of the valley do not require irri- 

 gation. California may, and indeed, probably will, have 

 a monopoly of raisin production. The heat there is suffi- 

 cient to dry raisins out of doors, and there is also more 

 glucose or grape sugar produced in a hot than in a mild 

 climate, but there are more flavoring extracts and bouquet 

 in the grapes grown in a mild climate than in a hot one. 

 The valley of the Columbia has been at no very remote 

 period the bed of a lake, but it is now filled with the 

 output of one or more volcanoes, and much volcanic 

 ashes containing potash is distributed over these lands, 

 thus making the soil more like the grape districts of 

 Europe than those of California. I found upon inquiry 

 that here and there men are abandoning wheat culture 

 and going info that of grapes. The same facts had been 

 so often observed by others that they are forcibly im- 

 pressed upon my mind. The climate of western Wash- 

 ington is too damp for Vitis vinifej-a ; the leaf mildews 

 and the fruit fails to ripen, but the Colnmbia valley, 

 east of the Cascades, should in the near future become 

 the paradise of the vintner. 



Tlie Pear in Oregon and Washington. — Pear trees have 

 been cultivated in these states for forty years, but until 

 the last few years there has been no market. The trees 

 have been much neglected and allowed to overbear. 

 The bud development is so stimulated by the climatic 

 conditions that the trees begin to bear when two or three 

 years old. The usual result follows ; By the time 

 the trees ought to be at their best, they look old and 

 decrepit. The few trees observed that had been fairly 



treated looked healthy and bid fair to be serviceable for 

 many years to come. Some of the fruit shown me was 

 as fair and as finely developed as the best California 

 specirhens, while the flavor and quality were better. 

 Pear culture here seems to have a future before it. 



Peach Ctillnre in Wasliington. — The peach requires a 

 warmer summer climate for its highest development 

 than is usually found in the Puget Sound country. It 

 is, however, grown and does well at various places, es- 

 pecially in the low regions of the Columbia valley. 

 With care, it maybe grown in protected situations, such 

 as is afforded by buildings and other shelter. The fog- 

 gy mornings along the shores and inlets afford protec- 

 tion to their floral organs early in spring. 



Plum Culture in Washington. — This bids fair to be- 

 come one of the most profitable industries here. The 

 world wants prunes, and the very finest prunes are 

 grown here already. The trees flourish both east and 

 west of the Cascades, but seem favored more in the 

 moister western sections. 



Cherries and Small Fruits. — There can be no finer 

 cherries than those so plentifully grown here. One 

 gentleman exhibited to me limbs of cherries, grown at 

 Tacoma, that appeared almost a solid mass of fruit as 

 large around as a man's thigh. I have never seen in 

 any county such a luxuriant growth of these trees. I 

 did not see any apricots, but they are said to do much 

 better than elsewhere, being never interfered with by in- 

 sects. I saw rows of blackberry bushes from tsti to fif- 

 teen feet high, but was too late to see the fruit. Cur- 

 rant bushes were not so vigorous, but strawberries, at 

 the first of April, were already giving promise of heavy 

 crops. They are here, especially favored by the moist 

 climate, no fruit requiring so much rain for its highest 

 development. — D. S. Marvin, Tacoina, W. 



Dwarf or Standard Pears? Questions as to the 

 superiority of dwarf or standard pears are always asked, 

 but never answered. Circumstances alter cases. The 

 man who gives only ordinary care and culture to his 

 trees, or who has indifferent soil, better grow standards. 

 But the man who will give his orchard extra care and 

 attention, and who has good strong loam, will make 

 more money with dwarfs. The essential points in dwarf 

 pear culture are these ; Varieties which thrive well upon 

 the quince, good culture and timely attention always, 

 rich soil, cutting back a large part of each year's growth. 



Watermelon Syrup. — Until quite lately, the water- 

 melon has been the legitimate prey of the small boy and 

 the mainstay of the doctors. But times are changing, 

 and a splendid syrup is now being made from it. The 

 syrup is made by chopping up the melons and squeezing 

 or pressing out the juice (about a quart being taken from 

 a fair-sized melon). After boiling the juice rapidly for 

 several hours the red coloring matter coagulates, rises to 

 the surface and is skimmed off in the form of a foam, 

 leaving the juice as clear as distilled water, and of a 

 pale amber color. Boiled a little longer, it thickens into 

 a rich, fruity-flavored syrup, perfectly clear and the 

 color of quince or apple jelly. — California Fruit Cromer. 



