May 23, 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
423 
fruit to develope to wonderful size, beauty and flavour. Even tbe 
most ordinary varieties of eastern Apples were transformed by these 
conditions into the choicest of fruit. In this particular branch of horti¬ 
culture, however, we come in competition with Eastern States, and we 
look for our market at home, in Mexico, China and the islands of the 
Pacific. The business has been highly remunerative, many people 
having made handsome fortunes from it. But it is open to the same 
objection as Orange culture—to wit, that the fruit must be marketed in 
a fresh state. Orchardists prefer to grow those fruits in which they 
have no competition and which they can hold without loss until the 
market suits them to sell. Consequently but few Apple orchards have 
been planted in this county. 
Nut-bearing Trees. —There have been many extensive plantings 
of Almonds in this county, with a success that has astonished the most 
•sanguine. The tree is a very swift grower and bears as heavily as other 
fruits. We have all the choicest varieties known to commerce, besides 
many special kinds originated here. As to the profit, the owners of the 
Almond orchards claim better returns than from other fruits. The trees 
blossom in the early days of March, and are a source of wonder and 
admiration to visitors who come here at that time from the snow and 
ice of the Eastern States. Of English Walnuts we have many. These 
trees were planted originally for shade and ornament, but as they attained 
age and began to bear, the large crops of superior fruit showed another 
source of revenue. Being grown from the seed, dozens of different 
varieties resulted, many of them superior to any before known in the 
market; and to-day California Walnuts are more sought after and com¬ 
mand a higher price than those grown in any other country. Pecans, 
Chestnuts, and in fact all kinds of Nuts feel the influence of rich soil 
and genial climate, and respond with immense crops. 
Small Fruits. —Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, &c., are 
grown principally in the lowlands towards the 15ay. For very many 
years Santa Clara County produced all the Strawberries grown for the 
market in this State, and it still grows nine-tenths of the entire crop of 
California. They are grown in fields of from five to one hundred 
acres, and produce two full crops each year, with scattering returns 
between. We have them in market from May to January, and in some 
instances they return as high as 1500 dollars to the acre. To get more 
than one crop they must be irrigated, and a hundred or so dollars per 
acre in addition is generally made by growing Onions between the rows. 
They are generally cultivated by Chinamen, who plant, cultivate and 
harvest them for one-half the money received from the crop. Black¬ 
berries and Raspberries yield equally large returns. The flowing artesian 
wells furnish ample water for irrigation, and the amount of the crop is 
only limited by the superficial area of the bushes. 
Vineyards and Wine Growing. —To the Catholic missionaries 
California owes its start in viticulture as well as in horticulture. The 
Fathers when they planted the missions planted also the Vine, from 
which they made the wine for their own use. The variety propagated 
by them is known as the Mission Grape. It is a heavy bearer, sweet 
and palatable, but too heavy in alcohol for a good wine Grape. While 
this variety was comparatively worthless for the production of a fine 
wine, it accomplished a most important work. It demonstrated to immi¬ 
grants from all parts of the world, and especially to those from the wine 
districts of Europe, that the Vine would grow in California and produce 
fruit as it would grow and produce in no other part of the world. 
Frenchmen, Germans, Spaniards and Italians imported stocks and cut¬ 
tings of the different varieties that were favourites in their respective 
districts at home. They were planted and far excelled in growth and 
production anything they had ever done in the countries from which 
they had been brought. For many yeai-9 Santa Clara County, although 
growing considerable quantities of choice Grapes, made no record for 
wine. The product of her vineyards was purchased at a large price 
and taken to ether localities and used to “ bring up ” the wines of sections 
not so favoured as ours. As a consequence, other counties made a 
reputation for wines before the advantages of Santa Clara County in 
this direction were known outside of the State. However, the demand 
for Grapes induced extensive planting, and as the question of future 
market was all-important, the matter of making our Grapes into wine 
ourselves was practically considered. All of the Vine growing districts 
of Europe were ransacked for approved varieties, and the markets of the 
world studied with a view of getting that which would be the best and 
most profitable. All of our recent vineyards have been planted with 
the knowledge gained from the centuries of experience in wine growing 
in the old countries. It was early discovered that the county was 
naturally divided into districts, each specially adapted to the production 
of certain types of wine. They have generally been planted with 
reference to their respective particularities, and we have been so far 
successful that we can produce almost exact counterparts of the cellars 
of Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhine provinces. The great annual 
crops rendered necessary a large expenditure for cellarage and cooperage 
for the proper maturing of the wine, and this caused many of our 
viticulturists to sell their crop new or at the age of one year, in order to 
clean out their cellars for each succeeding crop. Even this manner of 
conducting business was found to be very profitable, but as nothing 
increases in value so rapidly as good sound wine, it occurred to the 
growers that if they could hold their crops for three years they could 
treble their profits. To get the money necessary for cellars and 
cooperage, co-operative societies were formed, one of the most success¬ 
ful being composed of the Vine growers of the celebrated Los Gatos 
and Saratoga wine belt along the western slopes of the valley. The 
vineyards in this section have been planted with intelligence and care, 
and produce the choicest varieties known to viticulture. The winery 
is located about a mile north of Los Gatos on the Saratoga road, about 
ten miles from San Jose. The buildings are against a hill, into which 
immense cellars have been excavated. 
The yield of the Vine in Santa Clara County is as remarkable as 
that of other fruits. Choice varieties which, in Europe, give but one or 
2 lbs. to the Vine, give from 25 to 40 lbs. here. There is no disease to 
impair vitality, and the life of the Grape in this section is one of 
uninterrupted vigour. Vines are usually planted from cuttings, 000 to 
the acre, and yield considerable crop3 at three years of age. The 
expense of planting, pruning, See., is something less than that of an 
ordinary orchard. From five years of age the yield will be from 6 to 
10 tons per acre. The price of choice varieties of wine Grapes has been 
from 20 to 35 dollars per ton. A ton of Grapes will make 150 gallons 
of wine, worth about 40 cents per gallon, at three years of age. Com¬ 
panies are being formed for manufacturing wine on commission. The 
company makes the wine and stores it, giving the grower a hundred 
gallons of wine for each ton of Grapes. 
SEASONABLE NOTES. 
We have had very favourable weather lately in East Anglia. There 
have been no frosts since anything began to grow, and the burst of 
summer, which began on May 4th, has been so well maintained hitherto 
that bedding plants from a fairly cool house might have been put out at 
once at that date. April was very sunless, but that was all in favour of 
the duration in bloom of my Marechal Niel under glass, which gave me 
during six weeks about 3o0 splendid Roses ; but they improved greatly 
in colour with the sun heat of May. All the upright rods are now cut 
clean away down to the two horizontal stems, and fresh ones will be 
trained up in their places during the summer. The plant resents this 
vigorous treatment, and generally sulks without movement for quite a 
month, however favourable the conditions of growth may be ; but I do 
not take any notice, knowing the pace with which it will make up for 
lost time at the end of the season, and for some reason or other it has 
never yet occurred to it during the sulky season how easily it might 
be revenged by sending up suckers, becoming cankered, swelling at the 
junction, or other means of annoyance. 
We had a great rain on May 11th, resulting in the highest flood 
since July, 1879 ; but I only found one eel in the Rose beds next morn¬ 
ing, and iie was not a large one. Only the day before I was saying how 
seldom we had sufiicient rain in May. We have had a rare soaking now, 
and a warm one too, followed by hot sun, and the growth of all vegeta¬ 
tion has been very rapid. Roses broke very slowly at first and seemed 
backward, but the year before last taught us how quickly a late season 
may be converted into an early one, and they cannot be considered 
backward now. I have even Her Majesty in bud, and Madame 
Lambard, pruned just a month ago, showing colour already. One has to 
work hard to keep pace with such rapid developments in tying, 
thinning, killing pests, and hoeing. 
At a leading rosarian’s a month ago I saw several men digging 
between the Roses in the beds, turning up full spadefuls within a few 
inches of fine established plants. I had sufiicient presence of mind not 
to display my ignorance by saying anything, but glanced furtively at 
the proprietor to see if he were shuddering. No, he was regarding the 
operation with complacency. Shortly afterwards we dug up a cutting 
stock, where the bud was dead, to look at the roots, and some of the 
subsoil came up. Bless me ! it was like Alderney butter in colour, but 
tougher and stiffer, and quite as rich. The explanation was plain. 
His Rose roots ran down where they got splendid natural food ; mine 
run horizontally, not far from the surface, trained and tempted and 
kept there by constant feeding, because there are no natural stores 
below. In my prepared pudding of made Rose beds the jam is near the 
top, and the roots are there too, and my Rose plants would be bodily 
uprooted if anyone was to dig round them like that. Consequently, 
we have to do a quantity of hoeing. I am a great believer in the merits 
of the Dutch hoe as a cultivator of light land, and the oftener the beds 
qre hoed, particularly after rain or watering, the better I am pleased. 
A red sport of Niphetos, as mentioned in the last number of the 
Journal, does not sound as if it would be a great acquisition. Of course 
it is absurd to say anything against a Rose without having seen it, but 
still I think most people will agree that its natural colour is the prin¬ 
cipal charm of this Rose. The Climbing Niphetos sounds as if it would be 
very valuable to market growers, but sometimes these climbing sports 
do not prove very satisfactory. I hope this one may. The absence of 
•sun has hitherto prevented the owners of new Roses from showing 
many of them in bloom, but Madame Hoste, T., seems to be already 
