32 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
will grow fruit trees that will as certainly bring in £20 an acre 
when in full bearing, as other land in the county does. One of 
the last of the great Spanish grants in Santa Clara County was 
the great Catherine Dunne Ranch of 18,000 acres. This is now 
being sold in lots of 5, 10, 20, and 40 acres. Prices range from 
£5 to £25 an acre, quarter cash, and the balance in six equal 
payments, with interest at 7 per cent., the mortgagee to pay the 
tax. 
Bernal’s Fruit and Vegetables. 
Ygnacio Bernal owns, on the Monterey road, about nine 
miles south-east of San Jose, 395 acres of land. The soil here is 
exceedingly fertile, as it consists largely of silt washed down 
from the surrounding hills. In this vicinity were located 
immense cattle and slaughtering pens, and the great pits where 
the refuse meat was thrown. Here hundreds of tons of bones 
have been mouldering for more than half a century, and bone 
dust is one of the richest fertilisers known. Here Ygnacio 
Bernal planted his orchard. He could scarcely have found a 
richer spot, and his trees show a most remarkable growth. The 
Peach trees are now three years old, are about 10 ft. high, and 
bore this year a large crop, considering their age. The Prune 
trees are much larger than ordinary trees of their age, and bore 
a few Prunes this year. Mr. Bernal utilises the space between 
the rows of trees by planting Corn, Peas, Beans, Melons, and 
Pumpkins. The Pumpkins produce on an average ten tons to the 
acre. The price received for them varies with the season. The 
lowest price is 6s. a ton in the field not cut, and the highest £1. 
The Peas raised are the Spanish Garvanzas, or Soup Peas. The 
produce ranges from ten to fifteen 100 lb. sacks to the acre. The 
price is generally low, but this year rose to £1 a cwt. The corn 
averages 2,000 lbs. an acre. Lowest price received 6s., and the 
highest 8s. a cwt. Musk Melons sell for from 12s. to 20s. a 
hundred. The usual crop of hay upon Mr. Bernal’s valley land 
is two tons to the acre, and upon the hillside less. The price of 
Hay varies from 32s. to £5 a ton, the average being about 
£2. 8s. 
Mrs. J. H. Smith’s Six Acres. 
Mrs. Smith owns six acres on meridian 125°, about a mile 
from the Alameda, which is one of the most luxuriant and pro- 
