FRUIT GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 
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average as much as from Strawberries, but range from £30 to 
£100 an acre gross. 
Raspberries are more easily gathered than Blackberries, and 
command a higher price, as the area of greatest production is 
not so extensive. They return from £40 to £100 an acre 
gross. 
Oranges thrive in the foot-hills at elevations ranging from 
GOO to 1,800 feet. They are gross feeders, and require a rich, 
fertile soil containing plenty of moisture. The red lands of 
the foot-hills give good, perhaps the best, results. The oranges 
grown here are large, sweet, and free from scale. They only 
reach perfection in localities most free from frost, cold winds, 
and sudden changes of temperature. The choicest variety is the 
Washington Navel, which ripens here nearly a month earlier 
than in the choicest Orange-growing districts in the South, and 
early fruit commands fancy prices. Profits range from £85 to 
£75 an acre. 
Apples grown in the valley reach a very large size, especially 
in the silty soils along the Los Gatos creek, Coyote, and 
Guadalupe. They lack the flavour and keeping qualities, how¬ 
ever, which characterise the Apples grown in the mountains, 
and are not usually as profitable as the stone fruits, though 
they have been grown very profitably near Alviso. 
There are various other fruits and berries which are grown to 
some extent, usually for private home consumption, though occa¬ 
sionally for profit. Of these Quinces, Plums, Figs, Crab-apples, 
Almonds, Walnuts, Currants, and Gooseberries maybe mentioned. 
Almost anything that will grow anywhere in the temperate or 
semi-tropical zones will grow here, and many trees and plants 
only here reach their highest development. We have treated 
of those which are the most profitable. 
From Growing to Consuming. 
The main feature of the fruit-growing industry in Santa 
Clara County may be outlined as follows. 
In preparing the land for planting it is, when practicable, 
ploughed thoroughly and deeply in the fall of the year, and the 
surface left unharrowed and exposed to the desiccating influences 
of the air during the winter. This adds to the fertility of the 
