590 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
f December 27, 1888. 
In 1745-6 the accompt of Robert Henley, Esq., Mayor of Lyme, 
exhibits:— 
April 28. Two hogsheads of cider supplied to the populace on the 
association (to support his Majesty George II.), and on the victory obtained 
over the rebels, £2. 
The Mayor purchased this cider at Pinney Farm, of Walter Oke, 
a country gentleman who farmed his own land, and had planted 
some of the now far-famed Cleeveland, late I inney-under-Cliff, 
with Apple trees. 
The farmers of the Somersetshire parishes near Sedgemoor, so 
soon as they heard that the king’s forces had won the battle and 
defeated the Monmouth men, sent hogsheads of cider to the victors. 
The price of a hogshead of cider given away at Axminster in 1689 
was 17s. 6d. 
The excellence of the cider made throughout the breadth of 
the cider-growing west is very great ; the quantity is enormous. 
Some localities which have a good name for their cider send out 
much more cider than is produced therein, like in wine countries, 
so much does man resemble man in all countries and ages. The 
growers in the localities in question buy Norman Apples at a cheap 
rate and mix them with their own fruit. 
Some gentlemen, travelling from Strasbourg to Freyburg, 
stopped at the village of Altenheim, in Baden, at an inn kept by a 
respectable man who farmed his own estate of 100 acres. Perceiving 
how loaded the trees of this orchard were, the English gentlemen 
spoke of the great crop of Apples and of cider. The German 
informed them that no cider was made in that country ; the juice 
was mixed with the juice of Grapes and made into wine!— 
(Roberts's Social History of the Southern Counties .) 
FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 
(Continued from page 569.') 
While Europe, Asia, and some of the United States can grow one 
or two of their fruits, there is no spot on the globe where they can all be 
grown to such perfection .as in California. It has been demonstrated 
both by theory and practice that the demand for our fruit products can 
never be fully met ; that the market will never be so fully supplied as 
to render the prices unremunerative to the producer. With the large 
acreage of fruit trees now in bearing the entire product is consumed by 
a very small fraction of the population of the United States. Practically 
the supply is exhausted before it gets further east than the Mississippi. 
Last winter more than 2000 eastern people visited the rooms of the 
Board of Trade in San Jose. They represented every State in the Union, 
and of the entire number not one had ever seen a dried Apricot, one 
of the most luscious and healthful fruits that the earth produces. The 
Apricot crop for 1887 was probably double that of any previous year. 
Hundreds of acres of new orchard came into bearing, and the trees 
were loaded. Notwithstanding the enormous j ield, prices were firm and 
exceedingly remunerative, netting the producer from 200 to 450 dollars 
per acre, while hundreds of eastern orders could not be filled. It has 
been estimated that all the Apricots raised in California would not 
furnish a saucerful each to the inhabitants of New York City. The 
variety of fruit that can be grown in Santa Cruz is infinite. Every plant 
that has been put into the soil and given reasonable care has thrived 
wonderfully and yielded abundantly. We have space but for a partial 
list. 
Oranges and Lemons. —From the time the Catholic Fathers 
established their Mission at Santa Clara (more than a hundred years ago) 
it was demonstrated that Citrus fruits could be grown to advantage in 
this section. Orange trees were planted then, and have been planted 
since in almost every part of the county. The trees were grown more 
for ornament and family use than to supply a market, and no considerable 
groves were planted until about six years ago. The success attending 
these later plantings show that, if desirable, Santa Clara County could 
achieve as great a reputation for her Oranges as is enjoyed by Florida, 
Los Angeles, or the countries of the Mediterranean. At the Citrus fair, 
held in San Jose last winter, magnificent specimens of Oranges, Lemons, 
Limes, &c., were exhibited from 183 different localities in the county, 
and all were grown without irrigation. But while the yield of these 
fruits is large, it is not considered so safe or so profitable an industry as 
the growing of other varieties. Oranges must be marketed in a fresh 
state, and must come in competition with similar fruit from Florida and 
foreign countries. Freight rates on such articles are necessarily high, the 
risk of loss great, and the market temporary. Other fruits can be cured, 
and thus rendered as imperishable as Wheat or flour. They can be trans¬ 
ported at leisure and can be put on the market at any time that the price 
suits the producer. The labour and expense of production is much less, 
while the profit is considerably greater than in Orange culture. It is for 
these reasons the fruit-growers of Santa Clara County have not gone 
extensively into the cultivation of Oranges, and not because we cannot 
grow them to perfection. To put it in a short form : There is not so 
much money in Oranges as in other fruits. 
French Prunes. —All varieties of Prunes yield immense crops here. 
Of the eighty varieties grown for market experience has taught us that 
the French Prune is the most profitable. It is planted 108 trees to the 
acre, and yields a good crop in four years. Trees from six years old 
upwards give about 10 tons, or twenty thousand pounds, to the acre. 
The price ranges from a cent, and a half to two cents and a half per 
pound for the green fruit, making an average yield of from 300 to 
500 dollars per acre. Twenty to twenty-five dollars per acre per year 
will pay all the expenses of the crop. If the fruit is cured before being 
marketed the profits are much larger. There is less labour and expense- 
in growing the French Prune than any other fruit. While the cultiva¬ 
tion of the soil is about the same the labour of pruning is considerably 
less, and of harvesting and curing not more than 10 per cent, that of 
other varieties. It has been estimated that the French Prune can be 
cured ready for market with as little labour as it can be hauled a distance 
of two miles. The Prunes grown in Santa Clara County are large^ 
heavy in sugar, of exquisite flavour, and make a healthful food. Their 
merits have become known in the fruit markets of the east, and the 
demand is far ahead of the supply. 
Apricots. —This delicious fruit finds its congenial home in Santa. 
Clara County. It is a fruit that wa3 comparatively little known until 
California horticulturists introduced it to this coast. Here the fruit of 
our best varieties measures from 6 to 9 inches in circumference, and is. 
of such a delicate flavour that once tasted it is never forgotten. It is 
largely grown in this county and with great profit. The trees are planted 
20 feet apart, giving about i0S to the acre. It yields a considerable crop 
the third year, which increases indefinitely as the trees become older. 
Some thirty-year-old trees in this county have borne 1800 lbs. of fruit to 
the tree. Five-year-old trees this year have given 200 lbs. of merchant¬ 
able fruit, and have netted to the owner 3 dollars and upward per tree. 
Where the fruit has been cured the income has been much larger, 
reaching in many instances as high as 550 dollars per acre. In this fruit 
we have no competitors. No other country can grow Apricots in 
quantities sufficient to make any impression on the market. 
Cherries. —'This favourite fruit yields its best returns in this, 
county, and our claim to the market is based on the fact that we can 
grow it to greater perfection than elsewhere, and get it to the eastern 
markets in advance of all other fruits. While it takes longer for a 
Cherry tree to come into full bearing than it does for Prunesor Apricots, 
the returns will amply compensate for the delay. The range in prices 
is from six to eight cents per pound, and the returns at these figures 
almost surpass belief. In a good season many of the older trees yield 
from 400 to 600 lbs. each, giving a return of from 1200 to 2000 dollars 
per acre, These, of course, are exceptional figures, but a safe average 
estimate would give us from 400 to 600 dollars per acre. That these are 
not fancy estimates is shown by the following incident:—When the San 
Jose and Almaden railroad was projected the route was surveyed through, 
an orchard, and it was found necessary to remove a Cherry tree. After 
an impartial trial on the question of damages it was estimated that this 
tree was worth 600 dollars, and that amount was paid by the railroad 
company to the owner for the privilege of removing it. The decision, 
was made on the ground that the tree had for a number of years yielded 
an annual net income equal to 10 per cent, of 600 dollars. 
Peaches. —Of this standard fruit Santa Clara County produces all 
the favourite varieties grown in the East, together with many new 
kinds which have been originated here. Unlike its relatives in the- 
Eastern States, which, owing to cold winters and other cause3, are short 
lived, having to be renewed, on an average, every four or five years, the 
Peach tree here attains an old age full of vigour. There are many 
trees in the county over thirty years old which have grown full crops 
nearly every season since they were three years old, and which last- 
year made a growth of wood 11 feet in length. The trees come into 
bearing in three years from planting, while considerable crops at two- 
years old is not an unusual occurrence. The capacity of a Peach tree 
for bearing is only limited by its strength to hold up the weight. Each 
year many trees which have been carelessly pruned break down under 
their loads of fruit, while props have to be used in almost^ every 
orchard. The largest and best California Peaches found in Eastern 
markets, were grown in Santa Clara County. The profits from a Peach 
orchard are about the same as from Apricots. We have known of over 
700 dollars to the acre being realised, but the average return is less. A 
good orchard of approved varieties will average about 300 dollars net 
per acre. The present season (1887), although there was an enormous- 
crop, the fruit is in great demand at from three to three and a half 
cents per lb., being about 6 dollars per tree for six-year-old trees, or 
something more than 600 dollars per acre, and buyers are, at this 
writing, scouring the country for the fruit at these prices. 
Pears. —This was the 'first California fruit to make its way across 
the continent and astonish Eastern people by its size, beauty and 
flavour. All of the choice varieties of the world have been transplanted 
to the orchards of the Santa Clara Valley, while our enterprising horti¬ 
culturists have originated as many more. Many of the best Pears now 
in the market were first grown here, and several of them have been 
taken East and transplanted into orchards there. The fruit as grown 
here is particularly adapted to shipment. Being grown on vigorous 
trees, in a fertile soil, and in a climate free from moisture, they will 
keep in good condition and retain their flavour for several months. 
Pears from Santa Clara County stood on the table at the New Orleans 
Exposition during the entire Exhibition, without having to be renewed. 
Trees begin to bear at from three to four years from planting, but do 
not bear large crops until six or seven years old. The profit from them 
is about the same as from other fruits. 
Olives.—T his wonderful fruit, which is both bread and meat to the 
