102 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
r Febiuary 6, 18W. 
there are occasional cases of malaria here, as anywhere else, but 
why select such a spot, if predisposed to such a complaint, when 
there are one hundred millions of acres more in California entirely 
exempt from it ? In some parts of the State are great numbers of 
invalids, a truly one-lunged crowd ; but they have come here to 
prolong their days. California is one great sanitorium for all 
diseases, for there is here every conceivable climate and tempera¬ 
ture, between the shores of the Pacific Ocean and the summit of 
the Sierras. Such a temperature as 115° in the day and 54° at 
night is never heard of ; the temperature in the Sacramento 
Valley rarely exceeds 100°, being usually about 85" in the summer, 
and 60° at night. In the part of the State in which I live it is even 
more equable, while in San Diego it averages something like 65° 
all the year. 
If I were to land in London on a foggy day in November, and 
describe the English climate from that experience, it would be no 
more unjust than this gentleman’s description of the Californian 
climate. Your correspondent does not think any land in California 
worth five cents an acre. When our orchards and vineyards at five 
years old and upwards are yielding a net income of 100 to 500 
dols. per acre, it will be seen how foolish is this statement. The best 
valley lands along the line of the railroads sell at about 150 to 
200 dols. per acre (£30 to £40), and pay a very large interest on 
the investment. Equally good lands can be had very much lower, 
in proportion to the distance from means of transportation to 
market. 
The Doctor found no vegetables fit to eat, and the meat was 
bad. I will challenge any market in the world to show such an 
almost infinite variety of the choicest vegetables the earth produces 
as that of San Francisco or any market towns in California. 
Asparagus as common and as cheap as Cabbages in England ; 
Cauliflowers and Green Peas all the year round, and indeed almost 
every known vegetable is to be obtained every month in the year. I 
will admit that the meat is not all as good as the choice cuts from 
English beef and mutton, but the reason is, chiefly, that either it is 
not hung long enough, or the purchaser is green and allows his 
butcher to impose upon him. As the cookery books say, “ If you 
want choice meat go yourself and select it.” 
It sometimes happens that in sparsely settled rural districts the 
best meat is sent to the large markets, as might have been the case 
with the Doctor. I am able and willing to give facts and figures 
in support of my statements, which indeed might be made much 
more glowing without the slightest exaggeration, and could point 
to hundreds of English and Scotch families here, in affluent 
circumstances, who can more than bear me out. 
If the Editor of the Journal of Horticulture, or any representa¬ 
tive therefrom, will come and see for himself, I will promise him a 
royal welcome. To those who may want to inquire carefully into 
Californian fruit growing I cannot too highly recommend the work 
just written by Prof. E. J. Wickson, and published by Dewey 
and Co., 220, Market Street, San Francisco. I could fill pages of 
the Journal descriptive of the beauties and wonders of California 
and what her incomparable climate and rich soil can produce, all 
in striking juxtaposition to the acetous, garbled, and pessimistic 
utterances of your medical correspondent.— Leonard Coates. 
THE USE OF BALLAST, AND HOW TO MAKE IT. 
We have ^ten referred in the Journal to the great benefits we 
hpe derived from the application of ballast to our stiff soil for all 
kinds of crops, especially to fruit trees, and our experience with 
it every year tends greatly to strengthen our convictions—viz., that 
it 18 one of the cheapest and best means of rendering a stubborn 
tenacious soil friable, warm, and fertile. It is a well-known fact 
that these heavy soils, resting as they generally do on an almost 
grow better crops with far less manure than 
will light sandy soils ; moreover, crops are able to endure prolonged 
droughts better on heavy than on light land. But this proposition 
is rarely true of heavy soils as found in a state of nature—at least, 
as applied to horticulture, for however well they are managed in- 
winter the dashing rains of spring quickly wash the particles of 
clayey soils into a compact coherent mass, which effectually pre¬ 
vents the free admission of air, sunshine, and rain. Plants under 
such adverse conditions can never make satisfactory progress. The- 
roots of fruit trees will be strong and fibreless, and their shoots- 
strong, sappy, and fruitless. Of course, for these cold and reten¬ 
tive soils draining must be resorted to as a partial remedial measure, 
but we have abundantly proved that draining, however well done,, 
can only be considered as an adjunct in the improvement of stiff 
soils. It is not sufficient to well drain a pot ; we must also fill 
it with a compost that wiU allow water and air to pass freely 
through it, and so it must be with the soil of our garden if we 
wish to grow flowers, fruit, and vegetables to the highest state of' 
perfection. 
The mechanical condition of many well drained heavy soils is 
analogous to putty, and the drought of summer causes them to- 
contract and form deep fissures in all directions, pinching and 
snapping the roots of plants and rendering them inactive. In wet 
summers the evils are even greater, for the temperature of the- 
soil can never rise sufficiently high to excite healthy root action,, 
and the invariable result is sappy unhealthy growth, which of 
itself is sufficient to lay the foundation of disease and ruin in many 
kinds of fruit trees. 
If we inquire why the heavy soils are unkindly we shall find 
it is largely owing to an insufficient quantity of gritty matter or 
sand. The earth particles of clay soil are so fine that they run too 
closely together for the well-being of vegetation. Having arrived 
at the cause the cure is obvious—viz., add sufficient sand or 
analogous matter to prevent the cohesion of the clayey particles- 
This will at once render the soil porous, much warmer, and better 
suited to healthy plant growth. In the majority of cases it is- 
impossible to get sand in sufficient quantity to be of much use,, 
and the same may be said of lime rubbish, which is very good for 
the purpose ; hence we must make use of the matter to hand of 
which we have too much. Burnt clay, or ballast as it is called, 
will be found an excellent substitute for sand ; indeed, if properly 
burnt it is far preferable to sand for rendering stiff land porous. 
"We have had much experience in clay burning the last eight years, 
having burnt many thousands of tons, and the following is our 
modus operandi. 
The cost of burning will be in proportion to the burner’s 
wages and the price of slack in the neighbourhood. One ton of 
slack, which with us varies from 5s. to Ts. per ton, will burn from 
30 to 50 tons of clay, according as it is wet or dry. If plenty of 
wood can he secured it will burn the clay just as well as coal, and 
the residue will be still more valuable. An important item in clay 
burning is a good start. A quantity of tree-bottoms or large logs- 
of wood should be raised to a good heat before much clay be 
applied, for having secured that the fire may be kept going for aa 
indefinite period. The constant aim of the burner must be to keep 
the fire at the bottom, and that is where he will require the most 
coal. To secure this he must go round his fire every morning with 
a long iron scraper, and draw down the burning clay so as to form 
a ledge about 18 inches wide at the bottom of the burning heap. 
On this ledge he should sprinkle his coal rather thickly, and when 
it begins to burn freely, the clay, with a sprinkling of slack, may 
be thrown on until the ledge has been carried as high as the man 
can throw it. In this way we have had fires going continuously 
for eight months. If the fire is kept in all round it will soon 
become too bulky for one man to attend to ; we therefore allow two 
sides to go out and carry the heap on lengthways. 
More slack will be required in wet weather than in dry, and the 
burner must see that each layer is burning freely before adding 
another. Some advise wheeling the clay to the top of the fire, 
but this we find open to serious objections, as if through excessive 
wet or other causes any part of the fire goes out it is difficult to 
start it again; besides, it requires more fuel and labour than by 
the former method. "VVe have found also that the heat is apt to 
become too great when the clay is wheeled to the top—the clay 
fuses, and the result is a hard brick-like substance of no use for 
mixing with the soil. By throwing it on in layers the burner has 
the heat completely under his control, and if properly managed a 
loose gritty mass will be formed that falls to powder with the least 
touch. 
Before use the ballast should be passed through a half-inch mesh 
screen, and for flower beds sifted through a one-eighth inch sieve. This 
is important, as its mechanical effects will be in proportion as it is 
thoroughly mixed with the soil. For damp adhesive fruit borders 
it is invaluable ; the roots become a mass of fibre, and its good 
effects are apparent in the better ripening and higher flavour of the 
fruit. "We must strive for uniformity between root and branch 
in fruit culture, for although the trees may carry fruit they will 
