THE • CALIFORNIA FRUITS AND HOW TO GROW THEM A MANUAL OF METHODS WHICH HAVE YIELDED GREATEST SUCCESS, WITH THE LISTS OF VARIETIES BEST ADAPTED TO THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS OF THE STATS By / EDWARD J. W1CKSON Professor of Horticulture Emeritus in the College of Agriculture of the University of California; Author of "California Vegetables in Garden and Field," "California Garden Flowers, Shrubs, Trees and Vines," One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered," and "Second Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered"; Editor of Pacific Rural Press. The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear, And verdant olives flourish round the year; The balmy Spirit of the Western gale Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail; Each dropping pear a following pear supplies. On apples, apples; figs on figs arise. The same mild season gives the blooms to blow, The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow. —Pope's Horn. Odys. Bk. VII. NINTH EDITION— Fully Revised SAN FRANCISCO PACIFIC RURAL PfcESS NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE Copyright, 1921, By E. J. Wickson and Pacific Rural Press. Published, October, 1921. ABBOTT-BRADY PRINTING CORPORATION SAN FRANCISCO PREFACE The Eighth Edition of this treatise outstripped its im- mediate predecessors in meeting a public demand which covered the available supply much sooner than antici- pated. Because of the desirability of keeping the work abreast of the progress of a constantly changing and developing industry, the publishers have assumed the burden of resetting the type for each edition, resisting the temptation of greater profit which would attend re- printing from plates with minimum revision. There- fore this edition is wholly set anew — the ninth op- portunity for free revision which the writer has enjoyed during the publication of the work, which has reached a total of twenty-five thousand copies since the appearance of the first edition in 1889. Of the quality of the book, it does not become the writer to speak, but he may express his satisfaction at its popu- larity. Its circulation may be cited as a testimonial of its suitability for service in the building up of the fruit in- dustries, and the demand for it may be regarded as rather unique, when it is remembered that the book deals exclu- sively with the fruit growing of a single State which is only one, although it be the greatest, of the agricultural interests of that State. The demand for the book is an exponent of the continued activity in California fruit planting, and its sale abroad indicates the fact that the outside world is watching California's fruit development, and desires to know the methods by which a product which brought to growers a return of $236,955,000 in 1920 — a figure, of course, much below its commercial valuation. The writer repeats the request which he has made in earlier editions that all readers whose observation and work teach them any better way than he has described in this book shall share with him the advantages of such greater wisdom. EDWARD J. WICKSON. University of California, Berkeley, September, 1921. 4G9831 CONTENTS PART ONE: GENERAL Chapter I The Climate of California and Its Modifications. II Why the California Climate Favors the Growth of Fruit. III The Fruit Soils of California. IV The Wild. Fruits of California. V The California Mission Fruits. VI California's Leadership in American Fruit Industries. PART TWO! CULTURE VII Clearing the Land for Fruit. VIII The Nursery. IX Budding and Grafting. X Preparation for Planting. XI Planting of Trees. XII Pruning Trees and Thinning Fruit. XIII Cultivation. XIV Fertilizers for Trees and Vines. XV Irrigation of Fruit Trees and Vines. PART THREE: ORCHARD FRUITS XVI Commercial Fruit Varieties. XVII The Apple. XVIII The Apricot. XIX The Cherry. XX The Peach. XXI The Nectarine. XXII The Pear. XXIII Plums and Prunes. XXIV The Quince. PART FOUR : THE GRAPE Chapter XXV The Grape Industry. XXVI Propagating and Planting Vines. XXVII Pruning and Care of the Vine. XXVIII Grape Varieties in California. PART FIVE I SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS XXIX The Avocado. XXX The Date. XXXI The Fig. XXXII The Olive. XXXIII The Orange. XXXIV The Pomelo or Grape Fruit. XXXV The Lemon. XXXVI Minor Semi-Tropical Fruits. PART SIX: SMALL FRUITS XXXVII Berries and Currants. PART SEVEN I NUTS XXXVIII The Almond. XXXIX The Walnut XL Minor Nuts. PART EIGHT '. FRUIT PRESERVATION XLI Fruit Canning, Crystallizing and Drying. PART NINE I FRUIT PROTECTION XLII Injurious Insects. s> XLIII Diseases of Trees and Vines. XLIV Suppression of Injurious Animals and Birds. XLV Protection from Wind and Frost. PART TEN : MISCELLANEOUS XLVI Utilization of Fruit Wastes. Topical Index. CALIFORNIA FRUITS PART ONE: GENERAL CHAPTER I THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA AND ITS LOCAL MODIFICATIONS In climatic conditions affecting1 horticulture we have in Cali- fornia almost an epitome of all other parts of the United States, with added climatic characters which no other part possesses. We have high mountain valleys with wintry temperature-conditions, where only hardy northern fruits can be grown ; we have hot valleys where the date palm confidently lifts its head to the fiery sunshine, while its feet are deeply planted in moist substrata beneath the sandy surface ; but we can not claim tropical conditions, because our dry air denies us many strictly tropical growths, although we have frostless sites for them. Intermediate between the cold and snow of the mountains and the heat and sand of the desert, we have every describable modification and gradation, and, naturally, it is between these extremes that our richest inheritance of horticultural adapta- tion lies. When the breadth and scope of our horticultural adaptations are realized, it becomes apparent that an enumeration of the fruits we can grow successfully would be, in fact, a catalogue of the known fruits of the world, except those which are strictly tropical. Wherever there is a northern or southern departure from the equator sufficient to bring energy to mankind, or where the same is accomplished by elevation upon tropical mountainside or plateau, there also are fruits which find a welcoming home in California, and are improved by the intelligent cultivation and selection which here prevail. On the other hand, it has been abundantly demon- strated, during recent years, by official awards at great exhibitions : ItJ •!'.'**' i ' ' * CALIFpRNI A FRUITS : HOW ' TO GROW THEM and by the sharp criteria of the markets as well, that the fruits of wintry regions are quite as much benefited by transfer to proper locations in California as are the people who come to grow them. From north and south alike, then, California makes grand acquisi- tions and includes within her area the adaptations of the whole country, with some which no other State possesses. But while this horticultural scope is claimed for the State as a whole, it is necessary to add that local adaptations within the State must be very narrowly drawn. Our greatest failures have followed ill choice of location for the purpose intended. Whenever certain California fruits have been ill spoken of, they have been produced in the wrong places, or by ill-advised methods. It is possible, then, to produce both poor and perfect fruit of a given kind. It may be said this can be done anywhere by the extremes of culture and neg- lect, but to this proposition it must be added that in California equally excellent methods and care may produce perfection in one place and the opposite in another. One who seeks to know Cali- fornia well must undertake to master both its horticultural greatness and littleness ; and so closely are these associated, and so narrow the belts of special adaptations, that there are many counties which have a range of products nearly as great as the State itself. It is hard for the stranger to realize this. It is difficult for him to believe that the terms "northern" and "southern" have almost no horticultural significance in California ; that northern fruits reach perfection, under proper conditions, at the south, and vice versa; that some regions of greatest rainfall have to irrigate most fre- quently ; that some of greatest heat have sharpest valley frosts ; that some fruits can be successfully grown through a north and south distance of 300 miles, but can not be successfully carried a few hun- dred feet of either less or greater elevation ; that on the same parallel of latitude within a hundred miles of distance, from coast to moun- tainside, one can continuously gather marketable Bartlett pears for three months — not to mention the second crop, from belated blossoms, which is often of account on the same trees in the same season. Through the multitude of local observations, which seem per- plexing and almost contradictory, it is possible to clearly discern certain general conditions, of both nature and culture, which may be briefly advanced as characteristically and distinctively Cali- fornian. The climate of the Pacific Coast is described by the meteorologist as "insular or moderate," as contrasted with the "continental or excessive" climate of the regions east of the Sierra Nevada. The west coast of Europe is also insular in its climate. The northern limit of an annual mean temperature of 50, degrees Fahr. is 50 de- grees and 47 degrees of north latitude on western coasts of Europe and America respectively. But though there is this similarity in mean annual temperature, there is a decided advantage pertaining to our climate over that of west Europe in that our range of temper- ature is less ; that is, extremes of heat and cold are nearer together, and changes are therefore much less excessive. This characteristic TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE 11 of our local climates is due in the main to two great agencies, one active, bringing heat, the other passive, shielding us from arctic influences. First : Our proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Professor Alexander G. McAdie, for twenty years in charge of the San Francisco office of the Unted States Weather Bureau, and now Professor of Meteor- ology at Harvard University, says of the mildness of the California climate : "The Pacific Ocean is a great natural conservator of heat, the mean annual temperature of which near the California Coast ranges from 50 degrees to 60 degrees F. The strength of the west- erly winds which prevail on the California Coast for more than half the days of the year is due to the fact that the whole drift of the atmosphere is prevailingly from the west to east. The climate of west coasts is consequently less severe than the climate of east coasts."* Second : Another agency contributing to the mild climate of the Pacific Coast consists in the mountain barriers upon our northern and eastern boundaries. It was Guyot who first called attention to the fact that the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountains reach the coast of Alaska and bend like a great arm around its western and southern shore, thus shutting off or deflecting the polar winds that otherwise would flow down over the Pacific Coast States, while California has her own additional protection from the north in the mountain arch which has its keystone in Mount Shasta. CHIEF TOPOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATIC DIVISIONS OF CALIFORNIA California is usually divided into three main areas and climates, each distinct in typical conditions and yet separated by regions, more or less wide, in which these conditions merge and influence each other. Dr. Robertson says :f Isothermal lines which normally run east and west are, as they near the Pacific, deflected north and south, and define three distinct climatic belts. These may be named coast, valley and mountain; and while they resemble each other in having two seasons, they are dissimilar in other respects. These differences depend upon the topography of the country, and are of degree rather than of kind; altitude, distance from the ocean, and situation with reference to mountain chains, giving to each region its characteristic climate. How similar are the conditions which prevail in these belts may be learned from the data shown in the following table, which in- cludes points separated by nearly the whole length of the State, the difference in latitude of the extreme north and south points being seven or eight degrees. Thus, through a north or south distance great as that which separates the States of Georgia and New York, similar climatic conditions prevail in California. In the following *"The Rainfall of California," University of California Publications in Geography, 1914. tReport of State Agricultural Society, 1886, page 322. 12 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM table the averages are deduced from observations by the United States Weather Bureau observers for a long series of years : Seasonable and extreme temperatures and average rainfall in various Cali- fornia regions from the records of the United States Weather Bureau from beginning of observations to the close of 1920. So; £ .1 3 s £ C 3 3 c 3 P STATIONS COUNTY G I ^ D qj t>0 £L CS g w rt £& c §oa 4 8 si «i ll *Sj v ^ i> C c$ M which makes a solution of soil salts nent and is dtr (nurien ad ™ M T- ° 801 ™oiai™e> which makes a solution of s nent), and is distributed around and between the soil particles SUBSTANCES REQUIRED BY PLANTS 143 subjects of future treatises on the interrelationships between soils and plants. Nevertheless, we may, with profit, consider briefly a few essentials to a more rational conception of the fertilizer and fertilization problem than the simple and attractive, but wholly in- adequate, one mentioned above. THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS ESSENTIAL TO PLANT GROWTH Careful investigation has shown that there are at least ten of the eighty-odd chemical elements known, without any one of which green plants cannot live. These elements are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sul- phur, and iron. The first three of these are supplied from the carbonic acid gas of the air (carbon and oxygen) and from the water in the soil (hydrogen). The air is never short of all the carbonic acid gas which may be needed by plants. A proper supply of water to soils can be readily insured in most cases. The problem of the supply of the essential elements for plant growth in soils, therefore, is limited to the other seven elements named above. Nitrogen is supplied very largely from the soil's organic matter supply and is transformed from the organic, insoluble, and complicated form therein, to a simple soluble, inorganic form (principally nitrates), by the action of certain micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi) which live in the soil. The other six elements are to some degree also furnished by the decomposition resulting in simplification and mineralization of the soil organic matter, but are chiefly derived from the mineral particles of the soil which take their origin in turn from the rocks and minerals originally disintegrated by weathering agencies to form the more or less powdery mass making up a primi- tive soil. Even the small amounts of minerals contained in the de- caying organic matter were derived originally from the purely inorganic, mineral sources upon which the plants initially composing it obtained them. This is also true of nitrogen. In fact, the original rock from which the first soils were formed probably contained no organic matter, and hence the primitive plants which first made their appearance on the rock surfaces of the earth from some unknown source must have subsisted, as do our green plants today, on the mineral elements from which they synthesized organic compounds and, on their death, left organic residues from which more resistant portions have accumulated such organic matter supplies as we find in our soils today. Now, while all of the ten chemical elements named above are indispensable to the life and normal growth of our green plants, every one of them is not needed in the same quantity as every other one for the constitution of plant tissue. Very nearly the entire weight of a plant consists of three elements, viz., carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, derived as above explained, from an ever abundant supply of carbonic acid gas and water. For example 97.4% of the corn kernel consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and in timothy hay the same three elements make nearly 95% of the total substance. 144 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Only a very small proportion of the weight of plant substance, there- fore, consists of the other seven essential elements. The amounts of these substances contained in some of our fruits is shown approxi- mately in the following table, taken from analyses made by Pro- fessor G. E. Colby, formerly of the California Agricultural Ex- periment Station : y Quantities of Soil Ingredients Withdrawn by Various Fruits Fresh Fruit 1000 pounds Total Ash Ibs. Potash Pounds Lime Pounds Phosphoric Acid Ibs. Nitrogen Pounds Almondsf ... 17.29 9.95 1.04 2.04 7.01 Apricots 5.08 3.01 .16 .66 1.94 Apples 2.64 1.40 .11 .33 1.05 Bananas 10.78 6.80 .10 .17 .97 Cherries 4.82 2.77 .20 .72 2.29 Chestnutsf 9.52 3.67 1.20 1.58 6.40 Figs 7.81 4.69 .85 .86 2.38 Grapes 5.00 2.55 .25 .11 1.26 Lemons 5.26 2.54 1.55 .58 1.51 Olives . . . 13.50 9.11 2.43 1.25 5.60 Oranges 4.32 2.11 .97 .53 1.83 Peaches 5.30 3.94* .14* .85* 1.20* Pears 2.50 1.34 .19 .34 .90 Prunes, French .... 4.86 3.10 .22 .68 1.82 Plums 5.35 3.41* .25* .75* 1.81 Walnutsf . . . 12.98 8.18 1.55 1.47 5.41 tincluding hulls. *Estimated. Why Such Analyses May Not Be a True Guide in Fertilization. — A little calculation on the basis of the data in the foregoing table will make it quite clear that a ten-ton crop of fresh grapes would only remove from the soil about 51 pounds of potash, 5 pounds of lime, 2.2 pounds of phosphoric acid and 25.2 pounds of nitrogen. A very large crop of fresh apricots (about ten tons) would remove from the soil about 60 pounds of potash, 3.20 pounds of lime, 13.20 pounds of phosphoric acid and 38.80 pounds of nitrogen. Now even a very poor soil contains in the upper three feet per acre, which are only a portion of the plant roots' foraging area, about 12,000 pounds each of potash and lime, about 6,000 pounds of phosphoric acid and about 3,000 pounds of nitrogen. Moreover, some of the portions of the fruit are frequently returned to the soil, and irrigation waters, where such are used, most commonly carry in solution large enough quantities of the essential elements to more than make up for the losses sustained through the removal of the fruit crop. This kind of reasoning, coupled with the fact that even moderately good soils may contain ten times as much potash and lime, twice as much phosphoric acid, and three times as much nitrogen as the poor soil cited, and also the fact that much more than three feet of soil in depth are frequently available for root development, make it very clear that the essential elements are found in nearly all soils in quantities sufficient to last for centuries. Of course, these are definite quantities and if we consider our obligations to posterity we should contemplate ways and means for preventing unusual and WHAT ARE PLANT FOODS? 145 unnecessary losses of the essential elements from our soils, but there must be some other reason or reasons than that for the good effects obtained by fertilizer applications to fruit crops, especially on new or very young lands. The most readily advanced reason, of course, is that while the soil minerals contain the essential elements in plenty, they are not "available." Let us now study the meaning of this term "available" and see if the consideration of "availability" is adequate to the explanation of the condition in question. "PLANT FOODS" AND "AVAILABLE PLANT FOODS" The term plant food is a misnomer. It is intended to apply to the essential chemical elements above mentioned, which enter into the composition of plant food, and which is a term that should apply only to the starches, sugars, proteins, and fats which really serve to sustain the plant and which are products of the plant's own activity. The term is, therefore, used incorrectly by most people and should be supplanted by the term "essential elements" to plant growth. With this idea clearly in mind, we may next inquire what is meant by the expression "available plant food." Here again the term plant food is used erroneously, as already explained. But the term "available," as commonly used, is intended to mean that the substance to which it is applied is soluble in the water of the soil when introduced there. Recent studies in the chemistry of the soil have revealed the fact, however, that availability of a chemical element or compound from the standpoint of the plant, as well as that of the soil, is not merely the simple question of the solubility of that substance in the soil water, but of something more. A sub- stance, to be available to the plant's roots, must not only be soluble in the soil water, but it must be so balanced with the other con- stituents of the soil water (soil solution) as to be assimilable, which is by no means always true under soil conditions. Moreover, a substance to be "available" in the broadest sense must not only possess the two attributes just discussed, but, in addition, should not be poisonous at the concentration at which it is found in the soil solution. It follows from what has just been said that a fertilizer salt or other substance does not necessarily become usable and available to the plant merely because it dissolves in the soil water. It may indeed dissolve in the soil water when first applied to the soil, but soon thereafter become insoluble by reacting with some soil mineral and from such reaction a new soluble substance may be formed and a new insoluble substance, which latter contains in it the essential element which it is desired to make available. This leads us to conclude that the application to a soil of a soluble fertilizer salt like nitrate of soda or sulphate of potash does not by any means insure the increased supply thereof by that amount in the soil solution. On the contrary, it may mean no increase of that substance at all in the soil solution available to the plant's roots. This important fact has been brought out by an investigation recently conducted in 146 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM the writer's laboratory, which proved that lime and gypsum have very different effects on different soils, depending on the kinds of minerals and other substances which are contained in the soil origi- nally. The addition of calcium in the form of lime increased the amount of calcium in some soils, but not in others. This disposes of the belief so tenaciously held by nearly all, soil and fertilizer experts included, that the chief and only function of a fertilizer consists in its furnishing a certain one or more plant food elements which it contains to the soil solution. We can never really be certain when we apply any fertilizer element to a soil that we enrich the solution of that soil with respect to that element. That may occur in many soils, but may not occur in many others. On the other hand, it is likewise true that when a fertilizer element applied to a soil does not enrich the soil solution with respect to itself, it may do so with respect to another element theretofore insoluble. For example, we may apply sulphate of potash to a soil without enriching the soil solution there with respect to potash, but we may enrich it with respect to calcium, magnesium, sodium or some other element which may or may not be needed by the plant. While all this is true, how- ever, the reader will doubtless readily grasp the significance of the general situation, which may briefly be put in another way for emphasis. If fertilizers carrying essential elements to plant growth when applied to soils do not necessarily furnish those essential ele- ments to the soil solution and still benefit the crop, the improvement may be due to the increased supply, through the agency of the fertil- izer, of some other element not necessarily essential, or an essential element heretofore regarded as of minor importance which stimu- lates the plant, not because it furnishes a lacking element, but be- cause it causes increased cell growth in some other manner not now understood by us. This may mean that we shall be able to use many cheap salts or minerals for fertilizers to set free the essential ele- ments already contained in the soil minerals or to stimulate plant growth otherwise. Certainly, it may mean that in many soils we shall be able to obtain an ample supply of soluble potassium in the soil by applying, not potash fertilizers, but some substance which does not contain potash, but which will set it free from its combina- tions in the insoluble soil minerals. The reader will readily see that this situation may effect profoundly the economics of the fertilizer situation. The question that naturally arises next is how to de- termine in practice the proper procedure in soil treatment by fertil- izers. This will be taken up in detail in a special section below, after a few other essential matters have been discussed. THE "SPECIFIC" EFFECTS OF THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS ON PLANTS The text books on soils and those on plant physiology teach, so far as I know, with a rare exception or two, that the so-called plant food elements of fertilizers— nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium- are not merely essential to plant growth but that each produces a specific effect on the plant which is outwardly visible. For example, WHAT FERTILIZERS DO FOR PLANTS 147 nitrogen is supposed to stimlate leaf and stalk development; phos- phorus is presumed to increase seed production and to hasten maturity, and potassium is presumed to have a vital connection with early maturation of a crop, and with sweetness and quality in fruit. Many other such statements have been made in the literature with respect to the specific effects of these three chemical elements in plant growth. Moreover, some authors have gone so far as to say that certain colors, textures, or other characteristics of plants in growth indicate a lack of sufficiency of a given one of the three elements in question. There is little or no basis for all such statements and assump- tions, because it is a fact that color of foliage may in most cases be a guide to the determination of whether or not an ample or a deficient supply of available nitrogen is present in the soil or other growing medium. Thus, a deep green foilage is usually an indication of a plentiful supply of available nitrogen. Yellow, or light green foliage is frequently an evidence of a defficiency of available nitrogen. But even those indications are not always correct and particularly is this true of the yellow color of leaves. Likewise, an excess of nitrogen does seem to encourage rank stalk and leaf development, resulting with the cereals even in "lodging," but this too might be taken as evidence of a badly unbalanced condition of the nutrient medium of growth (the soil solution) rather than a specific effect of nitrogen. It is, nevertheless, true that the encouragement of heavy stalk and leaf production by nitrogen is very marked with some plants and comes nearest being a manifestation of a specific growth-producing effect of an element which we know about. As for the idea of the specific effects mentioned above as being characteristic of phos- phorus and potassium and others found in the literature which I have not mentioned, there is aboslutely no unexceptionable evidence to support it. We have no data upon which to base the common belief that phosphorus hastens maturity of plants; or that a lack thereof manifests itself in some abnormal appearance of the plant which has been definitely recognized and correlated with it. The same statements will apply to the potassium question, and we thus find no justification for the idea that there has been established a certain well-defined correlation between the appearances, colors, or other qualities of plants and a deficiency of any one of the essential elements to plant growth, unless, possibly, it be nitrogen. This does not mean, however, that each of the mineral elements does not per- form a specific function in the metabolism of the plant, for there is some good evidence that it may. It does not even mean that every one of the elements may not specifically affect the plant by its sufficiency or by its inadequacy in such a manner as to be indicated characteristically in the appearance or quality of the plant which human senses can discern. It does mean that if such specific effect or effects for any of the mineral elements except nitrogen exist, we know nothing about them to date. The denials of the common beliefs and of the current teachings in our text-books, which are made above, are not intended, however, as disclaimers of the existence of other visible effects on plants which 148 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM a deficiency of a given mineral element may induce. For example, it is pretty well established now that it is necessary not only to have the nutrient solution of a plant of a certain concentration but also that there be a proper balance among the various constituents there- of. It is clear, therefore, that a plant may show an unthrifty con- dition, due to too low a concentration of its nutrient medium or to an improper balance of the different elements, without giving us leave to correlate the unthrifty condition with a specific effect of a given element. To put it another way, for emphasis, we may assume that a plant will show a stunted condition or an abnormal color which will be removed and the plant brought to a normal condition by the application, let us say, of phosphorus or of potassium. This does not argue that a deficiency of the element applied specifically and characteristically causes the abnormal condition in question, but may merely mean that a deficiency of any element by bringing about an unbalanced condition in the nutrient solution may induce ab- normal growth and development. This statement is intended not merely to deny and disprove the statements on the subject which appear in text-books but also those pernicious assumptions to the same effect which constantly appear in the literature of the fertilizer trade. It is well to understand the following clearly : (1) Certain chemical elements in the soil solution, including at least nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium, are essential to normal plant growth. (2) These elements must be present in sufficient concentration and the whole nutrient solution must be sufficiently concentrated. (3) Those elements must, regardless of the total concentration of the solution, be in a proper balance among themselves. Beyond these conditions, we know little about the soil solution which is above question. This is particularly pertinent regarding the specific effects of the individual elements or the characteristics of plants which the human senses can discern. WHAT ARE FERTILIZERS AND WHAT THEIR SOURCES? The problem of fertilizers and their application to soils, as it stands today, is essentially a practical one. The truly scientific phases of it which are being studied have not yet progressed far enough to allow of much application of their results. Of necessity, therefore, most rules and standards in fertilizer practice and in the fertilizer industry must be more or less arbitrary. This includes, of course, the determination of what constitutes a fertilizer material. Nevertheless, it remains true beyond a peradventure that the final decision in such matters must remain with the scientific investigator of soil-and-plant problems. The reason for this is that he has delved so deeply into the subject as to be cognizant of the numerous diffi- culties and pitfalls which inhere in it, and thus knowing the limita- tions of it can prescribe with much greater precision and justice what should be adopted as a guide or guides. In accordance with MATERIALS FOR FERTILIZERS 149 this conclusion and without bias or prejudice, let it be attempted to draw up a statement as to what constitutes a fertilizer and what materials may be included under that head. A fertilizer is any substance, subject to the qualifications given below, which furnishes to the soil any one or more of the following chemical elements — nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, and calcium; or which furnishes organic matter. The substances con- taining the chemical elements named must, in addition, possess the following qualifications : 1. They must contain, if they are largely insoluble in water, no less than the following percentages of their respective elements or compounds: 3.0 per cent nitrogen, 20 per cent phosphoric acid, 20 per cent potassium oxide, 20 per cent sulphur, and 35 per cent calcium oxide. 2. They must contain, if they are largely soluble in water, no less than 1 per cent nitrogen (as nitrate or ammonia) and 1 per cent each of phosphoric acid and potassium oxide. Sulphur and calcium materials do not in the present state of our knowledge need to be delimited in accordance with solubility. 3. In either insoluble or soluble form a material to be a fertilizer must not be toxic to plants even when applied in large quantities, such as 1000 pounds per acre for the soluble and ten tons per acre for the insoluble. This does not include sulphur, which should pref- erably not be applied even in the form of flowers of sulphur at rates exceeding 100 pounds per acre. 4. A material to be a fertilizer must, in addition to the foregoing qualities, possess a more or less fine or powdery consistency so as to allow of facile distribution in the soil; and it must be of a nature to allow free handling without danger to man or animals. 5. An organic material to be a fertilizer must either contain the quantities of the elements above indicated in either soluble or in- soluble form, or must be of a nature which is readily decomposed in the soil (four to eight weeks in the summer) and preferably carry- ing a large bacterial population. Even organic substances contain- ing 3 per cent of nitrogen, mostly insoluble in water, must be of a nature to decompose readily as above indicated if they are to be considered as fertilizer material. In accordance with these definitions, the following common sub- stances can properly be regarded as fertilizers or as sources of serviceable organic matter : NITROGENOUS MATERIALS Sodium nitrate Fish scrap Guano Ammonium sulphate Castor pomace Rat guano Ammonium nitrate Horn meal Slaughterhouse tankage Ammonium phosphate Acidulated leather Garbage tankage Calcium nitrate Linseed meal Meat meal Cyanamidc Fish meal Hoof meal Cottonseed meal King crab Wood and hair waste Dried blood Rape meal CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM PHOSPHATIC MATERIALS phosphate iS£& i Phosphatic meal Acid phosphate Dissolved bone Raw ground bone Double acid phosphate Apatite Bone black POTASH MATERIALS Potassium chloride Cement plant potash Kelp ash Potassium carbonate Blast furnace potash 51ried ke^P Kainite Potassium sulphate Plant ash Kieserite Potassium nitrate Brine residues Potassium-Magnesium Double manure salts Leucite or other potash sulphate Carnallite minerals containing at Kelp Char Potassium least 20% potassium Wood ashes Magnesium carbonate oxide Manure ash SULPHUR MATERIALS Flowers of sulphur. Magnesium sulphate Any of the sulphates men- Calcium sulphate Sulphide minerals tioned in the other lists Sodium sulphate CALCIUM MATERIALS Calcium oxide (quick Calcium hydrate (water -Calcium carbonate (ground lime) slaked lime) limestone or air slaked lime) SOLUBLE CALCIUM MATERIALS Gypsum Calcium nitrate Calcium cyanamide ORGANIC MATERIALS Barnyard manure Legume straws Goat manure Cow manure Horse manure Green plant tissue Sheep manure Hog manure Sewage sludge Poultry manure It may transpire through present and future investigations that the carriers of other elements than those considered may have to be properly included among fertilizer materials whether those elements be essential to plant growth or not, but thus far, there seems to be no warrant for going farther than as enumerated above. At the same time, the limitations drawn above will rule out such fake materials as bacterized peat, dried peat, solutions carrying fertilizer elements, cultures, etc. THE VARIABILITY OF SOILS Recent studies at the California Agricultural Experiment Station have shown that we must modify to a great extent our ideas relative to all matters pertaining to soils because of the high degree of variability of the latter. Everybody recognizes that, in a given field, soils may show considerable variability, which is evident to the eye and touch of the inexperienced. Few people appreciate to- day, however, that even in a soil which seems entirely uniform there may exist an enormous variability in the smallest distances. Such variability may concern the physical properties of a soil such as moisture-holding power, just as much as the soil's content of the FERTILIZATION EXPERIMENTS NECESSARY l$\ essential mineral elements discussed above. An experiment in fer- tilization or any other which is carried out on a few trees or vines, therefore, may give results which have little application to a whole orchard or vineyard. Much fruitless work on fertilization and soil management generally, as well as laboratory studies, have been carried out all over the world because of ignorance of this funda- mental fact and it behooves us to take cognizance of it in the work of the future. This is particularly true in its application to orchard and vineyard problems, because of the relatively small number of plants used per acre and hence because according to the laws of chance, we have no opportunity of averaging the effects of the soil's variability. LONG-TERM FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS One would naturally expect that the results of experiments on the fertilization of soils which have been in progress for long periods uninterruptedly like the celebrated ones at Rothamsted, England, at Wooster and Strongsville in Ohio, and at State College in Penn- sylvania, can be reckoned on as reliable guides for fertilizer practice. Unfortunately, however, these experiments were planned, and have been carried on without reference to the important principles of soil chemistry, plant physiology, and the variability of soils which are discussed above. Their results may, and may not, possess, therefore, the requisite cogency and utility for the average orchardist and particularly as regards California conditions. In none of these ex- periments, moreover, has there been ascertained the magnitude of the errors attaching to the work, and hence increases in crop sup- posedly due to fertilization may, and may not, be significant. Then, too, when the errors are properly allowed for as has been done in a series of studies carried on at the California Agricultural Experiment Station and which will soon be published, the question as to whether or not the increases are sufficiently great to pay for the cost of fer- tilization and allow a good profit, still remains to be settled. This is all true in addition to the conclusion, which follows from the dis- cussion above, that any results obtained in such an experiment have no necessary application on any other tract of land than that on which the experiment is conducted. LEARNING TO USE FERTILIZERS It follows from what has been said above that the best method available to us now of determining the fertilizer needs of an orchard or a vineyard soil is to try fertilization wherever the question arises. It is important, moreover, that the fertilizer be tried on a large tract, preferably no less than three to five acres in size, and that a control or check lot of trees or vines of the same number as in the treated plot be left untreated as a means of determining the effects exerted by the fertilizer. It is the writer's judgment that this is the only rational method yet discovered of determining the fertilizer needs of a given orchard or vineyard. The fruit produced on the fertilized 152 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM and unfertilized plots, respectively, should be carefully measured and the results calculated from the point of view of the cost of the fertilizer and its application, and the profit accruing from its use. Fertilizers may be broadcasted or drilled in. In any case, an attempt should be made to incorporate them with the soil thoroughly and preferably five or more inches beneath the surface. If this is not done, there is danger, especially where deep and constant summer cultivation is practised, that the fertilizer will remain in the dry surface soil mulch, which is not accessible to the feeding roots. If the fertilizer is broadcasted, it may be cultivated, plowed or disked in. The above precaution relative to thorough and deep incorpora- tion of fertilizers is particularly pertinent and important in the case of the insoluble fertilizers like dried blood, high-grade tankage, rock phosphate and similar materials. Choosing the Fertilizer for the Test. — Based on practical ex- perience and observation in the field, the writer believes that under most orchard and vineyard conditions in California and especially in the Great Valley and under the more arid conditions, nitrogenous fertilizers are the most likely, of all the commercial brands, to yield profitable responses. Among these, sulphate of ammonia is, in gen- eral, to be preferred to nitrate of soda, but the latter may be used where heavy rainfall and a tendency to soil acidity is the rule. The organic nitrogenous fertilizers are all suitable, and when nitrogen in that form can be purchased more cheaply than in either of the forms just mentioned, it should be so employed. If it is desired to test other fertilizers, then phosphatic fertilizers should receive second consideration, and then it is well to treat a plot of five acres with nitrogen alone, one of the same size with superphosphate alone, and one with a combination of the two, always having a control plot in addition, as above explained. Sim- ilarly, if it is desired to test potash or sulphur, these fertilizer materials may be used alone or together with the others in much the same manner as described for nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers. The mixed commercial fertilizers are strongly advised against, because much more is paid for every unit of the necessary elements in that form than in the form of the so-called simples like those listed above. Besides, it will be found rare under California orchard and vineyard conditions that potash fertilization, in addition to nitrogen and phosphorus, can be made to pay, and yet the price of potash is very high. How Much Commercial Fertilizer to Apply. — In using nitro- genous fertilizers, a fairly safe standard for amounts, in the absence of more definite information than we have now, is the following, which is merely furnished as an example : Citrate of soda ISO Ibs. per acre bulphate of ammonia 100 Dried blood or high grade tankage. ...... 300 Superphosphate 300 Sulphate or chloride of potash 200 Sulphur 100 HOW TO BUY FERTILIZERS 153 In mixing these they should be combined in the same propor- tions, but home mixing, as already explained, is, above all, desirable. Owing to their cheapness, lime and gypsum are not ordinarily classed with the commercial fertilizers, but they (especially gyp- sum) may exert similar effects to the potash and sulphur fertilizers, and in some ways to the other fertilizers in accordance with the conceptions explained in more detail in the opening paragraphs of this chapter.* Time to Apply Commercial Fertilizers. — As more and more ex- perimental evidence accumulates regarding the responses of plants to the treatment of soils, on which they are grown, it is becoming increasingly clear that the time of application of certain of the plant food elements, or of other chemicals, is an important consideration. Unfortunately, however, the evidence which we have does not per- mit, as yet, of the formulation and definition of an accurate plan for the time of fertilization of soils. We are obliged, therefore, to fall back for the present upon the best observations which we possess relative to that question. Summarizing such observations under California conditions, it seems proper to say that the months of February and March are the best periods of the year to make fer- tilizer applications. The choice of those months usually secures the requisite supply of moisture in the soil for the solution of the fertil- izers directly or indirectly. Besides the low temperature of the soil at those periods does not permit of the energetic bacterial and fun- gous action which will insure the solution of enough of the soil's own supply of the necessary elements to supply the rapidly feeding roots, hence, the value of the supplementary materials furnished by the fertilizers at that time. Generally, the whole fertilizer application may be made at once, though there is no objection to dividing it into two or three appli- cations made three or four weeks apart. There are no results of experimental work to give a more trustworthy guide than this for the present. THE PURCHASE AND COST OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS Commercial fertilizers are sold exclusively on the basis of their content of three of the essential elements to plant growth, viz., nitro- gen, phosphorus, and potassium. The adoption of this arbitrary standard has something to commend it, but it is, nevertheless, purely arbitrary, as has been made clear above. The production by large syndicates of commercial fertilizers for the market, and especially the mixed fertilizers, is largely responsible for the standards set and the prices adopted. Such prices are usually very high and frequently render the use of fertilizers on some crops unprofitable, even where the fertilizer elements may be needed. It is incumbent upon the pur- *Detailed information relative to the use of lime and gypsum on California soils will be found in Circular III of the California Agricultural Experiment Station, which will be sent free to anyone on request. 154 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM chaser to choose his fertilizers and to make his determination to use them only after careful deliberation and with great discrimination. The advice of the agricultural experiment station should always be sought in such matters, since their experience has been broad enough even without definite scientific basis, to constitute a more reliable' guide in such matters than the experience of the individual orchardist or vineyardist. The elements essential to plants are sold in fertilizers on what is known as the "unit basis." A unit in this connotation is the equivalence of one per cent of a ton. Thus, if nitrate of soda is sold, with nitrogen, at a $4 a unit, it means that for every 20 pounds (or 1 per cent) of nitrogen which a ton contains, we pay $4. If nitrate of soda contains 15 per cent of nitrogen, the fertilizer sells at 4 times 15 or $60 per ton. Such simple calculation will readily make clear to the grower the basis upon which he purchases his fertilizers. DOES IT PAY TO USE FERTILIZERS? It should be clear from the foregoing discussion that this ques- tion, which is so frequently asked, cannot be answered without much reservation and qualification. From practical experience and such excellent evidence as that furnished by Professor Stewart at the Pennsylvania Experiment Station in working with apple orchards, there can be no question that fertilization of orchard soils is profit- able under some conditions. But we must also remember that under somewhat similar conditions at the New York Experiment Station at Geneva, Professor Hedrick was unable to obtain evidence that fertilizers pay, while under the totally different conditions of Cali- fornia, we could not expect either set of results to apply. Both of the investigators just named are doubtless correct, each for his own set of conditions, and this emphasizes the importance of the testing of fertilizers in every orchard and vineyard to determine the best practice for it, until such time as our scientific experiments may yield us something less empirical. The only orchard experiment in fertilization which we have in California which is at all usable as a guide is that carried on at the Citrus Experiment Station at River- side for the past ten years or more. That teaches us that nitro- genous fertilizers on that piece of land make a considerable increase in tree growth and fruit production, but has not demonstrated that it pays to fertilize even at that. It shows us very little, if any, effects from phosphatic and potassic fertilizers, and it has proved the injurious effects to that soil, under those conditions, of nitrate of soda. But the results obtained there, meager as they are, are not even applicable to any other piece of land necessarily. This em- phasizes again the point of view advanced with regard to the neces- sity of fertilizer trials in every vineyard and orchard. Above and in addition to all, it should be borne in mind, always, that fertilizers are merely supplementary measures for eking out directly and indirectly the necessary supply of the essential plant food elements in the soil. They constitute very little alone, but they IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIC MANURES 155 may be markedly effective through the changes which they cause in the chemical equilibrium of soils, both directly and through their effects on the micro-organisms of the soil. ORGANIC MATTER IN FERTILIZATION Indissolubly linked with the question of fertilizers on soils is that of organic matter. No soil can be, or remain, fertile for any length of time without organic matter. By organic matter we mean, in this connection, residues of plants like the tops, roots, or stubble, and the excrements of animals. The reasons for the importance of organic matter to soils may be stated popularly as follows : 1st. It is the chief source of the soil nitrogen which is needed by plants. 2nd. It furnishes the element carbon as a source of energy, as coal serves for the engine, for certain important bacteria which alone have the power of adding nitrogen from the air to the soil; and for other bacteria and fungi which are concerned in changing essential substances in the soil from an insoluble and otherwise un- usable form to a soluble and usable one. 3rd. It improves the water-holding power of sandy soils by giving them more water-holding surface, and, incidentally, prevents them from becoming packed and hence relatively impervious to roots and to air. 4th. It improves the heavy clay soils by giving them a more crumb-like and porous structure and hence tends to prevent water- logging and allows of freer movement of air and roots. For the same reason it prevents baking of the soil and renders tillage much easier. The foregoing statements must render clear the outstanding im- portance of keeping soils well stocked with organic matter and the question naturally arises, how can this best be done? By applying to the soil and incorporating therewith any and all quantities of the following materials that the economic conditions in a given orchard or vineyard will permit: Horse, cow, sheep, goat, hog and chicken manures. Green manures, meaning the plowing under in spring of a winter grown crop, preferably a leguminous crop like melilotus, burr clover, or vetch. Pruning from trees and vines. Apple, grape, and other fruit pomace and cannery waste. Grain straws — preferably composted, and similar materials. How to Apply Organic Matter. — Animal manures should be broadcasted, or put on the soil with a manure spreader. They should then be plowed under or thoroughly cultivated in. Green manures should be thoroughly plowed under. Prunings of various kinds should be cut up into small pieces, spread evenly over the surface of the ground and then plowed under. Fruit pomace and CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM cannery waste may be applied broadcast or by means of irrigation water. Amount of Organic Matter to Apply.— It is impossible to apply too much organic matter to soils and still maintain economic condi- tions on a farm. The relatively high cost of animal manures will render it unprofitable to apply enough to injure thev soil. For that reason the thing to guard against is not too large, but too small an application of organic matter. When animal manures are used, the following amount should be considered as minima per annum : Per acre Horse manure 10 tons Cow manure 10 Hog manure 5 Sheep or goat manure 3 Green manure crops, of course, cannot be too large to plow under. Every effort should be made to prepare the seed bed and irrigate so as to obtain the largest possible yield of green matter.* Precautions in the Use of Organic Matter. — To be of much serv- ice to the soil, organic matter must decay with a fair degree of rapidity. Such decay cannot occur without the presence in the soil of an ample supply of moisture. It is, therefore, obvious that much organic matter should not be applied to soil in the absence of suf- ficient moisture. Indeed, such practice may lead to distinct injury to the soil, owing to the drying out of the soil through the mechan- ical effects of the organic matter above discussed and to the use of moisture by micro-organisms attacking it, thus setting up a competi- tion with the plant. It is essential particularly to give heed to this warning in connection with dry and not easily decayed organic matter like grain straws, prunings and stable manure consisting chiefly of litter. Most careful attention should be given in such cases, and in the case of cover crops, that the supply of water is ample, the soil in good tilth, and the incorporation of the organic matter thorough. After such incorporation, the surface soil should be harrowed down to a fine state of division. Legume Straws. — A source of organic matter and additional nitrogen which deserves attention by itself is that of the legume straws. The most feasible ones to use in California are alfalfa hay, bean straw, and pea straw, the first two being most important. It is not sufficiently appreciated by fruit growers how valuable these materials are to their soils. Especially where they are to be ob- tained cheaply, these legume straws are to be used wlierever possible in liberal dressings. Four to five tons per acre of any of these straws plowed under every year for periods of five to ten years will exert markedly beneficial effects on any orchard or vineyard soil. •Further information regarding cover or green manure crops and their use on Cali- fornia soils will be found in Circular No. 110 and Bulletin No. 292 of the California Agricultural Experiment Station at Berkeley. CHAPTER XV IRRIGATION OF FRUIT TREES AND VINES Whether fruit shall be grown with irrigation or not is a local and specific question, and it must be answered with due regard for several conditions, among which are : First, the minimum local rain- fall ; second, the depth and character of the soil and subsoil ; third, the situation and environment of the ground on which the fruit is to be grown ; fourth, the kind of fruit which it is desired to produce. These conditions are all correlated, and a knowledge of them all is necessary to an intelligent decision as to correct practice in any given locality. For example, the amount of rainfall which is ade- quate in one locality, or in one situation, even, may be quite in- sufficient in another, because, first, one soil may be deep and fairly retentive, into which roots can penetrate and find abundant mois- ture ; second, another soil may have sufficient depth, but be so porous as to lose its moisture by evaporation, or so leachy as to lose it by drainage ; third, still another may be shallow, and quickly dried out under a fervid sun, or quickly drained by reason of a sloping sub- stratum of rock or hardpan, while another similar soil, differently situated, may receive abundant moisture from the drainage of the slope above it ; fourth, possibly in all the soils cited there might be adequate moisture for deciduous fruits, but citrus fruits would re- quire irrigation ; or enough for young, but not for bearing trees. Thus it appears that even to decide whether a location has suffi- cient rainfall for the growth of fruit without irrigation, one must pass judgment upon all conditions first mentioned. It is hardly worth while, then, to discuss such a topic upon theoretical grounds, or to attempt to answer the general question, Shall irrigation be employed in the growth of fruit? The true guide is enlightened local experience, and the true test is the growth of the tree and the ex- cellence of its fruit. So long as the grower is able to secure every year a generous amount of good-sized and excellent fruit by natural rainfall, he need concern himself very little about irrigation ; if his tree shows distress, and his fruit, even when properly thinned out, is not up to market standards every year, he may do well to provide himself with irrigation facilities, either for constant use or to supple- ment rainfall when it is occasionally deficient. Of course it is not commended that the grower wait until the tree shows signs of distress before applying water. This is a very bad plan of proceeding, but the visible language of the tree is mentioned as indicating that the tree needs help, either at regular intervals or occasionally, and after such a warning the grower should be able to tell by examination of the soil and by study of the local rainfall record when this need will occur, and apply water in advance of the need. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Recent experience has enabled fruit growers in all parts of Cali- fornia to arrive at a truer conception of the relation of irrigation to the growth of fruits. Many who long scouted the suggestion that irrigation was necessary for deciduous fruit trees in their districts, have found that water, in addition to the rainfall, was very profit- able, either to enable large, bearing trees to produce larger fruit, or to maintain in full vigor their later summer growth and to make strong fruit buds, which insure the following year's production. It has also been widely demonstrated that a tree which is adequately supplied with water, no matter whether it be directly from the clouds or through the irrigating stream, yields fruit of better size, aroma, flavor and carrying quality than a tree which, from any cause, falls even a little short of an adequate supply. It is clear then that neither irrigation nor non-irrigation are in themselves principles, but are merely methods to be employed when conditions demand the one or the other. Several claims against irrigated products may be stated and opposed in this way : (1) The claim that nursery trees grown by irrigation are, from that mere fact, inferior is based upon experience in transplanting trees unduly forced by over-irrigation. Immense growth from the bud in a single season of an inch and a half in diameter and ten feet in height tempted buyers who wanted to get as much as possible for their money. The result of setting out such trees created a strong prejudice against irrigated nursery stock. It is now clearly seen that moderate, thrifty growth is the ideal in a young tree, and if the soil does not hold rainfall enough to secure this, water enough to secure it must be applied. (2) The claim that irrigated fruit lacks aroma and flavor is based upon observation of monstrous, insipid fruit forced into such abnormal character by excessive irrigation. Growers who concluded therefrom that irrigated fruit was necessarily inferior, denied water to their trees and gathered small, tough, unmarketable fruit, because there was not enough rainfall to enable the trees to perform their proper function. As it is now conceded that the highest quality, including the delicate aromas and flavors, can be secured only by adequate moisture, it matters not how long since it fell from the clouds nor by what route it reaches the roots of the trees. (3) The claim that irrigated fruit could not endure shipment was based upon the bruising and collapse of fruit which was unduly inflated by over-irrigation. The best fruit for shipping is the perfect fruit and that is secured as just stated. The fact that the greater part of the fresh fruit shipped across the continent from California has been more or less irrigated, according to the needs of different localities, has settled the point beyond further controversy. (4) The claim that canners objected to irrigated fruit was based upon the early experience with over-irrigated fruit, which lacked quality and consistency. At present the canners encourage irriga- tion and all other arts of growing which bring the product up to the standards they insist upon. HOW MUCH WATER TO USE 159 (5) The claim that irrigated fruit is inferior for drying has the same foundation as the preceding claims and is just as clearly based upon misapprehension. Watery fruit is obviously inferior for drying, but such fruit is the fault of the irrigator, not of irrigation. One of the plainest deductions from experience is that small, tough fruit makes unprofitable dried fruit, and that the best development of the fruit is essential to the best results from drying. Many comparative weighings have shown that the greatest yield in dried form has been secured from trees which have had water enough to produce good, large fruit. Even to bear fruit for drying, then, the tree must have moisture enough to develop size and quality. If lacking moisture, the tree serves its own purpose in developing pit and skin and re- duces the pulp, in which lie the desirability and value of dried fruits. Of course the water should be applied at proper times, in proper amount, and in a proper way. HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD BE USED? This is by its very nature an elusive question and any attempt to answer it by a definite prescription is more apt to produce folly than wisdom. For as it appears that whether irrigation is at all needed or not depends upon several conditions which must be ascertained in each place, so the amount of water, which is really an expression of the degree of that need, depends also upon local conditions of rainfall, of soil depth and retentiveness, of rate of waste by evapora- tion, of the particular thirst of each irrigated crop, etc. The result secured by the use of water is really the ultimate measure of the duty of water in each instance. In the case of fruit trees and vines, then, whatever amount of water secures thrifty and adequate wood growth and strong, good-colored foliage, but not excessive nor rank growth ; and abundance of good-sized and rich, but not monstrous and watery fruit, is the proper amount for that place and that prod- uct,— and to the ascertainment of that amount by local experience of himself and others, the grower should employ his most earnest thought and his keenest insight. During many years the writer has continually renewed his data of the irrigation practice of California fruit growers by systematic inquiry and has prepared four bulletins* which have been published by the Irrigation Investigations of the U. S. Department of Agri- culture. A study of local practice shows that infinite variety exists and in the nature of the case must exist, and that any definite prescription of the duty of water under various conditions is impossible. In some cases the amount of water at each irrigation must be small, and applications frequent because the soils are shallow, overlying bed- rock, and a small amount saturates them. In other places an acre- foot of water is readily absorbed and retained in the deep soil. The *Farmers' Bulletin No. 116, "Irrigation in Fruit Growing'; Farmers' Bulletin No. 138, "Irrigation in Garden and Field"; Bulletin of Experiment Stations No. 108, "Irrigation Practice Among Fruit Growers of the Pacific Coast"; annual report of irrigation and drainage investigations, 1904. "Relation of Irrigation to Yield. Size, Quality, and Com- mercial Suitability of Fruits." 16Q CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM annual rainfall also has little relation to the amount of irrigation, because neither fine shallow, nor deep coarse soils, can retain the volume of water which falls upon them during the rainy season. Then the varying rate of evaporation, the character of the tilth, etc., enter as factors and it becomes clear that he is fortunate who knows how much water to use on his own place. It is interesting to note that results of close inquiry by the Irriga- tion Investigations of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to ascer- tain the amounts of water used by measurement of water running in main ditches and by estimate of the acreage to which the water is applied, do not agree closely with the growers' estimates of the amounts of water which they actually use. There are, of course, always issues between water-purveyors and water-buyers which can not be entered upon in this connection. A rough conclusion from data secured from the ditch flow, etc., is that from 12 to 30 acre- inches of water are used annually in irrigated orchards and vine- yards, according to local conditions involved. It is quite clear that the amounts chiefly used would not be the average but would tend toward the lower figure. The details of these inquiries are found in the publications on irrigation of the U. S. Department of Agri- culture.* RELATION OF RAINFALL TO IRRIGATION The amount of rain and the time it falls are clearly the most important factors in determining the necessity for irrigation. Ab- sence of rainfall makes a desert of the richest soils at all elevations and at all exposures. Its only remedy is irrigation. But there are degrees of poverty in rainfall, and thorough tillage will often lessen the ill effects of a scanty supply, so that an oasis may be made to appear without water beyond that supplied from the clouds. This is the triumph of tillage in the arid region which is to be considered in another connection. The line between adequate and insufficient rainfall can not be closely drawn. In the growth of common orchard fruits, irrigation may not be resorted to at a number of points where the local rainfall sometimes is as low as 15 or 16 inches, but with less than that amount, unless the soil receive additional moisture by underflow, it is essential. On the other hand, irrigation is regularly practised in some localities where the rainfall rises to 45 inches. Under average conditions of soil depth and retentiveness, the amount of rainfall which may be considered adequate for deciduous orchard trees un- der good cultivation is about 20 inches. So definitely is this amount fixed in the minds of some California growers as meeting the needs of the tree for satisfactory growth and foliage that, when rainfall for a season is less than that amount, irrigation is at once resorted to to supply the shortage. u ,ci}ation is no* made because these publications are continually appearing itn additional data on the effective use of water. The whole series should be examined. The ot_the. Irrigation InvesttRations" of the Department of Agriculture is Samuel Fortier whose office is in the Post Office Building. Berkeley, Calif. WHEN IS IRRIGATION DESIRABLE \ft\ But owing to local conditions of soil and climate, the rainfall, no matter how large, may not always be relied upon to carry the trees through the dry season. The fact is that the soil is not capable either of receiving the heavy rainfall or of long retaining such portions as actually enter it. There is, then, a considerable part of the rainfall which is worse than worthless, because it does injury by soil wash- ing and soil leaching, and places where extremely heavy rainfall occurs may be actually worse off than other places with less rain- fall. Some localities of large rainfall lead in amounts of water sup- plied by irrigation. The converse is also true, for some localities of light rainfall report success with deciduous fruit trees with a mini- mum amount of irrigation water. Deciduous Fruits. — Without making too much of individual re- ports there appear instances enough to warrant the conclusion that the deciduous fruit tree can winter successfully with a small mois- ture supply and is, in fact, in less danger from lack of moisture than from over-supply at this time of the year. If there be enough mois- ture to prevent injury from evaporation, the tree will start good growth as the season advances and continue it if irrigation is given promptly and in sufficient quantity. There must always be a deter- mination of what is an adequate supply by reference to local con- ditions, but as an estimate of necessary rainfall has been made at 20 inches, it is evident that adequate irrigation may be very much less than that. The rainfall of 20 inches is distributed through six or seven months. Some of it consists of light rains, with long, dry intervals, where there is slight penetration and quick evaporation. Some of it is lost by run off and by drainage. It is not surprising, then, that some growers having deep valley loams to render their irrigation effective, report success with deciduous trees with 8 or 10 inches of water applied just before the time of the tree's greatest needs and used, no doubt, with maximum efficiency. It seems to be a warranted deduction, from all data known to the writer, that 10 inches of water, applied at the right time to soils of good depth and fair retentiveness, and accompanied by good tillage for con- servation, is an adequate supply for five months of growth and fruiting even when the rainfall is only about enough to prevent drying out during the winter season. Some growers report use of less than this. Certainly less will do for young trees under favor- able conditions, and some of the least amounts are reported from the newly planted regions. As the trees advance in age and bearing, larger amounts will be required. Instances of greatest frequency of application may be taken as indicating soils lacking retentiveness, either through shallowness or coarseness, or either of these accom- panied by extreme summer heat and aridity. Citrus Fruits. — As these trees are evergreens, and as their habit is to make their chief fruit growth in the autumn after the work of the deciduous tree has been finished for the season, the irrigation season for them is much longer. As they are, in fact, almost always active and sustaining evaporation from their leaf surfaces, they must always be provided with moisture or ill will result to tree or fruit. 162 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM They thus require more water than do deciduous trees. There is the same relation between irrigation and rainfall with citrus, as with deciduous fruit trees, but the degree of relation is different. Many trials have shown that it is practically impossible to grow satisfac- tory citrus fruits without irrigation, unless there be underflow, and this is often attended by the usual difficulties of high ground water and may be undesirable. There is no combination of heavy rainfall, or winter irrigation, and soil retentiveness which will supply the summer and autumn thirst of the orange or lemon in California. Irrigation, too, must be maintained both summer and winter wherever the rainfall is not well distributed and adequate. In the chief citrus regions of the State rainfall is seldom adequate except during January and February, and not always then. Under such conditions an estimate of the average requirements of citrus fruit trees in bearing would be about 20 inches of irrigation, irrespective of rainfall, although there are localities of larger rainfall and more retentive soils where crops of these fruits can be made with 10 inches used at just the right time. RELATIONS OF SOIL TO IRRIGATION As already stated, the desirability of irrigation is unquestionably, in many cases, conditioned upon soil depth and character. This relation has received careful attention from soil physicists, and an understanding of it involves problems of plant growth and the move- ment of water in soils, the leading facts of which are available in popular form.* Analysis of such phenomena can not be undertaken in this con- nection, but a few striking contrasts in existing practice are very suggestive. On the famous river-bank fruit land of the Sacramento Valley, with loams of great depth and good retentiveness, and with an aver- age rainfall of approximately 20 inches, irrigation is resorted to only in years of minimum rainfall, when the precipitation is perhaps only about half the average. At nearly the same level, as already cited, where the soil is shallow and overlies hardpan, irregular irrigation is required. But still more marked contrast is found in the foothills within sight of these valley fruit lands, where with twice the average rainfall irrigation must begin early in the summer and continue until autumn is well advanced, because, first, the slope is so rapid that much rainfall is lost by run off ; second, the soil is too shallow above bedrock to hold much water. Even here, however, there conies in a local variation of measurable effect. When the soil lies upon vertical plates of bedrock much water is retained between them, and is capable of being reached by tree roots, while soil lying upon flat plates of rock has no such subterranean reservoir. In the foot- hill region there also occurs exceptional exposure from slopes facing fartn*R?lattunS °f Suils *to .climat*> U. S. Dept. AKT., Weather Bureau Bui. 3. Water as a •m the Krowth of plants. Yearbook U. S. Dept. of AKr.. 1894, p. 165. Some inter- :stmK soil problems. Yearbook U. S. Dept. AKr., 1897. p. 429. The movement and re- ^,?rP°TTWa|ernn.SOAS' Y??—0-ok Ur $••?*#• ARr" 1898' °- 399- The mechanics of soil moisture, U. S. Dept. Aj?r., Division of Soils, Bui. 10. CULTIVATION AND IRRIGATION 163 the midsummer sun in an atmosphere whose dryness is but slightly ameliorated by the influence of air currents from the coast. In the valley and foothill contrast, just cited, the unirrigated valley looks up to the irrigated foothills. There are also places where unirrigated hillslopes look down upon irrigated valleys. The uplands of San Diego County are nearer the coast than those above the Sacramento Valley. They, too, have a rainfall usually ample for deciduous fruits suited to their elevation. Their rolling plateaus of deep soil, free from excessive heat and evaporation which occur on the highlands farther inland and 500 miles farther north, produce very successfully without irrigation. In this region, however, the rainfall in the valleys below is often less than the needs of even the deciduous fruit trees, and waters flowing from mountain snows through a region of unirrigated uplands must be used to irrigate them. Still another striking contrast, and one involving another and wholly different factor, is found in the San Joaquin Valley. Near Visalia 2 feet above river bottom and 4 feet above the surrounding plains, there is a large area of deep alluvial soil with much decayed vegetable matter. The land is moistened by underflow from the river, and, though the rainfall is but 7^ inches, deciduous fruits are grown without irrigation. In the same county, and only 18 miles distant, there are areas of rich loam mixed with granite sand 16 to 18 feet deep. In this locality, though the rainfall is 11/4 inches, irrigation is practised freely, as the loss of moisture in summer is very great. RELATION OF TILLAGE TO IRRIGATION Tillage, particularly during the dry season of the year, under some conditions, directly determines the need of irrigation, and is to a certain extent, as the popular phrase goes, a substitute for irri- gation. Under all conditions surface tillage by promoting conserva- tion of soil moisture, is determinative of the actual duty of water, whether it be from rainfall or irrigation. The effect of frequent surface tillage has been accurately determined by investigation and experiment, both in humid and arid regions. These experiments fully support the view taught by the experience of more than half a century in California, in accordance with which thorough tillage has been so widely practised in the arid sections as an essential to successful fruit growing. As already maintained in Chapter XIII, the relations of tillage to soil moisture include both reception and conservation. For the re- ception of moisture, deep work with the plow, and sometimes with the subsoiler also, is almost indispensable. To retain this moisture and to prevent, as far as possible, its escape into the thirsty air of the arid region by surface evaporation, less depth and more thorough surface pulverization are required. Recent practice has been tending toward deeper summer cultivation, so that, as previously claimed, 5 or 6 inches of loose, finely divided soil is now obtained where for- 164 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM merly half that depth was considered adequate. It has also been shown that frequent stirring of this fine surface layer checks evapo- ration, even when no water is applied to compact the surface of where' no weeds grow to draw upon the soil moisture. In a word, the aim of tillage in the arid region, so far as it relates to moisture supply in the soil consists in opening the soil to rain, or to irrigation, and in subsequently closing it to evaporation. These are the prin- ciples which were recognized and applied in California seventy years ago and are now enjoying somewhat sensational renaissance in the "dry farming" agitation in the interior of the United States. A Negative Declaration. — It is interesting that current practice affords full demonstration of the foregoing claims both positively and negatively. The negative argument in favor of moisture con- servation by clean summer cultivation is found in the fact that growers in regions of heaviest rainfall approve the growth of cover crops, like clover, after the trees reach bearing age, and also that others employ scant summer cultivation, or cultivation for a short period only. The idea of these growers is that such practices relieve the soil of excessive moisture, either by the growth of the cover crop or by facilitating surface evaporation, and so prevent the tree from being stimulated to too large wood growth, or maintaining growth so late in the season as to enter the frost period in too active a condition and with new wood not properly matured. Quite in contrast with this is the practice, which is gaining ground in the hottest parts of the irrigated region, of growing alfalfa as a cover crop for the purpose of shading the soil and thus reducing soil tem- perature and, perhaps, of avoiding the ill effects of the reflection of burning sun heat from a smooth surface of light-colored soil, or the ill effect of "burning out of humus" by clean summer culture. In such cases more irrigation is needed to supply enough water for the growth of both trees and cover crop. But at present these excep- tions are of rare occurrence. Cultivation Not Determined by Irrigation. — The adoption of a policy of clean cultivation in the dry season is not conditioned upon the amount of moisture available either by rainfall or irrigation. It is pursued both where irrigation is practised and where it is not, and also where the rainfall is greatest and where it is least. It pre- vails in the humid region where rainfall may rise to 60 inches or more, and in the arid region where it may not exceed one-tenth as much. As a matter of fact, there does not appear to be a good fruit soil so deep and retentive that it can retain enough even of a very heavy rainfall to effect good tree growth and fruit bearing if it is forced to sustain the loss by evaporation from a compact surface during the long dry season following. There may be, it is true, soils weak in capillarity, in which water does not rise to surface evapora- tion and in which deep-rooting plants may find ample water in the subsoil, providing it is held there by impervious underlying strata. There are many more instances where loss by natural drainage is added to loss by evaporation. But, disregarding exceptions, the loss of moisture by both drainage and evaporation during the dry season WHEN TO IRRIGATE 165 is so great that the soil to a depth of several feet loses practically all the water which is available for plant growth, and the trees fail or become unprofitable. Loss by drainage can not, practically, be prevented, but loss by evaporation can be so reduced that trees and vines will be adequately supplied in spite of the loss by drainage. Because, therefore, the soil can not retain enough water in its natural state, no matter how much it may receive, clean summer cultivation, involving quite complete and more or less frequent stirring of the surface to the depth of 5 or 6 inches, as discussed in Chapter XIII, is the almost universal practice, irrespective of local rainfall or of irrigation — except where irrigation water is so abundant that it can be used to grow summer crops of legumes for plowing under as well as to supply the moisture requirements of the trees. Cultivation, However, Determines Success of Irrigation. — The prevailing motive for cultivation in the dry-summer region is mois- ture retention. In this respect good surface tilth is so effective that, though enough moisture can not be retained without it, so much can be retained with it that, even where irrigation or rainfall is moderate in amount, it may serve all purposes of the tree or vine. Thus culti- vation enters into the fruit-growers' practice in the region under consideration, not to make large rainfall effective as it does in some parts of the region, but to make moderate rainfall effective, or to make small irrigation effective, by increasing the duty of water which is applied. It becomes not only a ruling consideration in the effectiveness of a certain amount of rainfall, as has already been suggested in another connection, but it also determines the success of irrigation and the amount of water required ; for, although it was an early and crude practice to rely upon irrigation to support un- cultivated fruit trees and to irrigate more and more frequently as the ground became harder from its use, this policy has now no stand- ing in commercial fruit growing. Not only was it wasteful of water, but it was otherwise detrimental to the thrift of trees. Tillage and Irrigation Work for Soil Improvement. — Rational tillage, both in winter and summer, has other very important ends in view. It opens the soil and promotes aeration ; it encourages deeper rooting and thus encourages the tree to take possession of a greater soil mass both for moisture and other plant food. It is part of the very valuable policy of increasing organic matter by plowing under the natural growth of weeds or specially sown legumes. This affords opportunity to use water, beyond the amount the trees re- quire, for soil improvement. WHEN TO IRRIGATE When to irrigate is governed by local conditions and the needs of different fruits, and can not be stated in general rules. There are, however, some principles involved which may be hinted at. Winter Irrigation. — On lands with sufficient depth of fairly re- tentive soil, the grower may artificially supplement a scanty rainfall 166 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM by thoroughly soaking the land by winter irrigation and then by careful summer cultivation he will be able to conserve enough water in the soil to carry deciduous fruit trees or vines through bearing and autumn bud formation without further water supply. But there are other situations in which no amount of winter irrigation nor rainfall will suffice for these ends. There are foothiH orchard areas in which the winter rainfall is two or three times as "great as in the valley situations where fruit is successfully grown without irriga- tion, and yet water must be applied in summer on those foothills or the fruit would be unmarketable and the trees in distress. The forty or more inches of rainfall falling on a shallow soil underlaid by sloping bedrock in some cases nearly sluices the cultivated soil from its foothold, and yet the over-saturation in winter avails nothing for summer growth, because most diligent cultivation can not retain moisture enough in shallow soil thus situated to sustain bearing trees in good crops of full-sized fruit. The same is true of valley soils underlaid by hardpan. In such cases winter irrigation could add nothing but distress to the soil over-soaked by rainfall, and summer irrigation, well-timed and adequate, is the secret of success in the orchard. The same conclusion, although for very different reasons, must hold for soils underlaid by gravel or sand, and thus too rapidly dried by leaching. But even this generalization must be accepted only for situations endowed with conditions which justify it. There may be sloping hills with shallow soil where winter rainfall does not amount to saturation. Then winter irrigation to supply such irrigation is desirable, and then, too, summer irrigation in proper amount and at proper intervals, will also be demanded. Among the foothills, also, there may be localities with depth of retentive soil in which water enough can be applied in winter to carry trees through the year. Thus we come again to the only safe generalization which can be made, and that is, that everywhere water must be adequate to the demands of the tree at the time it is needed, and whether it can best be applied in summer or winter, or both, or whether it is not necessary to make any artificial application at all, depends upon existing conditions which the grower must ascertain, and to which his policy and practice must conform. It is a fact, however, that, in all situations of good rainfall, and for all soils, which are fairly deep and retentive, winter irrigation, when water is most abundant, and usually carries most sediment, can be made to go far toward making summer irrigation unnecessary for all deciduous fruits. As to winter irrigation, practice varies, some relying upon a single heavy flooding by using checks on contour lines, by which, perhaps, a foot in depth or more of water is allowed to soak into the soil; others use the same method of application in winter as in summer, and, therefore, give a number of irrigations in winter. There is, of course, much less danger of injury by water to deciduous growths in winter, because they are dormant, though an eye should be kept on drainage for excessive irrigation as for excessive rainfall. The grape and the pear are known to endure long submergence, but some other fruits are susceptible to serious root-injury. METHODS OF IRRIGATION 167 Summer Irrigation. — When this shall begin and when end are to be locally determined. In some places even the earliest fruits can not reach satisfactory size and quality without irrigation. In others rainfall with winter irrigation will suffice for proper development of early fruits, but not for late. In both cases the fruit may be satis- factory, but the tree unable to hold its leaf vigor until the work of the growing season is properly completed. It is then apparent that local practice must vary in order to reach the universal fact, and that is that all through the active season the tree must have constant and adequate moisture supply. Many evils in lack of bearing, in dying back, in unseasonable activity and the like are due to in- adequate, intermittent and, in some cases, to excessive moisture in the soil. Cultivation and Irrigation. — Although the relations of irrigation and cultivation have been freely discussed, it must be remarked in this connection that with such an extension of irrigation practice as is now realized, there is danger that those who have previously trusted so fully upon good cultivation may swing to the other ex- treme and trust too much to the stream of water and too little to the plow and cultivator. There is a temptation this way when one finds that he can run water in large amounts very cheaply. Not only is there danger of over-irrigation in the growth of tree and fruit, but the ill effects of water upon the soil, when unattended by good culti- vation, are constantly threatened. The tree needs air as well as water ; it needs a certain free condition of the soil for its best root action. These needs can be amply secured when adequate applica- tion of water is quickly followed by soil-stirring. Irrigated soil when amply supplied with organic matter, is delightfully mellow and free and of condition to invite the fullest activity on the part of the tree. Irrigated ground not properly treated becomes compacted, fissured, cloddy and generally hateful, losing moisture rapidly, setting around the roots like cement and tearing them by its subsequent shrinkage. These conditions do not occur on the lighter soils, and yet even these are best when cultivated in a rational manner. METHODS OF IRRIGATION There are various methods employed in California for the con- veyance and application of water to trees and vines. Some of the principal ones will be described. As this writing does not pretend to be a treatise on irrigation engineering, no attempt will be made to secribe the more ambitious undertakings, which should never be entered upon without the en- gagement of a qualified engineer. Nor is it possible to discuss the numerous devices which are covered by patents. Investment should always be preceded by visits to irrigation works now in operation, and procedure should be guided by observation. The hints presented herewith relate chiefly to things the irrigator can do for himself. Free Flooding. — Flooding — that is, the free flow of water over the whole surface, or the flow between rows with furrows near the 168 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM trees to retain the water in the interspaces — is only employed on some flat lands where winter irrigation is used to supplement rain- fall when the l^ter is occasionally below normal. In such cases water is available in large quantities, and the lay of the land favors quite even distribution. Even under these conditions the experience of growers soon leads to the adoption of deep furrows or lateral ditches, or some simple check system, as superior to flooding. Summer flooding is done only by those who are unacquainted with better methods or who count their trees of too little account to warrant extra effort. It seems, therefore, a fair conclusion that flooding is only resorted to as a temporary expedient, and has little standing. The Check System. — With soils of such character that vertical percolation is very rapid, flooding in checks, by which water is held upon a particular area until it sinks below the surface, is considered necessary. There is a tendency to change from this methods to a furrow system wherever practicable, because the former requires more soil shifting, a larger head of water for economical operation, more labor to handle it, more working in water and mud, and more difficult cultivation to relevel the land and to reduce a puddled surface to satisfactory tilth. For these and other reasons, perhaps, on loams of medium fineness one may find two adjacent growers pursuing different methods, while on coarse porous loams the check or basin system prevails, and on fine, retentive loams, the furrow system is without rival. The check system can be seen on the most extensive scale in the upper part of the San Joaquin Valley, where the land is so level and water so abundant that the checks can be measured by acres or fractions of acres. In its most perfect form it is found in Orange County and some parts of Los Angeles County, where the checks are measured by feet, rarely by rods. Very large checks are chiefly used for field crops, although also employed for winter irrigation for vineyards and orchards of deciduous fruits. With fruits, however, even in the same district, the tendency is toward using smaller checks carefully leveled before planting. With the large-check system permanent levees, either in rectangular form or on the con- tour plan, are generally used. The small-check system is chiefly laid off with temporary levees, quickly made with special appliances and as quickly worked back to a level as soon as the ground dries sufficiently after irrigation, and the whole surface kept well cultivated until the time arrives for a restoration of the levees for the next irrigation. The latter is the leading horticultural mode. It is care- fully described by Mr. Sydmer Ross, of Fullerton, Orange County, California, as follows : The check system, as carried out in the best-handled orchards, entails much hard work, but after you are through with an irrigation you know that each and every tree has had its full supply of water or you know the reason why. The ground must be cultivated, say, about 5 inches deep, so as to have •lenty^of loose soil with which to throw up a high ridge. Then a four or six horse ridger" should be run once each way through the rows, if it is a citrus or deciduous orchard, or twice should the trees be walnuts, because these MAKING CHECKS FOR IRRIGATION 169 trees are grown about 40 feet apart. After this is done the ridger should be run entirely around the outside of the piece to be irrigated, so as to have as perfect a ridge as possible on the outside. One man will ridge about 15 acres in a day. The ridger should be built with a steel plate extending along the bottom on both sides, bolted to the inside and projecting about 2 inches, so as to take good hold of the ground. Then with one horse attached to what is locally known as a "jump scraper," one side of the checks should be closed up, for the ridger in making the cross ridges breaks down the first ridge at its intersection. These repairs were at first made with a shovel, but the jump scraper, also called locally the "horse shovel," closes up the gaps very quickly. The practice generally followed is to close up the high side of the checks if the land does not cut by running water, but if it cuts, close up the lower side. After closing up the checks the ditches are plowed out and then the V-- shaped "crowder" is run twice through them. On lands inclined to cut it is advisable that the length of the rows to be irrigated should not be over 250 feet, but in heavy land this distance can be considerably increased, if neces- sary, without danger of cutting the ridges by too long a run of water. If the checks have been closed up on the low side of the ridge, it is better to run the water to the ends of the ditch and water the last row first; but if the high side has been closed up, it is best to water first the row nearest the gate or the main ditch, as the case may be, as in each instance dry earth will thus be available, if necessary, to close up the checks. The water is run down the row to the end tree, and as soon as the last check is filled it is closed up, and so on till all are filled and closed, when the water is turned down the next row. To do good work it is usual to allow three men for every 50 inches of water, but in our own practice we have had much better results by dividing up our water and running from 35 to 40 inches to a ditch and allowing two men for such streams. In doing this we get better work and find it much easier for the men. If everything is well in hand, each man will irrigate about 30 acres in a day. For turning the water from the ditches into the checks metal dams or tappoons are used. Some of these have a gate for the division of the water when the stream is too large and is divided, and two rows are watered at the same time. The gate is not a great success, as the water is apt soon to cut its way under the tappoon, but it may be much improved by having a shelf for the water to drop on after it passes through the opening. The common practice for dividing water is to throw a tappoon partly across the ditch, putting a gunny sack on the opposite side to prevent cutting by the water. This is, on the whole, fully as satisfactory as using the tappoon with a gate. All who follow this system should get ready for the water before it comes. A great many seem to think that if they ridge up their land, close up the checks, and plow out their ditches, everything necessary has been done. Such is not the case, as ditches that are liable to cut should be fixed in the weak places with brush or burlaps. Old gunny sacks cut open and spread out are excellent for this purpose. Occasionally there are places where it is impossible to get a perfect ridge. These should be looked up and fixed with a shovel. The jump scraper will not entirely close up a check; it generally requires a shovelful or two to complete it. It is usual after the water is turned down one row to fix up the next one, but it is an excellent plan to have a few rows fixed up ahead, for there come times when breaks occur and there is not time to make the necessary repairs, and when water once gets the start there is apt to be much trouble, and hard work before it can be put under control, besides doing poor work . After the ground is dry enough to work, the ridges are split with a listing plow or furrower attached to a cultivator. Then the ground should be run over with a harrow, setting the teeth to go well in, so as to pulverize the surface thoroughly. By using the harrow the ground can be worked about one day earlier than with the cultivator, and it also prevents the ground from baking till such time as it can be worked with the latter implement, besides doing far better work than with the cultivator alone, especially when J7Q CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM there is much land to go over, as some of it is certain to get too dry before it can be reached, and then it will not pulverize well. All trees should be worked around by hand with either a fork or hoe, as soon after irrigation as the ground becomes dry enough and before it becomes hard. Specifications for Homemade Implements for the Check System. —The following implements, used in preparing the ground for irri- gation by the check system, were made on the fruit ranch of J. B. Neff, Anaheim, California, with the tools ordinarily found on a ranch, and with but little help from the blacksmith: The Ridger. — This has sides of 2 by 16-inch pine 7 feet long, standing 18 inches apart at the rear and 5 feet apart at the front end. The sides may be made of 2 by 8-inch pieces with 2 by 3-inch battens bolted on securely. The front crossbar is 2 by 4-inch pine 6 feet 2 inches long, and is set 20 inches from the end. The rear crossbar is of 2 by 4-inch pine 4 feet 4 inches long. It is set 7 inches from the end of the sides. The diagonal braces are 1 by 3-inch pine 6 feet 10 inches long. The short side braces are 2 by 3-inch pine 15 The "Ridger." For levee making in the check system of irrigating trees and vines. inches long. The lower inside edge should be protected by a strip of steel or iron l/s by 2 inches extending to and around the front ends, which should be beveled to a sharp edge. The inside should also be lined with sheet iron 6 or 8 inchs above the 1A by 2-inch piece, and should have sheet-iron pieces extending 16 inches beyond the rear end of the sides, tapered and braced in the manner shown in the cut, for the purpose of making the ridger firmer at the top. Every part of the ridger should be firmly bolted with ^-inch bolts, except the J/8 by 2-inch iron, which should have 3-16-inch bolts, and the sheet-iron, which may be put on with nails. The hooks on sides for hitching draft chain are ft by 1 j£ inches, and the draft chain is cable chain. The V-shaped Crowder or Ditcher.— This has sides of 2 by 12- mch pine and cross-brace of 2 by 9-inch pine. The long side is 7 feet 5 inches long and short side 3 feet 6 inches long. This is also pro- tected by a piece of steel or iron extending entirely around the cher and bolted with 3-16-inch bolts. The sides come together in IMPLEMENTS FOR CHECKING a point and stand at an angle of 45 degrees. The brace is placed 2 feet 10 inches from the point on short side and 3 feet 10 inches from the point on long side. It also has two handles, as shown in cut, 3 feet long. These are made of 2 by 3-inch pine reduced so as to hold conveniently. The sloping handle is bolted to the short side. The "Crowder." Used in the preparation and distribution of water in the check system. When in use this implement stands with the short side elevated at an angle of about 35 degrees, and a floor is placed in the triangular space so that it will be level when in use. An ordinary wide clevis is used for the draft and is placed as shown in the cut. A vertical hole may be made in front of the clevis pin and a small rod driven in to strengthen the hold of the clevis. The "Jumper." Used to complete levees by the "ridger" for the check system. The Jump Scraper or Horse Shovel. — This is used for rilling gaps in the ridges, and is the work of the blacksmith. The beams are % by \l/4 inches and 30 inches long from the draft ring to the bend downward. The shovel is of No. 16 sheet-iron, 24 inches long by 18 inches deep. The handles are those used on any cultivator. The 172 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM beams are bent to stand 6 inches forward of a square placed on top of the beams. The braces are of ^-inch round iron. The shovel is slightly cupped to make it hold more earth. The Portable Gate or Tappoon. — These are for shutting ditches, and are made of No. 16 sheet-iron 2 feet wide and of any desired length, but usually 3 feet, 4 feet or 5 feet long. The corners are cut off to a circle, starting about 1 foot back of the corner. The handles are made of 2 pieces of 1 by 3-inch pine, 12 inches longer than the gate, and are placed one on each side of the sheet iron and secured by %-inch bolts. The Combined Check and Furrow Method. — An effort to escape in some measure the puddling of the surface which results from allowing water to sink away upon finely pulverized soil, lies in the direction of breaking up the soil roughly in the bottoms of the checks, which facilitates the quick passage of the water into the subsoil. This is done by running a small plow or three large culti- vator teeth attached to a single frame before the ridger is used to form the levees. Mr. A. D. Bishop of Orange County, California, uses a combined furrow and check system, as shown in the accom- panying diagram. He furrows the land first with a three-tooth furrower at right angles to the direction in which the water is to flow, and then uses the ridger to make levees in line with the water, laying out the work so as to get the closest approximation to a level. When the levees are made, the jump scraper is used and the end of each third or fourth furrow bank is connected with the levees at alternating sides of the check made by the levees. This causes the water to flow through the furrows from side to side and distribute itself evenly over the whole ground. The number of furrows which can be passed before connecting with the bank depends upon the slope of the land — the nearer level the land the greater the distance that can be left between the connections, and vice versa. In this way the water is taken slowly down a grade where it would flow too rapidly were it admitted to furrows in the direction of its flow. Another combination of the check and furrow system is found where the lowest spaces of a slope irrigated by furrows are laid off in checks to catch the overflow from the furrows and compel its percolation at a point which would otherwise receive too little water. The parts of a furrow system which lie farthest from the source of supply are obviously least supplied, because long flow can not be maintained there without much loss from overflow. Holding the water in checks at the lower end — usually for two rows of trees — is quite a help toward even distribution. The Basin System. — The term basin should be restricted to in- closures which do not aim at covering the whole surface, but only a smaller area immediately surrounding the tree. The check system is clearly a more rational and perfect method of flooding. When basins were used on ground capable of irrigation by the check or furrow systems, it was probably due to a misconception which has prevailed also in the practice of fertilization, that the tree derived its chief benefit from the soil immediately surrounding and beneath LAYING OFF CHECKS AND FURROWS 173 its bole, and that distant applications were likely to be wasted. Years ago it was held that the lateral root extension of a tree was equal to the spread of its branches, but recent investigations have shown that under favorable soil conditions the root extension is much greater. It is not reasonable then to restrict water or other plant food to the region chiefly occupied with the stay roots and not the feeding roots of the tree, and it is a frequent observation that basined trees do not do so well and that they show distress sooner than those under systems which secure more complete water distribution. To the basin system may, however, be conceded these possibili- ties : (1) Trees may be grown on hillsides too steep for other means of irrigation unless the hillside be previously terraced; (2) the Combined check and furrow irrigation. basins afford an opportunity to use a very small stream of water by allowing it to run for a long time in each basin, thus making a miniature reservoir at the base of each tree; (3) for young trees a small amount of water may sustain growth, while with other methods the same amount of water would be almost wholly lost by evaporation or percolation, or both ; (4) the expense of wider appli- cation of water and the necessary after-cultivation is obviated. In planting on hillsides, terracing is the foundation of the basin system. Terraces are plowed and scraped out until they have width enough to accommodate a line of basins and a ditch at the foot of each bank to supply them. The terraces are given a little fall, alter- nating in direction so that the water, starting from the ridge above, is dropped through a box, or otherwise let down, from the low end 174 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM of one terrace to the high end of the next, and so on until the stream reaches the bottom of the slope. As a basin is reached it is filled and closed and the water sent along to the next and so on. As these basins are usually small and shallow they are filled two or three times in succession at each irrigation. Wherever water can be handled in contour ditches or furrows, terracing should seldom be undertaken for commercial purposes. With slopes which do require terracing, basins on the steeper parts are largely made by hand labor, after plowing to loosen the whole surface, and the operation consists of moving the earth from the upper side of the tree so as to form a circular levee on the lower side, until the tree stands in a level, roundish pan as large as can be made without too much excavation and filling. As the slope becomes less the basins enlarge and reach a diameter, finally, where the sides can be made by turning a small horse or mule around the tree with a plow, the rim being further raised and shaped by hand so as to hold 3 inches or more of water without danger of breaking away. The basins are filled with a small stream by ditch or hose or pipe line, according to the ground and notion of the irrigator. They are filled at such intervals as the water supply admits or the growth seems to need. The basin bottom is rarely disturbed. The cracking soil is finally given another dose of water to close up its wounds ; meantime the frequent surface soaking puddles the soil and the conditions unfavorable to growth arrive sooner or later, according to the disposition of the soil to run together by water settling. Dry- ing and cracking is lessened by filling the basin with manure or rotten straw or other light rubbish, or by a layer of coarse sand on the bottom. As the tree grows the foliage shades the basin and thus reduces evaporation. Where the surface is uneven or the soil too leachy to carry water well in a ditch, portable and adjustable carriers are used to advan- tage. Of these, slip-joint pipes of non-rusting metal or of wood, are most satisfactory and are coming to be largely used. The Furrow System. — The furrow system is the prevailing method of irrigating fruit trees except with some soils which can be better handled with less water by the check system. The furrow system has, however, a very marked theoretical advantage in the escape from saturating the surface soil, which has to dry out again before it can be cultivated, and it is only with difficulty reduced to fine tilth after such puddling. Another advantage is in saving the water used in moistening soil which has to be dried by evaporation. Other theoretical advantages lie in the even distribution of the water with the least displacement of the soil and the introduction of the water to the subsoil, where deep-rooting plants should derive their chief sustenance. It became quite clear years ago that all these theoretical advantages were not realized by the furrow system as generally practiced, and a number of modifications were introduced to secure their fuller realization. The changes tended toward re- ducing the difference between what are known as the "large-fur- row" and the "small-furrow" methods, because the improvement lies LAYING OFF LARGE FURROWS 175 chiefly in introducing the water more deeply in the soil as will be shown later, and this is done by using fewer and deeper furrows. Irrigating by Largie Furrows. — Where one to four furrows are used, these are large furrows, while the small-furrow system uses from five to eight or more between two rows of trees. Large furrows are made with the double-moldboard plow, or with a single plow fol- lowed by the "crowder," or by plowing out dead furrows between the rows, etc. Their number depends upon the size of the trees and the fitness of the soil for lateral seepage. They are wide enough and deep enough to carry or hold a large stream of water. This method is used chiefly for winter irrigation on land which is so nearly level «fs£r$h ^v^ v i , Cfr 2_» r js -.'i.^L. SOUTH FURROW NOKTH FURROW Large furrow. Large furrow irrigation of orange trees at Palermo, Butte County, Cal. that the water will flow slowly into the furrows and stand there until it disappears by percolation. It is also used where one or two sum- mer irrigations are all that is required to carry the trees through. It is obviously adapted only to land of slight and uniform grade. Ir- rigation by a single furrow cut near to the row of trees is a widely prevalent method with young trees. When the trees are larger, or when inter-cultures are undertaken, the large furrows are multi- plied. In this case the water is admitted to the furrows from open- ings in a board flume or the furrows are filled from a lateral ditch; this lateral being parallel to the main ditch. In this case the board dam is used to divert the laternal into one large furrow after an- other, and when the furrow is filled dirt is thrown in to prevent the CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM reflow of the water into the lateral. Where the orchard is piped for irrigation, as has become quite common, the furrows are filled from hydrants — flumes and ditches being dispansed with. The great variety in large furrow practice is suggested in the foregoing. A systematic manner of proceeding is that of Mr. A. Trost, of Palermo, California, as described by himself : The soil is red, gravelly clay, the upper 12 inches without rocks; below this the gravel is more rock. At the depth of 3 or 4 feet the red clay changes into a whitish one and water enters it very slowly. My orchard is 12 acres — 1,120 feet long from north to south and 510 feet from east to west. The northeast corner is the highest. Here the water ditch enters, and I run my head ditch along the east side from north to south. There are 51 rows of trees in that direction, the north and south outside rows being olives. There are 23 orange trees in the row from east to west and 1 olive tree on the west end. All trees are 20 feet apart. I use 24 miners' inches per day for 5 days in the following manner: I use 4 furrows about 5 or 6 inches deep and about 3 feet apart between rows, leaving the rows nearest the trees from 5 to 6 feet from the trunks. The 4 lower rows on the west side I cross-furrow with 2 furrows between the trees. I divide the 24 inches into 51 equal streamlets by using one gate for each 4 rows. First turn this amount into the furrow south nearest to tree. When the water has moved to the olive tree, I divide the water between the 4 furrows for the lower 6 trees and through the cross furrows. The next morning I divide the water at the tenth tree for the 4 furrows. On the third day I let only one-half the water go down in the furrow south of tree, the other in the one north nearest to tree. On the fourth day I turn part of it in the middle furrows near the head ditch, and by the fifth day I have my place equally wet from one end to the other, taking care that the top soil near the trunks of trees remains dry on the surface. I keep the soil around the trunks of the trees about 2 inches higher for a width of 3 feet. In this way I use all the water without running any off, and lose only the evaporation. The whole amount of water used is 120 inches, equal to 10 inches or 130,000 gallons per acre, or 4.5 acre- inches, or 1,200 gallons per tree. I irrigate about every four weeks, running the water five days and turning it on again three weeks after it is taken off. I have irrigated as early as the 1st of April and as late as the middle of October, depending on late rains in spring and early rains in fall; usually from five to six irrigations per year. After four or five days I cultivate 14 feet wide between the trees from 6 to 8 inches deep; for this I use a 7-foot cultivator and four horses. Near the trunk of the tree I work about two inches deep and a little farther away 4 inches deep, using the three-cornered orchard plow with a cultivator 4 feet wide and two horses. Irrigation by Large Furrows Without Summer Cultivation. — An exception to the continuous cultivation of orchard ground which is prevelent in the irrigated regions of the Pacific Coast is found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California, where furrows are made at the beginning of each irrigating season and used continu- ously during the summer. The ensuing winter plowing and early spring cultivation are relied upon to keep the soil in good condition. Although this constitutes an exception and the practice is widely followed for what seems to the growers of the region to be a good and sufficient reason, it does not militate against the truth of the continuous summer cultivation policy which elsewhere prevails, nor does it follow that this policy would not be better in some respects even in the region where it is abondoned. It is a district of very large water supply, and the arrangements of the water company are such that the grower must pay for a certain number of inches of PERMANENT IRRIGATION FURROWS \Jf water by the year, and is entitled to this amount of continuous flow. He has to use it or neglect it as it flows, and cannot get more at one time by not using it at another. For this reason he has not the mo- tive for close observation which prevails under other conditions, and to escape the cost of summer cultivation and fresh furrowing out he has recourse to frequent flows in the old furrows. The fol- lowing interesting account of the prevailing method was prepared by Mr. W. R. Fountain, of Newcastle : Water is supplied almost exclusively by one company, which has met requirements up to date, and seems fixed to supply in excess of demand. It is supplied by the miner's inch; price $45 per inch per season for a constant supply. The inch is measured under 6-inch pressure. Beginning May 1st, five months is called the irrigating season, but the purchaser can have the water twelve months per annum if he wants it. The water company collects monthly. The purchaser cannot start the season with little and increase at pleasure, except upon payment for the full season on the basis of the largest amount used at any time. With this constant supply we use it constantly, piping to high points and moving it from place to place. When no fruit is ripening it is attempted to water a block of trees in twenty-four hours. The water is not checked back, but is run in ditches, mostly in one, but occasionally in two, along each row of trees or vines. When a variety of fruit is ripening more water is given the trees, while after a variety is picked and before any other is nearly ripe the effort is made to water each tree every ten or twelve days. Level land and low spots stand a good chance, as a rule, to get too much water, and a larger stream is used per row to force the water through quickly. Then it is taken off in a shorter time than it would be where the trees are on a side-hill and have a good drainage. About 1 inch for each 8 acres is generally used. This is for deciduous fruits. The citrus fruits and berries require watering about once a week; if there is good drainage they would prosper if watered every three days'. In such ground I have not heard of their getting either too much water or too much fertilizer. The general practice is to plow, cross plow, and then after each rain cultivate, with no cultivation whatever after beginning the use of water. I think an occasional cultivation after watering would help. There is a tendency for the ditches to become packed after water has been flowing through them for some time, in which case but little water soaks into the ground. When this occurs I dig a pot hole in the ditch to allow the water to soak in, or else loosen the ground about the trees with a spade and carry the ditch through this loosened ground. I block out my ditches so that I can get my stream through the last tree in about sixteen hours. Where the water has not reached the end of some of the ditches, I turn the water into it from a stream that is flush, and by keeping a man with a hoe constantly with the water, I manage to get it over the field at about 4 p. m. I wet about 350 trees in a block on hillsides; on a flat I wet less, using more water in each stream, and changing it about every twelve hours instead of every twenty-four hours. My trees grow about 130 to an acre. Systematic Distribution of Water on Hillsides. — The common method of carrying water in pipes to the various high points of several slopes or "irrigated faces" from which it can be admitted to large furrows crossing or descending those faces is open to some difficulties and disarrangements. P. W. Butler, of Penryn, had in successful operation for several years a system of zigzag ditches for carrying and distributing and for catching outflow and redistrib- uting on a lower face. This is also a system which makes ditches and furrows but once a year, and dispenses with summer cultivation. 178 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Mr. Butler's account, as illustrated by the accompanying diagram, is as follows : The amount of water generally used in this section for the irrigation of deciduous fruit trees is 1 inch to 5 acres of orchard (miner s inch under 6- inch pressure), and is applied to each row of trees by one stream of water of sufficfent quantity to just reach the end of the row. Much of the water is thus wasted because of inability to properly adjust its distribution. It is usually run twenty-four hours, then changed to other parts of the orchard until the whole is covered, which takes about three weeks time when the process is repeated, continuing throughout the summer, or from May 1 until October 1 There is no cultivation in the meantime, and at each irrigation the water is run in the same ditches. This system is followed in nearly all the orchards of Penryn and vicinity, some on quite steep hillsides, which suffer when the water is thus applied. I have never liked this method, and Zigzag ditches Large furrow system on hillside with zigzag ditches for distribution, catchment, and redistribution. for many years have used a different system in irrigating all orchards over which I have had control. In my home orchard I have a reservoir on the highest land, from which water can be conveyed as desired to every part. My ditches are run on a grade with a fall from 2 to 3 inches to the rod and from 5 to 8 feet apart. At each irrigation the water is run about thirty-six hours before changing. The round of the orchard is made in ten to four- teen days. None of my small ditches exceed 400 feet in length. When I begin to irrigate a section I turn on from the reservoir water sufficient to cover the section in a few hours, then lessen it until it just reaches the end of each row, but see that it reaches the end of each row if a little surplus passes over. This surplus I take up in the main ditch, to be again used on lower ground. This is continued until the lowest part of the orchard is reached, and very little water is ever wasted. By running on a grade that is so nearly level the water is applied uniformly, even on the driest parts of the hill slopes. I run the main distributing ditches in a zigzag manner, tak- SMALL FURROW IRRIGATION \jg ing water from these ditches to cover the lower sections. I formerly used pipes to lead the water down the steepest grades, but this system I have abandoned and now use open zigzag ditches for mains. From the main zigzag ditches I do not take the water at the turning point, as there is more liability of breakage than if taken when running straight, or at whatever point is necessary to keep the distributing ditches on an average of 8 feet apart. The length of the zigzag ditches varies according to the slope of the hillside. When steep, the ditch, before turning, must be of greater length than where the ground is more level. (See diagram.) I use no gates, but bush the openings with coarse swale hay. I also bush the turning points of ditches as they are in permanent use throughout the season, and after the first few days' use require but little care to keep them in order. These ditches are torn up during the season of cultivation and have to be renewed every year. I use a level set on a frame 8.25 feet long and about 2.5 feet high (one leg longer than the other) to make any grade desired. Then I drag its length on the ground after getting the level, and can mark the line of ditch nearly half as fast as a man can walk. I have used many thousand feet of pipe in irrigating, but found it too expensive to be practicable, and it frequently gets clogged, causing much trouble. The zigzag method of taking the water down hills on the dry ridges, distributing to right and left, picking it up again in zigzag ditches at the end of the rows or system, to be used again on lower ground, brings into use the largest quantity where it is most needed and utilizes it all with- out waste. Irrigating by Small Furrows. — It has already been suggested that recently the small furrow method of irrigation is undergoing certain modifications. The occasion for the change is that in certain of the heavier soils, particularly, the use of water in many shallow furrows followed by cultivation results in the formation of a compact layer, and this prevents the percolation of the water into the subsoil. This discovery led many Southern growers to resort to fewer and deeper furrows, and to new devices to enable the tree to get the benefit of the water. There has been wide use of the subsoil plow, with a wedge-shaped foot attached to a slim standard rising to the ordinary beam. The standard opposes its thin edge to the soil so as to cleave it with the least difficulty, and the foot, passing through or beneath the hardpan, lifts and breaks it. The result of the sub- soiling is to open a way for the water to sink and spread below the hardpan. It is usual to run this plow once through the center of the interspace between the rows of trees, sometimes at right angles to the irrigation furrows. When this is done the water is admitted to the furrows as usual, but instead of flowing along smoothly it drops into the track of the subsoiler and runs there a long time before rising again to continue its course down the furrow. It is the ex- perience of some growers that the water has taken five or six days to reach the lower end of the furrows, a distance which would have been covered in twenty-four hours if the subsoiler had not inter- vened. This has been shown to result in much water for the subsoil and a notable invigoration of trees which had been famishing, although shallow-furrow irrigation had proceeded regularly. Changes in the furrow method at Riverside, California, are de- scribed by Mr. J. H. Reed as follows : The handling of the water in the orchard has materially changed in recent years. Instead of flooding up, basining, or using shallow furrows, deep 180 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM furrows, from 3 to 5 feet apart, are most generally used. In heavy adobe soils more furrows are used than in the more porous granite soils. The most usual length of furrows is 40 rods. Every precaution is taken to have the surface wetted as little as possible. The amount of water run at a time is materially lessened, formerly the common practice was to run 3 inches per acre for twenty-four hours each thirty days. Now 2 incres continuous run for seventy-two hours is found to serve a much better purpose, except on loose soils. The general practice in the valley is to irrigate once each thirty days. A few of the most careful orchardists had found that by intelligent and thorough manipulation of the soil they obtained as favorable results from the application of water every sixty days or more, using the same amount as they formerly did at intervals of half that time. The writer has watched with much interest an eight-year- old orchard that during the three years preceding the present received in all but ten irrigations, the usual amount of water being used only at each four irrigations the first year and three irrigations each the second and third years, with results comparing favorably with those on trees of the same age on the same soil in neighboring orchards that received the ordinary thirty- day irrigations. While there are few orchardists who have the skill and patience required to secure such results, they show the possibilities of im- proved cultivation in conserving moisture. So long as water is abundant and not expensive, more frequent irrigations will probably be generally practiced; but the advantage of running the water for a longer time, in furrows as deep as possible, covering the saturated bottoms as soon as practicable and keep- ing the surface perfectly pulverized and in loose condition, is being generally recognized The usual practice is now to have six deep furrows in 20-foot spaces. The number varies according to the character of the soil, but is in any case less than in the small, shallow furrow system which formerly prevailed. The recourse to deeper furrows and to the subsoil plowing has been made in several citrus fruit districts of Southern California. Its success depends upon conditions. There are cases in which too deep use of the subsoiler has admitted the water at a point too low for best results to the tree which grows on a leachy subsoil, and the cutting of roots by the subsoiler has in some cases brought shallow- rooting trees into temporary distress. The general conclusion, how- ever, is that deeper introduction of water favors deeper rooting and is very economical of water by preventing the loss by evaporation from the surface, which, theoretically, is dry, but which actually, with shallow furrows over an irrigation hardpan, becomes too often saturated over nearly the whole space between the trees. Cement Pipes and Flumes for the Furrow System. — The use of cement in the construction of flumes, pipes and outlets for distribu- tion has advanced so rapidly during recent years that in nearly all districts local cement works can be found, at which irrigation struc- tures and appliances of latest design can be studied. Other devices are first described and afterwards regularly advertised in our horti- cultural journals. Analysis of them is beyond the scope of this treatise, but they are none the less important and all who contem- plate laying out irrigation systems, both large and small, should consider them carefully. It is the function of this work to deal chiefly with home-made appliances. The Board Flume and the Furrow System. — Although in the older regions the cement flume is advancing in popularity, important HOW TO MAKE BOARD FLUMES Igl service will always be rendered by the home-made board flume where suitable lumber is cheap. A detailed account of its construc- tion and operation will be widely useful. The following is con- tributed to Mr. A. S. Bradford, of Orange county : I consider the board flume best, because it is in many places cheapest and because it will last fifteen or twenty years in California if made of good soft redwood. The common redwood lumber is generally so, but the so-called flume lumber is hard, generally, and will warp the flume out of shape. Even in the common redwood lumber hard pieces will be found, and these should be avoided. My first flume has been in use nine years and is apparently as good as ever. The first thing to be considered is getting a flume put in properly, as this alone will cause much trouble if not done right. A flume should run nearly on a level. It should be placed about two-thirds in the ground at the commencement, and as soon as it comes out of the ground to about two- thirds of its height, there should be a drop made of 1, 2, or 3 inches, is necessary, and then carried along as before, so as to keep the entire length of flume practically on a level. Sixteen-foot lumber is better than longer, as it is lighter to handle. I prefer 8-inch sides with 18-inch bottom, or, on some cases, 10-inch sides with 16-inch bottom. The first section, however, should be about 2 feet wide, narrowed to the size of the flume, so as to control the stream. Collars should be put around the flume every 8 feet of distance; that is, one in the center and one to cover the joints at each end. These collars should be 2 by 3 inch stuff on the bottom and sides and 1 by three inches on top. This makes a strong, durable flume. The length of the flume should be divided so that the stream will decrease as it goes along. The width should be decreased also, say from 16 inches to 14, 12, 10 and 8 inches, the sides being the same throughout or reduced so as to have 10-inch sides on the 16-inch bottom and 8-inch sides on the rest, nailed to the side of the bottom, making 7 inches depth inside. Two-inch holes should be about 30 inches apart and 2-inch gates placed on the inside instead of outside, as they will collect less trash, the hole through the wood, if uncovered, making a lodgment for leaves, etc. In the narrow and flat flume it is much easier to fix the gates. From 8 to 9 furrows for trees set 24 feet apart is sufficient. The streams should be run from one-eighth to one-half the capacity of the holes in the flume, according to the soil and fall of ground. I commence the stream small and increase it if necessary later on. The streams should be kept as near together as possible, and when the end is reached the gate should be nearly closed down, so as to allow the stream to just trickle to the end. In this manner the soil will become thoroughly wet from one end to the other. The streams should be run very slowly on most of our soils. A great many failures have been made on hard soils by running the stream too large and then reducing it. This seems to "slick" or cement the soil so that it will not take the water, and the consequence is a poor and unsatisfactory irrigation. On the other hand, if the streams are started small and allowed to soak the ground as they go along, it is simply astonishing how much water can be put in the ground. On sandy soils the streams should be larger. A little practice would give anyone the desired information. About three rows of trees at the lower end should be blocked up, pro- vided one has no place where the overflow water could be used. This last provision is the better, however, as there would be only about 10 inches of water run over the last three or four hours, and a thorough job would be done from one end to the other. In making furrows I have an extension made for my cultivator to bolt on each side and use four plows. With this extension I can wet the whole ground thoroughly. The furrows will extend under the limbs of the trees, and by making a slight curve around each tree the ground will become wet in the rows as well as between. As compared with the check system, the furrow method, properly handled, makes the soil light and loose, while the check system is apt to pack the 182 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM soil rendering it lifeless and leaving it so that it will not retain moisture long. Besides, the cost of ridging and extra labor in handling water in checks for one season will nearly pay for the flume, by which one man can do the irrigating. Two horses will furrow out 10 acres in half a day, and a little hand labor at the flume will connect the furrows. In the check system generally a disk is run first where the ridges are to be made, and then the ridger is run with four horses; then jump scraper is run to stop up one side of the blocks; then ditches must be made; thert from 2 to 3 men are required to handle the water by shutting up the checks when filled. Afterwards the ridges must be plowed down before the ground can be har- rowed and got in condition to cultivate. At a glance one can see that it costs fully three times as much to irrigate by the check system as by the furrow system, and with the latter the soil acts more as it does after a rain. OVERHEAD IRRIGATION Although Californians have always been strongly impelled by the desire to get irrigation water away from contact with the air and into the soil as directly as possible, to escape losses by evapora- tion and to maintain a loose soil-surface, sprinkling methods have recently become matters of considerable expenditure. Such systems were installed in the orange orchards of Robert Baird of Porter- ville and R. D. Williams of Exeter. The former has overhead perfo- rated pipes supported on redwood posts ; the latter has underground pipes with a stand-pipe rising through the center of each fourth tree and surmounted with a revolving sprinkler. The cost of in- stallation at prices which prevailed before the war in each case was about $150 per acrce. The desirability of such sprinkling methods is still to be demonstrated. In both cases the water is forced into the pipes by pumps. DEVELOPMENT AND STORAGE OF WATER It is, obviously, beyond the limitations of this work to attempt an extended review of irrigation enterprises and practices. The enterprises undertaken by capitalists, or by co-operation among settlers, require the services of competent engineers. All these matters are too great in extent and variety to be discussed in this work. As, however, it has been the aim of the writer to aid the inexperienced planter to help himself in small efforts, a little space will be given to suggestions as how a planter may develop and use such small water supply as may be derived from spring, small creek or well, on his own land without employing an engineer. Running Lines for Irrigating Ditches. — How far to go up a creek in order to bring water out upon a given piece of land is a question which frequently arises in individual practice. There is also doubt as to how much fall should be given to the ditch. The fall required by a ditch or canal depends upon the amount of water which it is desired that it shall discharge, and upon the width and depth with which it is intended that the water should flow. It may also be dependent upon the character of the soil in which the ditch is to be constructed, and upon the peculiarities of the water itself. RUNNING LINES FOR DITCHES 183 A strong current in soft soil may cause mischievous erosions. Water carrying much sediment must never be allowed to move sluggishly, as clear water sometimes may. It is best to state the requirements to a competent engineer and act on hib suggestion, or secure the counsel of a neighbor who has had experience with similar soil and water. Having decided what fall to give the ditch, the nearest point of which water can be taken out of the creek to be brought to a certain piece of land is found by commencing with the point at which the water is to be delivered (generally the highest point of the land to be irrigated), and running up stream a line which has the inclination intended for the ditch. To stake out this line when no special hindrances are in the way, use a home-made leveling instrument constructed as follows : With sound, stranght-edged lumber a triangle is made, as indicated in the sketch. The three pieces, A B, 10 feet long, B C, 12 feet long, and C A, 4 feet long, are made fast to each other at A, B, and C. The board, A D is fastened to the triangle at right angles to B C near A on the board, A D, plumb-line is made fast. The plumb, like a mason's plumb, hangs in a hole at F, so that when A D is vertical, the string hangs very near the surface of the board, A D. It will be seen that when A D is exactly vertical, B C is exactly hori- zontal, if the angles at D are true right angles. An ordinary carpenter's square used in the construction of the apparatus will insure sufficient accuracy in the position of A D. In marking on the board, A D, however, the line in which the string of the plumb will hang when B C is exactly horizontal, more care is required. Two pegs are driven, as far apart as B and C, for these points to rest on. The highest one is driven into the ground until the plumb-line follows about the center line of the board, A D. Having marked this position of the plumb- line, the triangle is reversed so that the end B rests on the peg, where before we had the end C, and vice versa. Should the plumb-line be in a position at variance with the first one marked on the board, then the correct position for the B C horizontal will be exactly in the middle between the two found by the aid of the two pegs. It will frequently be found convenient to have a scale of feet marked off on B C. Holes in the pieces A B and C A at E E, or handles, will make the triangle convenient to carry. Only two men are necessary in using it. A home-made leveling instrument. jg^ CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM To use this instrument for locating the line of the ditch, calculate the amount which your line should rise between each two pegs. Drive a peg at the starting point with its top say six inches from the general surface of the ground. Hold one end of the leveling apparatus above this peg by exactly that amount which the line arises per each instrument length (B C), and swing the other end around into the direction from which the ditch is to come, until, when level, it is just six inches above the ground. Drive a peg here, which will, like the first, be six inches high, and proceed as before. Care should be taken to give the top of each peg exactly the correct elevation. The level must be horizontal when resting on any peg, and raised exactly that amount which the line rises per level length, above the preceding peg. It will be found convenient to use a care- fully prepared block to hold on the top of each stake at the rear end of the level instead of trusting to measurement each time. Locating Contour Lines for Checks or for Distributing Ditches. — This work can be done with the aid of the level above described. For instance, to locate a contour (a line of equal elevation), as re- quired in the construction of a check levee, drive a peg until its top has a convenient elevation from the ground, say one foot. Rest one end of the triangle on this peg and swing the other around until, when B C is horizontal, this other end has exactly the same elevation from the ground as the top of the peg. At this point drive a second peg and proceed as before. If the tops of the pegs be chosen as the height of the levee, they may be retained as grade stakes as well as line stakes for the embankment. Storing Water from Small Sources. — For individual uses quite a respectable water supply can sometimes be developed from ap- parently mean sources. This can be done by clearing out and opening up hillside springs, and often by tunneling into the hillside to intercept subterranean water-flows, or by pumping from a well. Even a small spring, yielding but two quarts per second, would be sufficient to irrigate several acres in fruit trees. To derive the greatest benefit from small springs, however, a reservoir is neces- sary, in which the flow of twelve to twenty-four hours, or even a longer period, can be accumulated, and then discharged as required. It is by using water in driblets that many springs are wasted. A spring supplying even one and a half inches of water would be wholly swallowed up by a thirsty soil within two hundred feet of its source, when, by arresting the flow and accumulating it in a reser- voir and discharging at intervals in a volume four times as large, it would more than cover eight times the surface. A spring flowing two quarts per second will discharge forty-three thousand two hundred gallons in twenty-four hours. This would require a reser-' yoir forty by twenty feet, and seven feet deep, or double that width if the depth is decreased one-half. The shallower it can be made the better, for many reasons, but especially on account of the tern- AN IRRIGATION RESERVOIR Ig5 perature of the water. That of springs is generally too low in sum- mer for immediate use, and its value is greatly enhanced by being raised to an equal or greater temperature than that of the air. This is quickly done by exposure in a shallow pond. A reservoir can be constructed entirely in the ground where the slope will admit of it, and by lining the bottom and sides with clay well puddled, will answer for most purposes. Some are built of adobe, backed with earth and plastered on the inner side with hydraulic cement. Con- crete of lime, sand, and broken stone is, however, the best material, where lime can be readily obtained, and any person with ordinary mechanical skill can construct them. The following hints on a dirt reservoir may be suggestive : A reservoir should be built on the highest part of the tract sought to be irrigated by scraping the earth from the outside and from such a large area as not to affect the utility of the land from which it is taken. With a levee all around 5 feet high, 5 feet of water could be carried safely. The slopes ought to be two to one on the inside. A reservoir 20 feet square and 4 feet deep would hold 12,000 gallons. With the slopes as above the reservoir should be measured two feet from the bottom, or half way up the 4 feet of water; consequently, to lay put a reservoir to hold 12,000 gallons, put the stakes 12 feet square and build. For any other size one take 8 feet off the same as this: A reservoir 25 feet square will hold 18,750 gallons and would be 17 feet square at the bottom; one 30 feet square would hold 27,000 gallons and would be 22 feet at the bottom; one 35 feet square — 27 at the bottom — will hold 36,000 gallons; one 40 feet square — 32 on the bottom — will hold 48,000 gallons. This spread upon the surface of an acre would be a little more than 1^ inches of rainfall. Almost any loam or soil will hold water with a little puddling. The cheapest way to puddle is to build a pen the size of the entended reservoir, including at least a portion of that to be under the embankment, wet it very wet, put some hogs in the pen and keep feeding them barley, a little at a time, so as to make them not only walk around, but root for the barley. A half-sack of barley fed to eight or ten hungry hogs in half a day will make a good puddle. If it did not work satisfactorily, the water could be taken off and the bottom covered about an inch deep with coarse sand mixed one part to five with Portland cement, put in dry, and let it be covered slowly. A barrel of cement may be counted at about 4 cubic feet and with the mix- ture above would cover the first-named reservoir about 1^4 inches. This would make it tight. The supply pipe should come up from the bottom, so that the lift would never be more than the height of the surface. Loss of Water by Seepage. — The great loss of water by seepage during a long run has led to the cementing of ditches, and to the use of miles of large wooden, concrete and iron pipe by the irrigation companies of Southern California; also, where the slope is rapid, paving ditches with rock has been resorted to. Similar efforts naturally suggest themselves to the user of a small supply to save his flow from loss. The lining of ditches to prevent seepage were tested by the California Experiment Station at Berkeley, and publi- cation of results were made.* Where lumber is cheap the use of a board flume is an available means of saving water, when the soilis coarse and leachy. *Bulletin 188 and Circular 144, University of California Experiment Station. Berkeley. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Irrigation from Flowing Wells. — A considerable area of orchard is irrigated from flowing wells in different parts of the State. Nearly everywhere in the artesian districts there are local well-borers who have kept records of the strata traversed in their work, and can estimate closely the cost of securing water by this method. Lifting Water from Flowing Ditch or Stream. — Where a stream has a rapidity of two miles or more per hour, and a lift to a height of six to sixteen feet will give head enough to distance the water over a considerable area, there is nothing cheaper than the current wheel which is largely used alongside streams in this State. The engraving gives an end view of such a wheel. Eight pairs of arms, carrying flat buckets like those of a steamboat paddle-wheel, extend from a hub rotating on metal bearings. At either end, or both ends, of each bucket are fixed wooden or tin water boxes which fill ^_^NfeX If •' •*- End view of irrigating wheel. themselves on entering the water, and on being brought to the highest point of rotation empty themselves into a receiving trough. This trough supplies the distributing ditches, etc., and its inner end is so placed that it comes under the projecting buckets of the wheel without interference with the motion of the arms. The current of water in the channel underneath forces the buckets down stream, the latter delivering in the opposite direction at the top. By using a double set of boxes, one at each end of each bucket, the water may be delivered on both sides simultaneously. A little experi- menting will indicate the proper size boxes, which depends upon the velocity and volume of water in the channel, as well as to the amount to be delivered. Since, however, electric and distillate motors have become common, ruder devices have been largely displaced, though, under certain conditions, still serviceable. WATER MEASUREMENT Ig7 PUMPING FOR IRRIGATION The use of pumps for irrigation is continually increasing. The capacity of pumps, their ease and cheapness of operation in this land of oil wells and ponderous waterfalls whose power can be trans- formed into electric energy, warrant the conclusion that in many places water can be lifted from below more cheaply than it can be brought long distances by ditch ; and that the supply is more con- stant and subject to the users' command and convenience. In all parts of the State well-boring and digging and pump construction have advanced very rapidly. Pumping plants of all capacities, from the greatest of the gasoline class, lifting five thousand gallons per minute from a depth of twenty-five feet, down to the plant with a throw of three hundred gallons per minute, all styles of motors and pumps are being constantly multiplied. These plants are being placed upon wells in the orchard or in the vicinity, or upon adjacent streams or ponds. Many new designs by California inventors are coming into use. It would require a volume to contain any adequate account of California's recent progress in these lines. Economic pumping is governed by so many considerations that no general statement would be conclusive in any specific case. Each orchardist must ascertain his own conditions and then confer with trustworthy manufacturers or their agents as to what will meet his require- ments.* WATER MEASUREMENT The Miner's Inch. — Although the miner's inch, as commonly measured, is open to objection because of inaccuracy, from an engi- neer's point of view, it is so easily applied that it must remain a popular recourse. It consists in causing the water to flow through an opening, the capacity of which is known, and which is readily capable of adjustment to the flow in any case. A simple form of this device and its use is shown in the illustration, which represents a board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide, and about 8 feet long. The open- ing is 1 inch wide and 50 inches long, and the distance from the top of the board to the center of the opening is exactly 4 inches on the up-stream side. On the down-stream side the opening is beveled so that the hole presents sharp edges to the stream. A sliding board is hung upon the top of the first board, with a strip screwed along its upper edge, this sliding board being wide enough to cover the open- ing on the up-stream side. In the slot there is a closely-fitting block, made to slide on the beveled edges and fastened by a screw to the sliding board. It is obvious, then, that when the sliding board is moved backward or forward, by means of its end, which is extended for a handle, the block moves in the slot and determines the length of the opening. In operation the board is placed in the stream as shown in the figure, so as to dam the flow completely, and the sliding board is *Full details of the cost and flow from pumps drawing from various depths and operated by various motors are Riven in the publications of the Irrigation Investigations to which reference has previously been made. Also, Circular 117, California Experiment Station; The Selection and Cost of a Small Pumping Plant," by B. A. Etcheverry. 188 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM moved backward and forward until the water is all passing through the slot, the water being kept up to the top of the board, or 4 inches above the center of the opening. The length of the opening measures the number of miner's inches of water flowing through. If the flow is too great to pass through the opening 1 inch wide, the opening may be made wider, the water still to be kept 4 inches above the center of the opening. The laws of several States provide that in devices for measuring water for sale by the miner's inch the opening shall be 6 inches high and shall be provided with a slide as shown in the picture. The number of miner's inches then discharged is equal to the number of square inches in the opening. The assump- tion made that the discharge is proportional to the size of the open- ing is not true, but the error in measuring small quantities is not great enough to be taken into consideration. By converting the results of measurements in miner's inches to gallons, cubic feet, or some other familiar unit, it may be determined how long it will take Measuring miner's inches in a small stream or ditch. the stream to fill a reservoir or cover a given field with the neces- sary depth of water. This unit is readily convertible into cubic feet or gallons or acre-inches of water, according to the time the water flows. The following data will be helpful in computations : One miner's inch, as described above, equals 0.1496 gallons per second, 8,976 gal- lons per minute, 538.56 gallons per hour, 12,925.44 gallons per day ; 0.02 cubic feet per second, 1.2 cubic feet per minute, 72 cubic feet per hour. One acre-inch of water (that is, 1 inch in depth over an acre of surface) equals 27,152 gallons, or 3,630 cubic feet, and 1 miner's inch will supply this quantity in about 50.4 hours. Thus a simple calculation shows that a little stream of 5 miner's inches will supply enough water to cover an acre 2.3 inches deep in about 23 hours — a fair amount for one irrigation of soil of average character if it has not been allowed to become too dry before the application. In fact, this is an average amount actually used for an irrigation of shallow-rooted plants like most field and garden crops. IRRIGATION SUGGESTIONS 189 Weir Measurement. — The term "weir" is not always understood by those who use it. The term can properly be used only for struc- tures designed to allow the water to flow over the crest with a con- siderable fall on the down-stream side. There are a large number of forms of weirs, taking their names from the shape of the weir notch, or the form of crest. The triangular weir has a V-shaped notch. The rectangular weir has a horizontal crest with vertical sides. Both of these forms of weir are good, when used by the expert irrigator or engineer who understands the principles and factors which enter into their calculations. Water measurement as practiced by irriga- tion companies is, however, rather more a question of engineering than of fruit growing and cannot be pursued in this connection. Several publications on the subject are readily available.* DANGER OF ALKALI IN IRRIGATION WATER Every since Prof. Hilgard's original observations on alkali were published, Californians have been aware of the danger of using waters containing alkali for irrigation purposes, but they have not realized, until recently, of how much significance this is. Investiga- tions and observations made by the California Agricultural Experi- ment Station show that many of the well waters used for irrigation purposes in orchards contain so much alkali, usually including common salt, that though beginning with a soil free from alkali, one can readily impregnate it with salts enough in a few years to ruin an orchard. The investigations emphasize further some general alkali problems in orchards, even where fairly good waters have been used, and render the alkali question one of the most important in soil management problems in arid parts of California. The fruit planter should never plan to use water from any source for irriga- tion without having proper samples analyzed and the analysis inter- preted.f River and stream waters are usually found to be purer and better than well waters in the citrus districts, in which the investigations cited were carried out. Nevertheless, recourse to analysis is always a safe guide. RANDOM SUGGESTIONS Without attempting an impossible thing, to-wit, to furnish ex- plicit directions for the practice of irrigation, for much of it every man must learn for himself by experience, a few suggestions may be noted. Usually water should be prevented from actual contact with the trunk of the tree. Citrus trees are especially sensitive to such con- tact, and resent it by "gum disease," which was formerly far more 'Bulletin 247 of the California Experiment Station on "Some Measuring Devices Used in the Delivery of Irrigation Water" (Jan., 1915): "Farmers' " Bulletin 813. U. S Dent Agr., on "Construction and Use of Farm Weirs" (June, 1917): Circular 36. Utah Experi- ment Station, Logan, Utah, on "Practical Information on the Measurement of Irrigation Water" (January, 1919). fThe ill effects of irrigating with alkaline water are strikingly set forth by W. P. Kelly and E, E. Thomas ki Bulletin 318 and Circular 219 of the University of California, Berkeley 190 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM prevalent in the State than now. Care must, therefore, be taken not to set trees which are to be irrigated too low. It is better to raise them up a little and draw the earth around them to prevent ap- proach of the water, but this must not be overdone. If possible, the ditch should be run on the shady side of the tree, because reflected sunshine from the water surface^ may burn the bark. In examining soil to ascertain dryness, one must dig or bore deeply, for often an upper layer will be fairly moist, if well culti- vated, while lower layers, where the feeding rootlets are, will be arid. Therefore, when trees or vines are suffering, go far down in examining the soil. In irrigating, thorough, deep soaking is necessary, and examina- tion must be made to see if an artificial hardpan which prevents the descent of the water has been formed. Be careful not to continue irrigation too late in the season. It will prevent the proper dormancy of deciduous trees, and if more fall irrigation is given citrus trees than they need for perfecting the fruit, the trees will continue growing tender shoots until they are injured by severe frosts. On the other hand, it is often desirable to give deciduous trees a draft of water after the fruit has been gath- ered, if the soil is so dry that the tree is likely to drop its leaves too soon, and wake from its dormancy with the first rains. Many times the fall blooming of deciduous trees, which is very undesir- able, may be prevented by keeping them growing later in the summer by moderate irrigation. If trees or vines, in regions usually irrigated, are to be grown without irrigation, it is important that the grower be more than usually thorough and constant with his summer cultivation. In trying the non-irrigation experiment, one should, of course, begin with young trees which have not been irrigated, and not usually expect success by withdrawing the water from trees which have been accustomed to it, and have developed a root system accord- ingly. While waiting for an "irrigating system," young trees can be kept going with a water wagon. With a galvanized tank on a wagon three men went over a 60-acre orchard three times, taking four days for each irrigation. One man went ahead to scoop out around each tree, and after the water was put on he covered it up, to keep the soil loose and prevent loss by evaporation. He could keep ahead because of the loss of time of the team going after water and return- ing. From the tank ran two large hose, the water being siphoned off at the basin near each tree till about four or five gallons of water were put on. Then the hose was bent back so the water could not flow out, and they advanced to the next tree. SUB-IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA The word "sub-irrigated" is freely used in California to describe land which is moistened below by underflow or seepage from streams or springs, or from open irrigation ditches, traversing DRAINAGE IN CALIFORNIA \^\ higher levels. This land is sub-irrigated, it is true, but there is no system about it, except the natural distribution of water, which is to seek its level. Some of our most productive lands are of this character, and where the soil and subsoil are fitted to the movement of this living water, and not apt to retain it up to the point of sat- uration, satisfactory growth of deep-rooting field crops and of trees and vines are secured. But this is not sub-irrigation in the ordinary signification of the term. Several systems of sub-irrigation by subterranean pipes have been devised by California inventors, but none have passed beyond the experimental stage, and no acreage has been continually op- erated. This, of course, has no reference to carrying water in sub- terranean pipes to outlets for surface distribution. Such distribution systems are largely used. DRAINAGE IN CALIFORNIA There was for a long time a very erroneous popular generaliza- tion that California soils do not need drainage; that in a dry state the aim should be to retain the moisture, not to part with it. It is, of course, true that we have vast areas of naturally well-drained soil, upon which any money spent for drainage would be in a great part thrown away, but we have, also, both in the valley and on the hillsides, localities where, by peculiar character and conformation of the subsoil, water is held in the soil until evaporated from the surface, and the result is a boggy, miry condition, which prevents proper winter cultivation, and at the same time injures the roots of the trees or vines. This defective cultivation, added to the puddling effect of standing water, makes the soil dry out completely under the fervid sun of summer, and the result is that the wettest soil of the winter may be the driest in the summer, and plants which are in- jured by soaking in winter suffer again from lack of moisture and sustenance in summer. Thus it is a fact, clearly proven by observa- tion and experience, that thorough under-drainage removes surplus water in winter, and ministers to the retention of moisture in sum- mer. More than this, a soil puddled by standing water can not present its contents in available form for plant nutrition, and be- sides, it loses the fertilizing effects of atmospheric currents, which pass through an open, well-dried soil. Wet land is cold and late in spring, and hot as a baked brick under the summer sun; it is no fiction of the imagination to say that well drained land is warm in winter and cool in summer — that is, cool to a degree which favors quick and free root growth, and cool enough to escape the parching effect of deeply baked soil. These, and a host of similar considerations, which have made under-drainage popular in older countries, are of weight in Cali- fornia. Possibly, as a rule, because of our vast area of deep, kind loams, the proportion of land needing drainage in this State is less than elsewhere, and yet there is a vast extent of country to be im- proved by tiling. There have been large losses of trees from plant- ing upon soils defective in this respect. The evil has resulted from 192 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM excessive rainfall and excessive irrigation, either direct or by under- flow from adjacent irrigations. In some places this latter movement of water has brought alkali to assist in the ruin of the trees and vines. The cure is drainage to sufficient depth and with good outlet for the drainage water. Information on the construction of under-drains is too available through other sources to call for its presentation in this connection.* Drainage and Irrigation. — A special importance attaches to com- plete and systematic drainage in connection with irrigation. There is pressing need of such provision where the soil has become over- loaded by seepage water from irrigation ditches, and it is well that people in such situations are waking up to the need of coupling drainage outlets with their irrigation inlets. Another matter closely allied to this is the action of alkali on soils thus artificially water- soaked. This has been made the subject of a special publication, to which allusion has already been made in Chapter III. Drainage is plainly essential, both in individual farms and in districts where the water level is rising too high, and the striking statements given below by Professor Hilgard should incite all to give immediate at- tention to the needs of vines and trees in this regard : In the valleys and plains of the arid irrigation countries the soils are pre- dominantly of a light, sandy or silty nature, easily penetrated to great depths by water and air. With these the roots of plants also reach to such depths, drawing therefrom not only moisture, but also plant food, which in these soils is, as a rule, very abundant. The plants of the arid region thus are enabled to utilize nearly as many feet of soil mass as in the regions of summer rains inches would be drawn upon; and it is evident that this advan- tage, which postpones for a long time the need of fertilization, should not be lightly thrown away. Each farm in the arid region has several similar ones underground, which with proper management can be fully utilized. But this presupposes that the water, air and roots can all penetrate under irrigated culture as they do in the natural condition. It means that the ground water level shall not be allowed to rise to such an extent as to pre- vent the penetration and healthy life of the roots in the depths of the soil mass. If by intentional or careless over-irrigation, or by the leakage from the ditches, the water level is allowed to rise within a few feet of the sur- face, the wonderfully productive lands of the arid valleys are reduced to the same condition as are those of the humid countries; a shallow layer of surface soil, within which alone the roots can exercise their functions of plant nutrition. The natural result is that this layer soon becomes ex- hausted, and copious artificial fertilization is required to maintain prolific production. And even this is the most favorable case. When, in addition, the upward movement of the soil water carries with it the entire mass of salts of various kinds which exist in all arid soils, and brings them within reach of surface evaporation, these "alkali" salts impregnate the soil to such an extent as to render the cultivation of many crops unprofitable, or sometimes altogether impossible. Summarizing the advantages of systematic land draining it may be said that: 1. It prevents the drowning out of the deeper roots of plants by the rise or fluctuations of the ground water, by which the vineyards and orchards are so frequently rendered unprofitable. *"Farm Drainage Methods" by W. W. Weir. Circular 174 of University of California Experiment Station, Berkeley, Calif. DANGER IN STANDING WATER 193 2. It prevents, or at least limits definitely, the shallowing of the soil caused by high-lying ground water, resulting in the need of early and copious fertilization, which would otherwise not have been called for in many years. The annual cost of such fertilization would soon exceed the first cost of drainage. 3. Drainage does away definitely with the alkali evil. When drainage is established the land can easily be so handled as either to remove all the alkali, or to leave in the soil so much of it as may be rationally considered beneficial, on account of its usual content of valuable and highly available plant food. To prevent the waste of much of this soluble plant food, the use of gypsum is also valuable; but subsequent swamping of the land would cause a return of the black alkali unless drainage were provided for. In view of the facts that water-logged lands are still being sold to the unwary for fruit planting; that sometimes lands are offered with the attractive promise of an irrigation supply when they actually need a drainage system; that on such lands every year of large rainfall brings areas of trees into distress and inflicts consider- able losses, these declarations of Professor Hilgard should be most carefully kept in mind. The only item of his declaration which later researches question is the feasibility of "drainage doing away definitely with the alkali question," because difficulties have arisen in the effort to make drainage do it, when the alkali is in its worst form and in very large amount — as explained in the publications cited in the footnote on page .... That problem seems to be still pending solution. PART THREE: ORCHARD FRUITS CHAPTER XVI COMMERCIAL FRUIT VARIETIES What fruit to plant, or what kind of a bearing orchard to buy as an investment, are questions which can not be answered, in this treatise. The planters on new land and the investors in improved land must answer them for themselves — forming their judgments after securing facts which seem to them a proper basis for such a business decision. It is the conviction of the writer that all fruits which have demonstrated commercial suitability in California, when properly placed under the soil, temperature and moisture conditions which favor their best growth and productiveness, may be counted as yielding nearly equal net returns, considering the investment in land, water, waiting for bearing and handling of the product. So far as the writer has observed, all our commercial fruits have reached maximum and minimum returns during the last quarter of a century which are practically identical. Therefore to plant good fruit in the best place for it, to handle the trees and products most intelligently, both in production and marketing, holds out substantially equal promise of profit. If it could be demonstrated that any particular fruit had the especial advantage over others in net returns, this advantage would immediately disappear because planters would rush to it and take away this advantage by undue increase of its acreage. Therefore the choice of fruits must remain an open ques- tion for each one to determine by his own experience and observa- tion, at least to the extent of determining his own line of production. It is one of the purposes of this treatise, as they will be disclosed in succeeding chapters, to impress upon the local planters the con- viction that their clearest path toward satisfactory income lies in choosing varieties which have demonstrated two fundamental char- acters, viz. : adaptation to the locality and to the uses of the fruit trade — rather than in choosing novelties, no matter how alluring they may be. It may surprise the casual reader to find that our production proceeds so largely upon old standard varieties. Anyone, however, who is acquainted with commercial fruit growing knows that it is neither wise nor easy to revolutionize an established and profitable industry by the substitution of new varieties for the old standards. It takes several years to determine whether a new variety is really trustworthy and suitable, and it takes much longer to get a large acreage in bearing either by grafting or new planting because people are slow and conservative in making changes. As the period of trial of each novelty passes, however, new varieties are accepted, WHY FEW VARIETIES ARE GROWN 195 if for any good reason found suitable, and become prominent as their merits justify. Another reason why new varieties do not figure more largely in California fruit growing is the smallness of the amateur interest. There is, in fact, almost an absence of pure amateurs — enthusiastic, critical, discriminating, athirst for novelties. Even suburban plant- ers follow the lead of commercial orchardists and plant chiefly that which has shown adaptations to local growing conditions, and few are averse to making what they can by sale of small surpluses. The result is that California fruit growing is almost wholly commercial in spirit, policy and point of view, which is perhaps only natural in a state where the fruit crops yield the growers an annual aggregate value of something like two hundred and fifty millions of dollars. The effect is to concentrate attention upon varieties which have achieved fame for profit, and to repress amateur devotion and in- dulgence. At the same time there is, and has always been, quite a disposi- tion toward trial of novelties among commercial growers, especially manifested in search of specific characters which are seen to be desirable rather than desire for newness for its own sake, which is often a point of pride among amateurs. To this enterprising and discriminating search is due the prominence of some of the leading varieties, which were chance seedlings recognized as meeting special requirements and having grown great because they really did so. The California grower is, therefore, quite certain that he needs not varieties new throughout and of startling characters, but improved varieties which hold the good points of the old and add other points. For instance, he calls for trees resistant to disease, for improvement of the fruit in beauty, flavor and keeping qualities; for varieties, similar in kind, which fill gaps in the ripening season so that he can employ help continuously, and shippers and canners agree with him so that they can keep the cars moving and the cannery plants at work. The grower says he must be careful not to plant something different from what is already growing and selling well in his region, and this is also the advice of the trade to him. He can not risk much on varieties of entirely different types, although most growers are always doing a little experimenting. Nor should he undertake too many varieties, because a profitable orchard is not a pomolog- ical museum. There must be a large quantity of uniform fruit to make any district commercially prominent. For these reasons the number of varieties now planted is but a fraction of what it was a third of a century ago, and, stopping at this point, one might get the idea of the California grower as a monument of conservatism and lacking in enterprise and adventure. The fact is that he has very definite ideas of the suitability and desirability of the varieties which he chooses for planting. From the beginning, California growers and nurserymen have exercised painstaking discrimination and selection to secure varieties which best served particular purposes, and in 1920 they co-operated in organizing a Bud Selection Association in order that commercial propagation might be more widely and systematically directed j<^ CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM toward increased production of varieties of most serviceable types of the different fruits and the most productive trees of such types, by propagating only from the best trees, which were determined and designated for that purpose. It should therefore be noted by the reader that the preference for certain varieties, which is embodied in this statement, which will close this chapter, does not involve pomological standards as a leading factor. The claim is distinctly not made that these varieties are chosen exclusively on the basis of quality, beauty, hardiness or health. In the case of nearly all the fruits, there are other varieties which might equal or even surpass them in one or more of these respects. The choice is made because they are most profitable to grow ; not alone because they are good, but because they are good for something. This particular suitability or serviceability may involve pomological considerations and commercial and manufac- turing considerations as well. The planter must use these lists in connection with what he may find about the varieties in subsequent chapters, without neglecting to confer with older growers, in the district in which he may plan to plant, as to what varieties produce best and are in best demand in the business of his district. Perhaps an intelligent use of the statement can be concretely suggested by briefly discussing the first group of varieties men- tioned— the apples most approved in California. First comes the yellow Newtown Pippin, and that means that most apples commer- cially grown are winter apples and this variety is, on the whole, the most profitable of them. But a planter in a hot interior valley should usually reject them, for all winter apples are apt to be un- satisfactory, and, if he plants apples at all, should choose early varieties, because they ripen early, thus escaping the highest heat and at the same time being ready for the early market. Similar comments might be made upon the varieties of other fruits. During the year 1921 the writer made a careful review of the experience of growers and propagators to determine which fruit varieties were considered most satisfactory in commercial planta- tions in California, using as a basis of revision the decisions reached at several conferences of fruit growers, nurserymen, and managers of fruit canneries, drying establishments and those engaged in long-distance shipment of fresh fruits. In the chapters devoted to different fruits the decisions of the conferences will be given in more detail. The varieties grouped below are not arranged according to ripen- ing season. Such data will be given in following chapters : Apples.— Newtown Pippin, Bellflower, E. Spitzenburg, W. W. Pearmain, Gravenstein, Red Astracan, W. Astracan, Carolina Red June, Skinner, R. I. Greening, Alexander, Rome Beauty, Jonathan, Winesap, Stayman, Winter Banana, Grimes, Delicious, King David, Arkansas Black, Baldwin. Apricots.— Royal, Blenheim, Tilton, Hemskirk, Peach, Newcas- tle, Moorpark. FRUIT VARIETIES CHIEFLY GROWN 197 Cherries. — Royal Ann, Black Tartarian, Bing, Black Oregon, Gov. Wood, Lambert, Chapman, Burbank, Montmorency, Purple Guigne, May Duke, Centennial, Black Bigarreau. Free-Stone Peaches. — Muir, Lovell, Elberta, Salway, Mayflower, Alexander, Hale's Early, Triumph, St. John, Early Crawford, Wheatland, Morris White, Strawberry, Decker, Early Elberta, J. H. Hale. Cling-Stone Peaches. — Phillips, Tuscan, Pedora, Peaks, Al- bright, Levi, Sim's, Libbee, Albright, McDevitt, Hauss. Pears. — Bartlett, Winter Nelis, Easter, Du Cornice, Glout Mor- ceau, D'Anjou, Hardy, Barry, Lawson, Seckel, Winter Bartlett, Wilder, Bosc, Clairgeau, Forelle, Flemish Beauty. Plums. — Climax, Beauty, Hungarian, Tragedy, Wickson, Bur- bank, Kelsey, Yellow Egg, Red June, Giant, Washington, Jefferson, Bavay's, Gaviota, Damson, Grand Duke, California Blue, President, Santa Rosa Satsuma, Duarte. Prunes. — French, Imperial, Sugar, Robe de Sergeant, Silver. Raisin and Shipping Grapes. — Muscat, Tokay, Thompson, Em- peror, Malaga, Cornichon, Black Prince, Black Morocco, Sultana, Sweet Water, Gros Colman, Verdal, Pierce, Concord. Figs. — White Adriatic, Calimyrna (Smyrna), Mission, Kadota (White Endrich), Brown Turkey, White San Pedro. Almonds. — Nonpareil, IXL, Ne Plus Ultra, Drake, Texas Pro- lific, Peerless. Walnut. — Franquette, Mayette, Concord, Eureka, Placentia, Santa Barbara Softshell. Orange. — Washington Navel, Valencia, Mediterranean Sweet, Paper Rind St. Michael, Ruby Blood. Lemon. — Eureka, Lisbon, Villa Franca. Pomelo. — Marsh. Olives. — Mission, Manzanillo, Sevillano, Ascolano. Blackberries. — Mammoth, Lawton, Logan, Himalaya, Crandalls. Raspberries. — Cuthbert. Strawberries. — Melinda, Banner, Nick Ohmer, Klondyke, Dollar, Brandywine, Jessie, Arizona, Marshall. This compilation indicates the popularity of varieties in the State as a whole. It should be taken as a guide to planting in any particular district only as it may be revised, for local adaptations and special purposes, by the fuller data for each kind of fruit in the special chapter which will be devoted to it. In these chapters other varieties will also be enumerated — including those now considered exceptionally promising and likely to displace some varieties which appear in the foregoing category. CHAPTER XVII THE APPLE During the last decade notable progress has beer\ made in apple growing in California. The old idea that our conditions did not favor excellence in the apple has given away to full assurance that in wisely selected elevations and exposures the very highest points of size, beauty, flavor, keeping and shipping qualities are secured. Even before the wonderfully satisfactory test of both Northern and Southern California apples at the New Orleans World's Fair, it was clear that the right variety grown in the right place yields an apple in California than which a better can not be grown anywhere, and during the last decade California early apples have been in sharp request for shipment to all regions of the Northwest and British Columbia, and California winter apples have been sold at the high- est prices east of the Rocky Mountains and in Europe. Because of her achievements with other fruits California's stand- ing in apple production is not usually considered. By the U. S. Census of 1910, California ranked ninth among apple growing states of the country. The crop of 1919, as reported by the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, advanced the State to fourth place, with a product of 8,640,000 bushels. The Pacific Coast leads the country in apples. The largest producing state is Washington and the fourth California; the combined product of these two states being 5,000,000 bushels greater than that of New York and Virginia, which rank second and third, respectively. The relative planting and product-value of apples to other California fruits is shown in Chapter VI. Localities for Apples. — Speaking generally, it may be laid down that the great valleys of the interior are not well suited to the apple ; also, there are some situations which are much better than others. In the early regions of the Sacramento Valley and foothills, how- ever, excellent early apples are profitably produced. In the great valley and lower foothill region of the State, the late apple usually lacks character and keeping quality. On the great plains the tree is liable to sunburn, or sun blight, as it is called. Some varieties, because of the character of their foliage, are less liable to this injury than others, and it is possible that this evil may be finally overcome by the selection of varieties with blight-proof foliage, as will be mentioned later. In the great valley, however, on the rich river- bottom land of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin and its tribu- taries, the apple roots deeply, attains good size, bears good fruit, with fair keeping quality, while but a few miles away on the plains it is inferior. On these deep, rich river-bank lands excellent early apples are produced. In the interior, adaptation to the late, long-keeping apple lies at an elevation on the foothills on both the east and west rims of the great valley. Its limits are not well defined, but there are flourish- WHERE CALIFORNIA APPLES GROW 199 ing orchards at an elevation of about four thousand five hundred feet on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and from two thousand to three thousand five hundred feet is commonly regarded the best apple region of the mountains. The trees attain larger size and bear heavily, and the fruit, of well-adapted varieties, is large, crisp, juicy and has exceptional keeping qualities. This district, which is practically as long as the State, is still awaiting development in commercial apple production. Along the coast the apple succeeds well from end to end of the State, and very close to the ocean excellent fruit is produced on good soil — usually without irrigation but sometimes advantaged by it. In this coast region are situated the chief commercial apple districts of the State. Named in the order of their acreage in 1920 they are as follows : Santa Cruz and Monterey counties (Watson- ville district) ; Sonoma (Sebastopol district) ; Lake Mendocino and Humboldt counties (Upper Coast district). As the coast is not an early region, the product is almost exclusively fall and winter apples. There is a certain advantage in elevation in the coast region as well as in the interior, but the advantage is not so marked nor is the required elevation so great. Coast valleys in the central and upper portion of the State, where the soil is suitable, produce most excel- lent apples, but even here the lower hillsides, with deep, well- drained soils, are, perhaps, preferable to the floors of the valley. Departing from immediate coast influences and approaching the interior, with its greater heat and aridity, the greater elevation becomes desirable. The apple, excepting the very early varieties, does not relish the forcing heat which brings such perfection to the peach, but to insure late ripening and long keeping, with accom- panying crispness, juiciness, and flavor, it must have atmospheric surroundings which favor slower development. Localities for apple growing in Southern California are to be chosen with much the same rules as in the upper part of the State. As has already been said, valleys in which coast conditions largely predominate produce good apples, on suitable soils, but away from the coast, proper elevations must be sought, and they should be above the so-called thermal or frostless belts. Good apples are grown on low lands near the coast in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Sixty miles inland, in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, winter apples fail in the valleys, but are most excellent at a sufficient elevation upon the slopes of the surrounding moun- tains or in elevated valleys like the Yucaipa Valley above Redlands, where a Rome Beauty of excellent quality was grown in 1903 to a weight of twenty-seven ounces and a circumference of fifteen inches. This, however, is not "the record" in apple size for the writer re- ceived a Bietigheimer from Napa in 1921 which weighed twenty- eight ounces and had a circumference of sixteen inches! In the elevated interior of San Diego County, as in the Julian and Smith Mountain districts and in the San Jacinto region of Riverside county, excellent apples are produced in large quantities and profit- ably carried long distances. 2Q0 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Second and Third-Crop Apples. — There is a peculiar behavior of the apple tree, most noticeable when winter temperature is mildest, and that is blooming and fruiting out of season. In the case of early apples the second bloom may appear about the time the first fruit ripens and the third bloom when the second crop is half grown. Even such behavior may be followed by regular blooming the fol- lowing spring. Second crops of apples are not of amount nor regu- larity enough to be of much economic importance, as the second crops of pears and grapes sometimes are. The third crop occa- sionally ripens. An instance is on record at Chino, San Bernardino County, where in 1903 a tree ripened its first crop in June, and its last fruit was picked on Christmas day following. Such behavior, of course, indicates conditions ill suited to the apple. Exposures for the Apple. — The choice of exposure for an apple orchard may almost be inferred from what has been said about localities. In regions with high summer temperature the apple will do best on cool, northerly slopes, and this exposure becomes doubly desirable when the location has high temperature with only moder- ate annual rainfall, or where the soil is not well adapted to the retention of moisture. With such prevailing conditions, the apple will be grateful for the cooler air and the greater moisture of the northerly slope. Where the temperature is moderately cool, and the rainfall adequate, the matter of exposure is of less account, and the grower can make the existence of the best soil the test of loca- tion for his orchard. At elevations on the sides of high ranges where late cold storms are liable to rush down from higher snow fields, protection from the usual course of such storms, or from the course of cold winds generally, must be sought ; and directly up the coast, especially in the northern part of the State, in certain places where the peach does not usually succeed, even the apple needs pro- tection, and the benefit of all heat available, and then a southerly or southeasterly exposure becomes desirable. The choice of ex- posure is thus seen to be largely a local question and to be deter- mined by a knowledge of local conditions. A newcomer in a region can best learn these conditions by conference with older residents, or by personal observation of older orchards. Soils for the Apple.— Experience with the apple in California confirms what has long been set forth as its choice of soils in older regions. If one avoids an extremely light, sandy soil on the one hand, and a very stiff clay or adobe on the other, he may plant apples on almost any soil which allows extension of the roots to a considerable depth without reaching standing water. The apple thrives in a moist soil, but it must be well drained, naturally or otherwise. A soil which may be called best for the apple is a deep, rich moist, calcareous loam, but the tree will thrive on coarser ma- The subsoil, whatever its nature, must be sound and open to the passage of moisture. The most unfavorable condition for the tree is a subsoil of clay which holds water. There is some difference in varieties as to choice of soil. The Yellow Bellflower, for instance, will do well on a lighter soil than the Yellow Newtown Pippin HOW TO ESCAPE THE WOOLLY APHIS 201 PROPAGATION OF THE APPLE The apple is chiefly propagated by root-grafting upon apple seedling roots, either whole roots or root pieces. Budding is also practised up to a certain extent. For dwarf trees the Paradise stock is used. Repeated trials with working the apple on the pear, chiefly by top grafting, have secured growth of limited life but without fruiting. The resistance of certain roots to the woolly aphis has been fully demonstrated by local experience in the use of the Northern Spy and Winter Majetin, chiefly the former. Seedlings of Northern Spy can not be relied upon as resistant to the woolly aphis. It is neces- sary to get a root actually grown from the Northern Spy wood. The best way to get a start is to buy some Northern Spy trees from some reputable nurseryman, specifying that they shall be Northern Spy root and top. With these resistant roots and wood growth for scions or cuttings can be grown. Resistant trees are made by root grafting the scion of the variety which it is desired to propagate upon a piece of Northern Spy root and then being careful that the scion does not send out roots of its own, but is wholly dependent upon the Northern Spy root. It is customary with nurserymen selling resistant trees to save the root pieces which are removed in digging and packing, for subsequent propagation. It is also possible to get a resistant tree by starting from the cutting of a Northern Spy. To facilitate the rotting of these cuttings a small piece of any kind of apple root is put in by side graft near the bottom of the cut- ting. This acts as a starter, but the cuting will also make roots of itself. At the end of the first year then the cuttings are taken up, the piece of root used as a starter is cleanly cut away and the rooted cut- ting replanted ; henceforth it is dependent upon its own roots and is resistant. The variety desired is then grafted in a little way above the ground surface so that there will be no danger of its making its own roots. By either of these processes it is more troublesome and takes more time to produce a tree with a resistant root than in the ordinary way, and for that reason trees on resistant roots are sold at higher price, and this may explain why resistant trees are not yet largely used in this State. Other suggestions applicable to the growth of young apple trees are given in Chapters VIII and IX. DISEASES AND PESTS OF THE APPLE The apple is subject to various diseases and insect enemies which must be resolutely fought or they will render the trees unprofitable. Chief of these diseases are the "pear blight" and the apple scab, and the apple mildew. Of the insect enemies the codlin moth, the apple- leaf aphis, the various leaf-cutting caterpillars and several scale insects must be kept in check, and the latest approved means of reducing these troubles will be described in detail in Chapters XLII and XLIII. 2Q2 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM PLANTING AND CARE OF THE APPLE ORCHARD The chapters on planting, and pruning contain suggestions to which the reader is referred. Care should be taken to obtain trees with clean, healthy roots, not knotted and scarred by woolly aphis. Distance in Planting. — The distance between the trees is of the highest importance. All the old apple orchards are v overcrowded. More recently trees have been set at greater distance, and such planting is now generally advised. There is some difference of opinion as to proper distance, but certainly twenty-five to thirty feet is near enough, and some of the best new orchards have been planted at forty feet, the ground being used for a time with other crops or planted with early bearing trees, for which the soil is suited, between them. Berries are largely grown in young apple orchards in the Sebastopol district. Pruning the Apple. — The manner of shaping fruit trees described in the chapter on pruning succeeds admirably with the apple. Year- ling trees are usually planted, and they are regularly pruned until proper form is secured. Mr. C. H. Rodgers, during his life-time a leading apple grower of the Watsonville district, near the coast in central California, gave the following excellent outline of a simple and economical, yet suc- cessful, method for apple tree building under ordinary conditions. First Year: On planting cut the stem from 30 to 36 inches in height, with the terminal bud toward the southwest. In the spring, when growth begins, strip off all shoots from the ground up to about 20 inches. Above this point let all growth remain during the summer. If for any cause during early summer a bud does not start where wanted, a short transverse cut through the bark just above the bud will cause it to develop into limb. Beginning of Second Year : Cut off all limbs except those selected to remain permanently. Two, three, four, and not more than five limbs should be allowed to remain, the number depending on their position. It should be the aim to distribute them evenly on all sides, and to give all possible space between limbs up and down the trunk. This latter precaution is to give room for expansion of limbs in after years. Cut back the limbs that are to remain, taking off from one- third to one-half of the previous season's growth. It the tree is of a spreading habit, and it is desired to have it grow erect, cut to inner buds. If desired to spread the top cut to outer buds. Beginning of Third Year: Allow two or three lateral limbs to remain on each of the main branches. Top the tree again, taking off from one-third to one-half the previous year's growth. Continue this method during the first four years, at which time the tree should begin to bear, and if surrounding conditions are favorable, it will prove strong, vigorous and capable of sustaining a heavy load of apples. The after treatment will consist mainly in keeping the top properly thinned. After coming into bearing there must be intelligent pruning ac- cording to the growth-habit of the variety. Some varieties, like the PRUNING THE APPLE 203 Yellow Bellflower, resent heavy pruning after coming into bear- ing, and slow growers like the Yellow Newtown Pippin, do not need it. On the other hand, varieties like the Winesap and Smith's Cider are apt to make long slim branches and bear at the ends. This can be corrected by cutting back to secure more short shoots which will bear better fruit. Some varieties, like the Jonathan, will make plenty of short spurs under this treatment, while others, like Rome Beauty and Rhode Island Greening, are persistent tip-bearers, but can be gradually drawn in without reducing the crop too much. The grower must study his varieties not only with reference to this but in forming the tree, cutting to an inside bud all varieties which naturally take a horizontal direction, and cutting to an outside bud varieties which have a tendency to send up tall, straight shoots. By this throwing the new growth upward in the first case, and outward in the second, one can shape each kind to greater symmetry and strength for fruit carrying, and bring up all spreading varieties to a form which admits near approach of the plow and cultivator. This manner of shaping the tree must continue as long as seems necessary to secure a tree which will come to bearing age shapely and strong, and within reach. Bearing trees should not be allowed to carry too many branches, and pruning will largely consists of thinning out surplus shoots and removing interference between branches. It is not desirable to shorten in the apple as is done with the apricot and peach. Some growers do not cut back after the third year. A successful treatment of bearing trees, long practiced in the Sebastopol district, is described by Mr. W. I. Newcomb as follows : While trees are young, their new growth is cut back one-half to two- thirds. When they become older they are not topped at all to speak of. As long as you cut the ends off from branches, they will grow more new wood; if you leave them alone, their tendency is more to very slow growth and heavier fruiting down on the old wood. When thinning is necessary, cut off the entire branch. Wood is allowed to grow quite thickly in the center of the older trees, but is thinned out to prevent rubbing, however. Fruit spurs are induced to set in the body of the tree rather than far out on the limbs where a heavy load is dangerous to the tree and fruit too. Some spurs on the old trees have borne half a dozen crops each, and will continue. Summer Pruning. — Summer pruning to reduce wood growth and promote bearing is practiced to a limited extent in some districts upon varieties inclined to shy bearing. In regions of the most in- tense summer heat, less pruning is admissible than in the coast and elevated regions. It is necessary that the foliage be dense to protect the tree and the fruit from sunburn. Nor does the tree seem to relish cutting back. Slight thining out if the tree becomes too brushy, seems to be the best treatment in some of the hot valleys. In summer pruning to secure form and earlier fruiting of the young tree, there is much variation in method. Very systematic work is credited to Mr. J. W. Fulton of Yucaipa, San Bernardino County, as follows : 204 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The orchard includes ten acres of Rome Beauties and ten of Stayman Winesap, Arkansas Black, Black Ben, and Vanderpool Red. The summer pruning is done in June and again in August. In June the new growth is eight or ten inches long on the average. It is not cut back, but thinned out to keep the trees open enough, but not to allow sunburn. Suckerous growth especially is removed. The only cutting back at that time is to direct the growth of undesirably-pointed limbs into another direction. Rome Beauty especially is hard to spread enough, so all cutting back is done to an outside bud. The Winesaps naturally spread, and may need direction upward. A branch may be growing in a direction where it would cross another by winter and have to be taken out then. There is much less wasted energy if it is cut out early. Late in August comes the really vigorous pruning, when the new growth is two to four feet long. It is cut back and thinned some more. Then in winter there is only some small brush to cut out. Mr. F. W. Dunscombe of Beaumont, San Bernardino County, has for a number of years promoted bearing in young apple trees in this way : After four years old, there is usually no need to prune an apple tree for increased size. Turn the tree's energies into bearing instead of wood growth. Do not prune in winter except to cut out dead wood and interfering branches, and to thin out where brush is too thick. Top back the new growth (not heavily) all summer, preferably in August. The stoppage of sap flow will force side buds to become fruit buds and spurs. When enough spurs have been started by a few years' summer pruning, leave the trees alone except to thin them out and keep them open to the sun for vigorous fruiting and high coloring inside the tree. In cutting back in summer, leave a branch or a promising bud just below the cut. Thinning the Fruit. — One of the most important items in the handling of an apple orchard is the faithful thinning out of the fruit of all varieties which are prone to over-bear, and this work is now regularly provided for by the leading commercial growers. Only one apple should grow at a place, and spacing of four to six inches is commended. Although this work is tedious and expensive, it is profitable, because of the improved price which can be had for the larger fruit which will be secured, and it is desirable in the effects of thinning on the tree. It will be relieved from the exhaustion of overbearing, induced to yield annual crops, and often saved from breaking down with a too heavy burden. Cultivation and Irrigation.— All that has been urged in measures to secure adequate moisture supply has full force with the apple. Excepting the early varieties, it is a fruit with a long growing season and therefore requires continuous moisture to secure size and qua- lity. Most California apples are grown on deep, retentive soils in regions of large rainfall and if this is conserved by thorough culti- vation, good fruit can be secured, though irrigation to increase size of fruit is often desirable. It is doubtless true that apples in coast valleys would sometimes be improved by irrigation just as they are in interior and mountain districts where adequate irrigation is es- sential. Fertilizers have been thus far but little used in California apple orchards, but they are manifestly needed. HOUSES FOR STORING APPLES 205 GATHERING AND STORING APPLES The disposition in this State, as elsewhere, is to allow the fruit to hang too long upon the tree before gathering. It was long ago demonstrated that an apple for long-keeping must be picked a little in advance of full maturity. As late fall weather in California is so delightful, there is more temptation to delay the picking than where the approach of winter admonishes the grower to get his fruit under cover. Picking apples for shipment should be done just when the seeds begin to blacken and when the fruit yields to pressure. If left on until fully ripe, and the seeds all black, the fruit is apt not to keep well. This rule applies to fall apples for shipment to dis- tant markets, or for apples to be stored at home. But this is a rule with exceptions. A. W. Tate of Watsonville does not pick Arkansas Black Twigs until the latter part of November, when they are well sugared but firm and matured — a nice color and very desirable for the holiday trade. The King is often picked too early — before it has the color or size it ought to have. Apples are picked early to escape the drop, but in the Watsonville district canners and driers pay good prices for sound windfalls, and the late picked apples sell at a good price. An Apple Storage House. — Mr. C. H. King of Sonoma County has a storage house with a capacity of 7,500 boxes or more. The building is 40x60 feet, has no refrigerating equipment, but is kept cool by night ventilation. The floor and sides are of sawdust held in place by board sheeting inside and out, 8 inches apart. The ceil- ing has two layers of sheeting and 14 inches of sawdust, above which is six feet of air space, then the regular gabled roof. The air space helps shield the ceiling from the heat on the roof. Along the peak of the roof is a low, open, continuous cupola. On each of two sides are seven doors about two feet square, built like the sides ,and located just above the level of the floor. At night these are opened. A wire screen on each prevents exit or entrance of any codling moths or rodents. At the end of the season, the house is closed tight and sulphur burned to kill any insects which may be carrying over. The fruit is stacked in trays 22 inches square and 3 inches deep. Their bottoms are of eight laths, so spaced that apples rest squarely on them. One lath on each side leaves plenty of chance for ventila- tion. Trays are stacked 30 deep in piles so there is an aisle from each door to the one on the other side of the house. A gentle draft of cold air flows in at night while the warmer air flows up through the cupola. Some Wageners and Yellow Newtowns have been success- fully held until April 15 with less than two per cent of loss by decay. A rather more open house is used in the coast region of Southern California, by Mr. T. W. Ward, of Carpinteria : It is a slat house made of strips 1x2^ inches, put on one inch apart. The roof is similarly constructed. There are two passages, on either side of which are two shelves, one above the other, i. e., eight in all. The shelves are made of slats placed one-half inch apart, with sides a food high. The CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM apples are spread on these shelves a foor or more deep. The floor is made of slats, and there are bins on this also. The first must receive a thorough sprinkling weekly, unless sufficient rain falls. The slats are close enough to prevent birds doing damage, and the whole building is raised six inches from the ground. In the mountain regions arrangements must be made for frost exclusion — a consideration which does not apply to the valley and coast. PICKING AND PACKING APPLES ON A LARGE SCALE Mr. C. H. Rodgers, whose pruning prescription has been cited, gives the best methods of handling apples for market as follows : In the matter of picking, experience has evolved a number of rules which should be strictly adhered to: (1) Do not pull the apple off the tree. By so doing, the stem may be detached from the apple, thus making a second grade of what otherwise would be choice. The proper method of plucking the apple is to grasp it with the full hand, not with the fingers only, and by a gentle twist and lateral movement detach it with the stem attached. Especially must finger pressure be avoided in the picking, as bruises thereby produced injure the value. (2) The apple must n ever be dropped into a receptacle or from box to box, but should be transferred as carefully as so many eggs. (3) Under all circumstances use vehicles having springs in moving the fruit. Once within the packing-house the more perishable varieties should be handled immediately and forwarded to market, while the long-keeping vari- eties, especially those intended for export, should be held at least a month before sorting and packing. This latter precaution enables the packer to discover and eliminate all diseased and defective fruit — a thing that would be impossible if the fruit were packed at an early date after picking. Three grades or qualities are recognized in the "trade" — first, second and third. First grade includes only perfect fruit Second grade includes the fruit having a trivial surface blemish or stem absent. The third or cull class includes all wormy, badly bruised or skin-broken apples. Though grading for size varies somewhat in different localities, in the Watsonville district, the leading apple-producing center of the West, there are but three sizes recognized. These are 3*/2, 4 and 4^ tier. The unit of size is the 4-tier, which comprises all apples running from 2% to 3J4 inches in diameter, and derives the name from the fact that when packed in the box there are four rows of four apples each, both vertically and horizon- tally across the end of the box. Apples in excess of 3^ inches are classed as 354-tier size. The third size, 4^-tier, includes those apples ranging between 2^ and 2^ inches in diameter. Both the 3^-tier and 4^i-tier are packed in the manner known as "diamond" pack or "pear" pack. Apples smaller than 4^-tier are thrown into the cull pile. The sorter ascertains the size by passing the apples through circular holes in a board. In this state the standard box is made of pine. Redwood boxes are used only for cheap grades of apples packed for the local market. After being sorted, the apples are passed to the packer, who, before placing them in the box, wraps each apple in a piece of paper prepared for the purpose. The apples must be so packed in the box as to permit the nailing firmly of the hd at each end, and at the same time allow a gradual swell of about three-fourths of an inch at the middle of both top and bottom. On account of the resultant shape of the boxes, they can be stacked up with safety only on their sides. The packed boxes, after being neatly labeled, are next transferred to the cars and stacked four or five tiers high. An air space of three or four feet APPLES FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES 207 is left between the top tier and the roof of the car, also the entire space between the doors is left vacant for the better circulation of air. The boxes, after being systematically placed in the car, are so braced with timbers as to prevent any movement. The usual carload consists of about 650 boxes. Refrigerator fruit cars are employed mainly for apple shipment, but no ice is used. Before packing apples for sale growers should inform themselves fully as to the latest standardization requirements by consulting the county horticultural commissioners. Summer and Fall Apples. — In some regions noted for early ma- turing of fruit, it is profitable to grow early apples, providing there are facilities for reaching profitable avenues of trade. Except to minister to some special local or distant trade which can be thus foresoon, it must be said that very early apples are hardly worth the attention of the commercial planter. These sorts are apt to come into direct contest with the magnificent peaches, grapes and other summer and autumn fruits, and suffer thereby. On the other hand the fall apples, chiefly the Yellow Bellflower and Gravenstein, are so good and profitable in regions where they bear well that they are among the varieties which constitute our chief commercial reliance. Bellflowers are also encroaching on the field of winter apples because they come out so well from cold storage. Winter Apples. — For large ventures in apple growing, in locali- ties carefully chosen for especial adaptations, a few of the finest varieties of winter apples should generally be selected. It is the judgment of the most experienced apple growers, many of whom have old orchards including many varieties, that new plantations of winter apples should contain only about six sorts. Of these, in most parts of the State, two would be the Yellow Newtown Pippin and White Winter Pearmain ; the other four would vary in different parts of the State, as can be learned by conference with experienced local growers. Apples for Long Shipment. — There has been for years quite an important trade in shipment of California apples to various ports in the South Pacific Ocean, and recently there has been a sharp demand for Calofornia apples for shipment to the Eastern States and England, and this movement by way of the Panama Canal may be expected to increase greatly. The characteristic size, quality and keeping of the fruit, together with the size and style of package, have strongly commended the fruit. The center of this trade is Wat- sonville, in a coast valley, in the central part of the State. The two apples which are most popular are the Yellow Bellflower and the Yellow Newtown Pippin. It is an interesting fact that these varie- ties have overcome the popular ferver for a red apple, though at Watsonville some Red Pearmains are grown to fill orders which insist on having some color. For the Interior Valleys. — In choosing varieties for the hot val- leys of the State those making a heavy foliage growth are to be pre- ferred. The Spitzenburg, for example, is a failure in the valleys of the 2Qg CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM interior, though satisfactory at points on the valley borders. From experience already had it seems likely that some of the Russian varieties, with thick, large leaves, will prove best for such situations. The behavior of the Astracans, the Duchess of Oldenburg, and others of Russian origin, are illustrations of this fact. Other varie- ties have been on trial for several years, but no great distribution of them has yet been attained. t SELECTION OF VARIETIES FOR CROSS-POLLINATION The suspicion long held by growers that productivity of the apple is largely conditioned on cross-pollination, at least in the case of some leading commercial varieties, is being sustained by careful tests by the pomologists of the University of California in the Wat- sonville district. Results indicate that the Yellow Newtown Pippin is self-fertile but is helped by cross-fertilization with the Red Pear- main which is also best for the Yellow Bellflower. Red and white Pearmains are virtually advantageous. The Yellow Bellflower is self-sterile ; also that, though they bloom together, is not satisfac- torily influenced by the Yellow Newtown. In all cases the set of fruit was largely increased by providing hives of bees to act as polli- nating agencies. The present inference is that planters should provide potent pollinizers and not narrow down too closely in plant- ing some of the varieties which the trade seems to require. For the Sebastopol district Mr. O. E. Bremner observes that the Gravenstein, the basic local variety, is assisted in bearing by Esopus Spitzenburg, and Baldwin; while Wagener, and Rome Beauty or Hoover, Rhode Island Greening and Red Astracan, are well adapted for alternate planting. Gravenstein is also advantaged by Delicious and Jonathan Association for cross-pollination can be arranged with a number of our most popular varieties by consulting the following dates of blooming as prepared by Mr. Frederick Maskew based upon ob- servations in the coast region of Los Angeles County : General Varieties. First bloom. Full bloom. fall of bloom. White Winter Pearmain April 11 April 27 May 5 Red Astracan April 17 April 30 May 12 Bellflower April 20 April 30 May 16 Fall Pippin April 20 May 5 May 15 Rhode Island Greening April 20 May 5 May 15 Kentucky Red Streak April 20 May 10 May 20 Early Harvest April 21 May 6 May 12 Shockly April 27 May 15 May 20 Fameuse April 27 May 15 May 22 Ben Davis April 29 May 15 May 23 Wmesap May 5 May 17 June 1 Yellow Transparent May 5 May 16 June 1 None-such May 7 May 16 June 1 Missouri Pippin May 10 May 20 June 1 Alexander May 15 May 25 June 1 Smiths Cider May 15 May 25 June 6 Transcendent Crab Mar. 30 April 7 April 22 Hyslop Crab April 11 April 22 April 30 Montreal Crab April 16 April 24 May 7 APPLES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 209 This is a later range of bloom than will be found in many parts of the State, but the same relation may be expected everywhere. APPLES CHIEFLY GROWN IN CALIFORNIA Of the hundreds of varieties tested in California comparatively few are now grown, as has already been suggested. Those named in Chapter XVI are most largely grown. They are grown in all regions, according to the suitability of their maturing season to local growing conditions and the avenues of profitable trade which have been developed. Including these the following showing is made of practically all varieties which are now being propagated for planting. The arrangement is, approximately, in the order of ripening. Carolina Red June (Southern).— Medium size oval, irregular, inclined to conic; deep red covered with light bloom; slack in small cavity; calyx closed; flesh white, tender, juicy, subacid; core rather large. Early Harvest (American). — Medium size, roundish; straw color with few faint white dots; stalk half to three-fourths inch, slender, set in mod- erate cavity; calyx in shallow basin; flesh very white, tender, crisp, pleas- ant. Early Strawberry (New York). — Medium size, roundish, narrowing to- ward the eye; skin smooth, deep red on yellow ground; stalk one and a half inches, rather slender and uneven, in deep cavity; calyx small, in shallow basin; flesh white, tinged with red next to the skin, tender subacid, sprightly. Red Astracan' (Russian). — Large roundish; skin deep red, save greenish yellow in the shade; pale white bloom; stalk short, and deeply inserted; calyx partially closed and set in slight basin; flesh white, juicy and crisp, pleasant acid; tree hardy and vigorous, and an early bearer. The main reliance in California for an early apple. White Astracart (Russian). — Large, roundish; skin smooth and nearly white, with faint streaks of red, and covered with white bloom; flesh white. Considerably grown in the Sacramento Valley and foothills for early ship- ment. Sometimes attains a weight of 29 ounces. Excellent in the Modesto district of the San Joaquin Valley. Duchess of Oldenburg (Russian). — Large, roundish, oblate; yellow, streaked with red; calyx large, nearly closed, set in wide, even hollow; flesh juicy, subacid. Skinner's Seedling' (name approved by California State Horticultural Society, November, 1887); syn. Skinner's Pippin, Santa Clara King. — Orig- inated with Judge H. C. Skinner, of San Jose. Fruit large to very large; form oblate, conic, slightly mixed; color rich lemon yellow, faintly striped with bright red; flesh yellowish white, very tender, juicy, sprightly, mild subacid; quality best. Season, September and October. Excellent for home use and local sale. Difficult to pick without breaking the spurs. Gravenstein' (German). — Large, rather flattened; a little one-sided or angular; broadest at base; stalk short, strong, deeply set; calyx large, closed, in a large basin; skin yellow, freely marked with light and deep red and orange; flesh tender, crisp, highly flavored, aromatic; a strong-grow- ing and heavily-bearing tree; a standard fall apple in this State. Red Bietigheimer (German). — Large to very large, oblate, slightly coni- cal, regular, smooth, whitish or yellowish white, shaded with light and dark red, and purplish crimson in the sun; stalk short, rather stout, calyx closed in large, deeply, slightly corrugated basin; flesh white, firm, juicy, brisk subacid. Declining in favor. Maiden's Blush (New Jersey). — Rather large, smooth, regular; yellow, with evenly shaded red cheek; stalk short, in rather wide, deep hollow; calyx closed in moderate depression; flesh white, tender sprightly. 210 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Fall Pippin. — Very large, roundish, a little flattened; stalk three-fourths inch, projecting considerably beyond the fruit (which distinguishes it from the Holland Pippin); calyx open, not very large, rather deeply sunk in round, narrow basin; skin smooth, yellowish green, becoming pure yellow; brownish blush and few scattered dots; flesh white, tender, mellow, rich, aromatic. Being discarded by planters. Alexander (Russian). — Very large, showy, conical, greenish yellow, streaked with red in shade, bright red in sun; calyx large^ in deep basin; stalk slender, long, in deep cavity; flesh yellowish white, crisp, tender, and juicy. Tree vigorous, but not always a good bearer. Gloria Mundi. — Very large, roundish, oblate; ribbed; greenish yellow. A popular show apple on account of great size attained in this State. Fameuse; syn. Snow Apple (Canada). — Medium size, roundish, somewhat flattened; deep crimson, nearly concealing pale yellowish ground; flesh snowy white, tender, juicy, slight perfume; stalk slender, one-half inch, in narrow funnel-shaped cavity; succeeds well in the foothills, but losing popu- larity. King of Tompkins County. — Large, globular, angular, inclining to conic; yellowish, mostly shaded with red, striped and splashed with crimson; stalk short and stout, in large, somewhat irregular cavity; calyx small, closed; flesh yellowish, rich, juicy, vinous, aromatic; chiefly grown in mountain regions. Popular in Humboldt County. Ben Davis. — Large, roundish, sides often unequal; light red and deep red on yellowish ground; stalk medium, rather slender, in deep, narrow cavity; calyx partially open. Being discarded by planters. Displaced by Black Ben Davis and Gano to some extent. Baldwin (Massachusetts). — Large, roundish, narrowing a little toward the eye; deep bright red over a yellow ground; a few russet dots; calyx closed and set in narrow basin; stalk one-half to three-quarters inch, rather slender, set in deep cavity; flesh yellowish-white, crisp, juicy, sub-acid. Best in northern and elevated regions; coloring varies greatly according to locality. Hoover (South Carolina). — Large, roundish, slightly oblique; yellowish, mostly overspread with red, with conspicuous light dots; stalk rather long, in large cavity; calyx open in furrowed basin; flesh yellowish, juicy, 'crisp, acid. Sells well in Sonoma County. Rhode Island Greening.— Large, roundish, a little flattened, pretty regu- lar; dark green, becoming yellowish green; calyx small, woolly, closed, in shallow basin; stalk three-fourths inch, curved, thickest at the bottom; flesh yellow, fine grained; tender crisp, juicy, aromatic, slightly acid; tree healthy and the variety widely popular. Sells well to apple driers. King David. — Large, deep red, suffusing rich yellow, and delicious flavor. Largely planted for the fall trade, at elevated situations in Southern Cali- fornia. Jonathan~(New York).— Medium to large, roundish, conical or tapering to the eye; light yellow, nearly covered with red stripes and deep red in the sun; stalk three-fourths of an inch, rather slender, in deep, regular cavity; calyx in deep, broad basin; tender, juicy, rich, vinous; a great favorite in California; specially commended as a market apple; keeps till midwinter. Winesap.— Medium size, roundish oblong; dark yellow with traces of yellow in the shade; stalk nearly an inch, slender, set in an irregular cav- ity; calyx small, in regular basin; flesh yellow, crisp, high, rich flavor; largely grown; tree a good bearer. Stayman Winesap.— An old improvement on the Winesap now becoming more prominent. Some growers reporting favorably on Winesap have this variety, which is larger and better, and the tree a stronger grower and more productive. Otrley; syn. White Bellflower, etc. (New Jersey).— Large, oblong, green- ish yellow, becoming fine yellow with slight blush; stalk medium, slender, APPLES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 211 set in deep, acute cavity; calyx closed, set in abrupt corrugated basin; flesh white, fine grained, juicy, subacid; disappearing from propagation. Lawver. — Large, roundish, oblate, dark red, covered with small dots; stalk medium, cavity deep, regular; calyx small, closed in medium furrowed basin; flesh white, sprightly, aromatic; late keeping variety, but being dis- carded. Yellow Belleflower" (New Jersey). — Very large, oblong, irregular, taper- ing toward the eye;1 smooth; lemon color, with blush; stalk long and slen- der, in deep cavity; calyx closed, in rather narrow basin; flesh tender, juicy, crisp, with sprightly subacid flavor; keeps well into the winter; tree a strong grower and healthy; one of the universal favorites of California. Esopus Spitzenburg^ (New York). — Large, oblong, tapering roundly to the eye; smooth, nearly covered with rich, lively red, dotted with distinct yellowish russet dots; on shaded side, yellowish ground with streaks and broken stripes of red; stalk rather long, three-fourths inch, slender, pro- jecting beyond the base and inserted in the wide cavity; calyx small and closed, in shallow basin; flesh yellow, rather firm, crisp, juicy, with a de- licious rich, brisk flavor. A largely grown variety; tree a good, upright grower and healthy; fruit keeps fairly. Smith's Cider (Pennsylvania). — Large, roundish, oblate conic; yellow, shaded and striped with red, sparsely covered with gray dots; stalk slen- der, in deep, rather narrow cavity; calyx closed, in broad, shallow basin; flesh whitish, juicy, crisp, acid; tree a strong grower, and fruit keeps till midwinter. Rome Beauty "( Ohio). — Large, roundish, approaching conic; yellow, shaded and striped with bright red, sprinkled with light dots; stalk one inch, in large, deep cavity; calyx partially closed, in deep narrow basin; flesh yellowish, juicy, sprightly; fruit keeps late. Particularly fine in the mountain valleys of Southern California, though popular also in northern coast districts. Missouri Pippin" (Missouri). — Large, roundish oblate, slightly oblique, somewhat flattened at the ends; shaded, striped and splashed with light and dark red, often quite dark in the sun; many large and small gray dots; stalk short, small; cavity large, deep; calyx closed or half open, basin rather abrupt deep, slightly corrugated; flesh whitish, rather coarse, moderately juicy, sub- acid. Formerly largely planted, but losing favor for lack of keeping quality in coast valleys. Winter Banana^— Medium to large; golden yellow, shaded red; flavor rich, subacid. Late fall. An early bearer. Northern Spy (New York). — Large, roundish, oblate, conical; pale yel- low, purplish red stripes in the- sun; stalk three-fourths inch, slender, in wide, deep cavity; calyx small, closed; flesh white, mild, pleasant; highly esteemed in a few localities, but abandoned in others .for shy bearing. White Winter Pearmain. — Large, roundish, oblong conic, somewhat ob- lique; pale yellow with slight blush, many minute brown dots; stalk short, in deep cavity; calyx nearly closed; flesh yellowish, tender, crisp, juicy, very pleasant, subacid, extra high flavor; grown everywhere and fruit keeps late; tree a strong grower and healthy. Greatly advantaged by cross-pollination. Red Pearmain is grown to some extent to fill orders for a red apple. Grimes Golden. — Medium to large; rich yellow with many gray dots; beautiful; flavor good. Late fall. Delicious.— Resembling Bellflower; yellow; almost covered with dark red; very mild acid, quality good; a late keeper. Strongly approved in elevated districts, and^recently largely planted. Arkansas Black (Mammonth Black Twig). — Large, round, sometimes oblate and conic; dull green becoming deep yellow, overspread with deep red, obscurely striped with deeper shade. Late fall. Yellow Newton Pippin.— Large, roundish, oblate and oblaque, more or less flattened, yellow with brownish red cheek; stalk very short; flesh firm, crisp, juicy, and with very rich, high flavor. Generally considered the best winter apple in California. 212 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM CRAB APPLES Hyslop. — Fruit large, growing in clusters; roundish ovate; dark rich red, covered with thick blue bloom; stalk long, slender; calyx closed; flesh yel- lowish. Large Red Siberian. — Roundish ovate with large and prominent calyx; pale red and yellow skin. Large Yellow Siberian has similar fruit, light clear yellow, inclining to amber, with warm cheek. Trancendant. — Medium to large, roundish oval, flattened at the ends, slightly but regularly ribbed; golden yellow, with rich, crimson cheek, or nearly covered with red; delicate white bloom; stalk long and slender, in open, deep cavity; calyx closed; flesh creamy yellow. Montreal Beauty. — Large, roundish, oblate; bright yellow, mostly cov- ered and shaded with red; one of the most beautiful of crab apples. CHAPTER XVIII THE APRICOT California has nearly four million apricot trees which stand in the open air without protection of any kind and bear large, luscious fruit. That apricot trees can do this constitutes one of the unique features of California fruit growing and proclaims it different from fruit growing in other States, for, excepting a few localities in other parts of the Pacific slope, California has a monopoly of commercial apricot growing, and nowhere else in the world does the fruit attain such commercial importance. Although the apricot has been grown here from the earliest days of American occupation, and though since the opening of the export trade in canned and dried fruits, the apricot has gained in popularity, the planting of apricot orchards has not proceeded recently with great rapidity, although indications are that our distant patrons are only just beginning to recognize the desirability of the fruit, and their demands will make it well- nigh impossible for us to extend our production beyond profitable limits. The reason the apricot has not kept pace with the advance of some other fruits in California is to be found in certain limita- tions of suitable area which will be mentioned presently. Though the apricot has some pests and diseases to contend with, they have thus far proved slight evils, and the tree is generally re- garded as one of the healthiest and most vigorous, as it certainly is one of our most beautiful orchard trees. It is long - lived and attains great size. There were in 1900 here and there groups of trees half a century old with a height of fifty feet ; the main trunks like forest oaks, and the first branches of limbs twelve and fifteen inches through. The smaller limbs and foliage are at least fifty feet across ; a half dozen of them shade an acre of ground and they some- times yielded per tree a ton of fruit. But such trees do not meet orchard requirements and are only mentioned to show what the tree may do when it has its own way. The apricot is a rapid grower and an early and heavy bearer in California. In the interior and in the southern coast valleys it yields a paying crop during its third summer in the orchard, and from eight to fourteen tons to the acre was reached for several years in succession, in Judge Blackwood's old orchard of Royal apricots, in Alameda County. The trees, even of some varieties which are un- certain bearers, are large and vigorous growers, and have warranted the suggestion that there is a use for the apricot tree for a wind- break for the protection of other trees. The trees may be planted near together in strong land, and make a summer windbreak that will pay its way without regard to such fruit as it may incidentally produce. Apricots are chiefly marketed as a dried fruit, and the operation of drying will be described in the chapter devoted to such processes. 214 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The amount used in canning is, in a year of full production, about one-quarter of that used for drying, while the weight of fruit sold fresh to consumers, near and far, is about one-quarter of that used by the canners. It is historically interesting to note that in 1918 apricot pits of the crop of 1917 sold at $32.50 per ton for war purposes. LOCALITIES FOR THE APRICOT In discussing localities for the apricot, reference is, of course, only made to its growth as a standard orchard tree without pro- tection of any kind. It shows even in California that it does not forget the conditions which destroy its thrift elsewhere, for late frost in our upper coast counties render it, as a rule, unprofitable. Speaking broadly, the quarter of the State lying northward of the Bay of San Francisco and westward of the high ridge of the Coast Range is not suited for commercial apricot growing; though here and there are places where bearing may be regular and abundant enough to make trees satisfactory for home gardens. The mountain regions everywhere in the State above an elevation of 1200 feet are also to be excluded. The lowest lands of the great interior valleys, except here and there, where frosts are prevented by proximity of broad streams or by favoring air currents, are unsuited for apricots, and the bottoms of small valleys whence cold air cannot find drain- age outlet, are also treacherous. It is evident then, that even in regions of general adaptation to the fruit local discrimination must be exercised in selecting land for apricots, and the occurrence of spring frosts, which are usually governed by topography, must be guarded against. This is not the same problem which arises in the selection of land for fruits, because apricots are not open to injury during December, January and February, and consequently they may be successfully grown in places where winter temperatures might injure the evergreen trees of the citrus family. Still, next to the almond, the apricot is most liable to frost injury of all our deciduous tree fruits, and commercial success depends largely upon the selection of a proper place for them. The occurrence of even light frosts during the blooming and setting, or soon after, may strip the tree of its burden of fruit without injury to even the softest twig and leaf ; consequently, regular bearing of the apricot can not be expected where the temperature is apt to fall four or five de- grees below the freezing point during the months of March and April, even though the duration of such temperature may be very brief. For this reason the area of California which is well suited to apricot growing is limited when compared with the great area of the State, though when counted by acres it is ample enough to supply all the fresh, canned and dried apricots which the markets of the world can be expected to take at profitable figures. It is often claimed that situations directly subject to ocean in- fluences are best for the apricot. It is noted by many observers that the apricot "points its best branches to the ocean, in the very teeth of the constant breeze, and the landward limbs and twigs bend LOCATIONS FOR THE APRICOT 215 up and endeavor to reach the same direction. This is patent in every tree, and in the long orchard rows is very striking." This is taken to signify the special liking of the tree for the vicinity of the coast — if spring frosts are not too frequent. It is well enough to inter- pret it that way, providing one does not lose sight of the perfect success of the apricot in the interior as well. It is true that the fruit near the coast attains higher color, and the less rapid growth of the tree makes it somewhat easier to handle, but the earlier ripen- ing in the interior, coupled with freedom from fog and constant sunshine for drying, are points of the highest industrial importance. The fact is that the apricot has a very wide range in California, and though the trees have been cut out at some points it has been chiefly because too frosty locations have been chosen or because some other fruit has seemed to be locally more desirable, for one reason or another. In some valleys in the upper part of the State opening directly to the ocean, there is sometimes complaint of the cracking of the fruit on the sunny side. The alternation of sunshine and fog seems to have something to do with this, for in favorable years, when fogs are few, the fruit is sound. Locations for early ripening of the apricot are to be chosen with reference to the influence of topography, as laid down in Chapter I. In a general way, it may be said, in regions directly subject to coast influences, both in Northern and Southern California, the apricot is late. On the west side of the Sacramento Valley, on slightly elevated places, in small, hill-locked valleys, the earliest apricots have been grown for years. Protected situations in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada, on the eastern rim of both the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, share in the production of the earliest ripening fruit. There is probably about a month's difference in the ripening of the same variety in the earliest situations and in the coast valleys of both Northern and Southern California. In the interior of Southern California, inirrigated situations, on the west side of the Colorado River and in adjacent parts of Arizona, apricots rival in earliness the product of the famous valleys of in- terior Northern California. Recently a measure of success with the apricot has been attained in irrigated sections of Eastern Washington, Idaho and Utah. If winter temperatures are low enough to keep the tree dormant and yet not low enough to injure the fruit buds and frosts are absent after growth begins, success ought to be attainable. STOCKS AND SOILS FOR THE APRICOT Because of the success with which the apricot can be budded on various stocks, it has a wide range in adaptation to different soils. Budded on the peach root it may be grown successfully on the light, warm, well-drained loams in which the peach delights. The peach root is, in fact, largely used for the apricot. It gives the tree quick growth and early fruiting, and the fact that the gopher does not CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM like the peach root is a consideration with some planters. In grow- ing stocks, pits of a strong-growing yellow peach are believed to yield more uniform and thrifty seedlings. For deep, rich, well-drained, loamy soils, the apricot on its own root makes a magnificent tree. Apricot roots for budding are easily secured. The pits sprout as readily as corn. Sometimes, where cutting and drying are done in the orchard, the ground the next spring will be almost covered with a volunteer crop of seedling apricots. These little plants, taken up and set out in nursery rows in March, are ready for budding in June or July. Large numbers of trees are sometimes secured in this way. In the upper San Joaquin Valley there are situations in which the apricot seems more productive on its own roots than on the peach, and in the moister parts of the San Fernando and tributary valleys in Southern Cali- fornia the apricot root has recently advanced in popularity. It is, however, rather more sensitive to soil-drouth than the peach root. Formerly in the Imperial Valley the apricot root was regarded as less tolerant of alkali than the peach root, but recently in the San Joaquin valley the reverse has been held. When it is desired to grow the apricot in moister and heavier soils than have been described, or where a light soil is underlaid by a heavy, retentive subsoil, recourse should be had to the myrobalan plum root. Some growers complain that this root has a dwarfing effect on the tree, but recently its use has increased. It is, however, not adapted to the lighter soils in which the peach root may thrive. The manner of securing myrobalan stocks has been described in the chapter on propagation. Apricot and Almond. — The almond should as a rule be rejected as a stock for the apricot. Hundreds have tried it, and found that the scion does not make a good union with the wood of the stock but is knit to it only by the bark, and is, therefore, easily broken off by the wind. It may grow well and sometimes gets to be two or three inches in diameter before it breaks off. Whole orchards worked in this way have been a loss and disappointment. A few growers, however, approve the almond and use it with the idea that it gives larger fruit. It has been claimed that the Royal apricot will take well on the almond seedling by root grafting in- stead of budding, using the side graft as described in Chafter IX, but still caution is urged against the use of the almond as a stock for the apricot — except by double working, growing on the almond seedling first a shoot from a peach bud and then working an apricot bud higher up in the new shoot. In addition to the specifications of certain stocks for different soils, it may be remarked, in a general way, that the apricot on a suitable root seems to thrive better on a tolerably heavy soil, with enough sand to make it work easily, than on a very light soil. It does well on soil rather too heavy for the peach. It also enjoys moisture better and gives signs of distress unless its roots are fairly supplied all during the season, but it dislikes standing water and should not be planted on undrained situations. CULTURAL CONDITIONS FOR THE APRICOT 217 PLANTING THE APRICOT The apricot becomes a large tree in California, as has already been remarked, and it should be given plenty of room. Twenty-four feet each way is certainly the minimum distance for so large and long-lived tree, and some orchards have been planted at thirty feet. If nearer planting is done it should be with reference to subsequent removal of part of the trees, which, however, is very seldom done. Twenty feet apart, with later removal of half the trees to double the distance was proposed by H. D. Briggs, of Azusa, in this way : In setting out an orchard it seems advisable to double set the ground, as an apricot twelve to fifteen years old should have not less than 800 to 900 square feet of ground. This can easily be obtained by setting 20x20 feet; then when nine or ten years old remove every other tree, making them forty feet in the row, with rows twenty feet apart, of course, taking them out diagonally. The trees will very quickly tell the orchardist when they are too thick. When the outside rows have twice the fruit of those inside it is quite evident that the time spent in pruning, etc., on half of the trees is worse than wasted. I have cut roots forty feet from a nine-year-old tree. The apricot makes such rapid growth and so much depends upon giving it proper form, as will be seen presently, that one year's growth it all that should be allowed in the nursery. Some growers would rather have a dormant bud than a two-year-old tree, and cases have been reported from dormant buds outgrowing yearling trees planted at the same time in the same orchard. But in growing from a dormant bud in the orchard great care should be taken to develop a short trunk, with properly-spaced branches, by pinching the side shoots near the ground. Trees started from dormant buds and allowed to branch from the ground, have developed very un- satisfactory form, and have, in some situations, lost their lower branches by the wind. The tree should have a low head, but a short trunk seems to give a better tree, and more elasticity to the branches. PRUNING THE APRICOT Of all California orchard trees, the apricot seems most in need of the constant attention of the orchardist to give it proper shape and strength. It is a rampant grower, and in its zealous haste for size and fruitage it over-reaches itself and becomes the prey of specific gravity and wind force. Thousands of trees have been ruined by literally breaking to pieces with the weight of their fruit, and being torn by winds of only ordinary velocity. Thousands more have been rescued from such a fate by bolting the branches to each other. This excessive growth and consequent weakness of the apricot is greater in some parts of the State than in others, because of the difference in degree of forcing conditions, but everywhere the apricot needs watchfulness and timely aid in building up its strength. The general principles to be observed in securing branches strongly attached 'to a short trunk have already been discussed at length in Chapter XII. The adjacent engraving shows their appli- cation to branching the apricot. 218 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM There has been a very marked change during the last few years in orunine the apricot. Summer pruning, immediately after the fruit is picked, has become much more general, and winter pruning has proportionally decreased. Young trees are winter pruned to promote low branching and short, stout limbs; bearing trees are summer pruned to promote fruit bearing and check wood growth— the excess of bearing shoots being removed by thinning during the winter. The apricot tree bears upon old spurs, like the plum ; also upon the new wood, like the peach. This fact has to be borne in mind when winter thinning of the new growth is undertaken. Weak and strong branch-placing of apricot tree. A very clear record of procedure is given by J. B. Neff, of Ana- heim, Orange County, who built up one of the best apricot orchards in the State as he describes : Pruning the apricot requires some skill and considerable judgment Trees of four to five feet in height are preferable for planting, and when planted should be trimmed to a single stem and cut off at eighteen inches from the ground. These will throw out shoots vigorously, and frequently two or three shoots from one point. These shoots should be thinned out, leaving not more than four or five, no two of which should come from one point, nor be directly opposite. The first shoot should start twelve inches from the ground, the others in such a manner as to divide the space and make the branches balance, leaving the top shoot to form the central part of the tree. It will be necessary to go over the trees several times the first year to remove shoots that may start where not wanted, but no general heading back should be done, as it tends to dwarf the tree; though if some of the PRUNING THE APRICOT 219 limbs are making an overgrowth they should be pinched back to keep the head balanced. In the pruning of the second year, the first year's growth should be cut back to within five or ten inches of the body of the tree, and all forks should be cut out, even if it necessitates forming a new head, as it is much better to lose some growth on a young tree than to take the risk of split- ting down when the tree begins to bear fruit. The second year will require much more attention than the first year, in order to keep off suckers and all lateral growth that may start on the under side of the new limbs, the object being to make the limbs grow as nearly upright as possible. In pruning for the third year the second year's growth should now be cut back to within fifteen to twenty inches of the old wood, except the cen- tral stem, which may be left twenty-four to thirty inches long, depending on the number of laterals it may have thrown out. When the new shoots start they should again be thinned down to two or three on each limb, and all taken off that end to turn down or out at right angles, but do not take off the fruit spurs. During the third season's growth, go over the trees about three times before July to remove suckers and lateral growth that may start on the lower side of the limbs, as the tendency in the third year is to make an immense growth of downward laterals, and these must be taken off so as to develop wood that is to be left for fruit. If the orchard is on good land and has been properly irrigated and cultivated there will be a few speci- mens of the fruit the third year, and as soon as these are gathered the trees should be summer pruned for the first time, care being taken that the land shall have been allowed to become moderately dry so that the trees may be partially dormant. If the downward growth of the laterals has been kept cut off, all that remains to be done is to cut off about one-half of all this sea- son's growth all over the tree, using the same judgment as before with ref- erence to prevailing winds and symmetry of tree. If this is properly done and water at once turned on the orchard, a new growth will be made and the fruit buds for next year fully developed. The only pruning necessary in the following winter will be to take out any cross limbs and sprouts that may have been overlooked in the summer. After the trees begin to produce regular crops they will not grow so vigorously, and the numerous prunings of the first three years will not be necessary, as almost all can be done by summer pruning until the trees get so old that they need old wood taken out. Vase-Form With Less Shortening. — The foregoing is a careful outline of the method of short-cutting of the tree until it comes into bearing which has been generally practiced in California. There has always been variation in practice in the way of less shortening in of main branches. The following is a sketch of the way in which the 140-acre Losse apricot orchard in the Santa Clara Valley was brought to an age of twelve years and notable production : The trees were cut back to 15 or 18 inches when set out some ten or twelve years ago. Three or four main limbs were allowed to grow so as to balance the tree and were cut back to about three feet at the end of the season. About each cut end, several new "leaders" grew out and at the end of the season all but one of these were cut off; and it was cut back a little shorter than the length on which it grew. Only one new leader is left on each limb, because too many would shade and stunt buds inside the tree. In selecting which of many leaders to save, the upright growers are preferred, for the weight of fruit will make them bend over to spread the tree enough. But if there is a space beside that upright leader, and an- other limb grows close to its other side, the upright one is cut back to the old wood and the one projecting into space is reserved. Every effort is made to leave no large openings to the center of the tree; but to fill them thinly 220 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM with fruit-bearing wood. Each leader that is left is cut back according to the vigor of the tree. After a dry year, or a heavy crop, it would be cut back These leaders of new wood may bloom but are not likely to set fruit that will mature. Their principal business is to put forth new spurs which will fruit the year following. Only enough opportunity for new spurs should be left so all that come may be vigorous enough to support the fruit that sets on them. New growth is left long on young trees in order to get a large surface for fruit bearing as soon as possible. The top of the tree is shaped into a hemisphere to expose a large sur- face to the direct sunlight, and not so thick but that sunlight may filter to the interior quite freely. If the interior is shaded too much, all fruit wood there will die. Mr. Losse believed that his success with the Hemskirke variety was due to not cutting back but simply thinning out interfering, surplus, or weakened branches. He expected to cut them back every five years severely enough to grow new wood. Still Longer Pruning. — Training apricots without cutting back and renewal of old trees which have grown too high is thus de- scribed* by Mr. Aratus Everett of Ventura county : In 1893 I set out about 150 acres three miles west of the town of Moor- park. This locality is subject to spring frosts. I soon noticed that the earliest lower blossoms were often killed by frost when those coming out later, say above ten feet, made a crop of fruit. As I never had approved of the extreme practice of close heading back of young trees, so I left from three to five main branches to make my trees and headed back and thinned out the inside branches only. An acquaintance of mine set out about 150 acres of apricots near Saticoy the same year that mine were planted. These were set on rich land. He was thoroughly imbuded with the extremely close cutting back system of prun- ing young trees. At the end of five years each main limb of my trees was longer than his whole tree and each of those limbs bore more fruit than his whole tree. From one of my best trees when it was only four years old we gathered over 500 pounds of fine fruit. When this tree was six years old it bore nearly 500 pounds of apricots (green), and it has borne heavy crops right along and is now (1920) in fine condition. When my apricot orchard was about 20 years old I had about one-quarter of the large limbs that were equally distant around the tree cut off about ten feet above the ground. A great many sprouts started at the top and some lower down on their limbs. By breaking off all but five or six of these sprouts while they were small, the rest made a strong growth which was slightly headed back the next year when we cut away another quarter of the main limbs. This plan was repeated for five or six years as limbs too small to cut away the first year became large enough after four years more growth. My old orchard is now renewed with bearing top varying in age from one to five years. This orchard has often made 1,000 tons of fresh fruit of good quality. The trees are on apricot roots. Early Fall Pruning. — Fall pruning, as noted in Chapter XII, is the rule with the apricot where summer pruning to repress growth is not followed. It is done in the Santa Clara Valley in September— too late to start new shoots. It is held that though there is a loss of nourishment to the tree by early removal of green leaves, the early pruned trees stay green later and so perhaps make up this loss, besides using the energy more profitably for the grower by filling out the fruit buds. •California Cultivator. Jan. 24, 1920. TO GET SIZE IN APRICOTS 221 Winter Pruning of Bearing Trees. — The evident defect of many old apricot orchards is the failure of the low-bearing wood and the thicket of brush near the ends of long bare limbs. Such trees need renewal of the top by vigorous winter pruning, which should prefer- ably be done toward the close of the dormant season rather than early in the winter as formerly. Old and unprofitable trees have been reclaimed in this way. Winter pruning is still the regular method in some parts of the State where the conditions do not favor excessive growth of the tree and where summer pruning does not seem to be called for. The practice is to remove half or two-thirds of the new growth and thin out, by removing entirely enough new and old wood to prevent the tree from becoming thick and brushy. In shortening the bearing shoots it should be remembered that the larger fruits usually grow nearer to the tip than to the base of the shoot. THINNING THE APRICOT All free-fruiting varieties of the apricot must be thinned to secure size acceptable to purchasers. It is the experience of the oldest growers that though thinning is an expensive operation, it is very profitable. When half the fruit is taken off in thinning, the remain- der reaches as large aggregate weight as though the whole were allowed to mature, and thinned fruit is worth about twice as much per pound. Even if less weight is secured, and in most cases the purpose should be to get less weight, the tree is spared the exhaus- tion of over-bearing and the owner escapes a year of little or no fruit. A discussion of this subject is given in Chapter XII. Where conditions are favorable, the tree will set more fruit than it can bring to full size, and for this reason thinning or spacing the fruit on the twigs by hand-picking, while the fruit is about the size of a pigeon's egg, is almost a universal practice among the best commercial growers. This is necessary to bring the individual fruits to the diameters required by canners or overland shippers and which they scale in price according to size : Extras, 2^4 inches ; No. 1, 2 inches ; No. 2, 2y2 inches. Fruit of less size is hard of sale unless the crop happens to be very small. It has also been found that thin- ning to regulate size is quite as important when the fruit is to be dried by the grower as when sold as fresh fruit. IRRIGATION OF THE APRICOT Whether the apricot shall be irrigated or not is answered in the chapter on irrigation. In many locations, with proper pruning, thinning and cultivation, perfectly satisfactory fruit can be grown with the usual rainfall. In others a single winter irrigation will satisfy all the needs of the tree; in others a single irrigation just after fruit picking and summer pruning will carry the tree through. It is a fact, however, that as the trees advance in age some supple- ment to the average rainfall is often desirable and in dry years 222 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM irrigation is the saving of two crops. Some idea of the amount of water used can be had from the chapter on irrigation. The follow- ing account by Mr. Neff applies to this practice in Orange County, which is an average situation as to rainfall and atmospheric humid- ity, and is as good a general statement as could be made : If rains are copious, winter irrigation may be dispensed ^with during the first two or three years after planting the orchard, but when the trees reach the age of bearing fruit the rain water should be supplemented by irrigation water until the soil is thoroughly wet 5 feet deep, and in order to do this, at least 20 inches of water, including rainfall, must be put on the land. Three irrigations should be given the trees during the first summer, but it is not necessary to wet more than a strip 5 or 6 feet wide along the tree rows. The orchard should have three irrigations during the second summer and a strip 12 feet wide should be watered, as the roots are reaching farther and the trees require a greater amount of water. The irrigation for the first two years should always be done before the trees show any want of water, so as to keep them going vigorously. All the space between the trees should be watered the third year and afterward; but two irrigations will be sufficient for the summer. The best time for the summer irrigation of bearing apricot trees is when the fruit is about half grown, which is usually about the second or third week in May. If well watered at this time the fruit grows to its largest, and has time to ripen slowly as the ground gradually dries, until it has all the sugar which will go into the fruit. An orchard in full bearing that has been well watered in the winter should now have as much as full 100 inches of water for two hours on each acre (equal to four acre-inches). The second irrigation should be given as soon as possible after the sum- mer pruning is done, in order to start the trees growing and develop the fruit buds for the next year. This will not require so much water as the irrigation in May, but ought to be as much as 100 inches of water for one hour on each acre. Winter irrigation of apricots on deep soils, as supplementary to rainfall and largely reducing summer irrigation, is a very satisfac- tory recourse in some districts. DISEASES OF THE APRICOT Though the apricot tree, as has been said, is regarded as one of the healthiest fruit trees, it is subject to some maladies. Trees perish from being set in unsuitable situations, and in these cases, if the evil be stagnant water in soil, or penetration to alkaline subsoil, the root shows it. Sometimes, however, a branch or a whole tree withers and dies without apparent cause early in the summer, and while the root is still sound. The disease is evidently acute, but its cause is not known, nor a remedy proposed. It is an old trouble of the apricot, and not peculiar to California. Such dying branches should be cleanly cut away. The so-called "gum disease" sometimes causes injury to trees. Some forms of gumming have recently demonstrated to be due to bacterial invasion. When gumming spots appear on the bark the best treatment is to cut away the diseased bark down to healthy wood during the dormant season and cover the wound with asphal- tum or common lead and oil paint, putting on sparingly so as not to flow over healthy bark. DISEASES OF THE APRICOT 223 There are several troubles affecting the twigs, foliage and fruits which are reduced by the following preventive treatment. For bearing trees spray with heavy Bordeaux mixture (6-8-50) or lime sulphur (1-12) between November 15 and December 15, to prevent infection of the buds with the Coryneum (peach blight) fungus and also to clean up, as far as possible, the spores of this fungus and those of the brown rot (Monilia). During winter pruning remove all dead twigs and small branches and as pink-color appears in swelling bloom buds, spray with lime-sulphur (1-10) or with Bor- deaux mixture when the blossoms are opening. For twig injury caused by frost and generally called "sour sap," a heavy coating of whitewash applied about November 15 and renewed, if necessary, during the winter, is believed to be the best preventive. There is prevalent in some districts a trouble called "black heart" ; a pith disease which sometimes does great injury. No treat- ment except that of pruning back to healthy wood has thus far been proposed. Root knot is also a serious trouble of the apricot as of several other trees. It will be considered in the chapter devoted to disease of fruit trees. Until recently the apricot has been generally free from scale in- sects, and it is not affected by those species which are worst on some other fruit trees, but recently it has been seriously infested in some cases with black and brown scales, which will be considered in a later chapter. The ripe apricot is sometimes seriously assailed by the diabrotica, a small green beetle, with twelve black spots upon its wing covers. Driving the insects away with smoke smudges has been used to some extent. Fortunately, the insect only occasionnally occurs in large numbers. VARIETIES OF THE APRICOT Though nearly all standard varieties of the apricot have been introduced and planted in this State, comparatively few are found on the list of the orchard planters. Many local seedlings have been brought to notice and propagated to some extent but finally aban- doned, and the disposition is to restrict planting to a few old varieties. At the conferences of the growers, canners and nurserymen in 1920 (which has been noted in Chapter XVI), the Blenheim, Royal and Tilton were approved for commercial planting, Hemskirke and Routier's Peach additional for home orchards and Moorpark for drying (in locations where it does well). The canners recom- mended that for the coast districts 100 per cent Blenheim be planted, interior San Joaquin Valley 100 per cent TiJton, interior Sacramento Valley 50 per cent Blenheim, 50 per cent Tilton. The following are now commercially grown in California: * Royal. — A French variety, for many years the leading California apricot and now dividing first honors with the Blenheim. Of large size (when well thinned out), free stone, fine color and flavor, good bearer, and fruit ripens CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM evenly when well grown; a favorite with the canners, and an excellent varietv for drying. Fruit roundish, large, oval, slightly compressed; skin dull yellow with orange check, very faintly tinged with red, and a shallow suture; flesh pale orange, firm and juicy, with a rich vinous flavor. The Derby Royal is grown in the Winters district; like the standard Royal but two weeks earlier. The Barry is grown in Alameda County as an improved Royal. • Blenheim or Shipley. — This is a valuable variety in this State, standing with the Royal in popularity; was described by John Rock as follows: "A very good variety, above medium, oval; orange, with a deep yellow, juicy and tolerably rich flesh; vigorous grower and regular, prolific bearer." This behavior of the variety was first demonstrated fully in the University or- chard at Berkeley, where it was for years the best of twenty varieties. It is now popular in all parts of the State. Fruit runs a little larger than the Royal and is usually better distributed on the tree, but it must be well thinned. This variety has been approved by canners. Ripens a little later than the Royal. Losse Blenheim and Knobel Blemheim are selected strains growing in Santa Clara Valley. Thirty years ago Royal and Blenheim were considered different varieties and distinguishable. At present (1921) they are propagated and sold indis- criminately by many nurseries, and a promological problem of original identity or diversity presses for solution. Hemskirke. — A fine English variety quite widely grown in California; ripens later than Royal; described by Downing as follows: "Fruit large, roundish, but considerably compressed or flattened on its sides; skin orange, with red cheek; flesh bright orange, tender, rather more juicy and sprightly than the Moorpark, with rich, lucious, plum-like flavor; stone not perforate, rather small and kernel bitter." Esteemed in California, because the tree is more hardy and a more regular bearer than the Moorpark, and the fruit ripens evenly on both sides. Sometimes drops worse than other varieties. ^ Peach.— A variety from Piedmont of the largest size, about two inches in diameter, roundish, rather flattened, and somewhat compressed on its sides, with a well-marked suture; skin yellow in the shade, but deeply orange mottled with brown on the sunny side; flesh of a fine yellow, saffron .color, juicy, rich, and highly flavored; stone can be penetrated like Moorpark, and has bitter kernel. This has been a very successful sort in the warmer parts of the State especially, and a favorite in the Sacramento Valley, but is now in less favor because of rapid ripening and inferior appearance in canning and drying. It ripens just ahead of the Moorpark. Routier/s Peach. — Originated with Joseph Routier, near Sacramento. Large, yellow in shade; deep orange, mottled or splashed with red in the sun; flesh juicy and rich, high flavor and a good market variety. Blooms a week later than Peach. Very popular in Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. Moorpark. — A standard of excellence and an old variety which originated in England. Fruit large, roundish, about two inches and a quarter in diam- eter each way; rather larger on one side of the suture than on the other; skin organe in the shade, but deep orange or brownish red in the sun, marked with numerous dark specks and dots; flesh quite firm, bright orange, parting free from the stone, quite juicy, with a rich and luscious flavor; stone peculiarly perforated along the back, where a pin may be pushed through; kernel bitter. In California the Moorepark reaches grand size, but has the fault of ripening unevenly in most localities. The tree is tender and bears irregularly, which leads to its rejection by most planters, though some growers cling to it because of its size and quality and occasional grand crops. The San Jose districts lead in the production of this variety, and in some~parts of the Santa Clara Valley the Moorpark seems to ripen uni- formly. The same behavior is reported from localities in the upper San Joaquin Valley, where it also seems to be a more regular bearer. The variety is almost wholly rejected in Southern California. Plate IX. — Profuse bearing of vine by long pruning. (See page 311.) VARIETIES OF THE APRICOT 225 Newcastle. — Originated with C. M. Silva & Son, of Newcastle, Placer County, in 1881; size medium, round, with spherical pit; freestone; not quite as large as the Royal, nor quite as rich in flavor, but more highly colored; rather darker on the side to the sun. Early, regular and good bearer, a medium grower, being more upright than the Royal. Its time of ripening has been reported as seventeen days earlier than the Early Golden, and twenty- five days earlier than the Royal. Especially profitable in Imperial Valley. c Tilton. — Chance seedling first noticed about 1885 on place of J. E. Tiiton, near Hanford, Kings County, and distinguished by regular bearing. Prop- agated and introduced by J. W. Barstow, of Hanford. Fruit large; free- stone; symmetrical, ripening evenly and one week to ten days later than Royal. Tree vigorous and prolific. Widely planted recently and very promising, though condemned for shy bearing in some places. Colors in advance of ripening and is often picked too green for best quality in drying. CHAPTER XIX THE CHERRY Although the amount of cherries grown in this State is small as compared with the aggregate weights of some other fruits, the cherry, from the growth of the tree and the size and quality of the product, is entitled to rank as one of the grand fruits of California. The size of the California-grown cherry is a matter of pride with the residents, and a marvel to visitors. It is related that, many years ago, one of the most distinguished Eastern pomologists, who was taken to an Alameda County cherry orchard during picking time, could not recognize the varieties, though he had himself prop- agated and shipped to California the very trees which were bearing the fruit, the size of which so far surpassed all his mental standards. And quality is commensurate with size. Whatever disagreement there may be concerning the flavors of our other fruits as compared with Eastern, the richness and excellence of the California cherry has never been impeached. Recently the shipment of cherries to Eastern markets and the extension of the canning interest, have considerably enlarged the opportunity for profitable growth of the fruit. Famous Old Tnees. — The longevity and productiveness of the cherry tree in this State is naturally of interest. Cherries that were planted in some of the earliest settled parts of the State are still in full vigor. One of the famous trees is a Black Tartarian, which was brought from France by Dr. L. E. Miller, and planted by him in 1854, on land afterwards owned by Robert Hector in Placer County, just below Rattlesnake Bar, on the American River, about eight hundred feet above sea-level. It is described as above seventy feet in height, the branches covering a space between seventy and seventy-five feet in diameter. The trunk branches about six feet above the ground, and at that point has a girth of over ten feet. A close record of its crop, kept for a number of years when the tree was over thirty years of age, showed that it yielded from a ton to a ton and a half a year. Such trees are too large to be profitable, for the fruit has to be picked with the aid of extension ladders securely guyed, by men slung in swings from such ladders or the forks of the tree. At last reports there were about fifty of these large trees. Other large trees were to be seen near Woodside, San Mateo County, and near Oroville and Chico in Butte County, some of which have borne a ton of fruit in favorable seasons. LOCALITIES FOR THE CHERRY In California there are many districts in which the cherry does not do well, and situations for the fruit must therefore be selected with discrimination. The chief product is made in the coast valleys LOCATIONS AND SOILS FOR CHERRIES 227 adjacent to the Bay of San Francisco, including its extension east of the Coast Range, known as Suisun Bay, for in all these regions there is a modification of climate due to the influence of ocean tem- perature and moisture. Away from these influences the cherry also thrives on the alluvial bottoms of large rivers and their tributary creeks, both on the low lands of the valleys and the foothills, while on broad valley plains and foothill slopes it is not usually satis- factory. In the mountain valleys cherries also thrive in suitable soils which are kept reasonably moist by irrigation or cultivation as may be required to do it. How far atmospheric conditions which are beyond control in- fluence the growth and fruitage of the cherry, can not yet be fully determined, but ample trial seems to demonstrate the unsatisfactory character of the tree, manifested in small fruit and sunburned foliage, on the plains of interior valleys, although the soil is kept moist enough. There is, however, still the chance of securing varieties of the fruit which have been developed under conditions similar to those prevailing in the interior of California. It is claimed that the Russian cherries, which are largely grown in a region subject to high summer heat and dry air, will succeed in parts of California where the varieties originating in West Europe fail. Though this was suggested long ago, the effort has not yej made to demonstrate it. SOILS FOR THE CHERRY The cherry thrives in free deep soil, in which water does not stand too near the surface. It delights in deep deposits from old water courses, and does not dislike a moderate amount of sand. A loam underlaid by a sandy subsoil is acceptable if it is not allowed to dry out in the late summer, but a loam underlaid by clay has shown its unfitness by the early failure of the trees, because of standing water in the rainy season, while those on deep loam near by have remained vigorous and profitable. The trees are, however, more resistant of too retentive soil, if a wise choice of roots is made, as will be discussed presently. On the foothills the cherry thrives in the light, mellow soil and fails in the tight clay either in soil or subsoil, as it does in the adobe of lower lands ; and yet a clay loam of no great depth upon a clay subsoil may grow good trees if the clay be so disposed that surplus water from winter rains can escape and water is at hand to guard against summer drouth. Commercial orchards should have a good depth of sufficiently retentive soil. The great cherry trees just mentioned are growing right on the bank of the American River, where the soil is a pure, sandy loam, in some places over sixty feet deep, as proved by, an old shaft once dug near the center of the orchard. But though the cherry dislikes a wet soil, it is particular about its water supply and insists upon enough, its requirements being greater than some other trees. During the dry year 1898-99, also in 1912-13, trees came into distress where they had never suffered 228 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM before, and many large valuable trees died. The only new condition they encountered was lack of soil moisture. It thus appears that while the cherry is undoubtedly injured by excess of water in the soil it is still very exacting in its requirement of an adequate supply. If this cannot be retained in the soil by cultivation, irrigation must be resorted to. Thus the cherry growers in the famous Willows district of San Jose, usually find it an advantage to give their trees an irrigation between the spring rains and the ripening of the fruit, and another irrigation after the fruit is gathered. Irregularity in the moisture supply also causes the cherry to bloom and fruit unseasonably. There has been bloom in October and ripe fruit in January, due to the fact that trees became dormant in late summer from soil-drouth. January cherries may be evidences of salubrity but they betoken poor horticulture. These facts show that the cherry must have water enough or it will not succeed. Sometimes young trees which have made a good summer growth die outright on leachy soils which dry out before the fall rains begin. On the other hand, there must not be excessive moisture in the soil either from irrigation or by moisture. Cherry trees in Southern California, planted with orange trees and given similar irrigation, have failed utterly. Planting on naturally moist land in low places has also failed, and observed facts some time ago led to the conclusion that at the south the cherry should be planted on well-drained land, which could be irrigated (as the behavior of the tree indicated its need of water), rather than on naturally moist land, because of the likelihood of excessive moisture in such situa- tions. More recent experience has declared mellow, well-drained soils, of the higher lands well adapted to the cherry and on such soils, when well cultivated, cherries have done well with little irri- gation at Pasadena, Pomona and elsewhere. The commercial cherry product of Southern California comes, however, from mountain val- leys and high plateaux — the chief regions being the Yacaipa Valley and the Beaumont District in San Bernardino County, the Mesa Grande region in the interior of San Diego County, and other sec- tions with similar conditions. In California, as elsewhere, the Dukes and Morellos may succeed where the Hearts and Bigarreaux fail. The May Duke seems espe- cially hardy, and bears well in Nevada, where other sorts fail utterly. Delayed Fruiting of Cherry Trees. — Though the cherry in favor- able situations bears early, the grower, especially on strong, rich lands, will often have many years of disappointment from falling blossoms and fruit. During this time the trees will be making mar- velous wood growth, and this apparently suppresses the fruiting function. Usually these trees will ultimately bear when their ex- uberant growth declines. They can be thrown into fruit sooner by allowing the trees to go uncultivated, or by root pruning, through digging a trench around about eight feet from the tree, and severing the roots thus encountered, or by summer pruning. Because of this over-growth, growers give such strong soil to the apple or the pear rather than the cherry. Sometimes the non-bearing of the cherry is CHERRIES NEED THE BEES 229 inexplicable. Though everything seems to be right, and the blos- soms are profuse, the fruit will not stick. CROSS-POLLINATION OF CHERRIES Lack of bearing is often due to improper association of varieties in planting. Experiments in cross-pollination of cherry varieties were conducted from 1916 to 1920 in several cherry districts, under direction of Dr. W. L. Howard of the University of California. The following is an outline of observations : The Black Tartarian, Burr's Seedling, Pontiac, Black Republican, Rock- port and Governor Wood will pollinate with the Royal Ann, and the Royal Ann will pollinate the Pontiac. The Black Tartarian, Burr's Seedling, Royal Ann and Governor Wood varieties may be used with the Rockport. The Black Tartarian and Pontiac may be used on the Bing and the Black Tartarian pollinates the Advance. Black Tartarian and Black Republican cross well, the former being also the best pollenizer for the Purple Guigne, Chapman, Advance and Black- heart. Black Tartarian and Pontiac cross the Lambert, the former being pref- erable. Royal Ann's best performance was with Pontiac. It is fortunate that the few cherry varieties which are commer- cially grown in California will cross-pollinate each other, and the planter need not have recourse to several varieties named above which are of no commercial account. These are, however, desirable as garden cherries for amateur planting. There is full demonstration that keeping bees in the vicinity of cherry orchards has increased the bearing. But varieties must be provided which will act as cross-pollinizers. EXPOSURES FOR THE CHERRY Exposures for the cherry are chosen both with reference to pro- tection from frost injury and to early ripening of the fruit. The cherry blooms early; though hardly as venturesome as the apricot and almond. In protected situations, guarded from cold northerly winds, and open to sunshine on the south and southeast, the fruit advances to maturity very rapidly. In Vaca Valley about a month of good weather after the blossoming will ripen an early cherry and ripe cherries have been shipped as early as March 31. The pioneer cherry growers of Vaca Valley went there from old homes in Napa Valley, because they could gather and market cherries in their new locations before the same varieties were ripe in Napa Valley. They chose places protected on the north and west by steep hills. The two things to secure are, apparently, protection from the sweep of cold winds and elevation above the deposits of cold air, which occur in depressed places. In localities where fruit ripens late, as near the coast, there is no need to seek forcing conditions, for the extra early varieties should not be planted except for family use. Early varieties are 230 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM comparatively poor in quality, and will not sell profitably, as they will reach the market alongside the better later sorts from earlier districts. The places for the cherry in the later districts is on the most proper soil, according to the requirements which have been laid down, avoiding, however, so far as possible, wind-swept spots, and seeking amelioration of direct ocean influences by elevation or intervention of hills and windbreaks. 4, PROPAGATION AND PLANTING THE CHERRY In the chapter on propagation is given a successful method of growing cherry seedlings. About three-fourths of California cherry trees are propagated by budding on seedlings of the Black Mazzard. The Mahaleb root is still more hardy than the Mazzard and is less subject to injury by standing water in the soil during the winter season. It is also more hardy against injury in summer drouth on shallow soils, which is one of the causes of die-back of the cherry tree in some parts of the State. While there may be particular places in which the Mahaleb is the better root, the conclusions of fifty years' experience in California cherry growing, which approve the Maz- zard, are on the whole trustworthy. The Mazzard is a better grower and, where moisture conditions are fairly good, leaves little to be desired. The Mahaleb, however, though credited with a dwarfing influence, does make a good-sized tree under our conditions. It seems a fair general conclusion that Mazzard roots make larger trees, but Mahaleb roots make hardier trees which bear younger. The Mahaleb is more popular in the interior than in the coast valleys. The planting of the cherry is covered by the general considera- tions already given for the planting of orchards. The distance which cherries should be set apart is a disputed point among planters. When planted twenty feet apart the trees have interlaced their branches when sixteen years old, and the spaces between the rows have been covered in like colonnades. In the Hayward region the branches of twelve-year-old trees set twenty-eight feet apart have nearly reached the other, though continually cut back. Much de- pends in the matter of distance upon the manner of handling the trees. The trees can be grown much nearer together by continuous pruning than where the usual way of cutting back for the first few years and letting the tree take its natural growth after that, is fol- lowed. James E. Gedney, of Mesa Grande, San Diego County, practiced close planting and cutting back which may work better on his upland than on deeper, moister soils. He says : I plant my trees twenty feet apart each way. My method is to plant thus closely and then keep my trees low, by cutting back every year; this facili- tates gathering the fruit very much. I prefer this way to setting the trees farther apart and allowing them to attain too great a height. By the former method I secure fully as good, if not better, results per acre, to say nothing of the difference in gathering the fruit. Another advantage in keeping the trees headed low is that the wind does not affect them nearly as much as it does tall trees. PRUNING THE CHERRY 231 The best distances are 24 or 28 feet on such deep soils as have been described as best befitting the tree and, though one may fix his distance in planting according to the method of pruning he pro- poses to follow, he should remember that the cherry is naturally a large tree, and most old orchards are now over-crowded. As with other trees, orchard planters prefer trees with one year's growth on the bud in the nursery, because they usually get, then, a straight switch with well developed buds all the way down, and the head can be formed as desired. For garden planting, older trees, properly pruned in the nursery, can be used to advantage. PRUNING THE CHERRY All our best growers agree in the advantage of a low head for the cherry, and all aim to have trunks of young trees from the ground up to the limbs literally covered all around with leaves, which completely shelter the bark from the rays of the sun. In planting, therefore, the side buds are carefully preserved — not to be grown into branches, but to be cut or pinched back when they have come out a few inches, leaving just growth enough to clothe the tree with a covering of its own foliage. These spurs not only furnish leaves to shade the trunk, but soon become fruit spurs, and bear well. Low Heading with a Central Stem. — Some of the trees in the older orchards have been shaped by carrying up a leader with a regular system of side branches. Head back at planting to two feet, pinching off the shoots below the head as stated, and allowing the shoots which form the head to grow larger, but they, too, are all to be pinched except the leader, which is allowed to grow as long as it pleases during the summer. During fall or winter pruning cut back the leader to about twelve or sixteen inches from its starting point and cut back the side branches to about six or eight inches. This is done year after year, cutting back and pruning out the side shoots, pinching the laterals, and allowing the leader to grow, never interfering with it until the winter pruning and always letting it predominate over the side shoots. By cutting short, wood is in- creased, but at the end of six years the tree goes into fruit very rapidly. As the tree increases in fruit it decreases in wood, and by the time it is ten or twelve years old there will be but little cutting to do, except to shorten in and thin out, and this requires some judgment and experience, to know where to cut, and when to cut. To shorten in, never cut down to an old fruit spur. It is very dif- ficult to get healthy wood out of such ; but whenever you can find last year's wood, there you can cut with safety anything that is less than one inch in diameter. This system of pruning must be accompanied by constant pinch- ing during the summer time. It should commence when the lower shoots are about six inches long, and be followed up closely all through the growing season. Those on the trunk should never get longer than eight or ten inches, under any circumstances. After these are pinched, let the trees rest ten or fifteen days, or until the 232 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM branches in the top get a good start. Then pinch everything clean but the leader, in every main branch in the tree. The leader takes its own way all through the growing season, to prevent the effects of over-pinching or checking the growth. If only the side shoots are kept back, the leader or head of the branches receives the current or flow of sap and maintains and carries on life and vitality in the tree. One object in pinching or spur pruning is to keep back sur- plus wood and create fruit spurs, throwing all the little twigs and branches into fruit, thereby utilizing all the wood the tree can pro- duce, not allowing it to grow at the tree's expense, and then have to cut it off. And another object in side-shoot pruning is to make the tree produce fine large cherries, all closely nestling around the big wood, and no long, slim branches hanging down like weeping willow. This method is commended to those who like a tree with a cen- tral leader and are willing to give their orchards such constant attention. Unless pinching and consequent multiplication of shoots and foliage is fathfully followed such a tree is apt to become tall and rangy and to expose the bark all the way up to sunburn and borers. THE USUAL METHOD OF PRUNING THE CHERRY As has been said, all cherry growers agree on low heading and on the advantage of pinching the lowest shoots as soon as they make a bunch of leaves. In forming the head, and in after treatment, the usual method is quite different from that we have described. It fol- lows the vase or goblet form, which has been discussed at length in the chapter on pruning. Of the application of this method to the cherry, W. W. Smith, in an address before the State Horticultural Society, said : The cherry may be pruned the same as any other deciduous fruit tree until it is about five years old; after that the less pruning the better, except when necessary to cut out a dead or crossing branch. Pruning the cherry is more or less likely to produce gum (and this, decay) and should be avoid- ed as much as possible. Cherry trees, however, should be trained with low heads not to exceed eighteen inches from the ground to the first branches; fifteen inches is better. From three to five branches are enough to form the head of the tree; all others should be removed early. Three are better than five; two make a forked tree, which is likely to split in after years. At the end of the first season we have a neat little tree with three to five branches. During the following winter these branches should be cut back to six to eight inches. The next season these should be allowed to produce two branches each (no more); then, at the end of the second season from planting out, we have a tree with from six to ten branches. The following winter the new growth should be cut back again to from twelve to eighteen inches— according to the amount of growth the tree makes— the less the growth the more you cut. The same process should be repeated the follow- ing winter, treating each branch as an individual tree, until the tree is about five years old; it takes at least five years to get the head of a cherry well established. After this, as some varieties will persist in throwing out branches near the ground, they should be removed during the summer. At this age the tree, if well grown, will have top enough to shade its body from the sun, and there is no further need of branches on the main trunk. If necessary to remove large branches it should be done in midsummer, as that is the only season when the gum is not more or less exuded. We DISEASES OF THE CHERRY 233 made it a rule to go over and dress up and prune out cherry orchard1, im- mediately after the crop is gathered — which in our part of the State is the last of May. All wounds made then by the removal of branches or other- wise will heal over the same season. All large wounds made at any time, however, should be coated over with paint. The method thus described by Mr. Smith is that by which prob- ably nine-tenths of the cherry trees of this State are shaped. In selecting the shoots to form the head of the young tree they should be as far apart as possible on the short stem and on different sides, as explained in detail in Chapter XII. It is especially desir- able to avoid the basin which is so often formed in old cherry trees by growth of three or four main limbs closing up to form a central cavity, which will be discussed on a following page. In the cherry tree there should be the same observation as to cutting inside and outside buds as with other trees ; in fact, the out- side bud is the rule, because so many varieties make a directly upward growth. In removing limbs, cutting to the collar or swell- ing at the base of the limb is especially important, also the covering of the wound to prevent checking of the wood. GRAFTING OVER THE CHERRY Since canning of cherries began on a large scale, there has been a vastly increased demand for white cherries. The Royal Ann (a local name for Napoleon Bigarreau) has been the favorite. Other white storts are also used for canning. This rise in favor of the white cherries has vastly increased their proportionate production as compared with the choice black and red varieties, which are still popular as a table fruit. It is the experience of growers that the cherry is grafted over as easily as the pear or apple, if the tree is healthy. In large trees as many as fifty or one hundred grafts may be set, choosing the smaller limbs, even if you have to go pretty high in the tree. J. W. Cassidy, of Petaluma, used to advise grafting before the sap begins to flow in the winter, or if not done then, wait until the buds are well ad- vanced or the tree in bloom. He had trees which were over thirty years old before they were re-headed, and they made fine tops of new and healthy wood, and produced abundantly. The cherry is grafted by the usual top-grafting methods described in Chapter |X. PESTS AND DISEASES OF THE CHERRY The disease of the cherry which is most heard of is the "gum," or overflow and condensation of sap, which, if left to itself, often induces decay of adjacent bark and wood. Without attempting to explain the causes of the unhealthy exudations, which are several, it may be said that prompt treatment of certain manifestations is desirable, and in others the tree should be cleansed from the flow. Where the gum exudes on the side of trunk or limb, the thin outer bark should be pared away with a sharp knife, the accumulation of gum and sap removed, and the wound painted with asphaltum or lead and oil paint, or covered with grafting wax. A rational treat- 234 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM ment of infectious gumming of the cherry, studied closely by Prof. H. P. Barss, of the Oregon Agricultural College, is as follows : The disease starts out late in winter, enlarging old cankers and becom- inc a source of new infection. It is caused by organisms which live over winter in the discolored bark at the edges of the old cankers. The gumming is simply incidental and is not always noticeable, neither does gumming always indicate the disease. The only remedy is to cut all tha bark and wood close to the disease, taking enough to be sure to get all the organisms newly working in bark not yet discolored. Then wash with a 1 to 1000 solution of corrosive sublimate prepared under direction of the druggist who sells the tablets and apply pruning paint or white lead mixed with raw (not boiled) linseed oil. Close watch through the spring and summer for new cankers or blighted spurs and twigs will probably reveal some to be cut out. Always Twelve-year-old cherry trees with acute and wide angled crotches. dip cutting tools in the sublimate solution, which is deadly poison to bacteria and human begins. The disease on twigs and branches is easily handled without great loss by cutting them out. Gum in the crotch should be cleanly brushed out when softened by the winter rains. If allowed to remain, it becomes sour and offensive and may injure the tree. In places where two or three limbs come out closely together a kind of cup is formed (as just mentioned in the discussion of pruning), which will hold the gum from one year's end to another, and in its soft state, leaves, sticks, cherry pits, dust, and dirt will stock and hang and sometimes the mass becomes very foul. By this collection also, a nest is made for all manner of insects, bugs and worms. Another evil in letting the gum stay on is, if the rain does not wash it off clean, it runs down the trunk of the tree and makes the bark look bad, and if it is very thick on the bark when it dries, it will contract and crack the bark crosswise, and is very injurious to the tree. IRRIGATION OF CHERRIES 235 Gumming in the crotch can be largely avoided by starting the young cherry tree as advocated in the chapter on pruning. Branches which emerge from the trunk at separate points and at wide angles seldom gum ; those which are crowded together or emerge at acute angles gum badly, as suggested by the adjacent engraving. In shaping young trees a gumming joint sometimes may be clearly cut out and those branches selected to remain which start out at a wider angle ; in older trees there is nothing to do but keep the fork clean, as already described. There are cases reported in which gumming of old trees has been stopped by allowing the ground to lie uncultivated, weeds being cut down with the hoe. As a rule, however, the cherry thrives with good cultivation. Die-back of the Cherry. — The dying back of cherry branches is more or less common in all regions, and the immediate cause thereof is not known. It is apparently sometimes a root trouble, as is the dying back of other fruit trees. This might have resulted from standing water in the winter in the soil, although the same condition may result from lack of sufficient moisture during the late summer and autumn. Anything which causes the destruction of the root hairs is apt to cause die-back and other forms of unthrift in the top. Early vegetative activity in the branch, followed by frost, seems also to occasion die-back in some cases. Fortunately, this can occur without injury to the rest of the tree, though it is sometimes and in some places destructive to the tree in the end. The only treatment is removal of the affected wood, and this should be done during the growing season, as soon as signs of injury appear. The Gopher. — One of the most dangerous foes of the cherry is the gopher, for he seldom takes less than the whole tree, young or old. Traces of his presence should be constantly watched for, and killing methods described in a later chapter adopted. If a tree is seen to wit suddenly, the proability is that a gopher has girdled it. Covering the wound sometimes saves the tree, but not usually. Insects injuring the cherry will be mentioned in a subsequent chapter. IRRIGATION OF THE CHERRY As already stated, the cherry is very sensitive to drying out of the soil and should be protected against it by irrigation when neces- sary. In the chief cherry regions the local rainfall is sufficient to mature the crop, and the stress comes later in the season. In that case a good irrigation after the fruit is gathered may be quite enough to keep the tree growing until the fruit buds for the fol- lowing year are plumped out well. If not, as learned by local ob- servation, a late summer irrigation must be given. Where regular irrigation is required, it is usual to irrigate every four weeks after dry weather comes on, until just before the fruit begins to color at two-thirds of full size. This makes the cherries fill out ; but no more water is given until after picking, as that would make the fruit too CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM soft to carry well. Fall irrigation is continued as required by local conditions to keep the foliage active sufficiently late in the season. VARIETIES OF CHERRY Many varieties of the cherry have been tested in this State, and many have been abandoned from one cause or another. The claims to value upon which a variety is judged are several: Extra earli- ness, an important consideration in early districts for shipment, and elsewhere for local sale or family use ; firmness to withstand mechan- ical injury by jarring in transit and durability to escape decay during the long journey to distant markets ; firmness and fixed solor to stand processing in the cannery, and to prevent coloring the juice ; lateness to extend the cherry season. In classification of cherries it was originally considered that there were four classes of cherries. The Hearts were the tender and half-tender sweet cherries, while the Bigarreaux were the firm- fleshed ones ; but these have been so intermingled and blended together by hybridization that no distinct line can now be drawn separating them. There is really but one class of these, whose main characteristic is the large, vigorous growth of the tree. The Duke and Morello cherries, also wanting a natural division, really con- stitute but one class. The cherries chiefly grown for fruit shipping and for sale to canners are enumerated in Chapter XVI. The following list in- cludes the varieties commended for propagation by the 1920 con- ferences of growers, canners and nurserymen : Bing, Black Tartarian, Burbank, Chapman, Lambert, Black Oregon, Royal Ann, Gov. Wood, Montmarency (sour), Centennial and Giant were added for home orchards. BIGARREAUX AND HEARTS Early Purple Guigne. — Small to medium size; purple; tender, juicy, and sweet. This variety is being displaced by Chapman and Burbank. Knight's Early Black. — "Large, black, tender, juicy, rich, and excellent; high flavor; a shy bearer until the trees attain age." Rockport Bigarreau. — Large, pale amber in the shade, light red in the sun; half tender, sweet and good; a very excellent and handsome cherry; good bearer; formerly esteemed for canning and shipping. Declining in favor. Cleveland Bigarreau. — A thrifty, strong, spreading grower, and produc- tive large; clear red and yellow; juicy, sweet, and rich. Black Tartarian.'— Fruit of the largest size, bright purplish black. Flesh purplish, thick, juicy, very rich and delicious. Tree a remarkably vigorous erect, and beautiful grower, and an immense bearer; the best of the black cherries. Governor V/ood.— Large; light yellow shaded with bright red; flesh nearly tender, juicy, sweet, rich and delicious; a vigorous grower and very productive. Increasing in favor. Black Eagle. — A very excellent English variety, ripening in June; large size, deep purple, or nearly black; flesh deep purple, tender, with a rich, high-flavored juice. Mezel, Monstreuses de (Great Bigarreau). — A foreign variety of the largest size; dark red or quite black; 'firm and juicy; late. VARIETIES OF THE CHERRY 237 Pontiac. — Large; darjc purplish red; half tender, juicy, and agreeable. Napoleon Bigarreau (Royal Ann). — A magnificent cherry of the largest size; pale yellow, becoming amber in shade, richly dotted and spotted with deep red, and with a bright red cheek; flesh very firm, juicy and sweet. Tree a free grower and an enormous bearer, when properly pollinated. The great commercial cherry of California. DUKES AND MORELLOS Early Richmond (Kentish). — An early red, acid cherry; valuable for cooking early in the season. May Duke. — An old, well-known, excellent variety; large, dark red, juicy, subacid, rich. English Morello. — Large, dark red, nearly black; tender, juicy, rich, acid, productive and late. Belle Magnifique. — Fruit large, roundish, inclined to heart-shape; skin a fine bright red; flesh juicy, tender, with sprightly subacid flavor; one of the best of its class; a fine table fruit when fully ripe. Montmorency. — Fruit large, roundish ovate, reddish amber; flesh tender, mildly acid, uncolored; the choice of canners for a sour cherry. PACIFIC COAST SEEDLINGS California Advance. — Large, black and early. Introduced by Leonard Coates. Chapman. — A seedling of Black Tartarian; very early; black; sweet, and a great bearer. Introduced by Leonard Coates. Gaining in favor. Early Burbank. — Originated by Luther Burbank; a seedling of Early Purple Guigne and sold in 1903 to a group of Vacaville growers. Very early, earlier than its parent variety. Large, rich deep crimson, resembling Black Tartarian in quality. Tree medium upright grower, large leaves, prolific. Lewelling — Black Republican* (Black Oregon). — "Seedling by Seth Lewel- ling, Milwaukee, Oregon, from seed planted in 1860; first fruited in orchard in 1864. Widely distributed in California. Large, black, sweet, with purple flesh; ripens ten days after Black Tartarian." — James Shinn. "Large, late black cherry, good flavor, long keeper; dries and ships well. Seems to succeeds better on foothills than in the valley." — Robert Williamson. "Sup- posed to be a cross between Napoleon Bigarreau and Black Tartarian, hav- ing the solid flesh of the former and the color of the latter; very late." — John Rock. "I am of the opinion that the Black Republican and Lincoln came down from the seed of the Black Eagle, but I have little idea of what variety they were crossed with." — Seth Lewelling. BingT— Originated by Seth Lewelling, from seed of Black Republican. "Fruit large, dark brown or black, very fine, late; a good shipping variety." — Seth Lewelling. Tree vigorous, and foliage heavy. Fruit ripens so that trees can be cleaned at one picking. Centennial. — A seedling of Napoleon Bigarreau, raised by Mr. Henry Chapman in Napa Valley, and fruited by him for the first time in 1876. Propagated and introduced by Leonard Coates, then of Napa, in 1885. It is larger than its parent, more oblate in form, and beautifully marbled and splashed with crimson on a pale yellow ground; exceptionally sweet and of remarkable keeping quality. Little planted recently, because of superiority of Royal Ann for canning; commended for family orchards. Lambert.— Seedling of J. H. Lambert, Milwaukee, Oregon, 1887; pre- sented to Oregon State Horticultural Society; right to propagate sold to Oregon Nursery Co., 1896, and introduced by this company; very large, roundish, heart-shaped; stem long, slender, suture medium depth, acid; smooth, glossy, dark purplish, flesh dark purplish red, firm, flavor rich', quality good. Ripens ten days to two weeks after Black Tartarian. CHAPTER XX THE PEACH From the first years of the American occupation for about forty years the peach was the leading deciduous fruit grown in California. In the later '90s grain and other field products were low priced and people were told that cured prunes could be put up in sacks more cheaply than wheat. So they took to planting prune orchards all through the wheat districts of the great valley, and even carried the trees where no one would think of planting wheat — cutting up shallow-clay upland sheep pastures and even yucca sand wastes into prune-growing colonies. Figures of prune trees in orchards rushed far beyond the peach figures. This over-planting of prunes naturally brought loss and disappointment, and interest turned again to peach planting, so that in 1907 the peach had secured notable advance beyond the prune. The peach held the leadership until 1915 when the demand for dried peaches fell below the cost of production, planting was arrested and some orchards sacrificed. The situation was, however, radically changed in 1917 by the organ- ization of the peach-growers' association and by the rapid advance of prices under such control. Still as the prune experienced no such set-back planting proceeded and the relation of the two fruits in 1920 is shown in Chapter VI. It is, however, not at all certain that the peach will not regain ascendancy over the prune. Still, although the peach now stands below the prune in California pro- duction, the California peach still has national leadership, for the report of peach production in 1918, by the Bureau of Crop Esti- mates of the United States Department of Agriculture, placed the national product of peaches in 1919 at 29,461,000 bushels, of which California produced 16,268,000 bushels— or 3,000,000 bushels more than all other states combined. The peach was the first fruit to ripen on the improved trees brought here by the early American settlers, and the magnificence of the peach was consequently the key-note of the refrain which greeted the ears of the world in which the California gold cry was ringing early in the fifties. In fact, the gold from the mine and the gold from the tree were very nearly related. In old Coloma, where gold was discovered, there was a peach tree which bore four hun- dred and fifty peaches in 1854, which sold for $3.00 each, or $1,350 for the crop of one tree, and in 1855, six trees bore one thousand one hundred peaches, which sold for $1.00 each. Some of these pioneer trees are said to be still living and bearing fruit. LONGEVITY OF THE PEACH IN CALIFORNIA There are many other facts to establish the claim that the peach tree, if planted in a suitable soil and situation and cared for with any devotion and skill, is not a short-lived tree in California. Cali- THE PEACH IN CALIFORNIA 239 fornia is too young to mark limits of duration, but there are in- stances in the earliest-settled places in the State, where peach trees above fifty years old are still vigorous and productive. Some trees have, in fact, gone along in thrift until they have a bark below which looks like that of a forest tree, and framework of main branches sound and stalwart throughout because they have never been allowed to sunburn until protected by their own roughness, and have never been pruned with an axe, and never lost a limb nor had a wound into which decay could penetrate and descend to the root. When the peach has a fair chance in its aerial parts and is in a soil which favors health of the roots, it shows itself to be very long- lived in California. When trees break to pieces and show decay wounds, they are in bad places, and have suffered through natural stress or have been weakened by cultural errors. Renewal by Cutting Back. — In favorable soils the peach is stronger and longer lived in the root than in the top, and some- times triumphs over neglect by discarding old, wind-broken, sun- burned and bark-bound branches, and forms a new head of its own. Such renewal is sometimes very rapid. In the interior valley new shoots on a cut-back Muir tree have grown twelve feet in one sea- son, with a thickness of one and one-half inches at the base. Such shoots will bear the following summer and proper selection should be made from them to shape the new tree — all others being removed. Cutting back for a new head kills some trees, probably those which through hardship are weak in the root, but most peach trees take to it kindly. This is generally done by heading back all the limbs to a foot or two from their start from the trunk in the latter part of the dormant season and whitewashing the stumps thoroughly. Some growers advocate a gradual renewal, cutting back one main branch a year so that the loss of a crop may not occur. Peach trees are also cut back for grafting or budding over, as will be described presently. It is through this disposition to renewal of good wood that the intelligent system of pruning which is now prevalent, ministers to the longevity as well as the profitability of the tree, aiding it to constantly renew its youth by restraining its exuberance, and at the same time furnishing it sound new wood on which to grow its fruit foliage. But while these are facts, there is some difference in opinion as to the point at which an old tree becomes less valuable than a young one. Along the Sacramento River some count about a dozen good crops as the limit, and thus replace the trees when about fifteen years of age. This is a point which may vary greatly, according to local conditions. Early Productiveness. — Quite as important as the longevity of the peach tree are the facts of its rapid growth and early produc- tiveness. It is the first of our fruit trees to attain size and yield a profitable crop. In localities best suited to its growth it will mature some fruit the second summer in the orchard if the small shoots are not pruned away from the main branches, and during the third summer averages of forty to fifty pounds per tree have been secured 240 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM from considerable acreages. These facts are stated to show what the peach of good variety may do in a good situation and soil and with the best of care. Of course they are not to be taken as average results, although greater than those given are sometimes attained. For example, on the rich, alluvial land near Visalia, an Admiral Dewey yearling tree planted in March, 1904, had in October, 1905, attained these dimensions: Near the ground the trunk was eleven and three-quarter inches in circumferences, branching two feet from the ground it had four main branches, each seven inches in circum- ference; height of tree, twelve feet; spread of branches, ten feet. It grew near a crack in a cement ditch and so had all the moisture it could use, and being in a free, open soil was not impaired by standing water. As for possible productiveness of the peach, one Susquehanna tree in Kern County yielded twenty-seven forty-five pound picking- boxes — twelve hundred and fifty pounds in one crop — about four times as much as good trees may average. LOCALITIES FOR THE PEACH The peach has a wide range in California, and finds many dis- tricts suited to it in the several ways in which the trade delights in it. As compared with the apricot, the peach thrives in the sheltered valleys of the district north of the bay and west of the Coast Range, in which the apricot is of little commercial moment ; it yields those peerlessly beautiful "mountain peaches" from one to two thousand feet higher in the Sierra foothills than the apricot can be trusted ; it goes everywhere in the lower foothills and over the great valleys that the apricot will go, and beyond it also, because it is less restless in the spring and escapes some frosts which injure apricots. Counted from trees in orchard the peach is about three times as great as the apricot. Nearly every county in California reports the possession of peach trees. Above an elevation of four thousand feet on the sides of the Sierra Nevada, they may be subject to winter killing, and lower still the careful choice of situation has to be made to avoid frost at blooming time — the peach in such places being subjected to some dangers which beset it in the Eastern States. Below these points, however, lies the great fruit belt of the foothills of the Sierra, where the peach is the chief fruit grown and its excellence is proverbial. Size, beauty, richness, delicacy of flavor and firmness, which endures carriage to the most distant markets, are all characteristics of the foothill peaches of California. In the great interior valleys of the State wherever proper con- dition of soil and water supply can be found, the peach also thrives, the tree making a wonderfully quick and large growth, and the fruit attaining great size. The San Joaquin Valley is the greatest peach district in the State. In the small valleys on the west of the great valley and on the eastern slope of the Coast Range, there are also extensive areas suited to the peach, and sheltered places on the eastern and western LOCATIONS FOR THE PEACH 241 edges of the Sacramento Valley have produced the earliest fruit for a long series of years. Recently the contest for the earliest fruit of these districts, with the foothill district on the east side of the Sacramento Valley and special locations in the upper San Joaquin Valley, has been quite close. In the coast valleys, opening upon San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, the peach is also a leading fruit. Its success is great- est, however, where good shelter is had from direct coast influences. Even where open to these influences, good peaches can be grown by choosing the smaller range of varieties, which do well by protecting the trees from harsh winds, and by seeking elevation above de- pressed valleys, whose frosts are frequent. The occurrence of curl- leaf is a factor of much importance, which will be considered pres- ently. In the coast counties north of the Russian River Valley the danger to the peach from unfavorable atmospheric conditions in- crease as one goes northward, and situations must be chosen with greater care. And yet by such exercise of care, peaches for home use and local markets can be successfully grown. South of San Francisco Bay the coast influences soften as you proceed southward, and the peach draws nearer to the ocean, choos- ing, however, elevations and avoiding broad, wind-swept areas and narrow defiles where drafts and fogs are frequent. At considerable elevations, as on the Santa Cruz Mountains, some varieties of peaches are notably excellent. The general rule holds with the peach, as with other fruits, that coast influences retard ripening and the* season of the fruit is late. In some valleys and at elevations in Southern California the peach is largely grown and high excellence attained while on the mesas and plains there is often too high a temperature which starts growth out of season and follows with a dormacy and die-back when the tree ought to be most active. It has recently been demon- strated that varieties like Luken's Honey, descended from the Peen- to or flat peach of China, resists such irregularities better than the common sorts which are largely of Persian origin. SOILS AND EXPOSURES FOR THE PEACH Though the suitability of soils for the peach can be somewhat extended by the choice of stock for budding upon, as will be con- sidered presently, its range of soils is narrower than that of the apricot. The best peach soils are light, deep, sandy loams, rather dry than moist, but under all circumstances well drained. It will thrive on land with a considerable mixture of coarse sand or gravel, providing it contains also needed elements of fertility ; for the rapid growth and heavy fruitage of the peach requires abundant nutrition. Though it accepts coarse materials both in soil and subsoil, it relishes fine sediment and perhaps finds no more congenial location than in the deep, sandy loam, or sedimentary deposit bordering the creek beds of our warm valleys, and will send its roots deep to secure long life and abundant fruitage. Such soils, whether along 242 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM existing streams or deposited by prehistoric water courses, which have left their mark by the elevated ridges of rich sediment above the prevailing valley soils, are warm, deep, and thoroughly drained, and delight the peach. Peaches are grown very successfully on what is called hardpan in some parts of Fresno County, providing the hardpan is blasted as described in Chapter XL In these situa- tions the hardpan is near the surface and has a deep free soil below it into which the roots can extend. At elevations on the hillsides there are free loams which result from decomposition of the underlying rocks, and on them the peach thrives, both where the soils themselves are deep and where the underlying rock is loose and open, permeable by roots and affording escape for water. Success has been reported even when holes are partly excavated in these rotten rocks as in the soft sand rock on the hills east of Vaca Valley, or in the broken chalk rock in what is called Blackburn Gulch, near Santa Cruz. The superior warmth of such soils is supposed to minister to earlier ripening of the fruit, though the escape from cold air by elevation is no doubt a greater factor to the end. The influences of comparatively slight difference in elevation is very marked. E. R. Thurbar, of Pleasant Valley, Solano County, had for many years a plot of peach trees on a natural terrace about seventy-five feet higher than the general level of his orchard. On the terrace peaches ripened and were disposed of before the same varieties ripened in the orchard below. As in the valley a short distance to water is to be avoided, so on the hills too great percolation from higher levels is undesirable. Of course, natural defects of this kind can be corrected by adequate under-drainage. Still, though such be the general soil conditions best suited to the peach, the tree can be well grown for home use or local markets on somewhat heavier soil, providing there is good drainage, but drain- age must be insisted upon, for thousands of trees have perished because planted in retentive soils without drainage. Alkaline soils which are usually rather heavy should, however, be avoided, as the peach, when grown on its own roots, seems to be of all fruits most sensitive to alkali. As to exposures for the peach the same rules hold as for other fruits which are liable to injury when in bloom or young foliage. Thus low places where cold air settles should be avoided, also low gulches through which cold drafts prevail. In frosty situations an incline away from the morning sun will often allow the trees to escape serious injury. PROPAGATION AND PLANTING Nine-tenths of California peach trees are grown on peach roots. The chapter on propagation gives the general method of growing and budding peach seedlings. In selecting pits, preference is usually given to those from strong-growing, yellow peaches, at least for PROPAGATION OF THE PEACH 243 working on the same colored fruits, while others use pits of the Morris White, others the Strawberry, and others still will use only pits from vigorous seedling trees. In this State the peach is usually so healthy and vigorous, and the "yollows" not known, that less care may be needed in selecting pits ; still there is certainly nothing lost by making every effort for a good stock. The hand-shell and sweet almonds have long been used as a stock for the peach. It is held that they give a hardier, stronger root, in dry coarse soils especially, but neither have been largely used. When it is desired to grow the peach on moister soil than suits its own roots, the St. Julian plum may be used. The Myrobalan has been used to some extent, but experience generally does not favor any plum stock for the peach and our largest propagators have abandoned its use. The so-called "peach-almond" has often been urged as a stock for the peach but has been little used, as nurserymen claim that the growth of its seedlings are less uniform and satisfactory than the straight peach and straight almond. It is a fruit having the pit of a peach but the perricarp of the almond, that is tough and tasteless and disposed to split like an almond hull. Early in the fifties a chance hybrid of this sort appeared in the nursery of W. B. West, of Stockton, and its pits were used for nursery seedlings which, when budded to the peach, produced good trees. Trees bearing the peach-almond are found here and there all over the State. Mr. Burbank produced a hybrid of the Wager peach and the Languedoc almond. Distance in Orchard. — Distance observed in planting peach orchards differs greatly, according to the views of different growers. Regarding the peach as a catch crop to plant between apricot, pear, cherry, walnut, fig or other slow-growing, larger trees, the trees may be set comparatively close ; that is, with the latter trees at thirty to forty feet, and alternate rows of peach to be removed at the end of ten to fifteen years. If the peach is to have the ground to itself, some planters plant at eighteen feet in equilateral tri- angles, or twenty to twenty-four feet on the squares, the present tendency of the peach, as with other trees, being to give more room than was the custom a few years ago. Age of Trees. — In planting peach orchards yearling trees are generally preferred, though June buds are freely used and more are planted in dormant bud than of any other kind of fruit trees. The reason for this is easily found in the disposition of the peach to make a tree the first year from the bud. It springs almost at once into a full outfit of laterals. Some growers employ this disposition to form a head the first year in the nursery. When the bud has grown out eighteen inches, pinch it off at the top and force out lat- erals, which make long growth the same season. When planted out in orchard the following winter, cut back to ten or twelve inches. In this way anyone can get a yearling with the equivalent of a two- year-old head on it. The common practice is, however, to let the 244 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM growth from the bud proceed as it chooses, and when the yearling is set in orchard, cut back to a single bud the laterals which are de- sired to form the head and removing others. If there is a dormant bud on the stem where a branch is desired and it is obstinate in not starting, a cross-cut through the bark just above it may concentrate pressure and force it out. Proper starting of the young tree is pro- moted by cutting away cleanly all laterals which have grown from stem-buds. In such cutting back the dormant buds at the base of such laterals should be preserved. The development of form from a yearling branched in the nursery is illustrated in Chapter XII. Planting Dormant Buds. — The chapter on planting describes the planting of yearling trees. The lifting of dormant buds from the home nursery and planting in orchard is described by P. W. Butler, of Placer County, as follows : Have the ground prepared and stakes placed in position in the orchard in early February, if possible, and begin the planting at once, while the trees are in dormant bud. Take no more trees from the nursery than can be planted in half a day. Plow a furrow on each side of the row, six inches from the trees, turning the soil from them, then two men with heavy spades or shovels, one on each side of the tree, can readily take it up without breaking many of the roots; and what are so broken should be smoothly trimmed with a sharp knife. Place the trees in a tub of water, near where they are to be planted, and take them from it only a few at a time. Put them in a basket or box and cover with wet sack, that they may be kept moist until- placed in the ground. On planting place the bud one inch below the level of the ground, but do not cover it until after it has grown to the height of a few inches. The stock should be cut off at the bud with a thin, sharp knife (and not with shears, as is often done, as the latter method will sometimes split the tree), when it will take in moisture and not heal readily. Some growers do not cut back the young seedling tree until growth has started out well on the dormant bud, girdling the bark above the bud to force its growth. The tender shoot is protected somewhat by the old stem to which it can be tied. The removal of the old stem should not be too long delayed, for the wound by its amputation should heal over the first summer. Rather more care is needed in handling dormant buds both in planting and in their young life in the orchard. Lookout must be kept for suckers and against injury in cultivation. Success with dormant buds is notable. In good hands they commonly outgrow yearlings planted at the same time, and the percentage of loss from failure of the bud to start is very small. Of course, every bud should be examined before planting, to see that it has a healthy color. In the selection of peach trees for planting, a clean, healthy root only should be taken. During recent years there have been a good many young roots affected with knots or swellings from some ob- scure cause. Such trees should be burned. If planted, the knot sometimes grows to an enormous size and little or no top growth is made. SHAPING THE PEACH TREE 245 PRUNING THE PEACH As has already been stated, the peach will carry a top of great fruiting longevity if the grower will do justice to the tree by regu- lar shortening of the growth and forcing out new wood, upon which alone fruit is found. Not only does regular pruning do this, but it promotes longevity and vigor in the framework of the tree upon which these bearing shoots come. Left unpruned, the peach soon becomes bark-bound, and the bark itself becomes hardened and brittle. Lower shoots are apt to dwindle, and the tree becomes an umbrella of foliage and fruit held aloft by bare branches bark- burned by the sun, invaded by borers, exuding gum, covered with moss and lichens — a picture of distress and unprofitability because its owner does not give the tree a chance to re-invigorate itself with large fresh leaves from the new wood which alone can carry them. Vase-Form with Continuous Leaders. — The common vase form of the peach tree is amply described in Capter XII, where it is used to illustrate the development of the prevailing California method of shaping fruit trees. Recently there has appeared a dif- ferent form which, though not new, is being given local names. It consists in building the tree with continuous ribs or leaders, a va- riation in the vase-form which has been used in Europe for centu- ries, perhaps. The following very clear account of it is prepared by Mr. C. F. Collins, horticultural commissioner of Tulare County : Another method of vase form, known locally as the Sims method, has been practiced for many years by William Sims, of Farmerville, and is now practiced by the California Fruit Canners' Association in its large or- chard near here, by Hunt Bros, in their orchards near Exeter, and by many individual growers in that vicinity. The trees are cut back to 18 inches at planting, and at the first winter's pruning four or five of the most upright-growing branches are left to form the head. These are cut to a uniform height and as great a length as the season's growth will allow. On a vigorous tree this will be about 6 feet. All laterals are removed from these. The second winter retain one strong upright branch emerging from near the end of each branch of previous season's growth, and remove all laterals from the tree larger than a lead pencil. Top these main branches at a uniform height of 10 or 12 feet from the ground, according to the growth made. Sometimes a lateral is allowed to grow from one of these main limbs to fill in an open space in the outline of the tree. At the end of the second winter's pruning, we have a low-headed tree with four or five main branches 10 or 12 feet long, and so upright that the tree is only 6 or 7 feet across the top. Enough small laterals are left for abundant shade. After this each season remove all large laterals, leaving only the small fruiting wood, and cut this back to the required amount. Some of the claims made for this system are that no propping is re- quired to support the limbs, and as these are so nearly perpendicular in growth the orchard is more easily worked close to the trees and the trees are more easily kept down to a proper height than when pruned by the ordinary method. This system certainly works admirably in the sections where it is used, and in my opinion, on true peach soil, where the trees are vigorous and grow large, strong limbs, it is far superior to the old vase form, but it is a question if it would prove as satisfactory in many of our orchards where the trees make a more feeble growth, and especially with a tree of as slender a growth as the Muir. Of course, with a less vigorous tree it might require three or even four years to get the tree to a proper height by this method. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Special Points on Peach Pruning.— Whatever plan for low, vase- form be adopted, there are variations in the use of it by successful peach growers in various parts of the State. A few instances will be given : In pruning the peach I have found it a great advantage not to cut the new wood until after it has done its work. This is my method: A new shoot grows out to three feet this year. Don't cut it back next winter; but let it grow. There will be a few peaches on it and a great many strong buds will develop to set and mature a crop the following year. After that crop is off, cut the whole shoot back to the main branch. Other buds will grow from about the same place and below it on the big limbs to go through the same cycle. While this shoot is bearing its heavy crop, others will be growing and setting fruit buds for the year when the first men- tioned one has been cut off. When you cut off a new shoot several others start next season near the cut, and draw all the sap from the buds below. They are stunted and probably killed. The several new shoots use a lot of sap that ought to go to fruit, for it is well known that the cutting back stimulates undue wood growth. You will have your trouble of cutting back year after year; and as time goes on, you build the tree higher and higher out of the reach of fruit pickers. By my method after a tree is large as convenient to prune and pick from, the fruit is forced out all along the limbs where it can be most securely held up and most thoroughly nourished. The tree does not grow appreciably higher, there is very little waste wood growth, for the shoots unpruned grow only a very few inches and that few inches is good for the production of necessary leaves. If the tree seems too prolific, take out more wood — always at its junction with the limb from which it springs. The tree is kept open enough always to supply light to the inner fruit spurs, but enough new wood is left to protect it from sunburn. New spurs are constantly growing among the bearing ones, so that the old limbs continue to bear. Should the new spurs get a little too thin, or the tree seem to need more leaves, a few shoots may be cut back for the sole purpose of providing new wood. — Ed. Ames, Newcastle. Unless the growth is systematically cut back it will be spindly and will not come low down on the limbs which could hold the weight of fruit de- sired. Without proper cutting back, the new growth will come from the terminals of last season's growth and on ordinary soil will be short, weak, and spindly, and the following year will produce little fruit. If such a tree is on low, moist soil, the growth from terminals will be longer and will set more fruit, but will be so spindly that it cannot hold up or mature the crop it sets. Cutting back the new growth stiffens it and the limb it comes from. After a tree is mature, the wood which bore fruit last year should be removed so far as practicable; and where new growth is too thick it should be thinned. This, with the cutting back of new wood, will force new growth throughout the tree. In the cutting back, the habit of the variety in locating fruit buds must be observed. With Elbertas and Muirs fruit buds are made near the junc- tions with larger branches, so cutting back of fruit laterals only is neces- sary, and they may be cut pretty short, especially far out on a branch. With Lovells the branch itself may perfectly be cut back, leaving fewer laterals and these considerably longer, because their fruit buds are scarce near the junctions.— C. B. Weeks, Red Bluff. The peach is renewed every year by cutting into the older wood so that there will be ample growth of yx>ung shoots which bear the coming crop, and this cutting is more severe after the tree has reached maturity, in order to get the desired result. The tree should not be allowed to become too large or straggling but should be pruned so that young growth is always plentiful from the bottom up. While growth is very vigorous a summer thinning of surplus inside growth is beneficial.— Leonard Coates, Morgan Hill. HOW TO GET LARGE PEACHES 247 Spur Pruning Peaches. — Peach varieties vary in their tendency to set fruit buds close to the base of new growth. On this charac- teristic depends to a considerable extent, the severity of pruning back new growth. F. C. Dyer, of Ontario, has spur-bearing Lemon clings, looking almost as rough as pear trees. They bear fruit buds to the very base of the new growth. If the trees are old, not over a few inches of growth are added to the spurs each year beyond the fruits, though two or three feet of last season's growth are cut out of the tops. This lack of vegetative vigor makes it desirable to shorten back the spurs to not over three fruit buds, since only one fruit is desired per spur and since such winter pruning on such old trees does not induce too vigorous wood growth. This is somewhat true of the down-turning branches of most any variety. All the fruit wood possible is developed and saved along the main limbs. If spurs are too thick, they are thinned out to prevent shading the rest. Practically all of the new top growth was cut off from the Lemon clings. Lovells can be pruned back to spurs almost as short, Muirs a little longer, while Tuscans bear fruit buds only close to the tips which must be left on, or the branches thinned out. The bearing habits of varieties must be observed by the grower. THINNING PEACHES Thinning out fruit on the peach tree is not only the secret of ob- taining good, marketable fruit, but joins hands with pruning in pre- serving the health and future production of the tree. The import- ance of thinning has been urged in a previous chapter, but the fol- lowing is a very strong statement, by Mr. J. P. Cane, of the Cali- fornia Peach Growers — the co-operative association of the produc- ers of the fruit : The weight of fruit will be approximately the same whether the tree is thinned severely, lightly or not at all, but the great advantage in thinning properly is the greatly increased size of the fruit, the larger sugar content and the minimum expense of harvesting and curing. The cost of thinning is overcome at picking time when in handling one large peach the pickers get the same weight as if they had handled four small ones. There is a similar gain in time required to cut a ton onto the trays. Our records show that the weight of one extra fancy dried Muir is equal to three and three-quarters standard grade Muirs. Since size and quality are so important in dried peaches, everything possible should be done to increase the diameter of the fruit. Perhaps the ideal distance of peaches when properly thinned should be about two and one-half times their diameter when matured. This would mean that the peaches should be six to eight inches apart when thinning is complete. In thinning, see that the undersized specimens, which are certain to fall later, are removed, or at least allowed for, in spacing those that are to remain. The time for thinning peaches is as soon as one can be sure which are likely to remain on the tree and which will drop off of their own accord. Nothing can be gained by trying to separate doubles. Remove them if there are enough singles to make the crop. 248 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM IRRIGATION OF THE PEACH As the peach is the greatest deciduous fruit of the interior val- leys and foothills, it is also the deciduous fruit which is chiefly grown with irrigation. Most of the specific conclusions set forth in Chapter XV are based upon experience with the peach and the reader is advised to consider them from that point o{ view. One of the most important points of success in irrigating the peach is to use enough water earlier in its growth so that application need not be made within about three weeks of ripening. Enough water before that will usually insure size on properly thinned trees and the with- holding of water near ripening will secure good quality. After the crop is gathered, irrigation can be resumed to continue the late summer growth for next year's fruit buds and to save the tree from injury during the long autumn drouth. Very great disappointment in thrift and bearing of peaches has resulted from lack of irriga- tion in the early autumn in the interior valley. Even in places where the trees make a good crop by rainfall or underflow, there may be great injury to the tree by inadequate soil moisture during the remainder of the growing season. There is some variation in practice of irrigation in relation to maturity of the peach. It is held that peaches for drying should not be irrigated during the last three or four weeks before maturity — if possible to get size without it. Peaches for shipping and canning may be irrigated later, say two or even one week before picking. Cling peaches will take water late more safely than freestones. WORKING OVER PEACH TREES The fashion in peaches changes from time to time according to the demands of the canners or the market for dried fruit. The grower often finds varieties which he first selected, less healthy, less productive, or, for other reasons, less desirable than others. There is, therefore, often occasion for working over trees. Budding is often resorted to, buds being successfully set in quite old wood, providing buds from well-matured wood are taken. Wood buds from young trees unaccompanied by fruit are best, but because of •greater certainty of securing the variety desired, it is common to take wood and fruit buds together from bearing trees. A larger cut of bud and adjacent bark is taken when working in old bark than for use on seedlings. The best time to bud peaches in the old bark is as early in the summer as well plumped buds can be had on the new growth, and this can be hastened by pinching the tips of the shoots which it is desired to take buds from. Such .buds should be forced to grow by cross cuts in the stock above the buds or by breaking down part of it when the bud is seen to have "taken"— cutting away cleanly when the bud has made a few inches of growth. Some growers thus bud and break part of the branches, allowing others to remain unworked, to maintain the growing processes of the tree. These branches and those in which buds have not taken, are cut off and grafted the following spring. The almond is sucess- DISEASES OF THE PEACH 249 fully grafted over the peach, and this course has been followed with thousands of unproductive almonds. Peach and almond trees are also worked over by beheading the trees at the close of the dormant season and budding into the new shoots late in the summer — allowing the buds to remain dormant until the following spring, when the buds are started by cutting back to them as in the case of budded seedlings. As this wastes a year, budding in old bark for immediate growth is usually pre- ferred. Grafting the Peach. — Grafting the peach by the ordinary top- grafting with a cleft graft seldom succeeds. A side graft with saw and knife is better. It is described by J. W. Mills, an experienced peach grower of Yuba County, as follows : Saw grafting is rapidly taking the place of cleft grafting, for it does away with all difficulties arising from splitting, and there is no cavity left in the heart of the limb or tree. The process is to saw off the limb at the desired place as in cleft grafting, then saw across the corner and down the side at an angle of about 45 degrees and trim out with a sharp knife. Place the knife blade a little to one side of the saw cut, a little farther from the edge at the top than at the bottom, and by pressing on the knife the whole sides of the crevice will be trimmed smoothly at one stroke; this operation repeated on the other side of the saw cut will make a neat notch in the end of a solid limb. By cutting a little deeper from the saw cut at the top than at the bottom, and if the amateur does not trim his scion at the right angle, he can insert it gently in the crevice or notch and see just where to trim. If he is so slow that the fresh cut shows signs of discol- oration, he can make a fresh surface by placing the knife parallel to the edges and shaving off a thin slice. He still retains the same angle, but the scion will set a little deeper, which is no objection. By cutting a thin layer off the top of the stump next to the notch will show exactly where the inside layer of the bark is. The inside of the scion must be even with the inside layer of the bark of the stump or limb that is being grafted. If the scion is inclined slightly out or in at the top, it will make a correct union at some point and be sure to grow. If the inclination is very slight the union will extend over considerable length, and will make a much better start than if the union is at only one point, owing to the en- larged surface through which the sap is transmitted. One of the most important points in grafting is to have good wax and go over the grafts a few days after they are put in and rewax them. DISEASES OF THE PEACH 4 Curl-Leaf. — The most prevalent trouble with the peach tree in California is the curl-leaf. It was noticed from the first planting of peach trees by Americans, nearly sixty years ago, and free con- jecture as to its cause was indulged in until it was shown to be a specific fungus, and its prevention by washes of fungicidal charac- ter demonstrated. The treatment will be described in the chapter on tree diseases. The facts of its occurrence may be stated as fol- lows: Curl-leaf is much more prevalent in some sections than others, and in one place than another in the same section, and some sections are practically free from it. Some varieties are much more subject to curl-leaf than others ; genarrly speaking, some curl nearly every- 250 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM where, others curl in one place and not in another, others are prac- tically* free from curl in all situations. Curl-leaf occurs in various degrees. Mild cases do not seem to injure either tree or fruit; severe cases destroy the fruit and some- times the tree itself. The disease is almost always at its height when the young fruit is about the size of small peas. If the curl is "bad," the fruit will fall to the ground, there not being healthy leaves enough to afford the required support. If, however, the curl is moderate and partial, only a part and sometimes none of the fruit will be lost. The disease, as is well known, is of brief duration, say twelve to twenty days, after which the tree resumes a healthy appearance in every respect, and if the fruit has been able to sur- vive the ordeal, it also appears to grow and become as perfect as if no check had been given to its growth. But it is better to save the tree the burden of a new foliage growth. Mildew. — This disease, which occurs in the form of whitish felted patches on leaf and twig early in the spring, and finally af- fects the fruit, has long been troublesome in this State, and occurs on certain susceptible varieties in many localities from the coast to the Sierra foothills. Observation in this State has fully affirmed the statement of Downing, that the serrate, glandless-leaved varie- ties are liable, and those with good glands on the leaf stems are free. The conclusion would be that where mildew prevails, varieties with serrate, glandless leaves should be avoided. But it has been found that some glandless-leaved varieties, although subject to mil- dew, resist curl-leaf. Therefore it may be worth while to combat the mildew. This has been done effectually by treatment which will be described in a later chapter. As with curl-leaf, mildew is prevalent some years and slight in others. Peach Blight. — The most serious disease which has thus far stricken the peach in California is locally known as the "peach blight," the work of a shot-hole fungus (coryneum). This also has been satisfactorily checked by spraying, as will be described in the Chapter on Diseases of Trees and Vines. Split-Pit — A common trouble of the peach known as "split-pit," has recently been studied by the California Experiment Station and the tentative conclusion has been reached that split-pits are psysio- logical phenomena and not caused by disease germs. Whether this abnormal growth is due to weakness of variety or to cultural condi- tions is not determined. It is true that varieties differ in amount of splitting, and selection is being made to some extent on that basis. Insects infesting the peach are discussed in Chapter XLI. VARIETIES OF THE PEACH Nearly all varieties of the peach have been tried in California, and, as with other fruits, it has been found that varieties must be chosen with reference to their success in special locations. Choice BEST COMMERCIAL PEACHES 251 is, however, chiefly made according to the purpose of the grower, whether for early marketing, for sale to canners, for drying, or for distant shipment or for late marketing. As with apples, there is little use of planting early varieties (unless it be for home or local use) except in very early regions. An early peach from a late re- gion is killed by competition with better middle season sorts from the earlier regions. In an early region one can plant early, middle, and late varieties to advantage, and thus secure a very long-fruiting season. The peach season in interior districts begins about the first of June and continues to the end of November with local seedlings — giving six months of peaches. Of course, the very early and very late sorts are only of use for marketing as table fruit. The most important series is a fine succession of mid-season peaches suitable either for canning, drying or distant shipment. Such a selection can be made from the tables and descriptions which will be given later. Color is a most important item in the peach. While canners and Eastern shippers use the beautiful white peaches to advantage, the fashion for canning and drying is now strong in support of the yel- low-fleshed clingstone varieties. The yellow freestone peaches are also in greatest demand. The color about the pit is also an impor- tant point. Canners demand a peach, whether white or yellow, which is almost free from color at the pit, because the extraction of the red color dyes the juice ; in drying, the demand just now is for a yellow peach with a red center, because the colors give the dried fruit a more attractive appearance. Of course there is a mar- ket for dried white peaches but the preference is for yellow. The peaches chiefly grown in California are named in Chapter XVI. PEACHES COMMERCIALLY APPROVED IN CALIFORNIA The 1920 conferences of growers, canners and nursery men spe- cially mentioned in Chapter XVI gave particular attention to the commercial aspects of peach varieties and reached the following conclusions : Free-stone Peaches Approved for Shipping: Alexander, Decker, Early Crawford, St. John, Elberta, Kale's Early, Early Elberta, J. H. Hale, Mayflower, Triumph, Wheatland, Salway. Approved for Drying: Lovell (recommended for 25 per cent of area planted), Muir (recommended for 75 per cent). Approved for Canning: The recommendation of the canners is that there be planted 70 per cent Lovell, 10 per cent Muir, 10 per cent Elberta, 10 per cent Salway, and that for canning freestones all othes varieties be eliminated. Cling-stone Peaches Approved for Canning: Albright, Libbee, Levi, McDevitt, Pelora, Peak's, Phillips, Sims, Tuscan. Trie canners recommended the planting of Phillips 40 per cent, Tuscan 25 per cent, Pelora and Peark's 10 per cent, Albright 5 per cent, Sims and Libbee 10 per cent, Levi 5 per cent, McDevitt 5 per cent. Hauss recom- mended for Sutter County. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM These are all yellow clingstones, and other varieties of the same type will be substituted for several of those named in different sections. Can- ners do not desire white clingstones of any variety. PEACHES CHIEFLY GROWN IN CALIFORNIA The following are the peaches chiefly grown in California, ar- ranged approximately in the order of ripening : Briggs' Red May (California). — Originated a chance seedling in nursery row on the farm of John G. Briggs, on the Feather River, about one mile from Yuba City, about 1870. Fruit medium to large, round; white skin, with rich, red cheek; partially free; subject to mildew. Commercially condemned. Mayflower.^Introduced to the Pacific Coast by California Nursery Co. as "the earliest peach known," and it still holds that title. Red all over, with white flesh of excellent flavor. As large as Alexander and ripens two weeks earlier. June. Sneed. — Large, creamy white, with blush cheek; tender, juicy; valu- able for early shipping. June. Discarded commercially. Alexander (Illinois). — Most widely grown as best early variety. Fruit medium to large; greenish white, nearly covered with deep red; flesh firm, juicy, and sweet; bears transportation well; pit is partly free. Triumph (Georgia). — Medium sized, early, yellow, partial cling; very good. Admiral Dewey. — Large; yellow with red cheek; flesh yellow; perfect freestone; flavor good. One of the best early yellows. Ripens soon after ""friumph. July. Discarded commercially. Honey (Lukens). — Medium, oblong, pointed, white mottled carmine; very sweet; related to Peen-to. Approved in Southern California. Peen-to. — Flat peach or saucer peach of China; good in Southern Cali- fornia. Early Imperial (California).— Originated by W. W. Smith, Vacaville, and planted to secure a yellow freestone earlier or larger than St. John. Most growers find it no improvement on St. John. July. Yellow St. John (New Orleans). — Earliest yellow peach; averages smaller than Yellow Crawford, but classed as large; roundish, orange yel- low with deep red cheek; juicy, sweet and high flavored; freestone. June and July. Hale's Early'' (Ohio). — Medium to large, nearly round; skin greenish, mostly covered and mottled with red when ripe; flesh white, melting, juicy, rich and sweet; fair for local market and shipping; widely grown; freestone. July. Strawberryv(New Jersey). — Medium size, oval; stem cavity deeply sunk; suture extending half way round; skin almost wholly marbled with deep red; flesh whitish, juicy, rich and delicate; tree healthy. Foster (Massachusetts). — Uniformly large, slightly flattened; slight suture; stern moderately depressed; flesh yellow, very rich and juicy, color deep orange, dark red in the sun; freestone; tree hardy and productive; very widely grown in California and popular. Ripens before Early Craw- ford, which it sometimes resembles, but is of better quality. Very largely grown to displace Yellow Crawford. Crawford's Early (New Jersey).— Very large, oblong, swollen, point at the top prominent, suture shallow; skin yellow, with red cheek; flesh yel- low, rich and excellent; freestone; tree very healthy and productive; once the most largely planted variety in California, now declining in popularity. George the Fourth (New York).— Large, round, deeply divided by broad suture; sides unequal; skin pale yellowish white, dotted with red and red cheek; flesh pale, red at pit, from which it parts freely; quality good. Somewhat troubled with curl-leaf. Chiefly grown in Southern California. VARIETIES OF THE PEACH 253 Mary's Choice (New Jersey). — Large, yellow, resembling Early Craw- ford, but ripening later. Tuskena* (Alabama or Mississippi). — Wrongly called "Tuscan" and "Tustin" cling in this State; largely planted in the interior valleys and foot- hills; very large yellow cling; the earliest fine cling variety; very valu- able for early shipping. Ripens with Crawford's Early. Very largely planted. Improved selections being claimed. Ontario.— Known as "round Tuscan" and "flat Tuscan" in Southern California and given distinctive name by A. P. Weldon of Ontario. Oldmixon Free (American). — Large, roundish or slightly oval; greenish or yellowish white, marbled with red; flesh white, tender, and excellent, juicy and rich; high flavor. Libbee Cling. — Originated in Selma, commences to ripen shortly after the Tuscan. The skin is highly colored and the flesh deep yellow; fruit very large. The tree is of exceptionally robust habit and a heavy producer. Blood Cling. — Large; skin deep claret with deep red veins, downy; flesh deep red, very juicy, vinous and refreshing; esteemed for pickling and pre- serving. September. Morris White. — Large, oval; skin white with creamy tint when fully ripe; flesh white to the stone, which is free; melting, juicy, sweet and rich; especially good for home use and canning; somewhat subject to curl-leaf. Muir (California). — Originated as chance seedling on the place of John Muir, near Silveyville, named and first propagated by G. W. Thissell, of Winters. Fruit large to very large; perfect freestone; flesh clear yellow, very dense, rich and sweet; pit small; tree a good bearer and strong grow- er, if on rich soil, to which it is best adapted; free from curl in Vacaville district; fruit a good shipper and canner, and peculiarly adapted to drying because of exceptional sweetness and density of flesh; yield, one pound dry from less than five pounds fresh. One of the best California seedlings. Claimed by some to be identical with Wager. Muir variations with large flowers, with fruit like Muir, but not split- ting at pit, reported by W. A. Rosander, Kingsburg; A. S. Coon, Fresno, and H. R. Shaw, Selma. Muir Cling by W. R. Fletcher, Green Valley, Sonoma County. Com- mended by Green Valley Cannery. Wheatland (New York). — Large, roundish; skin golden yellow, shaded with crimson; flesh yellow, rather firm, juicy, sweet, and of fine quality. Elberta'"( Georgia). — Very large; round-oval with deep suture; golden- yellow, faint red stripes; flesh yellow, fine, juicy, rich and sweet; tree pro- lific; perfect freestone. Largely grown for fresh fruit shipping; not pre- ferred by canners. Several types are being introduced, called "Early," "Fay," "June" Elbertas. J. H. Hale.v — Valuable for shipping and drying, not for canning; smooth skin, almost fuzzless; very firm; ships almost like an apple; yellow free- stone; flesh tender, excellent quality; larger than the Elberta and ripening about the same period. Crawford's Late' (New Jersey). — Very large, roundish, yellow with dark red cheek; flesh deep yellow, juicy, and melting; flavor rich and excellent; a popular and widely-grown variety, but very subject to curl-leaf in some localities; freestone. Lemon Clingstone v (South Carolina). — Large, lemon-shaped or oblong, having large, projecting, swollen point like a lemon; skin fine yellow; flesh firm, yellow with sprightly vinous subacid; slightly red at the pit, which adheres firmly. Orange Clingstone. — Large, round; suture distinctly marked and ex- tending nearly around the fruit; no swelling at apex, like Lemon Cling- stone; deep orange color, with red cheek; flesh yellow, firm, juicy, with rich flavor; somewhat subject to mildew. Though largely grown, this va- CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM ricty has been largely supplanted by the following sub-varieties, which are seedlings from it. Selma Cling.— Originated on Lewis ranch at Selma and introduced by Fancher Creek Nurseries. Golden yellow, very uniform; somewhat flat- tened- slight color on the sunny side; flesh clear yellow to pit, fine grained, excellent. Cans with clear syrup and no rag. Ripens between Tuscan and Phillips. ^ Sellers' Golden Cling (California). — Originated on the farm of S. A. Sellers Contra Costa County, and introduced by James Shinn. Very large, rich golden color; tree healthy; one of the very best of clings; ripens with Late Crawford. Runyon's Orange Cling (California). — "Originated with Mr. Sol Runyon on the Sacramento River. Superior to the common Orange Cling. Run- yon's Orange Cling has globose glands, and is not subject to mildew like the common sort. Fruit very large, yellow, with a dark crimson cheek; rich, sugary, and vinous flavor. Highly esteemed and extensively planted in the Sacramento region and elsewhere." — John Rock. Nichols' Orange Cling (California). — Originated by Joseph Nichols, of Niles, introduced by James Shinn. Large, yellow, with purple cheek; flesh yellow and good. Tree healthy and a heavy bearer. Susquehanna (Pennsylvania). — Large, nearly globular, suture half- round; skin rich yellow, nearly covered with red; flesh yellow, sweet, juicy, with rich, vinous flavor; freestone; tree healthy. Very widely distributed and popular. Lovell (California). — Originated as a chance seedling with G. W. This- sell, and named by him in 1882; propagated by Leonard Coates, of Napa. Yellow, freestone; size uniformly large, almost perfectly round; flesh fine, texture firm, solid, clear yellow to pit; tree a good grower and bearer; superior for canning and shipping and dries well. Said to curl in some places. "The richest peach I ever saw on a tray." — E. A. Bonine, Los An- §eles County. The most popular yellow freestone for canning and drying. ometimes reported as "heavier" than the Muir. McKevitt's Cling (California). — Originated as a chance seedling in apri- cot orchard planted by M. R. Miller, on place owned later by A. McKevitt, Vaca Valley; named in 1882 by nurserymen who propagated it. A white clingstone; flesh very firm, fine-grained, sugary, and rich, high flavor, white to the pit; skin strong, and fruit excellent for shipping or canning; tree remarkably strong in growth and free from disease. Wylie Cling. — An old seedling by John Wylie, Green Valley, Sonoma County, increasing in popularity in northern Sonoma County as superior to Orange Cling in not splitting at the pit, and not dropping from the tree. California; syn. Edward's Cling (California). — "Originated in Sacramen- to. Very large, round, regular, nearly covered with dark, rich red; flesh deep yellow; flavor delicate, rich vinous." — C. W. Reed. Picquet's Late (Georgia). — Large to very large; round, sometimes a little flattened; yellow, with red cheek; flesh yellow, melting, sweet, rich and fragrant; freestone; not subject to curl-leaf. Salway (English).— Large, roundish oblate; suture broad, deep, extend- ing beyond the apex; skin downy, creamy yellow, rich, clear, crimson cheek; flesh deep yellow, red at the pit; juicy, rich, sweet, vinous; free- stone; a standard late peach in California; tree very healthy. Phillips' Cling (California).— Originated with Joseph Phillips, of Sutter County; propagated by J. T. Bogue of Marysville. Fine large yellow cling, no color at pit, which is very small; exceedingly rich and high colored; described by Mr. Skinner, superintendent Marysville Cannery, as the best peach he ever used. The most popular yellow clingstone. Ripens pro- gressively so that picking can coyer two weeks without falling from tree. Requires good land and ample moisture. Haus's and Sim's cling are being planted as "improved Phillips." VARIETIES OF THE PEACH 255 Heath (Maryland). — Described by Downing as the most delicious of all clingstones. Very large; skin downy, creamy white, with faint blush of red; flesh greenish white, very tender and juicy, with most luscious flavor, best adapted to interior regions, or places free from curl. George's Late Cling (California). — "Originated in Sacramento. Large; white flesh; colored around the pit; beautiful yellow color, striped and splashed with bright red; a very heavy and uniform bearer; a good ship- per, and in its season of ripening there is no peach grown in Placer County that yields the grower so much profit." — P. W. Butler. Subject to mildew. Albright's Cling (California). — "Originated with Mr. Albright, near Placerville. Very large; yellow, with bright cheek; rarely equaled in qual- ity and flavor. Described as larger, more highly colored, of better flavor, better shape, and the tree a more prolific bearer than the Orange cling." — P. W. Butler. Endures long shipment even after being well colored. McDevitt Cling. — "Originated with Neal McDevitt, of Placer County. Uniformly large, rich, golden yellow, becoming red when ripe; flesh very firm and solid; superior in flavor; excellent shipper; tree good and regu- lar bearer. Levy's Late; syn. Henrietta (District of Columbia). — Above average size; yellow flesh, red cheek; late; clingstone. Very popular in San Joa- quin Valley. Bilyeu's Late October. — "Large greenish white and red cheek; flesh whitish, freestone; tree a rapid grower and attains .great size; prolific bearer; fruit ships well, and where it will mature no peach can take its place; does particularly well in the foothills." — P. W. Butler. Decker*" (California). — Grown for eastern shipment, in Vaca Valley, and in Sutter and Butte counties. CHAPTER XXI THE NECTARINE The nectarine reaches perfection under California4 conditions, as does its close relative, the peach. The fruit is, in fact, as Downing says, only a variety of the peach with a smooth skin ; only a distinct, accidental variety of the peach ; and this is rendered quite certain, since there are several well-known examples on record of both peaches and nectarines having been produced on the same branch. Nectarine pits usually produce nectarines again, but they occasion- ally produce peaches. Peach seeds occasionally produce nectarines ; the Boston variety originated from a peach stone. All these facts which are recorded of relation between the peach and nectarine have been verified by California observation. The practice of growing nectarines is also exactly like that em- ployed with the peach. It is propagated and pruned in the same ways. The peach and nectarines are the same in natural adapta- tions and requiremnts, and in diseases, so that what has been given concerning the growth of the peach in this State has application to the nectarine. The success of the nectarine worked on almond stock, as has been demonstrated by the experience of many, has led to the graft- ing over a good many unprofitable almond trees to nectarine, though this has not been done to the extent to which the French prune and some other plums have been worked on old almond stocks. Comparative Production of Nectarine and Peach. — It may be wondered, considering the similarity of the peach and the nectarine, why the former comes so near being our leading deciduous fruit and the latter is the least grown, but one, of all temperate zone fruits, only the lowly quince being less in importance. The explanation is that the fruit buyer, both in California and at the East, prefers the peach, whether it be fresh, or canned, or dried, and some of those who have tried even a few acres of nectarines have found many occasions to wish the ground had been given to peaches. How much of this preference is due to lack of knowledge of the nectarine, and how much to its somewhat different flavor, it would be difficult to actually determine. That the nectarine would advance in popular favor has been prophesied for some years, because of the wonderful excellence of the nectarine as grown in our interior valleys, and the passing beauty of the amber translucency of the dried nectarine, both when sun-dried and when produced by machine evaporators. The excel- lence of the canned nectarine has also figured in the anticipation. It is, however, questionable how far this anticipation has been realized, for it is estimated that the amount of dried nectaries is less than two per cent and of canned nectaries less than one-half of one per cet of the respective forms of peaches. Nor does the VARIETIES OF THE NECTARINE 257 demand call for change in this proportion, for there is a slight advantage in the market value of the peach even in its great pre- ponderance of supply. During the last decade many nectaries have been rooted out to be replaced bv peach trees, or have been grafted over into peaches. There are, however, some growers who are confident that the nectarine will in the future rank much higher in the California fruit product. It would please growers and fruit driers and canners to popularize the nectarine, for its smooth skin makes it as easy to handle as an apricot, and the beauty of the product, which certainly exceeds that of the peach and is rather more easily attained, is very gratifying to the producer. There have recently been discerned some indications that these things may be realized, and plantings have increased. VARIETIES OF THE NECTARINE Varieties of the nectarine, as of the peach, show different local adaptations, and are valued by growers accordingly. The varieties grown are, however, comparatively few. At the 1920 conferences of growers, canners and nurserymen, the Gower nectarine was ap- proved for shipping and the Stanwick for drying and Advance, Boston, Hardwick, Victoria and Napier were placed in the discard. Humboldt and New White were retained for desirability in home orchards. The following have been found most satisfactory in California : Grower. — Introduced by Fancher Creek Nursery and named for E. Grower, of Selma. Earliest of all nectarines. Ripens with Early Crawford peach; fruit very firm; freestone; ships like a clingstone peach; very early; delicious flavor; tree strong grower, bears heavily. Advance^ Large, round, green, marked with red and brown; flesh greenish white; /rich and well flavored. The earliest to ripen. Lord Napier (English). — Large, pale, cream color with dark red cheek; flesh white, melting, tender and juicy, separating freely from stone; leaf glands reniform and flowers large. Especially commended as a heavy and regular bearer; pronounced best in flavor at Pomona Experiment Station. Downtonv (English). — Leaves with reniform glands; flowers small; fruit large, roundish oval; skin pale green, with deep violet red cheek; flesh pale green, slightly red at the stone, which is free, melting rich, and very good. / Early Newington (English). — Leaves serrated without glands, flowers large; fruit large, roundish ovate, a little enlarged on one side, and ter- minating with an acute swollen point; skin pale green, but nearly covered with bright red and coated with thin bloom; flesh greenish white, but deep red at stone, which adheres closely, juicy, sugary, rich, and excellent. Hardwicke (English). — Leaves with globose glands; fruit very large; roundish, inclining to oval; skin pale green, with deep violet red cheek; flesh pale green, slightly marked with red at the stone, melting, rich, and highly flavored; freestone; a favorite in Southern California. Boston* — Raised from a peach stone by T. Lewis, of Boston; tree hardy and productive; leaves with globose glands; flowers small; fruit large and handsome, roundish oval, bright yellow, with deep red cheek; flesh yellow to the stone (which is small and pointed), sweet, though not rich, with pleasant and peculiar flavor; freestone; a general favorite in California. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM New White; syn. Large White. — Leaves with reniform glands; flowers large; fruit rather large, nearly round; skin white with occasionally slight tinge 'of red; flesh white, tender, very juicy, with rich, vinous flavor; stone small and free; commended wherever nectarines are grown in California and more freely planted. Stanwick.— Originated in England from seed brought from Syria. Large, roundish oval, slightly heart-shaped at base; skin pale, greenish white, shaded into deep, rich violet in the sun; flesh white, tender, juicy, rich, sugary, and delicious. Humboldt.— Very large, bright orange yellow vigorously marked with crimson; flesh orange, tender, juicy and highly flavored. Described as one of the best of the newer varieties. Ripens late. As the future for the nectarine seems to rest upon drying and canning of the fruit, the light-skinned, white or yellow-fleshed varieties without color at the stone, are most desirable. For drying there has been thus far a decided preference for freestone varieties, though possibly the present popularity for cling peaches for drying may extend to the clingstone nectarines. Much color, however, either in skin or flesh, will prevent the production of the beautiful translucent, amber hue of the dried nectarine, which is attractive to consumers. Color in the flesh is, of course, undesirable in can- ning, because of the discoloration of the syrup. These facts have had much to do in fixing the popularity of the varieties named in the foregoing list. The largest orchards of nectarines are in interior valley loca- tions, which are also fine for the peach and are perfectly adapted both to the growing of the fruit and to the open-air, sun-drying of it. CHAPTER XXII THE PEAR The oldest deciduous fruit trees in California are pear trees, as has already been stated in the account of fruits at the old missions, and some of the trees are still bearing, though it is about a century and a half since their planting. Trees planted by pioneers in the old mining districts have actually assumed semblance to adjacent oaks, Notable instances are found in the Stillwater district of Shasta County and elsewhere. Near San Jose there is a tree over half a century old, with a trunk seven and a half feet around and yielding annually about fifteen hundred pounds of fruit, some of which was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition:^ The pear withstands neglect and thrives in soils and situations which other fruit trees would rebel against. It defies drouth and excessive moisture, and patiently proceeds with its fruitage even when the soil is trampel almost to rocky hardness by cattle, carry- ing its fruit and foliage aloft above their reach. And yet the pear repays care and good treatment, and receives them from California growers, for the pear has been one of our most profitable fruits. It is in demand for canning, for drying, and for distant shipment, and its long season and the slow ripening after picking allow de- liberation in marketing, and admit of enjoying low rates for ship- ment by slow trains. One of the most striking demonstrations of the commercial suitability of the California pear is found in success- ful marketing in London. Solomons, who was called "London's greatest fruiterer," said in 1903 that California Bartletts from Block of Santa Clara are the "best in the world." Even after crossing the continent they seemed to endure shipment across the Atlantic better than Eastern pears. The most obvious marks of the California pear are size and beauty. The most conspicuous example is the Bartlett, which is the pear of California, judged by its popularity, fresh, canned and dried. When well grown, its size is grand, and its delicate color, aroma and richness unsurpassed. What extreme in point of size has been reached is not known to the writer, but he saw at the San Jose Horticultural Fair, of 1886, thirteen Bartlett pears grown by A. Block, of Santa Clara, which weighed fourteen pounds, the heaviest of the group weighing twenty-two and one-half ounces. But there had been larger Bartletts than the writer then saw, for in 1858 a Bartlett was shown at Sacramento which weighed 27 ounces and was 13% inches in girth, and to meet incredulity a life- size outline of the fruit was published in the California Culturist of December, 1858. Other pears have made standard sizes in Cali- fornia far in advance of their records elsewhere. There was in 1870 a Pound pear sent from Sacramento to the late Marshall P. Wilder, president of the American Pomological Society, which CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM veiehed four pounds and nine ounces, and was reported by Colonel Wider to be larger than anything previously reported m pear annals * But California has recently done even better, for a pear i near Marysville in 1904 was reported as nine inches high, sixteen inches around the base and five pounds in weight. Notes kept by the writer include five Vicar of Wmkfields weighing four pounds eight ounces; nine Easter Beurre weighing twenty-four and one-half pounds, the heaviest single specimen weighing two and three-fourths pounds ; thirty-five Beurre Clairgeau weighing thirty- seven pounds, the heaviest one, nineteen ounces ; Seckel pears, nine and three-fourths inches in circumference— Dowmng's figures make the Seckel five and seven-eighths inches around. The pear comes into bearing early if conditions have favored the thrift and development of the tree. It is a long-lived tree as already shown unless it is invaded by the blight. It is the judg- ment of Hayward Reed, whose pear orchards in Sacramento and Yuba Counties have long been among the best known in California, that with variations due to climate, soil, drainage, variety, etc., a pear tree is mature at 12 to 15 years of age and will average eight or nine boxes of 50 pounds each. It will pay for its care at seven to ten years of age. LOCALITIES FOR THE PEAR The pear has a wider range than the apple in local adaptations. It does as well as the apple in the coast regions, if suitable varieties are grown; it thrives far better than the apple in the interior val- leys; it rivals the apple in the ascent of the slope of the Sierra Nevada, and gains from the altitude, color and late keeping, as does the apple. By rejecting a few naturally tender varieties, or by proper protection against the scab fungus, in regions where its attacks are severe, one can grow pears almost everywhere in Cali- fornia— providing pear blight can be held in check, as will be dis- cussed later. The choice of location is governed more by commercial consid- erations than by natural phenomena. The same facts which make the Bartlett the favorite variety with planters, also should regulate the choice of locality for growing it. These facts were expressed by the late C. W. Reed, of Sacramento, who was in his time one of the leading pear growers and shippers of the State, as follows : In the Sacramento Valley proper there is but one variety of pear that win justify extensive cultivation, viz., the Bartlett. While nearly all va- rieties may be grown successfully, and many varieties may be desirable for home purposes, yet for profitable orchards we have to confine ourselves to this one variety, except in high altitudes, or localities where the fruit only matures very late. The reason for this will be better understood by the inexperienced if explained. The Bartlett pear having qualities that make it a universal favorite for shipping, canning, and for domestic mar- ket, no other variety is wanted while it is obtainable. With the difference in the time of its ripening in different localities that are adjacent, our mar- *Tilton's Journal of Horticulture, March, 1871, p. 87. An engraving of this fruit, natural size, was given in the Pacific Rural Press, November 8, 1873." THE WONDERFUL BARTLETT 261 kets are supplied with this variety about four months each season, viz., July, August, September and October. While this pear is in the market, any other variety to compete with it must sell at very low prices. Of course experienced pear growers, whose taste would soon cloy with a continuous diet of Bartletts, and who know fully the superior quality of other varieties which ripen soon after it, would dispute the position taken by Mr. Reed, but for present California taste and trade he is undoubtedly correct. As the canners and shippers and local consumers all call for Bartletts, and as they usually sell at the East for more than other varieties, the choice of location to secure a Bartlett, either very early or very late, is the part of wisdom, for either end of the season usually yields better prices than the middle. The earliest Bartletts come from the interior valley sometimes as early as the last week in June; the next, from the valleys adjacent to the Bay of San Francisco ; the next, from the higher foothills of the Sierra Nevada ; and the last, so far as present experience goes, although some coast and mountain situations are quite late, reach the market from the Vacaville district. It is an interesting fact that this district, which has long been famous for marketing the first early fruits, should also market very late ones. It is true, however, that early fruits hasten to maturity and late fruits are retarded. Late fruits push along until about midsummer, then stop growing for a month or two during the hottest weather, and after- wards proceed on their course and finish up well.* W. W. Smith, of Vac& Valley, has picked Bartletts as late as November 19, but that is unusually late. In years with heavy late spring rains the Bartlett ripens earlier in the Vaca Valley than in ordinary seasons, and when the fruit sells well in the East, the Bartletts are gathered green and shipped all through the season, as their first growth usually makes them large enough for this purpose. There is produced in some situations a "second crop" of Bart- letts and of other varieties, which is of account when pears are scarce and is sometimes dried with profit. For such fruit the bloom appears upon the tips of the shoots of the current season's growth. The fruit is sometimes coreless and has led to claims of "seedless pears." Bartlett pears have actually been picked in the foothills above Peatz in Butte County on February 25, 1905, and described as "fine, delicious and ripe." This fact must be regarded as a token of local climatic salubrity and not of economic or pomological account. Bartletts can also be successfully held in storage for a time if fitted for it. The experiments of the United States Department of Agriculture, conducted in Southern Oregon, show that the Bartlett season can be extended from six to seven weeks by leaving the fruit on the trees two weeks longer than is at present the practice and by storing for four or five weeks at a temperature of 32 deg. or 34 deg. F. after the fruit has been precooled. •Demonstration of the effect of high heat in retarding the ripening of pears has been described by R. H. Taylor and E. L. Overholser in Monthly Bulletin California State Hor- ticultural Commission for March, 1919. 262 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM SOILS FOR THE PEAR The pear, if it is not allowed to dry out entirely, will generally do well on shallow soil and over a tight clay hard-pan, where most other fruits would be unsatisfactory or fail utterly. The trees will thrive in clay loams, and even in adobe, if properly cultivated. In laying out fruit farms, which often include a variety of soils, even in comparatively small area, the pears and plums (if on the right stock, as will be seen) should be set in the lower, moister, stiffer soil, and other fruits on the lighter, warmer, and better drained portions. The pear, however, enjoys the better situation, though it will thrive on the poorer. The tree seems to attain its greater growth and heavier bearing on the alluvial soils of the valleys and near the banks of rivers and streams. All pears will be later in maturing and have better keeping qualities if grown on a clay sub- soil. Thus it appears that the pear will flourish whether the water is near or far from the surface. On wet land the apple is apt to die in a few years, or become worthless. On dry land the apple may live longer than on wet land, but the fruit will be small and taste- less. But the pear tree may bear good fruit, under both extreme conditions. It has been learned by experience that the pear will flourish on soil somewhat alkaline. At the University Agricultural Experiment Station at Tulare, this subject was demonstrated in detail. It was shown that though the pear endures a certain amount of alkali its limit of endurance may be often exceeded and there is little warrant to select alkali soil for pears, unless it be to fill a space that would otherwise be vacent in the orchard. If it is not too alkaline the pears will thrive. If gypsum be used in planting, somewhat stronger alkali will be endured than otherwise. PROPAGATION AND PLANTING The use of dwarfing stock for the pear has been nearly aban- doned in this State, though in early years the quince was largely used. The most prominent orchard on quince stock is that of A. Block, of Santa Clara, where may be seen dwarf trees originally planted eight feet apart in squares, but now wider spaced by re- moving part of the trees; the remainder doing exceedingly well under liberal manuring and irrigation. It would, however, require special investigation to determine whether these trees are still de- pendent upon the quince or whether they have developed roots from the pear wood above. It is quite possibe that, at least for gardens, there may be in the future more use made of dwarf trees; but for commercial orchards there appears no need of dwarfing. The common con- clusion is that it is better to have fewer trees and larger ones, but since the pear blight became an issue in this State the quince has been advocated as a means of maintaining a sound root and keeping the warfare above ground. The best known dwarf pear orchard of recent planting is that of the Hillgirt Orchards in the PROPAGATING PEARS 263 Alhambra Valley near Martinez in Contra Costa County. The reasons for resort to the quince root and the results are thus given by Mr. Frank T. Swett : The Bartlett does not make good union with the quince root, but by working Beurre Hardy on the quince root, and Bartlett on the Hardy, per- fect unions are obtained. We have a three-story pear tree: root, quince; stem to a height of 12 inches, Beurre Hardy; top, Bartlett. We had a commercial crop of a box to the tree, or 170 boxes to the acre at the sixth year. Since then, we have had five good crops of pears. Standard trees alongside are only just beginning to bear commercial crops. We have, therefore, had an income for five years which would not have come to us on this land with standard trees. In 1907 we picked 1200 boxes of fine, clean, shapely pears from three acres of dwarfs. Our trees are planted 16 feet apart. I think 14 feet apart would be a little better, giving 221 trees to the acre instead of 170. The trees are stocky and strong. They are from 6 to 8 inches in diameter a foot above the ground. They are about 10 to 12 feet high, and are broad and spreading. There are some cultural advantages of the dwarf trees. Our men prune about 60 of these trees a day as against 16 to 20 standard trees. Spraying can be more thoroughly done, as the trees are close to the ground. Most of the pears are picked without the use of a ladder, and only a short ladder is required to gather the pears higher up. I have seen a good picker picking at the rate of 60 boxes a day on these dwarfs, where the average rate on standard trees was 20 boxes a clay. We resorted to the quince root to escape the root aphis, but the quince root is not as resistant to oak fungus as the French root, and where this fungus is a menace, dwarfs should not be planted. Dwarf trees suffer just as severely from blight as standard trees. The following varieties are commended for cultivation on quince stock as dwarfs, experience proving them vigorous growers and abundant bearers in suitable localities : Bartlett (by double work- ing), Beurre Hardy, Doyenne du Cornice, Duchess d'Angouleme, Glout Morceau, Pound, Beurre Diel, White Doyenne, Easter Beurre, Winter Nelis, P. Barry, Winter Bartlett. Blight-Proof Roots. — But the pear is usually grown in California by budding or grafting on its own roots ; that is upon pear seed- lings. Formerly these were almost exclusively imported from France, but in 1918 more than three-fourths of the nursery trees were grown on Japanese stock, and in 1921 seedlings of European species are almost wholly abandoned. The seedlings of the Sand pear, of Asia (Pyrus serotina), are being demonstrated to be in- ferior to other Asiatic species which are being introduced and bid fair to become a main reliance. Very interesting pamphlets describ- ing these new species were published in 1918 and in 1920 by Mr. A. L. Wisker of Grass Valley, California, who is commending the growing of ussuriensis seedlings to be top-grafted in the orchard after attaining some size. It is, however, not demonstrated that these Asiatic species will be our only reliance in the future, for even if some of them do furnish a resistant root they may not make a good stem and, therefore, it is proposed to bud or graft some other resistant wood to make a trunk and top work the Bartlett upon such a trunk so that only the branches shall be susceptible to blight. Such a trunk is commended CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM by Dr. W. L. Howard of the University of California in the use of the variety named "Surprise," whose resistance is demonstrated: The Surprise is even more blight resistant than the Japanese pear and makes a beautiful tree, and the plan to follow would be to grow the Sur- prise on the Japanese root until the trees are perhaps four years old, or until all of the main scaffold branches have been formed. These may then be top-worked to Bartlett. In this way, even though blight did get into the trees, it would not be possible to lose more than one of the main branches, and if care were taken this could be again top-worked on the original Surprise stump. Distance in Planting. — If the pears are to have the whole ground, it is usual to plant from twenty to twenty-four feet apart on the square. As the tree is slower to attain size and full bearing than the stone fruits, and as it is a long-lived tree, the pears are sometimes set twenty-four feet with plums in quincunx. Peaches and apricots are also set between pears sometimes, when the soil chosen for pears suits them also. PRUNING Usually the pear is grown in the vase form, as described in the general chapter on pruning. With regular, upright growers, head- ing low and cutting to outside buds results in a handsome, gently- spreading top, and effectually curbs the disposition which some varieties, notably the Bartlett, have to run straight up with main branches crowded together. The development of the vase-form with a few continuous leaders, in a general way as prescribed for the peach in Chapter XX, is practicable. Such leaders are to be covered with short, fruit- bearing laterals. Thinning and shortening of laterals can be done by summer pruning. As with other fruit trees, the pear must be studied and pruning must be done with an understanding of the habit of the variety under treatment. Irregular and wayward growers, which, in windy places, also have their rambling disposition promoted by prevailing winds, often give the grower much perplexity. The general rules of cutting to an outside bud to spread the tree, to an inside bud to raise and concentrate it, and to an outside bud one year and an inside bud the next, if a limb is desired to continue in a certain course, are all helpful to the pruner. But with some pears, of which the Winter Nelis is a conspicuous example, it is exceedingly hard to shape the tree by these general rules, and some growers abandon all rules, merely shortening in where too great extension is seen, or to facilitate cultivation, and trust to shaping the tree when it shall have finished its rampant growing period. In the hot interior valleys, with the pear as with the apple, care must be taken to prune so as not to open the tree too much to the sun, but to shorten in and thin out only so far as is consistent with maintaining a good covering of foliage. The pruning of bearing pear trees is much like that of the apple, to be determined largely by the habit of the tree, and to IRRIGATION OF THE PEAR 265 secure a fair amount of fruit on branches with strength and stiff- ness enough to sustain it. Summer pruning will promote fruiting either in a young or an old tree and some practice it to secure early bearing of young trees, but the common practice is winter pruning to secure strong wood and prevent overbearing. THINNING PEARS It is quit important to attend to thinning the fruit on over- loaded trees. Even the popular Bartlett will often give fruit too small for profitable sale unless thinned, though successive pickings as the fruit reaches marketable size, which will be commended presently, does to a degree reduce the danger of overcrowding. With pears, as other fruits, thinning should not be done until it is seen that the fruit is well set. Dropping off from natural causes sometimes thins the crop quite enough. IRRIGATION OF THE PEAR In some situations the pear needs irrigation, though it will endure drouth which would destroy most other fruit trees. There is no profit in small, tough fruit. As stated in the chapter on irriga- tion the wood growth and fruit show whether proper moisture needs are met or not. Early pears are advanced in development by irrigation in some parts of the State, and this is an important factor in their value. On the other hand, late pears may be kept growing to larger size and later maturity by irrigation. The following is an interesting concrete instance : Mr. John McAlister of Santa Clara County got nearly double the price for his pears one year because he held them back from ripening by timely irrigation. The weather in August and September when the Bartletts and Beurre Hardys ripen is a little too warm to accomplish much by irrigation except to increase the size of the fruit. The Hardys were irrigated two weeks before picking early in September; and after they were picked, the Cornice, Winter Neils, and Easter Beurre were irrigated. The Cornice were picked just before the Neils and the Neils were three inches in dia- meter before they needed to be picked late in November. The Easter Beurres six weeks after the Hardys, which brought the picking up to January 1. The Easter Beurres were 3J^, 4, and 6 inches in diameter at that time. The pears had been held on the trees at least a month later than other people, and some of them were held in storage until March 1 before shipping to the eastern and coast markets. The pears are right to pick when they are large enough and the seeds begin to turn brown; but this condition may be delayed and the size increased by late irrigation un- less early rains are ample enough to produce the same effect. BLIGHT OF THE PEAR The pear blight appeared in the San Joaquin Valley about 1900. In 1904, after having nearly wiped out bearing trees in the southern counties of the San Joaquin Valley, the disease began to devastate the orchards along the Sacramento River through the vast area of 266 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM rich valley land which it traverses and on which is situated our most extensive pear acreage. In 1905 resolute warfare was made upon the blight, with a large appropriation of State funds, by the plant disease experts of the United States Department of Agricul- ture and the California Agricultural Experiment Station, with the assistance of the local horticultural authorities. It was probably the greatest campaign ever made against a single tree disease, although some insect warfares have been greater. The outlines of the plans followed and the results attained are to be found in the publications of the institutions engaged.* Detailed information concerning the treatment of blight as indi- cated by progressive research and experimentation is also to be had from these institutions and from California horticultural journals which record the latest methods and results by pear growers who are continually introducing new methods of applying the only treatment thus far found effective, and that is cutting out and burning the affected parts. The cutting must be below the parts seen to be diseased, even to the roots of the tree, and dis- infecting the tools used in one cut before again cutting into the tree.f It is usually best, unless one is thoroughly acquainted with the disease, to submit specimens of suspected blight to the University Experiment Station at Berkeley, for a beginner may be easily deceived. However, that the inexperienced person may have a general idea of what to look for, the following outline of symptoms is given : The most obvious effect of blight to be seen during the growing season, is the blackening of the leaves and soft wood to which they are attached, as though these parts had been touched by a flame, and from this appear- ance comes its old common name, "fire-blight." More specifically, as Prof, R. E. Smith has written, the leaves, blossoms and young fruit wither and turn black on the affected portions but do not fall, remaining tightly at- tached to the twigs during the winter after the healthy leaves have fallen. The infection proceeds downwards through the inner bark of the twigs and branches, and when working vigorously the blight kills the twigs or whole branches very rapidly. The disease often runs down into the large limbs, where it remains alive over winter, producing the so-called "hold- over" blight, which is a source of infection during the following season. The blighted twigs, branches or trunks show a red, sappy, juicy con- ff110*1 °f the inner bark when infected with the true pear blight organism. If the disease is fresh and active the bark when cut into is very juicy, ex- uding the slightly sticky sap quite freely and showing bright red color in Jhe inner bark. This symptom is of importance in distinguishing true blight from such troubles as die-back from sour sap, crater blight and other causes. In the smaller twigs and branches the organism dries out and becomes entirely dead. But, through the agency of biting insects in the young shoots and suckers, the disease frequently gets into the trunk of the tree and also down into the roots. Here it spreads and causes the death of *Report8 of the California Commissioners of Horticulture, 1901 to 1906, including Reports on California Fruit Growers' Convention for 1905-6-7, Horticultural Commissioner, and^rJog110' P°rt °f Plant Path°l°gist, University Experiment Station, Berkeley, 1906 tThe character of such a fight and what it costs is graphically portrayed by E. A. ammon m the Report of California Fruit Growers' Convention of 1909, and in Pacific Rural Press, June 22, 1910. CUTTING OR SCRAPING PEAR BLIGHT 267 the tree by slow degrees, due to the destruction of the inner bark of the trunk or main roots. In such cases the leaves of affected trees take on a peculiar bronzy reddish coloration in the fall, which is quite characteristic to the experienced eye. From the "hold-over" blight in the trunks and large limbs an infectious sap exudes when growth starts in the spring, which sap contains myriads of the blight organisms. This sap is attractive to insects, which, in feeding upon it, get the blight bacteria upon their bodies and mouth parts, and transfer them to the blossoms or green shoots of other trees, thus spread- ing the infection. Looking for Blight. — The time to see blight best is while the tree is in leaf. Discovery and cutting out should be in mind all summer — especially should thorough work be done in the autumn. The leaves are still hanging on blighted twigs; trees are least sus- ceptible to reinfection from careless cutting because they are practi- cally dormant ; insects are not so numerous, and the rain is not yet soaking newly cut surfaces with drippings from other new cuts. It is easy to get around the orchard, and mud does not hinder fol- lowing root blight. Cutting Out Blight. — Cuts should usually be made about a foot below visible appearances of blight on the bark; (2) tools are dis- infected before making the cut; (3) the wound immediately after the cutting is sponged with a disinfectant — of which the one chiefly used is one part of corrosive sublimate to 1000 parts of water by weight; which is one ordinary tablet of corrosive to one pint of water. Dr. F. C. Reimer of Oregon, the noted pear expert, recom- mends cyanide of mercury to disinfect cuts and wounds instead of corrosive sublimate — 1 gram of pure cyanide of mercury to 500 grams of water (about one pint). Large cut surfaces should be subsequently brushed or sprayed with Bordeaux mixture or lime- sulphur wash. Scraping Instead of Cutting. — In 1921 a new method of checking the progress of the blight downward is being employed in the treat- ment of larger branches and trunk. It is described as follows :* The new method of control consists in the scraping of the outer layer of bark on all infected areas, and it is very essential to scrape for insur- ance at least eight to ten inches above and below all visible signs of blight. The scraped area is then painted or saturated with a solution of cyanide of mercury (1 to 500). On trunk infections it is found best to scrape a little closer to the cambium or growing layer of bark. It is found that the cyanide solution does not penetrate to the cambium if too much outer bark is left. On working on large areas disinfecting should be done sev- eral times during the operation because the surface of the bark becomes dry and the solution cannot penetrate to the inner blight. If a mud paste of cyanide solution and earth is put on the scraped area it helps to keep the wound damp for some time and the cyanide effective for a longer period. Bichloride solution, 1 to 1000, is better to use to disinfect tools. The bichloride solution and cyanide solution (1 to 500) may be mixed in the same bottle for convenience. Pear Scab. — The scab fungus which seriously affects some varieties, and notably the Winter Nelis, is identical with the scab of the apple and will be mentioned in the chapter on tree disease. *E. I. Power in Pacific Rural Press, March 26, 1921. 268 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM INSECT PESTS OF THE PEAR The pear is subject to several grievous pests which must be resolutely combated or circumvented as described in Chapter XLI where the identification of the pests is determined by the character of the injury they inflict. 4 GATHERING AND RIPENING OF PEARS Many pear growers make the common mistake of allowing the fruit to hang too long on the tree, instead of gathering and ripening in a cool, dark place. Pears should be picked at the first indication of ripeness, the first sign being a tendency of the stem to part from the spur when the pear is gently raised up. This test applies especially to the Bartlett. Picking at this stage and laying away in the dark ripens up the Bartlett well. When picked at this stage and sent overland by slow freight, they ripen en route and the boxes open well on the Eastern markets. There are a few varieties which shrivel if ripened under cover, but the rule is a good one, and the grower will soon note the exceptions. Many desirable varieties have, no doubt, been pronounced poor and insipid because allowed to ripen on the tree. As a rule pears are ready to pick when of proper size, seeds beginning to turn brown, and the flesh quite firm. Some pears size up and ripen before others. Some get oversized before the general run are ready. If these early pears are picked first, with some care not to knock the others off, the small ones left will have all the strength of the tree to increase their size, and the earliest ones will not get oversized or over-ripe. Fewer pickers are required and the job, being longer, is more attractive. To ripen well, pears should be packed in tight boxes or inclosed in drawers. They do not do as well as apples on shelves open to circulation of air. As already stated, the oily-skinned apple endures exposure and maintains a smooth, ruddy cheek and sound heart in spite of wind, rain and rough weather. The pear under similar con- ditions decays rapidly. POLLINATION OF PEARS As very few varieties of pears are largely grown in California and as the Bartlett generally bears well when grown in large acre- ages by itself, the Eastern claim that the Bartlett is self-sterile does not seem to be justified in California experience. Recent observa- tions indicate that even at the East the Bartlett is self- fertile when conditions are favorable to setting of the fruit and self-sterile when they are otherwise. As conditions are usually favorable in Cali- fornia this may be the reason why its self-fertility is more conspicu- ous here than at the East. The behavior of the Bartlett under systematic fertilization has been determined at the University Farm at Davis and the results published in detail.* The conclusions are that the Bartlett is to a "'Pollination of the Bartlett Pear," by W. P. Tufts, University of California Experi- ment Station, Bulletin No. 37; May, 1919. POLLINATION OF PEARS 269 limited degree self-sterile (and in 1920 was sterile) under valley con- ditions and is self-sterile under foothill conditions; therefore, it is desirable that another variety should be interplanted with the Bart- lett for cross-pollination. The blooming season of eight varieties during a period of five years at Davis is given as follows : Angouleme March 16 to March 28 Howell March 16 to March 29 Easter March 16 to March 30 Clairgeau March 22 to March 28 Cornice March 29 to March 31 Dana's Honey March 23 to March 31 Winter Nelis March 22 to April 2 Bartlett March 19 to April 13 It thus appears that the Bartlett has a very long blooming season and overlaps the other varieties named — all of which were demon- strated by hand tests to be capable of cross-pollinating it and to receive the same service. VARIETIES OF THE PEAR Though large collections of famous Eastern and European pears have been brought to California, the peculiarity of the local market and demand for canning and shipping has led to concentration upon very few sorts.* The pears favorably considered by the 1920 con- ferences of growers, canners and nurserymen for commercial plant- ing are the following: Bartlett, Beurre Bosc, Beurre Clairgeau, Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Hardy, Comet, Easter Beurre, Forelle, Glout Morceau, Wilder, Winter Nelis, Cornice. The following descriptive list, arranged approximately in the order of their ripening includes varieties chiefly found in California orchards : Harvest; syn. Sugar Pear (American). — Small, roundish, pale yellow, brownish in sun, brown and green dots; flesh, whitish, rather dry but sweet; tree upright, young wood olive yellow brown. Madeleine v(French). — Medium, obovate pyriform, stalk long and slender, set on the side of a small swelling; pale yellowish green, rarely brownish blush; calyx small, in shallow, furrowed basin; flesh white, juicy, delicate. Wilder Early v (American). — Small to medium, yellow with red cheek; sweet, and good. Recently introduced and profitable for local sale in San Diego County. Should not be confused with Col. Wilder, a California seed- ling which has, gone out of use. Bloodgood (New York). — Tree short, jointed, deep reddish brown wood; fruit medium turbinate, inclining to obovate, thickening abruptly in stalk; yellow, sprinkled with russet dots; calyx strong, open almost without de- pression; stalk obliquely inserted, without depression, short, fleshy at its base; flesh yellowish white, melting, sugary, aromatic; core small. Clapp's Favorite (Massachusetts). — Tree a strong grower; young shoots dark reddish brown; fruit large, slightly obtuse pyriform; pale lemon yel- low with brown dots; flesh fine, melting, juicy, with rich, sweet delicate, vinous. flavor; resembles Bartlett, but lacks musky flavor. *An illustrated account of the pears chiefly grown in California and cultural matters also, is given in an excellent publication by George P. Weldpn on "Pear Culture in Cali- fornia," published in 1918 by the State Horticultural Commission, Sacramento. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM J Lawson; syn. Comet (New York).— Medium to large, bright crimson on yellow ground; flesh fine, rich and sweet; gaining in popularity. Bartlett (English).— Tree a strong grower, early bearer, and healthy; fruit large, smooth, clear yellow, sometimes with delicate blush; stalk mod- erately long; stout and inserted in shallow cavity; calyx open; flesh white, fine grained, juicy, buttery; highly perfumed (musky), vinous flavor. Buerre Hardy.— Large, long, obovate, sometimes obscurely pyriform; skin greenish with thin, brown russet; stalk an inch long; cavity small, uneven, oblique, basin shallow; buttery, somewhat melting, rich, slightly subacid; tree a strong grower. Flemish Beauty (Belgian). — Large, obovate, often obscurely tapering to the crown, very obtuse, surface slightly rough, with some reddish brown russet on pale yellow ground; flesh juicy, melting, and good if picked early and ripened in the house; rejected commercially. Seckel (Pennsylvania). — Rather small, regularly formed, obovate; brownish green, becoming yellowish brown, with russet red cheek; stalk slightly curved, and set in strifling depression; calyx small and set in a very slight depression; flesh whitish, buttery, very juicy and melting, with peculiarly rich, spicy flavor and aroma. Only commended for home orchards. Howell (Connecticut). — Rather large, roundish pyriform, light waxen yellow, often with finely-shaded cheek thickly sprinkled with minute russet dots and some russet patches; stalk medium, without cavity and some- times lipped; sometimes in small cavity; calyx open in large, uneven basin; flesh whitish, juicy, brisk, vinous; not desirable commercially. Duchess d'Angouleme (France). — Very large, oblong obovate; somewhat uneven, knobby surface; dull greenish yellow, streaked and spotted with russet; stalk long, stout, bent, deeply set in irregular cavity; calyx set in somewhat knobby basin; flesh white, buttery, and juicy, with rich flavor. Louise Bonne of Jersey (France). — Large oblong pyriform, a little one- sided; glassy, pale green in shade, brownish red in the sun, numerous gray dots; stalk curved, rather obliquely inserted, without depression, or with a fleshy, enlarged base; calyx open in a shallow uneven basin; flesh very juicy, and melting, rich, and excellent; very prolific. Beurre Boser Belgium). — Large pyriform, a little uneven, often tapering long and gradually into the stalk; skin pretty smooth, dark yellow, dots and streaks of cinnamon russet, slightly red on one side; stalk long, rather slender, curved; calyx short, in shallow basin; flesh white, melting, buttery, rich, with slightly perfumed flavor. Gaining commercial favor. Beurre Clairgeau (France). — Large, pyriform, but with unequal sides; yellow, shaded with orange and crimson, thickly covered with russet dots, sometimes sprinkled with russet; stalk short, stout and fleshy, inserted by a lip at an inclination almost without depression; when lip is absent, the cavity is uneven; calyx open; flesh yellowish, buttery; juicy, granular, sugary, perfumed, vinous; apt to ripen early for a winter pear; good com- mercially. Beurre d'Anjou (France). — Large, obtuse pyriform; stem, short, thick, and fleshy, in a cavity, surrounded by russet; calyx small, open in small cavity, russetted; skin greenish, sprinkled with russet, sometimes shaded with dull crimson, brown and crimson dots; flesh whitish, not very fine, melting, juicy, vinous flavor, perfumed; tree a fair grower, but somewhat affected by fungus; approved commercially. Dana's Hovey; syn. Winter Seckel (Massachusetts). — Small, obovate, obtuse pyriform; greenish yellow or pale yellow, with much russet and brown dots; stalks rather short; a little curved, set in slight cavity, some- times lipped; calyx open and basin small; flesh, yellowish, juicy, melting, sweet, aromatic; commended for home use. Doyenne du Cornice '(France). — Large, varying, roundisV\j>yriform, or broad, obtuse pyriform; greenish yellow becoming fine yellow, shaded with crimson, slightly marked with russet spots, and thickly sprinkled with russet dots; stalks short, stout, inclined and set in shallow cavity, often ' VARIETIES OF THE PEAR 271 russetted; calyx small, open, basin large, deep and uneven; flesh white, fine, melting, aromatic. Very profitable during last few years in eastern shipments. Glout Morceau (Flemish). — Rather large, varying in form, but usually short pyriform, approaching obtuse oval; nock very short and obtuse; body large and tapering towards crown; often considerably ribbed; green, be- coming pale greenish yellow; stalk stout, moderately sunk; calyx large, basin distinct, rather irregular; flesh white, fine-grained, buttery, melting, rich, sweet, and fine flavor. Block's Acme (California seedling, by A. Block, of Santa Clara). — Large and very handsome, surpassing Beurre Clairgeau in size and color; regu- larly formed, pyriform, skin pale yellow, covered with russet all over, which becomes a fine glowing red on the side exposed to the sun; flesh white, crisp, and /melting, juicy, sweet and slightly musky. Winter Nelis (Belgium). — Medium, roundish, obovate, narrowed in near the stalk; yellowish green, dotted with gray russet and a good deal covered ith russet; stalk rather long, bent, and set in narrow cavity; calyx open in shallow basin; flesh yellowish white, fine grained, buttery, very melting, and full of rich, sweet, aromatic juice; an old standard late pear. Forelle. — Medium size, handsome, greenish yellow; brilliant red cheek with brown spots; quality good; often very profitable for shipping, but not a free bearer. P. Barry (California seedling, by B. S. Fox). — Fruit large, elongated pyriform, a little obtuse; skin deep yellow, nearly covered with a rich golden russet; stalk of medium length and thickness, set rather obliquely on a medium cavity, sometimes by a lip; flesh whitish, fine, juicy, melting, sweet, slightly vinous and rich. Not justifying expectations commercially. Easter Beurre (France). — Large, roundish, obovate obtuse, often rather square in figure; yellowish green, sprinkled with many russet dots and some russet patches; stalk rather short, stout, set in an abruptly sunken obtuse cavity; calyx small, closed, but little snug among plaited folds of angular basin; flesh white, fine grained, very buttery, melting, and juicy, sweet, rich flavor; was successfully shipped from California to England as early as 1872 and retains favor for distant shipments. Pound. — Large, pyriform, yellowish-green with red cheek, esteemed for cooking; reaches enormous size in this State, as already noted. Kieffer and Le Conte. — These pears are grown to a limited extent in all parts of the State, but are usually condemned as inferior to the European varieties. The Kieffer is best in interior regions. Crocker's Bartlett (California). — Chance seedling on place of L. L. Crocker, Loomis, Placer County. Introduced by Mr. Crocker in 1902. De- scribed in year book, 1905, of U. S. Department of Agriculture; medium to large, oblong, obovate, pyriform; rich golden yellow, somewhat russetty; quality very good; keeps until March. Claimed to be blight-resistant and regularly productive, but has never gained much favor. Winter Bartlett (Oregon). — Chance seedling in the dooryard of D. W. Coolidge in Eugene, Oregon. Closely resembles Bartlett in shape and ap- pearance and flavor but coarser; ripens four months later than Bartlett in interior situations in California. Abandoned by some growers for coarse- ness, and disliked by canners for developing a pink color. Commercially disappointing. CHAPTER XXIII PLUMS AND PRUNES* The plums of California are exceptionally fine in appearance and of high quality. Both tree and fruit have thus far escaped the parasites which have wrought greatest injury on the eastern side of the continent. The curculio has never been found here, and the "black knot" has never been observed in our orchards. The tree suffers, it is true, as do most other fruit trees, from various pests and diseases, but their work is a light affliction compared with the ravages of the curculio and black knot which Eastern plum growers have to contend against. The plum stands first among the deciduous fruit trees of California, as noted in Chapter VI. Of the plums, nearly six-sevenths of the acreage are those varieties designated as prunes. This is, of course, owing to the profitable shipping demand for our prune product, while ordinary dried, pitted plums are expensive in production and do not always command food prices. There is, however, a large trade at the East in our ne plums in a fresh state. Some varieties stand shipment well and are large, handsome and in some cases possessed of unique charac- ters, resulting from Mr. Burbank's work with the Japanese species. Considerable shipments of fresh plums have been made from Cali- fornia to England. By choosing varieties ripening in succession, the plum season extends from May to December, thus enabling the California plum grower to strike the Eastern markets both early and late. It is on record also, that second crop plums have ripened. In 1904 Judge Leib, of San Jose, sent to Luther Burbank, on December 1, ripe fruit from a tree which ripened its first crop on July 4, of the same year — but this fact is of no commercial account. There is also considerable demand for plums by the canners, who do not use, however, the varieties in chief demand for shipping. LOCALITIES FOR THE PLUM The plum has an exceedingly wide range in California. The trees are thrifty and profitable from the immediate vicinity of the coast and in coast valleys, eastward across the great interior valleys, and upwards upon the sides of the Sierra Nevada. In the upper half of the State, at least, wherever there is sufficient moisture in the soil, good plums can be grown. The tree is quite hardy, but in situations open to the sweep of the winds there has been found to be decided advantage in belts of sheltering trees for protection. be dr£!l writ£^t atrh plUmS' ibUf S pl"ms alc not P™nes. A prune is a plum which can with a hi*h cWrL nf 5em°val of the pit without fermenting— the result being a fleshy pulp ic word m/v Yn . .sw<;etness. All plums which will not do this are not prunes even though ic word may appear m their California common names Pomology Station SflSjrh-1* °f fo-JVTl1 &*%*?*&* Prune is «iv«n in California Experiment Pomolo (JUnC' 1921) by Prof' A> M> Hendrickson of the University Division of PROPAGATION OF PLUMS 273 At some points subject to direct coast influences, there is sometimes loss by cracking of the fruit. It is seldom encountered in the in- terior valley, except near the rivers or in draws where the damp coast air makes its way through. It seems to be worst where there are marked differences in atmospheric humidity within short periods of time. Where the percentage is quite uniformly high or low there seems to be less trouble. Some years conditions usually restricted to more exposed coast situations prevail in the interior valley, and the result is unusual prevalence of mildew and other moist fungi and cracking of fruit also, though they have no relation to each other except that the same conditions favor both. Only certain varieties are thus affected, and they can be avoided where the trouble is found to exist. It was for a long time held that Southern California was not adapted to the growth of the plum, but the experience of the last few years has shown that the conclusion was too broad. The "French pruns£' demonstrated its success adjacent to the Coast in Santa Barbara County, and elsewhere, in the low, rich lands of the Santa Ana Valley, of Orange County, in the interior at various points on the rim of the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, notably at Pomona, and still farther inland in the San Bernardino Valley, but the Southern California prune product is small because the land and water can be more profitably used for other fruits. There is, however, difficulty in some dry uplands where the tree is shy in fruiting and subject to serious gumming; but this is en- countered locally in all parts of the State. Irrigation does not always overcome these troubles, and yet, no doubt, the arrangement of proper moisture conditions is important. The tree should be helped to make one good growth and to ripen its wood in the fall. To have growth checked by drouth and a second start made later in the season is not desirable. All the foregoing observations are based upon the behavior of plums of European origin ; descendants of the Prunus domestica. One of the grandest contributions to the extension of the range of the plum in California was the introduction of the Asiatic species, Prunus triflora and simoni. Varieties of these species directly intro- duced or locally developed by Burbank and others, have proved productive in places where the domestica varieties were abandoned as shy or sterile. To estimate the value of these varieties one has only to visit the home fruit gardens of Southern California or in- spect the fruit stands of Los Angeles which are continuous exhibits of fine specimens of these varieties in their seasons. Even in places where the domestica varieties are largely grown the Asiatic varieties are also prominent. SOILS AND STOCKS FOR THE PLUM With the plum, as with the apricot, the subjects of soils and stocks are intimately related, but the whole matter has been wonder- fully simplified by the experience of the last few years. This relief has come through the adoption of the myrobalan, or cherry plum 274 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM (Prunus myrobalana), a general all-around stock for plums and prunes. Before this practice was taken up the effort to grow the plum on its own roots generally resulted in getting an orchard full of suckers, and to avoid this, plums were worked on peach roots wherever this root would succeed in the soil to be planted. But some varieties of plums do not take kindly to the peach, and then "double working" (putting first on the peach a plum which is known to take well and then on that plum wood the variety de- sired) was followed. The use of the myrobalan does away with the suckering nuisance, and the need of double working. More than three-quarters of our plums and prunes are now being budded on myrobalan seedlings, and our nurserymen usually have large, thrifty myrobalan trees from which they secure their seed supply. Growing stock from myrobalan cuttings is not practiced. Experience has shown that the myrobalan root thrives in this State both in low, moist, valley lands, in comparatively dry lands, if not too light and leachy, and in stiff upland soils. In some soils especially adapted to the peach, peach roots are preferred as stock for the French prune, but, as already said, all plums can not be worked directly on the peach root, the Robe de Sergeant, Columbia, Yellow Egg, Washington, Diamond Tragedy, Grand Duke, and Sugar Prune, for example. Sometimes the bud or scion may make a large growth, but the two woods do not unite, and the trees are likely to break off sooner or later. Some work the plum on the apricot root because the apricot root is perhaps more tolerant of a certain amount of alkali in the soil, but sometimes the French prune top parts from the apricot root even after growing some time upon it. There are, however, instances of the French prune thriving, and, apparently making good union with the apricot root ; and some of the softer wood varieties, like the Sugar prune, take kindly to it. Some plums do well on the almond root and some do not. The French prune succeeds admirably both when worked on young almond stocks and top grafted in old almond trees. But the almond root is chiefly suited to warm, dry soils. Excellent results from the use of almond stock are reported from the interior valley and the Sierra foothills on soils which are deep and free. Propagating by Sprouts. — The French practice of growing cer- tain varieties of the plum by means of sprouts from the base of old trees was successfully followed in this State by Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, and was strongly commended by him as securing a tree which will not gum, which is one of the reasons why the same practice prevails in France. Sprouts growing at the foot of old and large trees, and but few are found to each tree, are taken off and planted close together in a bed to make them root well, and the ensuing spring planted in nursery rows, where they are trained like any other trees, and transplanted where to remain, when branched. For this method it is necessary that the parent tree should be upon its own roots, else one is apt to get suckers from a wild stock. Sprout-grown trees can not, however, be defended unless some PRUNING THE PLUM 275 special point like that claimed by Mr. Gillet can be attained by them. PLANTING AND PRUNING As with other trees, there is a difference of opinion as to the best distance apart for plum trees. The present tendency is toward wider planting ; not nearer than twenty feet is the usual advice, and on rich land, twenty-two, twenty-four or twenty-six feet is better. The plum, in California, is a most rapid grower; six to ten feet from the bud or graft in a season, and about as much after the first winter's cutting back, is not at all unusual. At this rate of progress Pruning after first summer's growth in orchard Growth during second summer in orchard then, the tree soon runs up and away, in a spindling, sprawling fashion, unless severely cut back for the first few years. Neglected trees of some varieties show long, streaming branches, arching out- ward, and exposing the bark to sunburn (to which it is very sensi- tive), breaking the tree to pieces as the fruit gets weight, and, even if supported by props, breaking off at the bearing of the prop. This condition of the tree can only be obviated by low heading and moderate cutting back each year, with due regard to limiting the amount of bearing wood to get large fruit. For such plum varieties the suggestions on forming the tree and subsequent treatment in Chapter XII will be found helpful. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Pruning the French Prune. — Growers of the French prune, and other varieties of similar growth of strong and pliable wood, have reached substantial agreement as to the best practice. The old method of cutting back bearing trees has been abandoned. Cutting back the young tree to secure sufficient low branching is followed by thinning of shoots from this low head so that the tree shall not become too dense or carry too much bearing wood. ^The strength in the head depends upon proper spacing and arrangement of the branches as insisted upon in Chapter XII; and large, well-ripened fruit, which is essential to successful and profitable drying, is con- ditioned upon avoiding excess of branches and admission of suffi- cient light to the tree — but in the interior valley care must be taken not to open the center of the tree too much. A rather longer central stem is retained than in the old style, and a central stem throughout is admissible if one prefers it and does not desire to dispenstwith it as the first step toward securing a more open tree. Some retain the longer stem at planting, others cut back to eighteen inches, develop three side branches upon that and train the branch from the top bud for a lengthening of the stem, and bring out more branches upon that the second year, and then dispense with its farther extension. The adjacent engravings show this method of developing the head of a young French prune. The tree was cut back at planting in orchard to a straight switch about eighteen inches high. At the end of the first summer this showed the form in the first picture, which is marked (with short cross lines) for the first winter pruning. The second engraving shows the branching developed from this during the second summer's growth, also marked to prune away some undesirable branches. Upon a tree of this form further cutting back is not desirable as it has enough well-placed branches to form the tree. How long cutting back shall continue depends partly upon the locality and partly upon the notion of the owner. In interior locali- ties the tree grows with great rapidity and branches more freely. During the third summer it will bear some fruit if not cut back the previous winter, and, where growth is so rapid, there is little danger of injuring the tree by early bearing. In the coast valleys cutting back may continue another year, and fruiting be thus postponed a year to get another summer's freer wood growth. There are, how- ever, very good orchards in which the trees were only cut back two years, and summer pinching and winter thinning of shoots and re- moval of suckers have given good results. Though cutting back may properly cease early with the French prune, it is a great mistake to allow the trees to go unpruned. Removal of defective wood, prevention of branch crowding and overbearing are of the highest importance, as insisted upon in Chapter XII. Removing surplus laterals at their starting points, and cutting back leaders to laterals already grown and not to en- courage new branching, will result in a more open tree, which is generally very desirable. Renewal of French Prunes.— When a French prune tree gets old and set in an unprofitable way it may be necessary to cut back for PRUNING THE PRUNE 277 new wood-growth, but if it has not too far weakened and still has reserves, new fruiting wood can be promoted on old branches in- stead of removing them. This is done by spur or twig pruning as practiced by Mr. A. Taylor in the Santa Clara Valley: Clip all but three or four buds on the twigs on the outside of the tree, not touching many twigs inside, except to thin them out where too thick. This is done October to March — none in summer, because he does not like the evaporation. The cut is made just above a bud or short fruit spur — not just above a little limb, except in special cases. In the first year, some effect, but not extensive, will be seen in the new fruit spurs forced out from dormant buds further back on the limbs. New wood growth several inches long will come from the two buds nearest the cut and also on the undipped twigs farther down on the limb, which would not have put out wood growth otherwise. Having clipped back the twigs for three years in succession, an ordinary tree will have as much new wood as may be desirable, and no pruning should be done in the next two years. As a rule each added year of clip- ping brings out double the length of new wood. Specially vigorous trees will have too much new wood. This should be thinned out by cutting entire twigs off at their junction with the next larger ones. None should be clipped, for that induces more wood. The thinning will not cause new wood growth for a year or two, but the dormant buds at the base of the thinned-out twigs may grow into fruit-bearing wood the following season if end twigs have been clipped. The job is a slow one, but every cut heals over — there are no rotting stubs, and^ it forces fruit growth inside the tree, because the inside is filled with fruiting limbs and spurs, which are distinguished from the suckers by their oblique growing and the large number of close-together fruit buds on them. Special Studies of Varieties in Pruning. — The points just ad- vanced apply especially to the management of the French prune. The grower must be exhorted to study the habit of the variety he has to deal with. The general rules for handling trees with different habits of growth are applicable to a certain extent to the plum. When to apply a rule or make an exception must be learned by observation and experience. Some plums have something of the growth habit of the peach, and this is also very true of some of the Japanese varieties. Cutting back in winter and pinching in summer are both useful facts in securing lower branching and low-growing fruit spurs. Longer pruning of plums is successfully practiced in the Sierra foothills where wood growth is not so free as in valley situations. Mr. Ed Ames of Newcastle, whose experience with the peach is given in Chapter XX, works in this way with his shipping plums : With plums, all there is to do is to get them started right and then cut out only the dead or broken wood. All the sap goes to fruit. The fruit is generally of the fanciest sizes. The limbs bend to the ground but seldom break and are seldom propped. They do not swing in any wind we have here, enough to even brush the bloom from plums; partly because they are always heavily loaded and low down. Some varieties of Japanese plums require removal of some laterals; but Wickson, Formosa, Gaviota, and Kelsey do not. The formation of the vase-form with continuous laterals, as dis- cussed in Chapters XII and XX, is being successfully practiced by some growers with plum varieties which need shorter pruning than the French prune requires. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Grafting the Plum. — The plum has been grafted and regrafted in the constant effort to secure varieties promising superiority in various directions. Within the scope of their affinities plums graft easily by common top-grafting methods, and if the roots are strong the new growth is so rapid as to need special attention. Mr. Luther Bowers gives these hints about pruning such growths : "From prac- tical experience I have found out that the Sugar prune wood should only be summer-pruned and only cut while the shoots are tender, or so soft that the top can be pinched out ; this will cause the top to be well branched and this should be done at least twice during the first year of the graft. This system will avoid long, slender limbs. After a graft is two years old I would never cut the top off of a limb. If a tree gets too thick a top, I would cut out some of the main branches." THE PLUMCOTS One of the most striking achievements of Mr. Burbank is the cross of the plum and the apricot, which he has very fitly named the "plumcot." The fruit is about the size of an ordinary apricot with a deep purple velvety skin. One of its striking features is the brilliant red flesh possessed of a strong sub-acid flavor rendering it suitable for cooking, jellies and jams, and it is in good demand for such uses, but its economic value is still to be determined. Several named varieties are now supplied by nurserymen. HOW A PRUNE QUEST DISTURBED THE PLUM FAMILY IN CALIFORNIA Referring to the distinction between plums and prunes cited at the opening of this chapter, and to the extent and methods of the great prune industry of the State which will appear in Chapter XL, it may be stated here that the California prune product was obvi- ously undertaken in emulation of the globe-trotting French prune, which had attained position as the leading commercial dried fruit of the world long before California arose on the horticultural hori- zon. Naturally, French settlers in California bethought themselves of transplanting this great industry to their new home, and Mr. Louis Pellier introduced scions from the district of Agen to his place near San Jose in 1856. The product was good, and planting for a large output was entered upon, though slowly at first. There was disappointment over the fact that, while all fruits came surprisingly large in California, the dried prunes were smaller than the great French prunes in cartons and canisters which sold for great prices. Had we secured the true French prune; did they not have larger ones which they were holding back from us? This was the great question of six decades ago. Some nurserymen of that day had spirits of enterprise larger than their consciences. If the people demand larger prunes they must have them, surely. Because of the small average size of the prunes of Pellier's introduction, they christened that variety "petite prune d'Agen," which was subse- quently corrupted into "petty prune" — a free translation and a WHY THE FRENCH PRUNE IS BEST 279 mispronunciation at the same time, for a prune which seemed to be too small and inferior. The people must have something large, and propagators offered trees of the "gros prune d'Agen," or the "Hungarian prune/' It was a double misnomer, because Europe does not have any "gros prune d'Agen" and the variety did not come from either France or Hungary, but was the old large light red, English plum, properly called Pond's Seedling, re-christened in California to meet a long-felt want. But it did not meet such a want ; it would not dry sweet nor fleshy, but became merely a skin and pit, with a sour streak between. Still the question persisted: Have we the true French prune? It was definetely settled by the late W. B. West of Stockton, who visited France in 1878, and after close examination of the trees, announced that the variety grown in California was really the prune d'Agen, and that we had made no mistake so far as getting the main standard variety of French prune was concerned. But still we needed a variety which would run more to large sizes, and how to get it, with sweetness and flesh, characters which would resemble the best French product, was, and even now is, still a question. One of the early introductions to meet this end is now generally known as Robe de Sergeant. Here again confusion at- tends the name. Robe de Sergeant i^one of the synonyms of prune d'Agen, and yet the fruit we secured was different. Much dis- cussion was given to the elucidation of this problem, and the con- clusion seemed to be that the variety is grown in France, but in another district, and is generally considered inferior to the prune d'Agen. Still it runs larger, and has sold well, even though of dis- tinctly different quality, and would probably have cut a much larger figure in California prune production if it had shown itself to be more free and regular in bearing. Next came the "prune d'ente, or Imperial epineuse," introduced at about the same time by John Rock and Felix Gillet, which has been quite widely planted, but because of shy bearing, especially when attacked by thrips, and because of the difficulty in drying such a large prune, this variety, of which so much was expected, has fallen into disfavor for the low lands of the Santa Clara Valley, though on the mountains west of this valley and in the prune valleys north of the Bay of San Fran- cisco it has proved very popular and profitable when planted on uplands. Other introductions made much earlier, like the German and Italian, also fell out of the race very early, for shy bearing and for different flesh characters. Although the latter leads in Oregon and other States north of us, it is out of California calculations. The conclusion of the whole matter now is that we have never secured from abroad a better than the one which came more than sixty years ago — the true prune d'Agen. We have learned to grow it better, to seek places where it grows larger and in full quantity ; to use irriga- tion when it is needed by the tree to do its best ; to guard against overbearing by reducing the amount of bearing wood and excessive branching; to strengthen the soil by fertilization, and to grade the fruit into sizes which commend themselves to different demands. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Here we are again, doing our main business at the old stand, but knowing how to do it better. Have we anything more to expect? Probably nothing from old varieties, for we have prospected them all from a prune-making point of view, holding for a time to Coe's Golden Drop plum, or its seedling, the Silver prune, and canceling all others as possibly good plums for various uses, but not for prunes. But the "Silver Prune" is now in the discard becauseta light-colored, sulphured prune, is not in large demand. Probably our only expectation lies along the line of plant breed- ing, although nothing to supplant the prune d'Agen has yet been attained. The^Giant prune is a large red plum; several Oregon prunes are sirnjy large red plums. The standard of sugar in the prune d'Agen as grown in California is from 15 to 23 per cent of sugar in the fresh juice, according to degree of ripeness and localities in which the fruit is grown. The sugar in Pond's Seedling and in the large red plums just named is less than 10 per cent — sometimes very much less. But percentage of sugar in the juice is not the whole story ; there are tissue or flesh characters which are essential also. Mr. Burbank's Sugar prune answers the sugar requirement; it is a free bearer and early ripening variety, and it dries easily though large, and the small dried product thus far made has sold well, but it has not the fine grain nor distinctive flavor of the prune d'Agen, and the pit is large and rough. It becomes a good plum for shipping and possibly for other plum purposes. But Mr. Bur- bank has held the plum family in training, and introduced the Standard prune in 1914. It is large, handsome, dark blue while still firm but has never gained much favor as a shipping plum. As a drying prune it has several defects: it loses too much weight in curing ; its flesh is too coarse ; it must be thoroughly ripened beyond coloring before picking for the trays, and it does not indicate its own maturity by dropping, as the French prune does. • No substitute for the French prune has manifested equality in flavor, texture of flesh, smallness and smoothness of pit, retention of weight in curing and ease of handling for a cured prune. Public interest has turned from the quest of a larger substitute to the selec- tion of natural variations toward larger size of the French prune itself, as found on bearing trees. Mr. Leonard Coates of Morgan Hill pursued this line for many years and is propagating several notable variations. More recently other propagators have taken up the same line and in 1921 our leading nurserymen are all offering "improved" French prune varieties which seem to indicate that the best prune possible will be a selection from the type which we se- cured from France over sixty-five years ago, though the relative value of those offered are not yet determined. POLLINATION OF PLUMS The shy bearing of certain plums is due to lack of pollination, either through the self-sterility of the variety or lack of acceptable pollinating agencies. Bearing can be induced in many cases by either planting or grafting-in of effective pollinating varieties. For POLLINATION OF PLUMS 281 instance, experience has shown that the Tragedy can be brought to greater bearing by the presence of other varieties of European species, and the Hungarian is well pollinated by the Peach and the Grand Duke plums. The bearing of Wickson is greatly increased by association with Climax. It is clearly demonstrated that planters of plums should pay attention to association of varieties except in the case of the French and the Sugar prunes, neither of which re- quire cross-pollination. Careful studies of prune pollination have been made during the last seven years by Prof. A. H. Hendrickson both with reference to varieties and the desirability of bees as pollinating agencies and the results published in Bulletins 291 and 310, which can be had by application to the University Experiment Station at Berkeley, and they should be studied by all planters. The work is still in prog- ress in 1921 and new results being recorded which can be had by correspondence with the Division of Pomology at Berkeley. THINNING PLUMS In shipping plums it is essential to thin the fruit systematically as stated in Chapter XII, to get fancy sizes. The^ smaller varieties, such as Beauty, Diamond.etc.. should be left about an inch apart, while Gaviota, Formosa, Tjrand Duke, Santa Rosa and Wickson may be left two to two and a half inches apart. Imperfect plums should be removed first, and in all cases care must be exercised to avoid loosening the stems of those remaining. IRRIGATION OF PLUMS AND PRUNES Irrigation of plums and prunes to secure size of fruit and thrift of trees, is undertaken in different producing regions as local con- ditions may require. The discussions in Chapter XVI have par- ticular applicability to the plum family. VARIETIES OF PLUMS AND PRUNES As with other fruits, comparatively few varieties of the plum are largely grown in California, and the list is continually changing by rejection of old varieties and introduction of new which, for ship- ping purposes, are largely of Burbank origin. The 1920 conferences of growers, canners and nurserymen reached the following conclusions on plum varieties : Approved for Shipping. — Anita, Beauty, Cal. Blue (Vacaville), Burbank, Climax, Diamond, Gaviota, Giant, Grand Duke, Duarte, Hungarian, Kelsey, President, Santa Rosa, Tragedy, Wickson. Additional for home use: Apex Plumcot, Damson, Satsuma. Disapproved. — Clyman, Coe's Golden Drop, Abundance, Botan, Fellen- burg, Formosa, German, Paragon, Red June, Standard, Sugar. Approved for Canning1. — The canners recommend planting 25 per cent Washington, 40 per cent Yellow Egg, 25 per cent Jefferson, 10 per cent Bavey's Green Gage. Disapproved: Imperial Gage. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The following list includes not only those at present commended but those previously planted and which are to be found still in serv- ice in different parts of the State : Simon (Primus Simoni). — Medium to large, roundish, flattened, with cavities at base and apex; brick red, small j^ellow spots; grown for shipment in early interior regions, where it has good quality; lacks flavor and cracks badly near the coast. Being displaced by Burbank varieties. Climax ^(Burbank).— Large; very early; heart-shaped; deep red; flesh yellow. Popular for shipping in places where it does not crack badly. Grow- ing in favor. A good polliriizer for Japanese varieties. Beauty *( Burbank). — Resembles Climax, but two weeks earlier. Called the best early plum for shipping. Clyman (California seedling introduced by Leonard Coates).— Large, roundish oblong, flattened suture indistinct; mottled reddish purple; beauti- ful blue bloom ; freestone. Being displaced. Red June "(Japanese). — Medium to large, deep red flesh light yellow, firm, good quality. Being displaced. ^ California Blue; syn. Vacaville. — Seedling of peach plum by W. W. Smith, Vacaville; large, good flavor; early; "first really good blue plum." Tragedy (California seedling). — Medium to large, suture shallow, wide and extending beyond apex; dark purple ; flesh yellowish green, sweet and well flavored; freestone. Very valuable for shipping from early regions in all parts of the State. Abundance (Japanese). — Syns. Yellow-fleshed Botan, Mikado of Hinclay. Large, globular with point at apex; cherry color covered with white bloom; flesh yellow, juicy and rich. Being displaced. Peach (French prune peche). — Very large, roundish oblate , regular, flat- tened at ends; suture district, shallow; color varying from salmon to light brownish red. Becoming less prominent. Royale Hative (French). — Medium roundish, slightly wider at base; light purple stalk half an inch long, stout, scarcely sunk; flesh amber yellow, with rich, high flavor, nearly free from the small, flattened, ovate stone; shoots very downy. Bradshaw. — Large, obovate, with obtuse suture on one side, sometimes with very slight neck; dark purple, with light blue bloom; stalk three-fourths inch long; cavity narrow; flesh a little coarse, becoming light brownish purple. Not in high favor. Green Gage "(French). — Rather small, round; suture faint green, becoming yellowish green, usually with reddish brown dots and network at base; stalk half to three-fourths inch, scarcely sunk; flesh pale green, melting, juicy, exceedingly rich, and flavor excellent; shoots smooth. Burbank. — Tree imported from Japan by Luther Burbank. Almost glob- ular, being five and a half inches around horizontally, and five and five-eighths inches around vertically: rich cherry red, slightly mottled with yellow, and freely dotted with same tint; flesh deep yellow, juicy, very sweet, and of fine, somewhat peculiar, but very agreeable flavor; pit is very small, three- fourths by a trifle over half an inch in diameter. Duane's Purple (New York). — Very large, oblong, oval, longer on one side; slightly narrowed towards the stalk; reddish purple, bloom lilac; stalk three-fourths inch; slender; cavity narrow, flesh juicy, moderately sweet. Washington (New York). — Very large, roundish oval, suture obscure, distinct at base; yellowish green, faintly marbled, often with pale red blush; stack half to three-fourths inch; slightly downy; cavity wide, shallow; flesh rather firm, sweet, mild, very rich and luscious, free from the pointed stone; shoots downy; very vigorous. Grand Duke.— Large oval, necked; deep purple with blue bloom; flesh greenish yellow, fair quality. A good shipper, following Hungarian in ripening. VARIETIES OF PLUMS 283 President (H. A. Bassford). — Large oval, dark purple, with deep bloom; follows Grand Duke, and stands high as a mid-summer shipper. Wickson/-A crossbred by Luther Burbank; form suggests the Kelsey, but more symmetrical; in ripening the color develops from a deep cherry red down to a rich claret as full ripeness is attained. The color is solid and uniform. The flesh is of amber tint, very juicy and translucent; the pit is small and shapely, the flavor is striking and agreeable, but likely to be de- ficient near the coast. Yellow Bggrsyns. White Egg, White Magnum Bonum (English). — Very large, oval, narrow at ends, necked at base, suture distinct; stalk one inch, not sunk, surrounded by fleshy ring at insertion; light yellow, bloom thin, white, flesh firm, rather acid until fully ripe, and then sweet, adheres to pointed stone. Jefferson (New York). — Large, oval, base slightly narrowed, suture slight; greenish yellow, becoming golden, with reddish cheek; bloom thin, white; stalk one inch, but little sunk or not at all; flesh rich yellow, very rich, juicy, high flavor and luscious, adheres partly to its long, pointed stone; shoots smooth; tree a slow grower, but productive. Columbia (New York). — Very large, nearly globular, one side slightly larger; brownish purple, reddish brown where much shaded, with many fawn-colored dots; bloom blue, copious; stalk one inch, rather stout; cavity small; flesh orange, very rich and sweet, free from the stone, which is very small and compressed. Satsuma; syn. Blood Plum of Satsuma'— Introduced by Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa. Leaves more lanceolate than those of Kelsey; fruit averages about two and a quarter inches in diameter, nearly round, and but slightly sutured on one side; surface dark red, under a thick bloom; dots rather con- spicuous and numerous; flesh dark purplish red; stone very small and pointed. Chiefly grown in Southern California for local use and trade. Duarte.— Resembles Satsuma, but ripens earlier; said to be the earliest blood plum. Red Magnum Bonum; syn. Red Egg. — Large, oval, tapering to the stalk; suture strong, one side swollen; deep red in the sun; slight bloom; stalk one inch, slender, cavity narrow; flesh greenish, coarse, subacid; shoots smooth. Anita (Millard Sharpe). — Very large, oblong, purple with deep blue bloom, flesh yellow, freestone; good for shipping, but capable of drying as a prune; ripens after Tragedy and before Diamond. Diamond. — Large, deep purple; handsome but not high quality; ripens after Japanese, and sells well at the East as a cooking plum. Imperial Gagev (New York). — Medium size, oval, suture distinct; stalk three-fourths inch, slightly hairy, evenly sunk; green, slightly tinged with yellow, with marbled green stripes; bloom copious and white; flesh greenish, juicy, melting, rich, and delicious, usually free, from the oval, pointed stone; tree very vigorous and productive; shoots long upright, slightly downy; leaves with slight shade of blue. Damson* (English). — Small, roundish, oval; purple, with thick blue bloom; melting, juicy, subacid. German Prune v( Common Quetsche, Germany). — This name has been applied in this State to numerous plums and prunes which are sold under it. The fruit of the true German prune is long oval, and swollen on one side; skin purple, with thick blue bloom; flesh firm, green, sweet, with a peculiar^ pleasant flavor; separates readily from the stone; inclined to drop before ripening. Kelsey (Japan). — Trees brought from Japan by the late Mr. Hough, of Vacaville, in 1870, and purchased by the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, who propagated and fruited them for several years. First wide distribution was made by W. P. Hammon & Co., in 1874, who named the fruit after Mr. Kel- sey. Tree willowy, leaves narrow, twigs brownish gray. Fruit from one and a half to two and a half inches diameter, heart-shaped, with a distinct suture on one side from stem to apex; stem is short, and set in a de- pression at the larger end; colors mixed yellow and purple, which vary in CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM depth but rarely make a brilliant appearance, covered with bloom; flesh yellow very firm, clings to pit which is small, quality good. Being displaced by other Japanese varieties, but usually sells well from region where it colors well' very firm and clings to the stone which is rather small, and nearly always partly surrounded by a cavity; when fully ripe the quality is very good. Hungarian Prune*; English Pond's Seedling; Gros Prune d'Agen (Eng- lish).— Fruit very large, ovate, slightly tapering to stalk; skin thick, reddish violet, with numerous brown dots, and covered with handsome bloom; rather coarse, juicy, sweet; a very showy fruit; tree a strong .grower and prolific bearer; fruit has a tendency to double; sells well in local and distant markets on its style and is largely grown. Giant-*-Burbank seedling; very large, dark crimson upon yellow ground; flesh yellow, flavor good; freestone. A shipping plum. Splendor.^-Burbank seedling; medium size but larger than French prune; clear, red, drying dark, does not shake from the tree; earlier than French prune. Sugar!— Burbank seedling, introduced in 1898; large and sweet; sugar in fresh fruit 23.92 per cent; not of highest quality as a cured prune, but sells well; also good for shipping; oval, slightly flattened; dark purple with thick white bloom; freestone; early. Standard.^-Burbank cross of Sugar and Tragedy. Large, purple, blue bloom; flesh fine grained, amber, juicy and sweet; freestone. Imperial Epineuse; syn. Clairac Mammoth. — Introduced in 1884 by Felix Gilfet and in 1886 by John Rock. Uniformly large, more oval than the French prune; nearly of the same color but somewhat lighter or reddish purple; earlier than the French and with thinner skin. Condemned for thrips injury and shy bearing. _/ Prune d'Agen ;vsyn. Petite Prune d'Agen; French Prune, etc. — This is the drying prune at present most widely grown in this State. It is described by John Rock as follows: "Medium-sized, egg-shaped, violet purple, very sweet, rich, and sugary; very prolific bearer." The leading drying-prune of California, commonly called "California French prune." Its standing is sketched in detail on a preceding page. Robe de Sergeant.— Fruit medium size, oval; skin deep purple, approach- ing black, and covered with a thick blue bloom; flesh greenish yellow, 'sweet, and well-flavored, sugary, rich and delicious, slightly adhering to the stone. This variety makes a larger, darker-colored prune than the prune d'Agen, and has sold in some cases at a higher price. It has recently been in disfavor in coast valleys for defective bearing, but is more satisfactory at some in- terior points. Coe's Golden Drop (English); syn. Silver Prune. — Very large, oval suture distinct, one side more enlarged, necked; light yellow, often dotted red to the sun; stalk three-fourths inch, rather stiff; flesh yellowish, firm, juicy, and rich, closely adhering to the pointed stone; shoots smooth, rather glossy. A standard late variety for canning. Santa Rosa (Burbank). — Large, conical, deep purpled crimson, pale yel- low bloom; flesh pale yellow, rosy near skin, rich, juicy, delicious; ripens early; very prolific and popular. Formosa '(Burbank). — Fruit is of uniform size, yellow with a pale bloom until nearly ripe, turning to a clear rich red. Flesh pale yellow, unusually firm, sweet, rich, delicious, with a delightful apricot flavor, nearly freestone; being discarded for shy bearing. Gaviota.— Burbank cross of Japanese and native American; very large, deep red; flesh yellow, firm and sweet; pit small; rather late bloomer. Favored in the Vacaville district for shipping. Bavay's Green Gage; syn. Reine Claude de Bavay (French).— Large, round oval, greenish yellow, spotted with red, with small violet-colored longitudinal veins; flesh rather firm, juicy, sugary, rich, of fine quality, ad- hering slightly to the stone; shoots smooth, leaves roundish, shining; a free grower and very productive. Approved by canners VARIETIES OF PLUMS 285 x/ Fellenberg; syns. Large German Prune, Swiss Prune, Italian Prune. — Medium size, oval, pointed and tapering at both ends; suture small, distinct; dark purple, with dark blue bloom; stalk one inch, scarcely sunk; flesh greenish yellow, juicy, sweet, delicious, parts from the stone; tree a free grower and very productive; late, excellent for drying. But little grown in California, but largely in Oregon. Coe's Late Red; syn. Red St. Martin. — Size medium, roundish, suture distinct on one side; skin light purplish red, or dark red; bloom thin, blue; stalk three-fourths inch, scarcely sunk; flesh rather firm, crisp, rich, vinous; very late, shoots downy. CHAPTER XXIV THE QUINCE 4 The quince enjoys California conditions to the utmost, and re- wards the grower with large crops of very large and beautiful fruit. A quince weighing a pound is no curiosity, and it is unlikely that any city of the world can show such fine quinces at such low prices as San Francisco. The lesson from this fact is that the fineness of the fruit, and the evident adaptation of the State to its growth, should not alone be considered by the planter. The local consump- tion of quinces is naturally small, and it is chiefly for home preserv- ing and jelly making. Profitable sale of the fruit in large quantities in distant markets has been freely prophesied, but experience of shippers thus far has not warranted extension of quince production. But though the quince in California has at present narrow com- mercial limitations, a few trees should find a place in every orchard, for family use or local sale. CULTURE OF THE QUINCE The quince is readily grown from cuttings. Take good-sized shoots of well-matured wood of the current year's growth, after the leaves drop in the fall, and set put at once in nursery row in moist alluvial soil, or in any loose soil which is well drained and can be kept moist enough by cultivation or irrigation. Quinces are planted at all distances apart, and are grown either as bushes or trees. Undoubtedly the best way is to plant alpout fourteen or sixteen feet apart, and prune into low standard tree form. This can be done much as already advised for other fruit trees. An annual cutting back of about half of the new growth, while forming the tree, will strengthen the trunk and limbs and prevent the running out of long leaders, which droop to the ground on all sides when laden with fruit, and are often broken by the weight and the wind. Owing to the disposition of the quince to throw out several small shoots at a single point, it is advisable, when forming the tree, to remove all buds but one, just as the growth is starting. This will give one good, strong branch where it may be needed, instead of several weak ones. Pinching off shoots which start out too vigorously or at undesirable points is, of course, advisable. Fruiting of the quince can be promoted by summer pruning — thinning out or reducing the number of shoots and stopping the extension of those which you retain by pinching the tips and causing them to send out laterals. This should be done in June, when the new growth has run out a foot or two. When the foliage is reduced by opening the center, removing a great many shoots entirely and shortening the others, the overgrowth of wood is discouraged and VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE 287 the remaining force of the plant is exerted upon strengthening the fewer shoots which remain to be acted upon. Of course winter pruning will not do this, for its effect is to cause more and not less wood growth. Soils for the Quince. — As the quince grows naturally in moist, though not wet lands, many persons think it always does best in springy ground or along the banks of rivulets; but though moist soils are preferable to dry, such positions are not essential to ob- taining large crops of fine fruit. In fact, the quince, like most fruit trees, prefers a well-drained location, and does best on a soil which can be freely worked. It thrives when fanned by the ocean breeze and does fairly well in the interior, providing it has moisture in the soil, and in some situations will require summer irrigation. VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE Though notably all varieties of the quince are introduced by our nurserymen and carried by them in small stock, most of the old plantations are of the "apple" or "orange" variety and newer plant- ings are chiefly Pineapple, Van Deman and Smyrna. The following may be enumerated, however, as growing in this State : v Apple or Orange. — Large; bright yellow; the best. August and Sep- tember. Rea's Mammoth. — A very large and fine variety of the orange quince; a strong grower and very productive. Smyrna.-^Introduced from Smyrna in 1897 by George C. Roeding of Fresno; large, lemon yellow, handsome, tender and delicious after cooking; keeps well; tree a strong grower, with heavy foliage. Pineapple. — Originated by Luther Burbank and distributed by him in 1899; the result of a long effort to secure a quince which would cook tender like an apple. The name comes from its flavor, which is suggestive of the pineapple. Resembles Orange quince, but is smoother and more globular. Van Demari. — Also by Burbank. Hardy and strong grower; early and prolific bearer; ripens through a long season and keeps well. Portugal.— Very large, and fine flavor, turns a fine purple or deep crimson when cooked. The Chinese Quince. — A most extraordinary fruit, oblong, of immense size, often weighing from two to two and one-half pounds; growth rapid and distinct. ^ West's Mammoth. — Originated by W. B. West of Stockton, from seed received from Boston in 1853; of the Orange quince family; round, clear yellow; very large; fine flavor and for the class a very good keeper. Champion.— Fruit very large, fair and handsome; tree very productive, surpassing any other variety in this respect; bears abundantly when young; flesh cooks as tender as an apple, and without hard spots or cores; flavor delicate, imparting an exquisite quince taste and odor to any fruit with which it is cooked. PART FOUR: THE GRAPE CHAPTER XXV THE GRAPE INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA The grape grows in all parts of California below sea level in irrigated interior valleys and from near sea level on the coast to an elevation of 5000 feet or more on the mountains. It is contented, too, with nearly all fertile soils, from the deep valley loams, where the' great fat, firm-fleshed grapes are grown for raisin and table grape shipments, to the shallow soils of the high foothills and moun- tain slopes, where the grapes are less in quantity, but of superior aromatic qualities. This wide adaptation gives an immense area suited for grape culture, but the chief reason for the achievement and the promise of the grape in California is in the fact that the European species, Vitis vinifera, thrives, and thus the California grower has command of all that Europeans have accomplished in centuries by developing special varieties of the species for special purposes. The grapes of the States east of the Rocky Mountains are only grown in California in a small way because the European varieties are the only ones from which raisins can be made; they also furnish the word's wine and brandy, and they give size, beauty, and shipping quality beyond all comparison with American varieties. Wherever wealthy Eastern connoisseurs choose grapes for their glass houses, they select European varieties ; the Californian grows his "hot-house grapes" in the open air. He also grows most of them without the cost of trellising, because the European varieties generally will bear well in short-pruned, bush form — although the trellised area is increasing because of the wide planting of Thomp- son, Emperor, etc., which require long-pruning. California has a large acreage of grape vines, and planting has been very active during the last few years because of good prices for raisins and for fresh and dried wine grapes for home wine-making and for grape juice. At the same time, new economic and commer- cial problems are continually arising, and as the industry has to readjust itself to new conditions, discussion of such problems does not come within the scope of a cultural treatise like this. It is the duty of the grower to keep himself up to date on such subjects by faithful reading of California periodicals and by participation in public assemblies in the grape interest. Concerning cultural diffi- culties, the protection of the vine from its enemies and other prob- lems, special researches are constantly pursued by the University Experiment Station at Berkeley and publications are furnished on application. The culture of the grape is one of the great branches of Cali- fornia horticulture. Its three chief divisions are: Grapes for the WHERE CALIFORNIA GRAPES GROW 289 table grapes for wine, and grapes for raisins. In all these branches the product has far exceeded local requirements and has become an important item in the export trade of the State. The attain- ments of the industry can be roughly measured by the statistics of the shipments of grapes and raisins, and the valuation of them which are given in Chapter VI. THE GRAPE AREA OF CALIFORNIA The grape has a very wide range in California. If the im- mediate seacoast and the higher altitudes on the mountains be excepted, the grape may be planted with a good chance of success anywhere if soil and local topography be suitable. As has been shown in Chapter I, the vine can approach quite close to the ocean if some shelter from prevailing cool winds be afforded, and quite high on the mountains if one keeps out of depressions where late frosts are frequent. In planting the grape in doubtful situations much depends upon choice of proper varieties. For example, in the cool air of the coast region and the short summer of the higher altitudes, early maturing varieties must be the main reliance, for late sorts will not receive heat enough to bring them to full maturity. Away from immediate coast influences, and up to perhaps three thousand feet or more on the sides of the Sierra, the grape is suc- cessfully grown both upon the floors of the valleys and upon the hillsides. But there is still need of choice both of special locations and of varieties according to the purposes which the grower has in view. The coast valleys of the upper part of the State produce good table grapes, but they are unfavorable for the raisin industry be- cause of the deficient sunshine and excessive atmospheric humidity of the autumn months. The best raisins are made in the dry, heated valleys of the interior, and the conditions which there develop the fullest quality of the raisin grape also develop the sugar in some kinds of wine grapes beyond a desirable percentage. Here again the choice of suitable varieties intrudes itself, for the varieties which yield light table wines in the coast valleys may yield heavy "heady" wines in the interior. Valleys, too, as a rule, although they yield larger crops of grapes and greater measure of wine than similar area on the hillsides, must yield the palm for quality to the warm soils of the slopes. And here enters the business proposition whether large amount and less quality is better than less amount and higher quality. To this there can be no general answer. It depends upon the disposition which is to be made of the crop, and the demand for it. The coloring of certain varieties is a matter underlying their profitable production for fresh shipments and this is determined by local conditions concerning which the best information is actual observation of their effects. These few facts out of many which could be stated will serve to enforce the fact that wide as is the range of the grape, both localities and varieties for certain purposes must be intelligently chosen. 290 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Soils for the Grape. — The grape will thrive on a great variety of soils, in fact, on any of those enumerated as fruit soils in Chapter III. There are thrifty vineyards on the light, deep valley loams, on the heavy clayey loams, on adobe, and on the red soils of the foothills. Even on shallow soils the grape will do well if given sufficient moisture, and on rocky subsoils it thrives if there be crevices for the roots to penetrate, or if the rock tbe shattered to admit the roots to permeable substrata. Standing water during the active period of the vine is, however, unfavorable to growth, and alkali is adverse to satisfactory results in wine making. Almost any soil which does not hold excess of water or is not tainted with alkali will do for the vine, although the plant appreciates good, deep soil, and will grow and bear fruit in proportion to its supply of it. Of course the economic question of ease of cultivation enters into the choice of soil for the grape, as for other fruits, but its claims are obvious and need not be enlarged upon. Length of Grape Season. — By choice of early and late varieties the grape season extends over half a year in California, without recourse to artificial means of preservation. Where the fall rains are not very protracted, the late varieties sometimes remain in good condition on the vines until the winter pruning. Good grapes have been picked from the vines as late as the middle of January. In the Lodi district of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the great centers of the grape shipping industry, overland shipping begins about August 10, with Black Prince. Tokays from light soil soon follow, then from the heavy soil, and in about two weeks everything is going at full blast, keeping up strongly for nearly two months. Then it decreases greatly and continues into November with the later varieties, like Cornichon, Emperor and Verdal. There are also a number of other shipping varieties grown than those named, which will be named in Chapter XXVIII. There is much latitude in grape gathering, for grapes can stay on the vine for some time without deterioration ; besides there is the "second crop" from later blooming which is of advantage in shipping, but objectionable in handling for raisins, though sometimes very profitable for other uses. Tokays may be picked during a period of two months in the same vicinity because of the "second crop" and because the ripening comes earlier or later according to soil, as noted above. Even the intrusion of a light fall rain, such as they have in the interior, may help size and color, but a heavy rain is destructive and constitutes a constant menace in the late ripening districts near the coast, while occasionally injurious in the interior also. Snipping Grapes in Sawdust— The tabel grape industry of Cali- fornia entered upon a notable extenson of its marketing season and area through the demonstration by the United States Bureau of Plant Industry, that California grapes can be profitably packed in drums, holding about 35 Ibs. of grapes, packed in redwood or spruce sawdust, properly prepared and held safely in cold storage for win- ter sale in the East— as Spanish grapes in cork dust are handled. Better results are attained with sawdust than with cork dust. Full SHIPPING GRAPES IN SAWDUST 291 details are given in Bulletin 35, U. S. Dept. Agr., December 31, 1913. In 1920 the U. S. Bureau of Markets announced (U. S. Market Reporter, December 11, 1920) that spruce sawdust can be used in- stead of redwood sawdust and that sawdust of fir and other conifers which have a turpentiny savor may perhaps also be used, as the odor departs after the exposure of the fruit to the air for a few hours. As these white-wooded trees grow and their lumber is sawn nearer to the grape-shipping districts than the redwoods are and in greater volume, the availability of their sawdusts may be of con- siderable importance. From shipments of 1912 of about thirty carloads, the movement in 1917 reached nearly 500 carloads. The grapes thus handled were chiefly Emperors, Cornichons and others. Thus far it seems to be demonstrated that Muscats can be sold this way until November 15th, Malagas until December 15th, Emperors until about January. It is expected that if the Ohanez or Almeria grape is grown, the grape used in Spanish shipping, it can be safely held in storage until April 1. These are questions for the future, for so long asjiny kind of a juic^_grape is selling at $75 to $100 and more per torTin the vineyard, as in 1920, it is hard to concentrate attention upon such a dryjejiterprise as growing fleshy grapes to pack in kiln-cured sawdust. In fact, all aspects of California grape growing have been so upset by prohibition that it is impossible to see the future clearly. It seems reasonable to think that even in its liquid phases, the grape industry of California may attain greatness under prohibition be- yond anything previously achieved. CHAPTER XXVI PROPAGATING AND PLANTING VINES The grape is propagated from seed or by layers, or by cuttings of various lengths. Growing from seed was somewhat resorted to in California to get stocks for resisting the phylloxera, but such wide variation in resistance occurred in seedlings that propagation by cuttings, of varieties demonstrated to be best in this regard, has become exclusive. There is at present little disposition to grow grape seedlings in the hope of securing better and hardier varieties, as is so largely done in other parts of the country. The vast num- bers of varieties of the European species, vinifera, which we have drawn from, makes the effort for new seedlings of little object. Growing Vines from Seed. — Seed is easily removed from the grapes by crushing the berries and stirring the pulp rapidly in water. From one pound of good, fresh seed one might get from two to three thousand seedlings. Some advocate sowing grape seed in; tjhe fall, just as it is taken from the fruit, but best results are usually obtained by spring sowing, after danger from frost is over. It is advisable to keep grape seed moist for some time before sow- ing. Seed soaked one week in water and afterward allowed to lie in a heap for three weeks germinates quickly, starting in ten days or two weeks after being put in the ground. Professor Husmann advised pouring hot water on the seed and allowing it to cool, the seed remaining in the water for twelve hours, and after that it is kept for a week in a sack, exposed to the sun, and covered at night, the sack being moistened from time to time. The seed should be sown in the open ground, the soil having been worked deeply and finely, as for a garden. Sow the seed about an inch apart, in drills far enough from each other to admit the use of the cultivator in the summer; cover not to exceed an inch in depth, and after moderate pressing of the ground, cover the whole bed with rotten straw, which should be gradually removed as the sprouts appear above the ground. This mulch will not only retain moisture, but will prevent the surface from being crusted by heavy showers. Summer cultivation with cultivator and hoe should be given. Growing Vines by Layering.— This is another method of multi- plying vines which is but little employed in California, because it is so much easier to secure plants by cuttings, as the vinifera species roots so readily. Layering consists in bending down and burying one of the lower canes so as to facilitate top and root growth from each of the buds. This is done early in the spring before growth begins. To hold the cane in place, stakes are used, the trench being left open untl the shoots grow out and then by covering the roots are developed. The cane must rest in moist earth, and usually has PROPAGATION OF GRAPE VINES 293 to be watered artificially, as well as treated to prevent evaporation. The following winter the cane is raised and a plant made at each node. Another use for layering is to fill a vacancy in the row, a cane being* taken from the nearest living vine. In this case the layer must be set in a deep trench so as not to be torn out by the plow, and the layered cane is at once covered in with earth, all but one or two buds at the extremity, where the new vine is desired. Such a layer usually bears the second year and is then detached from the parent vine. Growing Vines from Cuttings. — This is the prevailing method in this State both to secure grafting stocks and to grow vines on their own roots. In growing from cuttings, different policies are adopted, i. e., placing the cuttings in permanent place in the vine- yard, or rooting them in nursery to be afterward transferred to the vineyard as "rooted vines." First, the various kinds of cuttings will be considered, and their placing mentioned later. Growth from Single Eyes. — The use of single eyes or single buds, the shortest possible form of cutting, is not large in California, but some growers have reported good results. The method is to pre- pare the cuttings with a half-inch or so of the cane on each side of the bud and plant them carefully, with the bud upwards, in well- prepared soil, covering the cutting completely, but very little under the surface. Success depends upon retention of moisture in the surface soil to induce rooting, and mulching is advisable. This method of propagation is obviously better adapted to nursery than to field growth. The Use of Longer Cuttings.* — It was formerly considered good practice to leave a piece of old wood attached to the base of the cutting, on the ground that such cuttings always grew. This prac- tice is now very generally abandoned, as the piece of old wood always decays finally, and the decay may spread into the trunk and roots of the vine. A good cutting should consist exclusively of one-year-old wood ; that is, the wood which has grown during the previous season. Choice of Cuttings. — The vines from which the cuttings are to be taken should be examined while they still hold their leaves and fruit, to see that they are healthy and of the variety desired. Vines which have suffered from drought or disease or which have been defoliated by insects or frost before the wood is mature yield poor cuttings. Wood (canes) from young vines which have not yet borne is often immature, and that from vines which have borne excessive crops is often ill-nourished. Cuttings from either are likely to fail or grow poorly. The best wood for cuttings is of medium size and with mod- erately short joints. Very short joints indicate disease and very long joints a lack of nourishment or maturity. *Much of the following description of handling cuttings is taken from the versity publication by Prof. F. T. Bioletti, viz.: Circular 225, December, 1920. 294 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The outer bark should be a clear yellow or purple brown, accord- ing to the variety, and without dark blotches or immature areas. When the cane is cut with a sharp knife the inner bark should appear green and full of sap, the wood should be hard and free from dark specks or streaks, and the pith of moderate size, clear, firm, and light colored. Cuttings which do not fill these specificationst should not be planted directly in the vineyard. Less perfect cuttings may be planted in the nursery. Some are likely to grow well and will be suitable for vineyard planting the next year. Time to Make Cuttings. — Cuttings are supposed to be best if made from vines pruned within a week or two after the fall of the leaves, but, if the vines are healthy and the wood well matured, they may be made from vines pruned at any time from the fall of the leaves until a week before the starting of the buds in spring. It is best to make the cuttings as soon as possible after the vines are pruned ; but if the weather is cool the prunings may lie a week or two in the vineyard without injury. Method of Making Cuttings. — Cuttings of from half an inch to one-third of an inch in diameter are best, and they should not be more than 1 inch at the butt nor less than one-quarter inch at the top. The shorter they are the better, providing they can be made to root. In good nursery soil with special care cuttings of 8 inches do very well. Usually 10 to 12 inches is better. For direct planting in the vineyard they should be from 15 to 18 inches. The looser and drier the soil and the hotter the climate the longer they should be. In wet heavy soil in the cooler regions short cuttings are preferable. Kind of Cuttings. — Cuttings may be made from any part of the vine if they fill the specifications already given. In some cases only one cutting can be made from one cane; in others, three, four, or more. There seems to be no reason to avoid suckers and water- sprouts if they are of the proper quality. Laterals, if large and well matured, make excellent cuttings and are often preferable in long- jointed varieties, like Sultanina. The base of the cutting should be as close as possible to a bud, providing the diaphragm or cross partition is left. If a pithy piece of wood is left at the base the cutting does not heal over when it roots and is apt to decay. At the top of the cutting about three- quarters of an inch of internode should be left above the upper- most bud. Care of Cuttings. — If the cuttings are made in planting time they should be planted as soon as made, with care to prevent drying. If, as is more usual, they are made several weeks or months before planting, their success depends very much on the way they are handled in the meanwhile. The amount of growth that a cutting will make the first year depends on the kind of soil it is planted in, the regularity and suf- ficiency of the water supply, and the temperature and length of the growing season. A properly handled cutting in suitable soil in the GROWING GRAPES FROM CUTTINGS 295 Imperial Valley will make as much growth in the first season as a similar cutting equally well handled in a cool locality will make in three seasons. Planting Cuttings. — In order to utilize the growing season to the full in any region, the cuttings should start to grow as early as they are reasonably safe from frost or prolonged cold wet weather. Properly made cuttings. The chief danger in the cooler regions is planting too early. Several weeks of cold wet weather may cause them to rot in the ground, especially in low places or in heavy soils. Under such conditions April is perhaps the best month for planting. In the hottest regions the chief danger is the drying of the cuttings before they root, or sunburn of the young growth before the roots are sufficiently devel- CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM oped to supply water. In these conditions January or February are perhaps the best months for planting. In any case, it is important that the roots shall start as soon as or sooner than the leaves, and the cuttings should be handled with this object in view. Heat and water are necessary to start either roots or buds. We can delay either by keeping the cuttings dry and cool or hasten either by keeping them moist and warm. Too much heat may cause the cuttings to decay. There is little danger from cold, even freez- ing, if the cuttings are mature. Too much water will cause rapid decay, especially at high temperatures. Dryness is less dangerous, especially at low temperatures. Callusing Cuttings. — In view of these facts, the best way of han- dling the cuttings before planting seems to be to bury them in mod- erately dry sand in a cool place until about two to three weeks before planting, then to moisten the sand, and increase its temperature until planting commences. A good way to do this is to place a pile of sand in a sunny place early in the season while dry sand can be obtained. The pile should be protected from surface water by means of a shallow surrounding trench. The moisture can be controlled by sprinkling if necessary or by covering with boards or canvas in case of too much rain. The cuttings, as soon as made, are put up in bundles of 100 to 200, well tied and with the butts all level. These bundles are then buried carefully and regularly in the sand pile with the butts up and all at the same level. Sand should be packed in between the bundles and as much as possible between the cuttings in the bundles, between 3 and 4 inches of sand should then be placed over the butts of the cuttings, making a perfectly level bed. To protect the cuttings from moisture and heat and so to keep them dormant the sand should then be well covered with 12 to 18 inches of straw, chaff, or similar material. About two or three weeks before planting is to commence the straw covering should be removed and the 4-inch top layer of sand thoroughly moistened by sprinkling. The moisture and the heat from the sun will then start the process of root formation. The sand must be closely watched and sprinkled as often as is necessary to prevent drying, only enough water being used to moisten the top layer of sand. The drier the tops of the cuttings, which are at the bottom of the sand pile, the longer they will remain dormant. After seven to ten days the butts of the cuttings should be exam- ined every few days. As soon as they show signs of white healing tissue (callus) and checking of the joint where the roots are forming they are ready to plant. Planting should not be delayed until roots appear, as these roots will be destroyed in planting and others will have to form. When planting extends over several weeks, the removal of the sand layer should be gradual and at the same rate as the planting will take place so that the cuttings when planted will all be in the proper condition. This method is excellent and results in a large percentage of rooted vines and large growth. It is also dangerous because unless GROWING ROOTED VINES 297 carefully and skillfully carried out the cuttings may be injured and not grow at all. Unless there is certainty of the method being properly carried out it is best simply to bury the cuttings in moderately dry sand in a cool place protected from sun and rain. A cellar, shed, or other shady place is suitable. Planting Cuttings in Nursery. — The cuttings may be planted in the nursery by means of spades and shovels, assisted sometimes by the use of a plow or other means, according to the character of the soil, the number of cuttings to plant, and the means available. The mechanical details will vary in each case. In all cases, however, cer- tain conditions must be observed to get the best results. The soil should be fairly rich. The texture is not of great impor- tance, though excessively sandy or very heavy soils are not suitable. The soil should be well plowed or subsoiled to a depth of at least 12 inches, unless naturally open and loose. It should be well graded so that it can be easily and regularly irrigated. If the cuttings have been callused in the way described, they should be removed from the sand just before planting and carefully protected from drying by being placed in planting cans or boxes and covered with wet sacks. They should not be exposed to the sun or dry air for more than a few minutes, even when planting. If the cuttings have been kept in dry sand, they should be placed in water for 24 to 48 hours before planting. This is best done by placing them in five-gallon oil cans filled with water, where they should remain until taken to the field for planting. They should be planted with the second bud level with the ground, that is, with one full joint above the surface. A line or long batten should be used to insure the row being straight. This much simplifies cultivation and hoeing. The soil should be firmed around the butts and unless quite moist settled with water when the trench is about three-fourths full. The soil should then be brought up around the cuttings almost to the top bud by hand or a suitable im- plement so that each row of cuttings is in the middle of a slight ridge. This facilitates irrigation. If water has been run in while planting, no irrigation will be needed for about two weeks. Otherwise the nursery should be irrigated within a day or two after planting. Subsequent irrigation will depend on the soil and the climate, but it should be relatively frequent during the first part of the season so as to start growth early and to keep it going until the vines have made a top growth of 12 or more inches and have developed a good root system that will make them less sensitive to drying out. Irrigation should stop early enough to prevent late growth. About the beginning or middle of September the tips should cease to make new growth and the canes should commence to show the brown of mature wood at the base. Usually no irrigation should be given after the last days of August. Digging and Care of Rooted Vines. — The vines may be dug as soon as they have dropped their leaves or may be left in the ground 298 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM until they are needed for planting. The ground should be moist down to the roots, but not wet when the vines are dug. All that are fit to plant should be sorted into two classes, number 1 and number 2. Number 1 vines are those which have made a well ripened top growth of at least 6 inches, have healthy roots of at least one-eighth inch diameter at the bottom, and show no dead areas or mechanical injuries on the part of the vine that represents the qriginal cutting. Number 2 vines are those having a smaller growth but well matured wood and no serious defects. Vines showing black knot, nematodes, serious mechanical injuries, or little or no mature wood or roots should be rejected. The roots are tied up in bundles of 50 to 100, according to size, and the tops and roots shortened with a broad axe to 4 or 5 inches after tying. Each bundle should be furnished with a good label showing variety, number, and grade. They should not be exposed much to the sun and should be buried in moist sand the day they are dug. If they are to be kept long they should be buried in a shady place or shed. They should be kept as cool as possible until planted and should be planted before buds or roots have started to swell or to grow. In hauling or shipping they should be well protected from drying by means of wet sacks or wet straw if left out of the ground for more than two days. BUDDING AND GRAFTING THE GRAPE VINE Working over the grape vine is largely practised in this State and is easily accomplished. The occasion is twofold: Replacing undesirable varieties with those of better quality, or in better market demand, and in bringing the vinifera varieties upon roots which resist the attacks of the phylloxera. The latter will be mentioned presently. Budding the Grape. — Buds can be readily made to grow in grape canes, though budding is not largely used. Success can be had with the same method of budding that is common with fruit trees as described in Chapter IX. Insert the bud (which is taken from a cane of the previous season's growth) in the spring as soon as the bark will slip well on the stock, and before the run of the sap is too strong. Keep the cuttings in a cool place so their growth will be retarded, and then seize upon just the right condition of the stock, insert the bud under the bark of a cane of last season's growth, tie it around with a string, and the bud starts readily without further treatment; when its growth shows its ability to take the sap, the top of the stock is removed. Herbaceous budding is also practicable. It consists of taking buds from the current season's growth and working them upon canes also of current growth by the usual shield budding process. Mr. Thomas Casalegna of San Martin succeeds well with this under these conditions: All buds put in from July 15 to August 15 start the same year, but may be injured by fall frosts. Those put in from August 15 to September 15 remain dormant until the following GRAFTING GRAPE VINES 299 year, unless the stock is exceptionally vigorous. Budding is most successful in the month of August. The buds should be taken from canes which have reached the stage of maturity indicated by the pith turning white and just before the bark turns yellow. Grafting the Vine.-^-Grafting in old vine roots is a simple opera- tion, and is performed in various ways. The principles involved in vine grafting are similar to those affecting tree grafting, as de- scribed in Chapter IX. The processes employed are also similar, but the graft requires less binding and waxing is dispensed with, because the graft is made beneath the surface of the ground, and is, therefore, less subject to accident, exposure, and drying out. Grafting in the Old Stump. — This is resorted to when the char- acter of the vineyard is to be changed. Out of the many ways for Budding from previous season's growth. working into old stumps, one introduces the scion by a side cut into the stock without splitting across. The earth is removed from the old vine down to its first lateral roots, and the top is sawed off cleanly a few inches above the first laterals. A cut is then made into1 the side of the stump with a knife and mallet. The scion is then cut long enough so that one bud will remain above ground when the surface is leveled again, the bottom of the scion being given an oblique wedge-shape, so as to fit the crevice in the stock. Some care is needed in shaping the wedge of the scion, so that the surfaces in contact will give good results. If the stock is well made and the end of the scion so adjusted that the stock will pinch it when it is pushed into place, nothing more will be needed except to smear over the cut surface of the stump and the joint of the scion and stock with clay or with a mixture of two parts clay and one part fresh cow manure. If the scion is held firmly and 300 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM sealed in with this mixture, it usually needs no tying, and the hole can be carefully filled with loose earth, with a strong stake to mark the place of the graft, and to which the new growth can be securely tied afterwards. Methods of field grafting grape vines. > ™ ^WP graft for stocks *-2 to 2'3 of an inch in diameter. rr- r-t hip graft f°r StOcks 2"3 to 3'4 of an inch in diameter. <~, CC. Cleft graft for stocks 3-4 of an inch in diameter and for old stumps. GRAFTING GRAPE VINES 301 Another common method of grafting beneath the ground is to split the stump across its center, as is done in top-grafting fruit trees as shown in Chapter IX, and one or two scions inserted. If two are used and both grow, the weaker one is afterward suppressed. In this cross cleft graft some grafters rely upon the stock to hold the scion without tying, and daub it over with the clay mixture, care being taken to fill and cover the split in the stock to exclude water. Others put a ligature around the split stump. Strips of cotton cloth answer well for this purpose. Tying offers better security from knocking out the graft with the cultivator. In grafting into very tough old stumps, some growers place a slim wedge of wood in the cleft with the scion to prevent the stock from closing too forcibly upon the scion. Side Grafting. — Side grafting the vine is commended by some growers. It consists in inserting a graft by a cut into the side of the stock, the method being essentially the same as that employed with fruit trees, as described in Chapter IX, excepting that in side grafting the vine, the top is not amputated, but is allowed to bear its crop and is then removed the following winter. The next sum- mer the scion will bear a crop, and the vine is worked over without cessation in its bearing. Herbaceous Grafting. — This term is applied to a graft in which the scion of the current season's growth is set by a cleft graft into canes also of the current season's growth, while both scion and cane are elastic, but not too soft. The method has not been usually successful in this State, apparently because of the dryness of the summer air. Still some satisfactory results are reported. Mr. Casalegna of Santa Clara County, whose success with herbaceous buds has been noted, does well also with soft-wood grafting by the whip-graft method. He says it is most successful in June, provided the scions are hard enough. The pith must be white. In a strong- growing vineyard grafting may be done in July. The leaves are taken of the scions when they are cut. If they are to be used im- mediately they are placed in water; if to be carried some distance they are placed in a wet sack. Tie the grafts with knitting yarn, not with raffia. The season for herbaceous grafting will, of course, vary according to the locality. Hot weather immediately following the work is fatal to most of the grafts. If two or three cool days follow the insertion of the scions he obtains an almost perfect stand. Care of Scions. — Scions should be kept cool and moist enough to prevent drying, but not wet enough to cause decay, as has already been described in the keeping of cuttings. Time of Grafting. — Grafting into old vine stumps is done in February, March and April in different parts of the State, March being the month usually chosen for the work. If a spring graft fails, the stump may be regrafted in August or in the following spring. In regrafting, the stump is cut off again below the previous cleft. The time for the work is when the sap has ceased flowing, usually from the first to the tenth of August. 302 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Resistance to Phylloxera. — The recourse to resistant roots to escape the phylloxera has been attended with some disappointment because the wild roots at first widely used proved only partially resistant. Recently, in the main through the employment of French selected varieties of the American wild species, stocks with satis- factory resistance, larger growth and vigor and adaptation to differ- ent California soils have been secured. Notable success has been attained in the habilitation of vineyards on the basis of resistant roots. As this undertaking involves considerable outlay and as success depends taking advantage of the latest demonstrations of the affinities of varieties, the adaptations of roots to soils and the suitability of varieties for special purposes and the best method of grafting on resistants and the rooting of grafted cuttings, the latest information should be had from the University Experiment Station at Berkeley, before making investments.* LAYING OUT THE VINEYARD Vines are planted in rectangles, generally in squares, but some- times at a less distance in the rows than the rows are from each other. The stakes which are to represent the future vines are in either case placed by the same methods of measuring or marking off. All the methods described for clearing and preparing lands, in Chapter VII, and for laying off ground in squares, described in Chapter X, are applicable to vineyard ground. The measuring wire therein described is the means usually employed for laying off and small stakes or "markers" are placed at the points where vines are to be set. In row-planting the direction of the rows depends upon circum- stances. Mr. Fred. K. Howard of Fresno cites these points : For the raisin varieties the wide rows should as a rule run east and west to permit more rapid drying particularly with the Muscat, which is late ripening and must have every advantage or drying may be delayed until the early rains begin. It is possible that proper fall for irrigation water cannot be obtained either to the east or west, and with the trellised varieties like the Thompson or the Sultana it may be practically impossible to irrigate crosswise and it may be permissible to run the rows north and south. It is probably far better to be able to irrigate than to have east and west rows with ideal drying conditions and be unable to apply sufficient water to produce crops. Obviously in vineyards grown by rainfall and in sections where the land is all considerably on edge, other considerations must rule in laying off, which must be locally considered. Distance of Planting. — There is as much difference of opinion and practice in fixing the distance between vines as between orchard trees, but usually more room is given than formerly. Planted in squares, the distance varies from seven to ten feet, with eight feet as most prevalent, taking the State as a whole. Planting in rows is becoming more popular and particularly essential, as the long- pruned varieties are taken out on wire trellises rather than grown •Circular 226 (December, 1920) gives explicit information. PLANTING THE VINEYARD 303 to high stakes. Such plantations are made with the vines seven by ten or eight by ten feet, four and one-half by eleven feet ,etc. There is a great variation in the distances. Some advantages of the row system are as follows : Greater space to spread trays for raisin curing; plowing can be done with double teams or tractors and larger plows ; the brush can be gathered and burned between the rows instead of carrying it to the avenues; sulphur and materials for spraying can be brought in by team to any part of the vineyard ; empty boxes can be distributed and filled ones gathered up without carrying, etc. Number of Vines to the Acre. — However the vines be set, it is very easy to calculate the number of vines which an acre will accommodate. Multiply the distance in feet between the rows by the distance the plants are apart in the rows, and the product will be the number of square feet for each plant, which, divided into the number of feet in an acre (forty-three thousand five hundred and sixty), will give the number of plants to the acre. Avenues in the Vineyard. — For convenience of access with team and wagon there should always be avenues through the vineyard. They are usually arranged so as to cut up the vineyard into blocks about twice as long as broad, if the vineyard be on the level land. Of course, on hilly lands the avenues should be located for ease of hauling. The avenue is made by leaving out a row of vines, and, therefore, the exact size of the block will depend upon the distance between the rows. Some advise having not more than forty vines between the avenues. Planting in rows, with wide spaces between the rows, renders few avenues necessary. PLANTING CUTTINGS AND ROOTED VINES Various means are used for planting cuttings. An essential con- dition to successful growth is to have the lower part of the cutting well embedded in the soil, as it will not root unless in close contact with the earth. To lack of care in this regard most failures are due, and for lack of surety that such contact is made the various contrivances for speedy planting, such as the planting bar, are widely condemned ; an excavation of the hole and refilling with fine surface earth, just as advised in Chapter XI, for planting orchard trees, is commended as the safest practice. Much, how- ever, depends upon the soil. In loose, free soil such a use of a bar or "sheep's-foot" as will be presently described may be satisfac- tory, while it would be impracticable on firmer' soils, both because of the difficulty of insertion and because the packed condition caused by the forcing in would not favor root extension, and not desirable on shallow soils because the contact of the better surface soil with the bottom of the cutting will stimulate the growth of the cutting, and is, therefore, very desirable. The post-hole auger and a device for taking out soil as a "trier" takes out a sample of cheese or butter, have also been used to some extent in making holes for cuttings. 304 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM There are several forms of dibbles for planting vine cuttings in a light deeply -worked soil. In the engraving, "a" consists of a piece of round one-half-inch iron, 18 inches long, furnished with a wooden handle at one end and a curved double point with a V-shaped cleft in the other. The bottom node of the cutting is caught in the cleft and forced down to the desired depth. Unless the ground is very light the other dibble, "b," is preferable. It consists of a sword- a V Dibbles for planting vine cuttings. shaped piece of iron 18 to 20 inches long and 2 inches wide, furnished also with a handle. The usual way of using it is to press it into the ground to the desired depth, open the hole a little with a lateral thrust withdraw it and insert the cutting. The dibble is then pushed into the ground again at about an inch to one side and by another iral thrust the earth is pressed tightly around the graft. This more time than is necessary with the other form of dibble, PLANTING ROOTED VINES 3Q5 and unless done carefully there is danger of failing to make the soil close around the base of the stock, which is thus left surrounded by an air space. Grafts left in this way are apt to become moldy and fail to make good roots. The figure "c" is a planting dibble to be used with hand and foot like a spade. All such contrivances are only suited to light soils which crumble and settle easily. On heavier soils, digging holes and placing the soil around the roots or the base of the cutting by hand is indispensable. For planting in dry situations some careful planters run water and fine earth into the hole made by the bar after inserting the cutting; others run in fine sand dry and then pour on water. In using water in this way one must take care that he uses sand or sandy earth, and not clay, for a succeeding dry spell may bake it, and the cutting will be worse off than if not puddled. Planting Rooted Vines. — Planting rooted vines is governed by the some rules commended for planting trees in Chapter XI, so far as preparation of holes, care in placing and firming the soil around the roots, etc., is concerned. In handling rooted vines there must be greater care in packing and transportation to prevent the roots from drying, and in carrying to the field it is generally advised that the plants be kept in a pail or other receptacle with water. The vine roots are very small and tender, and success will largely de- pend upon good care of them. At planting all dead or injured roots should be trimmed away, healthy roots shortened so that they can be placed well in the hole, and the top reduced to a single cane cut back to two eyes. Cultivation of Vineyard. — General suggestions concerning the cultivation of the vineyard have already been given in Chapter XIII, in which methods employed in California, and which are practically the same for all fruits, are described. CHAPTER XXVII PRUNING AND CARE OF THE VINE* Most of the varieties of vinifera grown in California at present thrive under the short pruning system. There are exceptions, how- ever, which will be noted later. The prevalence of the short prun- ing system frees our growers from the expense and inconvenience of trellises. Though in the early years of the vine stakes are used, our older short-pruned vines stand by themselves and are as inde- pendent of support as our fruit trees. THE FIRST YEAR During the summer of the year the vines are planted, no pruning or training of any kind is needed in most cases. For this reason it is nearly always unnecessary to stake the vines when they are planted. The only exception to this is when strong-rooted vines are planted in a rich, moist soil in which they will make a very large growth the first year. In this case it may be desirable to stake the vines immediately after planting and to adopt the method of summer treatment usually employed for the second year. In most cases, however, it is best to allow all shoots to grow at will to insure a good root growth the first year. Staking. — In the autumn or winter following planting, the vines should be staked, either before or after pruning, but in any case some time before the buds start in the spring. The kind of stake used will depend on the variety of vine and on the method of pruning to be ultimately adopted. For ordinary short-pruning, the stake should be of such length that, after being driven into the ground, sufficient will be below the surface to keep it ftrm and prevent its being loosened by the force of the wind acting on the vine which is tied to it, and sufficient above the surface to extend one or two inches above the height at which it is intended to head the vines. It should be from one and one-quarter to one and one-half inches square, according to length. In firm ground, for small-growing vines, a stake 1J4 by 1J4 inches and 27 inches long will be sufficient. This will allow 15 inches to be driven into the ground and leave 12 inches above, which is enough fbr vines to be headed at 10 inches. If the ground is loose or sandy a 30-inch stake driven 18 inches into the ground will be needed. For strong-growing varieties, such as Tokay, especially when planted in rich soil, a stake \y2 by \y2 inches and 36 inches long will be necessary, and 15 or 18 inches of this should be left above the ground. This will permit the heading of the vines at 15 inches. •Detailed discussions of principles of vine pruning and of California methods are now available in a reprint of Prof. Bioletti's writings in Bulletins 241 and 246 and Circular 191. which can be had by application to the University Experiment Station at Berkeley. PRUNING GRAPE VINES 307 If the vines are to be trellised with one wire, a 36-inch stake driven 18 inches into the ground is the proper length. If two wires are to be used, a 48-inch stake will be needed, leaving 30 inches above the surface. If the vines are to be pruned long and the canes tied to the stake, a 5-foot stake will usually be needed, and this must be stronger, 2 by 2 inches square. This stake should be driven 2 feet into the ground. These dimensions are all smaller than are usual in California, but are quite sufficient for all practical purposes. The stake should be placed 1 or 2 inches from the vine on the side opposite to the Fig. 1. Treatment of an average vine during second season. a. Winter pruning. b. Spring pruning — removal of suckers (S) and thinning of shoots (W). c. Summer treatment — tying to stake and topping. prevailing heavy winds. The force of the wind will thus keep the vine pressed against the stake and the tying material is less liable to break. First Winter Pruning. — In California, the young vines may be pruned at any time after the leaves have fallen, except in sections very subject to spring frosts, where it is sometimes advisable to defer the pruning until after the top buds of the canes start. The way the vines are to be pruned will depend altogether on the growth they have made. If the growth has been small the tops are pruned exactly like rooted vines before planting. All the canes are removed entirely, except the strongest, and this is cut back to two buds (see Fig. 1, a). 308 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Any vines which have made a strong growth and possess at least one cane of which sufficient length is well ripened, may be pruned for tying up. All the canes are removed entirely, except the strong- est, and this is cut back to 10, 15, or 18 inches, according to the height at which it is intended to head the vine. The top cut is made through a bud, just as in making cuttings. This will facilitate tying up and insure the healthy growth of the next bud £elow as the top bud. Sometimes, even when the vine has made sufficient growth, the canes are prostrate or crooked and none can be tied up straight to the stake. In this case the vine must be pruned like a weak vine — that is, thinned to one cane and this cane cut back to two buds. Fig. 2. Treatment of an average vine during the third season or of a vigorous vine during the second. a. Vine pruned to one cane and tied to stake. b. Removal of sucker (S) and lower shoots (W) in spring. c. Vine in summer at time of pinching. In no case should two canes of any length be left, and in all cases where it is impossible to obtain the full length of well-ripened wood for tying up, the cane should be cut back to two buds. It is very bad practice to leave some of the canes of intermediate length, as this causes the vines to head out at various lengths and produces an irregularity of shape which can never be remedied and which interferes with regular pruning, cultivation and other vineyard work. The idea to be kept in mind is to cut back each winter nearly to the ground — that is, to two buds — until a cane is produced with a length of well-ripened wood and good buds equal to the height at PRUNING TWO-YEAR-OLD VINES 309 which the vine is to be headed. It is very important that this cane should be straight, healthy and well-ripened, as it is from it that the trunks of the mature vine develops. All the vines on which a cane has been left should be carefully tied up. Two ties will be needed in most cases. A half hitch should be made around the cane below the swelling left by the bud which has been removed, and the cane tied firmly to the top of the stake. Another tie is made half-way down the stake. The lower tie need not be very tight, and in any case the tying material should not be passed completely around the cane, except above the top bud, or the vine will be strangled when it commences to grow (see Fig. 2, a). Any kind of string or twine, sufficiently strong to withstand the pressure of the growing vine in a heavy wind, may be used. Binding twine, or a single strand of good baling rope, is suitable. No. 16 or 17 galvanized wire is pre- ferred by some and is better than string, if care is taken to remove the bottom ties the following year before they strangle the vine. Wire is a little more expensive and takes a little longer to put on than string, but holds the vines better and can be used for several years. SECOND YEAR Summer Pruning. — The treatment during the second and third spring and summer is of great importance to the future welfare of the vine. A little judicious care at this period will avert many troubles in later years. It will be necessary to go over the vine- yard four or five times to do the suckering, topping, and tying which are necessary. The shoots starting from the vines which have been cut back to two buds should be thinned to a single one. This thinning should be done as soon as possible in such a way that it is never necessary to remove a shoot more than 3 or 4 inches long (see Fig. 1, b). If the thinning is deferred until the shoots are a foot or more long the vine will be weakened by the removal of so much foliage. If the thinning can not be done early, it is better not to do it at all. The object of this thinning is to throw all the force and growth of the vine into the cane which is to form finally the trunk of the vine. If it is done too late not only does the growth not go into this cane, but the vine is weakened so much that this cane does not grow so well as it would have done without thinning. The first thinning can be done with the first hoeing, and the second with the suckering. The suckering consists of the removal of all shoots which come from below the ground. These also should be removed as early as practicable, both to avoid weakening the vine by the removal of mature leaves and also because a young sucker is much more easily separated from the vine at this time. Every sucker must be cut or broken off at the point where it origi- nates. If a little piece of the sucker be left, several new suckers will start at the same place. The more completely the suckering is done during the first two years, the less trouble in this respect there will be in later years. This is particularly true of grafted vines. 310 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM A few weeks after the first thinning, the single shoot which has been left will have grown 10 or 15 inches. At this length it should be tied up to the stake (see Fig. 1, c). If this tying is neglected or deferred too long, a heavy wind is very liable to break off the whole shoot. A piece of string tied rather loosely about the middle of the shoot is all that is needed. If the vines are to be headed high (18 inches) another tie near the top of the stake may be necessary. For vines which are making only moderate growth this is all the treatment needed during the summer. Strong-growing vines in rich soil, however, should be topped. Topping. — The object of this is to force the shoot to send out laterals at the right height above the surface of the soil, to be used as spurs during the following year. This topping is an operation which requires a good deal of judgment. If the topping is done too soon, laterals will not start, but a new terminal shoot will be formed. This is not a serious defect, however, but simply necessitates a second topping two or three weeks later. Neither will the laterals start if the topping is done too late, or if they start they will not mature, and the vine is weakened by the removal of foliage without any compensating advantage. Until experience has shown the proper time for the variety and locality, it is best to top when the shoot has grown to from 8 to 12 inches above the top of the stake, and if necessary top again later. The shoot should be topped within 1 or 2 inches of the top of the stake, if the stakes have been chosen and driven as advised above (see Fig. l,c). This will insure the growth of laterals just where they are needed for the next winter pruning. The vines on which a cane has been left and tied up during the preceding winter must be treated a little differently. The removal of underground shoots or suckers is the same. Instead of thinning out the shoots to a single one, as for the vines just described, all the shoots should be left to grow, except those too near the ground (see Fig. 2, b). As a rule, all shoots between the ground and the middle of the stakes should be taken off. It is even more important that this should be done early than in the case described above. If the lower shoots are allowed to become large and then removed, not only is the vine weakened by the removal of the mature leaves, but the stem of the vine is suddenly exposed to the direct rays of the hot sun and is very liable to injury. This injury does not show by the peeling off of the bark as with fruit trees, but by a general weakening and dwarfing of the vine. The shoots coming from the upper half of the cane are to form the spurs for the following winter pruning, and can often be left to grow without further treatment. If the growth is very rapid and succulent, however, it is neces- sary to pinch them, or the first heavy wind may break them off (see Fig. 2, c). Pinching consists in the removal of 1 or 2 inches of growth at the extreme tip of the shoot. This delays the growth in length PRUNING THREE-YEAR-OLD VINES 31 1 temporarily and gives the shoot time to strengthen its tissues before its length gives too much leverage to the wind. This pinching usually has to be repeated at least once. Pinching may be replaced by topping a few weeks later, but the latter is somewhat weakening to the vine. In all summer pruning — that is, the removal of green shoots and leaves — of young vines, two things should be kept in mind: First that all summer pruning is weakening; second that the object of summer pruning of young vines is to direct the growth as much as possible into those parts which are to become permanent portions of the mature vine. The weakening effect is negligible if the shoots or tips are removed when they are very small, but may be very serious if large shoots are removed or heavily topped. When a large shoot covered with leaves is removed it is a total loss to the vine. When a small shoot is removed the food materials which would have gone into that shoot are diverted to the shoots that remain, and the vigor and size of the latter are increased. THIRD YEAR Winter Pruning. — After the leaves have fallen at the end of the third summer every vine should have a well-formed, straight stem with two, three, or more canes growing from the upper part, and the formation of the "head" or crown should commence. Any vines which have not been brought to this condition must be pruned like two or one-year-old vines, as the case may be. If the work up to this point has been well done, the formation of the head is a simple matter. It consists in leaving two, three, or four spurs, arranged as symmetrically as possible near the top of the vine. The stronger the vine, as evidenced by the number, length, and thickness of the canes, the larger the number of spurs and buds that should be left. A spur consists of the basal portion of a cane, and normally of two full internodes. This leaves two buds besides the base bud. The number of buds to leave on a spur depends on the strength or thickness of the cane from which the spur is made. A thin, or weak, cane should be cut back to one bud or even to the base bud. A strong cane, on the other hand, should be left with three buds besides the base bud. The pruning of each vine requires judgment, and it is impossible to give an inflexible rule to follow. The ideal of a perfect vine should be kept in mind and each vine pruned as nearly in accord- ance with this ideal as circumstances permit. Fig. 3 represents nearly perfect three-year-old vines consisting of two or three sym- metrically placed spurs of two buds each near the top of the stem. Sometimes it is necessary to leave a spur lower down (see Fig. 3, b). This spur will be removed the following year after it has pro- duced two or three bunches of grapes. Sometimes a vine may be very vigorous but have only two canes properly placed for making spurs. In this case the spurs should be left longer — three buds and even in extreme cases four buds long. 312 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM In stump pruning there is a difference of practice as to low head- ing according to locality. In the interior regions the vine is now headed almost at the surface of the ground; in the coast regions there is usually a stump of one or two feet or more. As with trees so with vines, the practice is to prune to make lower heads than during the early years of California fruit growing. Long Pruning. — Some varieties grown for market and for raisin making do not thrive if pruned by the short-spur system. Notable among these are the Sultana, Sultanina, (Thompson's Seedless), Emperor and Zabalskanski. Whatever the variety of vine and what- ever the system of pruning to be ultimately adopted, the treatment ^'1 Fig. 3. Three-year-old vines after pruning. :he lowest of which is to be removed the fol- a. Average vine with two spurs. lowing v c. Vigorous vine with three spurs. for the first two and even three years is practically identical and is that which has already been described in detail. Long pruning admits of degrees, but it usually signifies using a five or six instead of a four-foot stake and leaving the selected canes from eighteen inches to three feet longer instead of cutting back to two or three buds, as in short pruning. These long canes are securely tied to the long stakes. With varieties needing long pruning the first two or three buds the old wood do not bear fruit, hence the need of leaving buds •ther removed from the old wood to secure it. This habit of the vine invites the practice of growing a long cane for fruit and at the TRAINING GRAPE VINES 313 same time providing for wood growth for the following year's fruiting by cutting another cane from the same spur down to two or three buds. By this practice the wood which has borne the fruit is cut back to a bud each winter and the cane which has grown only wood is pruned long for the fruit of the following summer. A modification of the practice is to prune the canes from some of the spurs long, and from other spurs short, thus making the spurs alternate from wood bearing to fruit bearing from year to year. Unless some method is adopted to promote the growth of strong canes from near the head of the vine, long pruning becomes unsatis- factory. According to the common way with those vines which are known to require longer canes for satisfactory bearing, such canes are selected when the vine is well established and two, three, four, or more canes four or five feet long are tied up vertically to a high stake. This process is repeated the next year and the next, and the result is, with the Sultanina at least, that after the second or third year all the bearing wood is at the top of the stake, and the vine must be pruned short again or suckers and watersprouts left as long canes. Neither way is satisfactory. Two methods have been successfully used to insure the growth of new fruit wood every year in a position where it can be utilized. The first consists in bending the fruit canes into a circle. This diminishes the tendency of the sap of the vine to go to the end of the fruit canes. The consequence is that more shoots start in the lower parts of the fruit canes. All the shoots on these canes are made weaker and more fruitful by the bending, and at the same time the sap pressure is increased and causes strong shoots to start from the wood-spurs left near the bases of the fruit canes. These shoots are used for fruit canes at the following winter pruning, and new wood spurs are then left for the next year. The tying and bending of the fruit canes require great care, and repeated suckering and removal of watersprouts are necessary to insure a strong growth of replacing canes on the wood spurs. This method can be used successfully only by skillful hands. The other method requires some form of trellis. The most prac- ticable trellis is a wire stretched along the rows about \y2 or 2 feet above the surface of the soil. For very vigorous vines in rich soil a second wire 12 inches above the first is advisable. The pruning is the same as for the method just described. The fruit canes, however, instead of being bent in a circle and tied to the stake, are placed in a horizontal position and tied to the wire. The horizontal position has the same effect as curving in promoting the starting of more shoots on the fruit canes and the consequent production of more bunches of grapes. At the same time the buds on the wood spurs are forced to start, and not being shaded they tend to grow vigorously. It is best to tie the shoots from the wood spurs in a vertical position to the stake, and they should not be topped. This system of pruning is not only theoretically correct, but is easy to explain to pruners, and can be carried out much more perfectly than the first method with ordinary labor. 314 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Whatever system of winter pruning is adopted with Sultanina, careful summer pruning, suckering, sprouting, and topping are necessary for the best results. This variety has a tendency to send out large numbers of suckers from below ground and watersprouts from the old wood. These shoots are usually sterile, grow vigor- ously, and unless removed in time divert the energies of the vine from the fruit and fruit shoots. Two or three times during the spring the vineyard should be gone over carefully and all sterile shoots which are not needed to balance the vine or to replace weak or missing arms should be removed. This removal of shoots should be done in such a way that no shoot longer than 12 inches is ever removed. If the watersprouts are allowed to grow large their removal weakens the vine. The shoots which are to give fruit canes for the following year should not be topped. The shoots from the horizontal fruit canes on the trellises, however, will set their fruit better and are less likely to be broken by the wind if they are pinched or topped early. SUMMER PRUNING AND SUCKERING Summer pruning or topping of bearing vines is usually prac- ticed. Some follow the pinching process, by which the terminal of the growing cane is nipped off with the thumb and finger when it has grown out about two feet. Others wait longer and then slash off the ends of the canes with a sickle. The tendency is to leave summer pruning until too late and to slash off wood indiscrim- inately, to the injury of the vine. Summer pruning, if done early enough, and this would be while the growth is still soft at the point of removal, will induce the growth of laterals and will shade and improve the fruit, and at the same time thicken the growth of the main cane and strengthen its connection with the spur. Slashing of canes too late in the season deprives the fruit of the service of enough leaf surface for the elaboration of the sap, often seriously checks the growth of the vine, and in hot regions, induces sunburn. The first summer pruning should be done soon after the bloom, but not during blooming. The second could take place whenever the canes or laterals extend beyond the length necessary to shade the grapes. Suckering is an important process and usually has to be attended to at least twice in the season. It consists in removing all shoots from old wood which are not provided for at the previous winter pruning. The growth of these suckers takes sap which should go to the other canes. All such shoots should be rubbed or pulled off while they are still soft; if a sucker puts out at a point where it be desirable to have a spur to balance the head of the vine, t should of course be allowed to grow, to be cut back to two buds the following winter. By such selection of suckers new spurs are secured to replace old and failing ones. SUGGESTIONS FOR VINE PRUNING 315 GENERAL NOTES ON PRUNING Longer or shorter pruning produces effects not only upon the amount of early ripening of the fruit of certain varieties, but upon quality, as shown in the wines. Such effects have to be discerned by local observation. It is a very difficult matter to lay down any rule for pruning a vineyard, so much depends on the age of the vines, the different varieties, and the quality of the soil. A basis on which to build a theory on the subject might be found in and through an under- standing of the quantity of grapes that may be expected from a vine, as the secret of pruning is to keep a just medium between the production of grapes to the injury of the vine and its wood and an overproduction of wood to the detriment of the crop. In older vines a proportion should be maintained between the vigor of the vines and the crop desired ; each bud may be considered good for two bunches of grapes the ordinary size, and upon this estimate may be obtained. It must be borne in mind that the result of over- loading the vine is detrimental to its vigor and health, while the reverse will not injure it, but will lessen the profits for that season, often giving greatly increased returns in after years. Close attention should be given to the growth of the wood and fruit of the preceding year. If the canes are very large and the bunches of grapes poor and there are many suckers, it indicates that more eyes are necessary. On the contrary, if the canes are small, and the bunches of grapes numerous and straggling, and the ripening not even, it indicates that the number of eyes left should be less. Pruning may be regulated to produce a good second crop of grapes or to prevent the formation of a second crop. The second crop is sometimes profitable in raisin and table varieties, but is as a rule undesirable. Attention should be paid to the tools used in pruning. Let the blades be kept sharp and thin ; large shears are very apt to bruise the wood more than small ones. Pruning is done after the fall of the leaves and before the swell- ing of the buds, usually in January and February. Early pruning has a tendency to make the vines start growth early, consequently in frosty situations pruning is often deferred till late in the winter — as late as the middle of March in some cases. But it is inconvenient to do a large amount of pruning so late. At any time in the winter the canes can be cut back to 15 or 18 inches and the vineyard cleaned up. When the outer buds on these long spurs start, cut back to the two buds next the old wood and they will start 15 or 20 days later than if the vines had been pruned short earlier in the season. This practice has been followed with marked advantage in some regions liable to late spring frosts. The bleeding which follows late pruning is no loss to the vine, according to observation of late- pruned vines. The proper treatment of vines injured by spring frosts is clearly the immediate removal, by a sharp downward jerk, of the frosted CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM shoots Careful experiment has proved that the vines that were not stripped did not do as well as the others, as the dormant buds in many cases did not come out, and those that came out were not healthy and strong, and hardly had any grapes. The damaged shoots that were not removed died gradually, and at the junction with the cane new shoots came out without any grapes at all, while two-thirds of a crop came on the frost-bitten vines, which were stripped of the damaged canes; hardly any first cfop and only a second crop on the vines which were not attended to. DISEASES OF THE VINE One of the most prevalent diseases of the vine in California is caused by a fungus which affects leaves, canes, and berries, and is locally known as "mildew." This disease is recognized by grayish white coloring of the affected leaves, which, as the disease pro- gresses, shrivel and dry up ; the young cane also blackens and dries, and the berries show whitish patches, which become darker colored and the berries crack open. The usual remedy for the trouble is finely-ground or sublimed sulphur applied several times during the season. Definite reference may be found in the chapter on diseases of trees and vines. The Bordeaux Mixture and other copper preparations are some- times useful upon grape-vines, as will be cited in the chapter on plant diseases. Coulur«. — A frequent misfortune of the vine, and for which no remedy is yet known, is coulure, a term signifying the failure of the fruit to set or to remain on the cluster. This occurs in varying degrees from the loss of a few berries to the almost complete clear- ing of fruit from the stem. It is worse with some varieties than others and in some localities than others. The trouble is believed to arise from various causes. There is, also, occurring with more or less frequency, a redden- ing and death of the vine leaves, supposed to be identical with the trouble known to the French as "rougeole." The leaves show light-colored spots at first, which afterward turn red and finally involve the whole leaf or cane, and sometimes the whole vine. It usually occurs in mid-summer, and is not necessarily fatal in its effects. Root Knot. — An evil occurring on the main stem of the vine, generally near the surface of the ground, is an excrescence of woody character commonly called "black knot." There has been much discussion as to the cause of this abnormal growth, without full agreement among observers. Some attribute the knots to injuries to the stump in cultivation, others to outbursts of sap which the short pruning system does not give top growth enough to dispose of, and to various other causes, but the agency is now definitely known to be invasion by bacteria. This is analogous to the "crown VINE DISEASE STILL MYSTERIOUS knot" of fruit trees which will be mentioned in the chapter on plant diseases. Anaheim Disease. — There has prevailed for several years in California a mysterious disease of the vine known as the "Anaheim disease," because its evil work first appeared in that vicinity. It destroyed many thousand acres of vines and led to the abandon- ment of grape growing in some regions in Southern California for many years. Fortunately during recent years the trouble has been less aggressive, but neither its nature nor satisfactory treatment has been fully demonstrated. The latest available information concerning insect injury and other troubles of the vine can be had by application to the Univer- sity Experiment Station at Berkeley. CHAPTER XXVIII GRAPE VARIETIES IN CALIFORNIA Large collections of grape varieties have been brought into Cali- fornia ever since American occupation began. Desirable kinds were sought in all grape countries, and from such wide experimental planting a few have survived in popular esteem and are now chiefly grown. Being derived from different countries, they came bearing many names. Some of these have been preserved, some wholly lost, and replaced with local appellations. The result is that our grape nomenclature is full of confusion. Some varieties have been identi- fied by the means of the standard French grape literature ; others are apparently unknown to the compilers of that literature. It is, there- fore, impossible to-day to determine the original names and sources of a number of our most popular grapes. In Chapter XVI the varieties most largely planted for commer- cial purposes are enumerated. Choice of varieties for planting is largely determined by the ripening season of the variety arid the commercial opportunity which the particular region affords — there- fore one should direct investments largely on the basis of local inquiries and observations. The following list has been compiled as including the varieties chiefly grown for the purposes indicated in 1921 : For standard raisins — Muscat of Alexandria. For seedless raisins — Sultanina (Thompson), Seedless Sultana. ?or,J£ble graPes— Flame Tokay, Emperor, Malaga, Cornichon, Sul- tanina (Thompson), Muscat, Verdal, Black Prince, Black Morocco. For bulk red wine— Zinfandel, Alicante, Bouschet, Carignane, Mataro, Blaue Elbe, Mission, Grenache, Mourastel, Aramon, Petit Bouschet. For bulk white wine— Berger, Palomino, Feher Szagos, Cabernet bauvignon, Barbera, Valdepenes, Barbera, Green Hungarian, Folle Blanche, West's White Prolific, Gutedel. For fine red wine— Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera Valde- penes, Beclan. For fine white wine— Semillon, Colombar, Reissling, Traminer. Although there are really very few varieties which are commer- cially important, there are many to be found in the different parts of the State and the following descriptions will help the reader to recognize a number of these. r?y^laCk Julyu; Syn< Madeleine, Madeleine Noir, etc.— "Leaves rather , light green above and beneath; bunches small and compact; berries ™H!'O?UI round; skm thick black, covered with a blue bloom; flavor moderately sweet but not rich nor perfumed. The earliest grape, and chiefly valued for dessert on that account."— Hyatt. White July; Syn Luglienga.— "Vine strong-growing and sensitive to hSL .id*8!. medlun? s,izeL ^eply five-lobed, dark green, glabrous on ™!min»t475 1,594 503,973 910,890 U'916 3,654 T°tals 17,399 14.906.731 Product 21,628,444 bx. 6,551,657 " 465,085 " 136 " 6'658 " 2,002 " 21,801,899 Ib. 17,564,020 " 7,919 crt 32,852 Ib. 144.992 mallthatvervrttf> u, fy mUS nCatC that the demand for the small that very little of it is gathered and the plants are chieHy ornamental. Value $67,048,178 18,999,810 930,170 477 ^,306 8,008 2,180,194 1405121 63353 1,653 28,998 $90,849.592 is so THE AVOCADO IN CALIFORNIA 325 Aside from the excellent reports of the California Avocado Association, the literature of the fruit in its California aspects is considerable.* The current eager and pervading interest in the avocado in California is rather an awakening than a discovery because the adaptation of the tree to natural conditions has been amply demon- strated by early introduction and trials. The first tree was grown from a seed planted by Mr. Silas Bond in Santa Barbara in 1870, and this tree was described in 1886 as about 20 feet in height, thrifty and prolific, and having borne fruit for several years. Nearly as soon, probably, avocados were planted for the distinctive beauty of the tree in the home gardens of the citrus pioneers of the wide area which was then Los Angeles County, and even as street trees in front of the homes of the pioneer villagers. During the last twenty- five years such scattered plantings have extended far more widely, accompanying the modern extension of citrus interest along the mesas on the east side of the San Joaquin and the Sacramento valleys — the oldest bearing tree north of Tehachapi known to the writer being about 30 feet high in 1919 in a garden in Visalia. Along the coast fruit production is noted as far north as Santa Cruz. The geographical extension of the avocado may be expected to approx- imate that of the orange — providing varieties of the thin-skinned Mexican ancestry are selected for trial. The thick-skinned Guate- malan ancestry is much more tender, and may fail of thrifty growth through lack of winter warmth even if actual touch of frost is escaped. Propagation of Avocados. — Seeds should be planted with pointed ends upward and hardly projecting above the surface. Sandy loam or the usual green house mixture of sand and fibrous loam should be chosen and the seeds can be started in small boxes or cans or flower pots in house-window or in hot bed, if the grower wishes but a few trees for trial. On a larger scale seedlings may be grown in the open by setting the seeds as described and mulching lightly with sand or fine litter to prevent the surface from crusting or drying out. In the latter case the seedlings should be taken from the seed-bed to the nursery row when a few inches high. In growing in small receptacles, the plants should be set out before the roots become curled or cramped. Transplanting of avocados should generally be undertaken as the soil becomes warmed in the spring, as will be commended for all semi-tropical evergreens. Unless the amateur is very adventurous to see what he will get from his seed or is a professional who thirsts for honors as a plant- breeder, the seedling will be budded. Budding is with the "shield *The Avocado, by G. N. Collins. Bulletin 77, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., 1907. Consult also Yearbooks of the U. S. Dept. of Agr. for 1905 and 1906. The Avocado in Southern California and the Development of the Avocado Industry by F. W. Popenoe, Altadena, Los Angeles County. New varieties of the Avocado for California, by K. A. Ryerson, University of California Journal ®f Agriculture, November, 1913. "The Avocado in California," by I. J. Condit, Bulletin 254, California Experiment Station, Ber- keley, May, 1915. "History of the Avocado and its Varieties in California," by I. J. Con- dit, Monthly Bulletin of State Commission of Horticulture, January, 1917. "Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits," by Wilson Popenoe, Macmillan Co., N. Y., 1920. 326 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM bud" described in detail in Chapter IX, and the handling is that of citrus budding as sketched in Chapter XXXIII. Usually one year's growth is allowed on the bud before trans- planting, and during this year the bud growth may be trimmed up and prepared for desirable branching of the future tree. In trans- planting the trees should be balled and handled as described for orange trees. Planting in permanent place should give the trees not less than 25 feet distances, as they will ultimately grow quite large. The culture, irrigation, fertilizing, etc., which befit citrus trees under the same natural conditions will satisfy the avocado. The tree apparently requires little pruning except in the way of checking too rangy growth, which will not only promote strength and symmetry, but will protect both tree and fruit from sunburn and wind injuries. Grafting the Avocado. — Trees of large size may be worked over by budding or by top-grafting. The bark-graft as described in Chapter IX and specified in the chapters relating to the fig and the walnut, secures very satisfactory results. Varieties of the Avocado. — There are literally hundreds of varie- ties receiving attention of California growers, and no one can tell what selections will ultimately prevail. The beginner can not pursue a safer course than to plant the varieties approved by the California Avocado Association in 1920 (and unchanged in 1921), as follows : Weight of Fruit Color of Varieties — Season from in oz. Mature Fruits Fuerte .Dec. to Apr. 11-16 Green Spinks Mar. to Oct. 16-20 Purplish Black Dickinson May to Sept. 14-20 Dark Purple Sharpless Sept. to Jan. 16-20 Dark Purple Puebla Nov. to Jan. 6-14 Dark Purple In the table the names are placed, not according to merit, but in the 'order in which the fruit begins to ripen, following the calendar year and using Los Angeles as a center. The Fuerte is one of the hardier and one of the most vigorous growing trees, an early and productive bearer, with fruit of the highest quality ripen- ing at a very desirable period, with a greater variation in size and shape of fruit than is usual on the same tree, and with some coming too small. The Spinks is also a strong growing tree. The large fruit is noted for its handsome appearance and has a long ripening period, lasting from early m the year until October. An outstanding feature of the Dickinson is its notably rough, warty skin, which becomes a glossy, handsome purple and identifies the variety. I he quality is good and it comes in a period of its own — the summer. 11 S?arPless ls weH known for its handsome large fruit, comparatively small seed, high quality and very desirable ripening period of fall and early Wmiln rT rte1quires about a year and a half from blossom to maturity. the Puebla tree is one of the best types of the avocado — sturdy, hardy, compact, precocious and productive. The glossy, handsome, pear shaped purple fruit matures at a good season, but is smaller and with thinner skin e others on the recommended list. The period required from the blossom to the maturity of the fruit is the shortest of anv kind on the list, requiring about eight months, and the seed is of medium" size. Budded trees of these varieties can be purchased at the nurseries and the amateur will gratify his interest much sooner by planting them in preference to budding his own seedlings. CHAPTER XXX THE DATE* Ever since the arid, semi-tropical regions of the United States became known through the narratives of explorers, the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has been projected as a plant likely to demon- strate commercial value in America like that which it has held for centuries in the arid regions of Asia and Africa. This idea was also cherished even at an earlier date by the Spanish missionaries who brought the palm to California, as will be described presently. During the last two decades the problem of introducing and estab- lishing a date-growing industry has been taken up more seriously and systematically than ever before and has attained success. The date palm was brought to California by the padres, and the oldest date trees in the State are the survivors of their early plant- ings. Such trees are found at the San Diego Mission. They are conjectured to be more than a century old, and they have survived drought and neglect. They made no record of fruit-bearing. There were also unfruitful date palms at other missions. The ill success of these old trees in fruit bearing long prevented attention to the date as a profitable growth. Still there were date palms grown from seed of the commercial date planted here and there for ornament or out of curiosity, and in due course of time the fruit appeared. The first public exhibition of California dates known to the writer was made at the Mechanic's Institute Fair, in San Francisco, in September, 1877. The fruit was grown on the south bank of Putah Creek, the northern boundary of Solano County, the situation being slightly above the level of the plain of the Sacramento Valley, which lies east of it. The plants were grown by the late J. R. Wolfskill, from seed of commercial dates purchased in San Francisco, and planted in 1858 or 1859. The seed germinated readily, and the young plants were set out in a row about 100 feet south of Putah Creek, on a rich, fine, sandy loam lying about 25 feet above the bed of the creek. The plants received good cultivation, but no irrigation. Another bearing date palm stands about a mile eastward of the situation just described, near the residence of the late J. R. Wolf- skill. It was grown from seed of the date of commerce, which was planted in 1863, and the tree bore its first fruit in 1880. Near it *The Date Palm and its Utilization in the Southwestern States, by Walter T. Swingle, Bulletin 53, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, 1904. Date Varieties and Date Culture in Tunis, by T. H. Kearney, Bulletin 92, Ibid, 1906. Date growing in Southern California, by S. C. Masin. Report of Riverside Fruit Grow- ers' Convention, State Horticultural jCommissioner, Sacramento, 1908. Date Growing in the Old and New Worlds, by Paul B. Popenoe, Altadena, California, 1913. A fine, illustrated treatise. Propagation and Culture of the Date Palm, by Bruce Drummond, Coachella, California; Farmers' Bulletin No. 1016, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C., January, 1919. Manual of Tropical and Semitropical Fruits, by Wilson Popenoe, Macmillan Co., New York, 1920. 328 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM stands a taller date palm, which bears staminate bloom. This latter tree was originally one of the row previously described, and was successfully moved to its present situation after attaining consider- able size. The fruit of the two bearing palms differs notably in appearance. That of the first mentioned tree is of bright yellow color and angular outline ; that of the second tree is wine red, with smooth surface. During recent years the date has fruited at many, places in Cali- fornia and Arizona, and commercial quantities of fruit have been profitably produced. There is little doubt that it will succeed in any of the interior regions which have a sufficiently high summer temperature. Soils and Waters for the Date. — Until recently the date palm has only been planted on good orchard land, but, according to experi- ence in date-growing countries, the tree does not require rich soil, but on the contrary will thrive in soil which is not acceptable to other fruit trees, and will produce fine fruit when irrigated with water too alkaline for man or beast to drink. Even the date has, however, limitations in its tolerance of saline soils and waters. PROPAGATION OF THE DATE The date palm grows readily from the seeds of the dried date of commerce, and, as has been intimated, most of the trees now fruiting in this State having been obtained in this way. By the use of seed one gets, however, only seedlings, and the chance of thus securing a really fine variety is probably not greater than with other fruit tree seedlings. In date-growing countries the best varieties are propagated by rooting the off-sets, sprouts or suckers which appear at the base of the older palms — near the base at first and later higher up on the trunks. To secure the best foreign varieties such plants must be imported. The first such effort was made in the summer of 1890 by the United States Department of Agriculture. The plants were divided between New Mexico, Arizona and California. The plants for California were planted at Tulare and Pomona, some of them being subsequently transplanted to the United States Date Garden at Mecca in the Colorado desert region.* The United States Department of Agriculture undertook arrangements in 1899 for new importations, which were success- fully made. Of the foreign varieties thus introduced the following have been produced in commercial quantities: Rhars, Tedalla, T%£ e^Ha^ and Deglet Noor— the last named leading largely. 1 he Deglet Noor was imported from the oases of the Sahara in southern Algeria and southern Tunisia. Did not ripen well in Cali- fornia and Arizona until in 1910 methods of curing were perfected by the experts of the University of Arizona and the Department of Agriculture, which will be mentioned presently. Large importa- °UtCOme is giv€n in Bulletin 29' of the PROPAGATION OF DATE PALMS 329 tions of Deglet Noor offshoots were made by the Coachella Valley Date Growers' Association from 1912 to 1914, with the co-operation and help of the Department. During the war Algeria forbade export of date offshoots. In the spring of 1921 permission was secured from the Algerian government to import 1,400 offshoots of the Deglet Noor. The Department entered into a contract with a local firm of date growers of Indio to root these offshoots, plant them out in permanent orchard form and return to the Department one-fifth of the offshoots produced on the imported trees, and sell three-fifths of the offshoots to bona fide date growers living in regions suitable for the culture of the Deglet Noor variety and who do not already have 100 trees of this variety, at a price not to exceed $7.50 each for the unrooted offshoots. One-fifth of the offshoots are to go to the firm as their share, in view of their having borne all the expenses of the introduction. This source of supply of Deglet Noor is expected to be in continuous operation for many years. During recent years large importations of other date varieties for commercial planting in Southeastern California have been made by Mr. Popenoe, after searching foreign investigations. Some of these consisted of varieties of dates which are drier and firmer in flesh when mature than the soft dates to which Americans are accustomed and which they must be taught to esteem if their production is to be profitable in this country. There is, therefore, an issue arising between types of dates which it will take time to determine. There is also an issue between advocates of imported palms and those grown in this country from seeds of selected palms established here. These issues between sources and policies of propagation and other matters also have given rise to personal controversies between those holding diverse views and interests the adjustment of which can not be foreseen and the only clear aspect of which in 1921 is that the conflict may be as hot as the sun and as bitter as the water which the palm itself can thrive upon. Growing Palms from Seied. — Seeds taken from the dried dates of commerce germinate readily ; in fact, seedlings frequently appear in the gutters of unpaved streets where the seeds have been thrown during the rainy season. Director Forbes, of the Arizona Station, says that seeds will come up more promptly if first stratified. This may be done by taking a gasoline can or deep box and placing three inches of sand in the bottom after making a number of holes in it for drainage. The seeds are placed upon this layer and the can or box filled with sand, the whole then being put in a sheltered place and kept moist from three to six weeks, when the seeds will be soft and ready for prompt growth when planted. The seedlings may be started in nursery rows for transplanting after one to three years, or if frequent irrigations may be relied on, in the fields where the trees are to remain. Dr. W. T. Swingle, whose work on date growing has already been cited, gives the following suggestions on the growing of seed- lings and their subsequent handling to determine sex and to select bearing palms of desirable type : 330 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The seed should be planted rather thickly in well-drained beds of fer- tile soil, free from alkali. These beds should be watered frequently, as the young date seedlings need an abundance of moisture. If properly cared for the seedlings will reach a height of from 12 to 18 inches the first year and can be transplanted into the permanent orchard the second year. These seedlings should be set out in rows about 30 feet apart and placed 5 or 6 feet apart in the row. Ordinarily field crops can be grown between the rows until long after the palms come into bearing. After three or four years, when the young palms begin to flower, the surplus male trees can be dug up and destroyed, thus thinning about half of the trees. Then when the female trees come into fruit, those which yield decidedly inferior fruit can also be removed, so that finally about one-fourth of the original num- ber of seedlings will be left standing. The spaces between the seedlings will be irregular and offshoots can be taken from the best sorts and planted where the largest gaps occur. By preventing offshoots from growing on the poorer sorts they will yield more fruit and finally can be destroyed and replaced by offshoots from some of the better sorts. In this way, by degrees, the orchard can be improved without expense for offshoots aside from the labor of planting them. Rooting Suckers. — Suckers taken off in warm weather and watered freely usually take root readily. In the Coachella Valley they are usually cut in March, but can be handled successfully all the year except December and January. In cooler valleys the season would probably run from April to August, as they do not root readily during nor approaching cool weather. Care should be taken not to let the plants dry. Director Forbes gives these points : Suckers should not be taken from the parent tree until they have attained a diameter of 5 to 6 inches and a weight of 15 to 20 pounds. Suckers should be removed by cutting in and down along the line of cleavage between them and the main trunk, with a strong chisel or a flat-pointed bar. If possible the cut should be carried down so as to bring away at least one or two sound roots. The leaves should be closely pruned and for shipment the cut bases had better be protected against drying out by layer of wet moss or similar material. In planting, the sucker should be set in previously irri- gated and well settled soil to the depth of its greatest diameter, taking care that the center of the palm is not below the irrigating water level. For convenience in irrigating, a shallow basin of earth should be made about the sucker, in which, to lessen evaporation and the rise of alkali, a mulch of the fine barnyard litter three or four inches deep should be spread. The soil about the newly transplanted suckers should be kept constantly wet by frequent irrigations. Rooting offsets in a hot bed is commended by Mr. Bruce Drum- mond. He plunges them in a forcing bed made of one and a half feet depth of manure, covered with one foot of earth. The forcing house is of canvas and the heat thus increased by the covering induces such a rapid and vigorous growth that offshoots cut from the parent tree in the spring are ready to plant out in the grove in the fall, and will begin bearing dates four years thereafter. Mr. Drummond says that offsets about 5 inches in diameter weigh J to 12 pounds, and root more easily than larger ones. He cuts away about one-half of each of the leaves of the offset rather than prune them all away. BEARING AND RIPENING DATES 331 Bearing Age of the Date. — There is much difference in the ages at which seedlings have come in fruit in the hands of different growers. Fruit has been reported on seedlings six years old and even on plants four years from the seed. Such early maturity must not, however, be generally expected. Blooming of the Date. — The date palm is dioecious, and, its staminate (male) and pistillate (female) blooms appearing on different trees, it requires the association of the two for perfect fruiting. Growing plants from seed, as already stated, leaves the grower in doubt as to the sex of his plants until they bloom. Usually one obtains a large preponderance of male plants. In propagating from suckers the new tree is of the same sex as the parent. It is advised to have about one male to twenty female trees. The pollen can be transported long distances and maintains its vitality for a long time. Artificial fertilization of the bloom of the bearing palm has been found of advantage in this State and was probably first practiced by J. R. Wolfskill. Though the staminate tree was but a few feet away from the pistillate, the male bloom was broken in pieces and hung to the leaves of the female tree near to the pistillate flowers. It was found that the parts of the date cluster which are nearest to the suspended male blooms have more perfect fruit than the more distant parts. Other California date growers have had similar experience. Date palms bloom from March to May, and the fruit ripens from August to November. Ripening the Date. — Dr. A. E. Vinson reports that the Arizona Experiment Station has demonstrated that by pasteurization . or incubation of the ripe fruit, it is freed of the obnoxious insects that naturally infest the date. In pasteurizing, the temperature is raised sufficiently to destroy all insect eggs and at the same time to improve the keeping quality of the fresh fruit by checking fermenta- tion. The date, heated after it has been ripened at natural tempera- tures, becomes more palatable than the raw material and does not cloy the appetite so quickly. These improvements alone have greatly extended the possibilities of marketing the fresh fruit and of its becoming a staple among the people of this country. It is anticipated by some growers that seedling varieties can be devel- oped which will not require artificial ripening, but artificial ripening by holding the fruit in a closed apartment at a temperature of 100 to 110 degrees Fahr. is regularly practiced. The length of exposure to heat depends upon the condition of the fruit as it comes from the trees, and is a matter of experience and judgment. Fumigation with bisulphide vapor to free packed dates from insects is also employed both by the California Date Association and by private growers. An apparatus for fumigating in vacuo is being very successfully used. Pruning. — The pruning of bearing palms should consist merely in the removal of old leaves, up to the fruit stem of the former CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM crop. Young palms should not be allowed to produce heayy crops of fruit, as this would be done at the expense of offshoot growth — if that is a consideration. Beauty of the Date Palm. — The date palm in fruit is a beautiful sight. The glauceous green pinnate leaves arch outward. Between two of these emerge the bright orange-yellow polished fruit stalks, which divide into a spray of slender bright yellow stems a foot or so in length ; and thickly set upon these in clusters are the various colored fruits covered with a rich bloom. It is a sight not easily forgotten by a lover of nature, and especially by one reared in a northern zone, the characteristic vegetation of which is so different. CHAPTER XXXI THE FIG The fig is, perhaps, the grandest fruit tree of California. Its majestic size and its symmetry make it a crowning feature of the landscape, and its dense foliage renders the wide space embowered by it a harbor of refuge from mid-summer heat. Measurements of large trees are abundant, for old trees are numerous in the in- terior of the State, both in the valley and on the slopes of the Sierra foothills. At Knight's Ferry, in Stanislaus County, on the place of Mr. T. Roebuck, there is a fig tree sixty feet in height, with branches of such length as to shade a circle seventy-seven feet in diameter. The trunk is twelve feet two inches around. A little higher the trunk divides into seven or eight large branches, each of which is nearly five feet in circumference. At thirty feet from the ground the limbs are seven and eight inches through. Perhaps the largest girth of a fig tree is that of a tree sixty-eight years old on the Charles O'Neil place near Oroville which is eighteen feet around the trunk, while the oldest tree is probably the one on the Curtner place near Warm Springs in southern Alameda County which is reported to be 125 years old, with a trunk girth of seven- teen feet — a survivor of mission planting. Groves of massive black fig trees, which, though set sixty feet apart, mingle their branches overhead and form a network through which, in the summer, hardly a beam of light can pass, are fre- quently seen in the older settled parts of the State. Perhaps the most interesting single fig tree is that on Rancho Chico, quite near the residence of General Bidwell. It was planted in 1856. One foot above the ground the trunk measures eleven feet in circum- ference ; the wide-spreading branches have been trained toward the ground and, taking root there, banyan-like, they form a wonderful enclosure over one hundred and fifty feet in diameter. The crop on these large trees is proportionate to their size and, entering their area in the morning during the ripening season, one can scarcely step without crushing figs, though the fruit may be gathered up each day and placed in the sun for drying. All these famous old trees are of the black, Mission variety. One such tree owned by John Wolfson of Merced is reported to have produced "one thousands pounds of dried figs" in 1918. This tree is eleven feet around four feet above the ground, with a spread of sixty feet. Realization of a Fig Industry. — Although there was the demon- stration of California's adaptation to fig growing always before them in these grand old trees and although the subject was con- tinually under investigation and effort for half a century, the real push for a great fig industry was not made until the war excluded the Smyrna figs and during the years following a great push was made in fig planting in the San Joaquin Valley to realize the pio- 334 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM neer's prophecy that the fig would be among the greatest of Cali- fornia's cured fruits. In 1921 the first carload lots of fresh figs were successfully sold in Atlantic seaboard cities. The most significant action toward the realization of a great California fig industry was the organization of the growers into a marketing association which in 1920 entered into a union with the peach growers and formed the "California Peach and Fig Growers," with headquarters at Fresno. It is promoting production, preserva- tion and profitability of figs in a most enterprising manner. REGIONS SUITED FOR THE FIG Though there are still many fine points to be determined as to what situations and conditions favor the production of the very finest figs, and there are indications that there is possibly much difference, it may be truly said that a very small part of the State is really unsuited to its growth. If one shuns the immediate coast of the upper part of the State, where the summer temperature is too low for successful ripening, and keeps below the altitude of the mountains where winter killing of the tree is possible, he can grow figs almost anywhere, providing soils and exposures are favorable, for the young wood of the fig tree endures but little frost. Selection of varieties adapted to particular situations has much to do with the success of the fig, as with other fruits, and, therefore, a broad statement of adaptability must be received with such an understanding. The intrusion of the coast influences borne east- ward by the winds of summer, as described in Chapter I, gives a night temperature too low for ripening of some varieties, which turn sour upon the trees. Present indications are that the finest dried figs, having the thinnest skin and the nearest approach gen- erally to the fig of Smyrna, the commercial standard for dried figs, will be produced in the drier portions of the interior valleys and foothills. Even in Southern California fig-souring is quite preva- lent, and selection of locations must be circumspectly made. SOILS FOR THE FIG The fig will thrive in any soil that one would think of selecting for any of our common orchard fruit trees, and, in fact, the fig succeeds on a wider range of soils than any one of them. This applies merely to the successful growth of the fig ; to secure ripen- ing at a time when the fruit "can be profitably sold for table use, is another question. The selection of soils especially suitable to the production of the best figs for drying involves more considerations than rule in the growth of table fruit. For drying, the fig should attain a good size, but should not contain excess of moisture. In some parts of ate the first crop of figs in the season has been found unfit The second, and, in some localities, the third crop, appearing later in the season, when the moisture supply of the soil is reduced, dry well. This condition of the first crop is, however, PROPAGATION OF FIGS 335 affected by local conditions, for there are places in the Sierra foot- hills where the soil moisture has to be replenished early in the season by irrigation to prevent even the first crop from falling prematurely, and subsequent irrigation brings to perfection the second and third crops. The fig tree needs plenty of moisture in the soil, but not too much. As with other fruits, if the soil does not retain the needed amount naturally, it must be supplied by irriga- tion, wisely administered, because over-irrigation on soils which cannot carry away surplus water has produced fruit which has soured and is otherwise rendered unprofitable. PROPAGATION OF THE FIG The fig grows very rapidly from cuttings, and this is the chief method of propagation. Cuttings should be made while the tree is fully dormant, in the winter, of well-matured wood of the previous season's growth, giving preference to the stocky, short-jointed shoots. Tip cuttings can be made from the ends of long shoots if the wood is well matured, round and smooth, not angular and wrinkled. Short lateral shoots ending in a tip-bud are preferable and they are usually made ten or twelve inches in length and planted with only one bud above ground. If enough tip cuttings are hard to get, lower cuts can be used — carefully sealing the tops with as- phaltum grafting wax. In cuttings of figs always cut through the joint where the wood is hardest. Particular attention must be given to prevent fig cuttings from drying out. The life goes out of them very easily. The planting and care of the cutting is essentially the same as of vine cuttings, already described. If well made and cared for, a very satisfactory growth is made the first season, and the trees are ready for planting out in permanent place the following season. Single Bud Cuttings. — If one desires to multiply a new variety very rapidly single-eye cuttings will make plants. This is, also, analogous to single-eye grape cuttings, as already described. Budding the Fig. — The foregoing means enable one to propagate a fig so rapidly that recourse is not had to budding, as in propaga- ting other trees ; still, budding is feasible, either on small plants or on young shoots of old trees which it is desired to bud over. The fig may be budded by the common shield method, as used for ordinary fruit trees, as described in Chapter IX, but owing to the tendency of the fig bark to shrink in drying, the bud should be closely bound in with a narrow waxed band, to exclude the air. As the bark is thick, it is often desirable to cut out a little of the edges closest to the bud when in place. Another method of budding the fig is by annular or "ring bud- ding," a method also relied upon with the walnut and chestnut. AJnnular budding is done in the fall. A circular ring of bark is taken off from the stock by the aid of a budding knife, by running two circular cuts around the stock, and a longitudinal one between the two circular cuts ; the ring of bark taken off must be at least one inch wide, and from that up to two inches. A like ring of bark CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM is taken off in the same manner from the scion of the variety to be budded in, and from a branch of the year, or preceding one, well in sap, and having about the same diameter as the stock. The ring should have on it one or two buds. It must fit exactly the space prepared on the stock, and more particularly at the lower circular cut, so that both barks will exactly unite at that point. One must be very careful while drawing the knife around the stock not to go too deep into the wood to injure the cambium layer/ or to weaken the stock. Tie a bandage firmly over the whole. After two or three weeks the bandage has to be taken off, and, in the ensuing spring, the top of the stock or limb is cut down three inches above the budding. Another way of working such trees is by "whistle budding," which is done in the spring, when the sap is well up. The stock and the scion must be both of the same size and well in sap. The top of the stock is cut down to several inches from the ground ; a circular ring of bark is then taken off, and a corresponding ring from the scion, but without a longitudinal cut, is put in its place and pushed down around it and bandaged. To prepare an old tree for budding over, the limbs may be cut back in February to within two to six feet of the trunk, covering the ends with paint or grafting wax. Allow two shoots to start near the end of each of these amputated limbs, and rub off all other shoots. Bud the shoots when they attain the thickness of one's finger, taking green buds from the growth it is desired to introduce, or let them grow and bud in the fall, whichever is most convenient ; or bud in the growing shoot, and re-bud in the fall where buds have failed. Budding in Old Bark. — Budding with a large shield into old bark is also successful. Judge Rhodes of San Jose describes, his method, both with the olive and the fig, in this way : Cut shield from a limb of about y2 inch in diameter, length of shield about \y2 inches, its thickness from y& to % inch, and its bud near the middle of the shield. Do not remove the wood from behind the bud. Make a cut in the stock, through the bark and into the wood, its length and width a little greater than those of the shield. Insert the shield into the cut, so that the inner bark of the top of the shield and cut will coin- cide, so that one side of the shield and cut — and both sides, if practicable —will coincide. Place the top of the cut over the shield (removing a part of the flap so the bud will not be covered), and fasten flap, shield and stock together very firmly with twine, and protect them with paper tied around them. They may be grafted in that mode, whenever dormant buds are found, for the shields. Twenty-four shields were inserted at several times during one spring, and there was only one failure. Grafting the Fig.— The fig can be grafted by the cleft-graft method, as described in Chapter IX, but the cleft should be made to one side and not through the central pith. Especial care must be taken in excluding the air. Fill the cleft between the scions with warm wax, which will run in and fill the cavity. Then bind the stock with wax bands, taking the greatest care to cover the exposed wood surface, the cut end of the bark, and as far down the stock as the bark has been split. GRAFTING THE FIG 337 Another method is to cut a notch into the stub with a sharp knife, so as not to cause a split, but rather deep, clean cuts, into which the wedge-shaped scions are firmly pushed and a cord wound around the stub to hold all strongly in place before waxing thoroughly. The form of side-graft with a saw cut as described in the chapter on the peach is also available. In grafting the fig by various methods it is essential to have well matured wood for scions — two-year-old wood is usually best ; short shoots or spurs well hardened are desirable. Grafting in the Bark. — A method of bark grafting applied to the fig by George C. Roeding of Fresno and approved by him after several years of successful experience, affords an excellent way of grafting over large trees. It does away with splitting the stock and therefore hastens the barking-over of an amputation. The branches to be grafted are cut off within 18 to 24 inches from the point of divergence from the main body of the tree, allowing at least two branches to remain, one of which should be on the south- west, if possible, so that the grafts will be protected from the after- noon sun. After having sawed off the branches, the stumps neatly smoothed over with a sharp knife, so as to leave a clean, smooth surface, particularly along the edge, two, four or six scions should be placed on each stock, the number, of course, being regulated by the size of the stump. Cut out a V-shaped piece of bark. The distance from the top of the stock to the point of the V should be about 1% inches. Then proceed as follows: Select a scion of the proper size, never be smaller than an ordinary lead pencil. As a rule scions from two-year-old wood, with very little pith and with a diameter of about y2 inch, will give the best results. The scions should have a sloping cut at the lower end, with the bevel all on one side and not like a wedge. The bevel should be a little longer than the V-shaped opening in the stock and should fit snugly into this opening, so that the bark on both edges of the scion touches the bark of the stock. After the scions are placed, wrap tightly with five or six-ply cotton twine, and cover the wounds as well as the stub with liquid grafting wax. Wax the top of the scion to prevent drying out. If waxed cloth is used it must be removed before the warm weather sets in or the bark will be smothered and will die. After the scions have become well united, which takes from two to three months, the strings should be cut. This method of grafting can not be made successful until the sap begins to flow, say from the latter part of February to the first of April. The scions should never be more than four inches long. Seedling Figs. — Figs are readily grown from the imported fig of commerce. Dr. Gustav Eisen of San Francisco, our leading writer on the fig, gives the following explicit directions for growing the fig from seed : Cut open imported Smyrna figs; wash out the seeds in warm water, those that float are empty and worthless; those that sink are generally fer- tile. Sow these in shallow boxes of sand and loam mixed, and place in a frame under glass. In three weeks they will be up and must be very sparingly watered. Set out next season in nursery row. In three years from the seed such plants will be found to bear. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM The tendency of the plants grown from Smyrna figs is to revert to the wild type, and there is a small chance of securing good varieties. PLANTING AND PRUNING THE FIG The chief point to observe in planting the fig trees is to get them far enough apart, because of the great spread of branches which they attain. Of course they may be planted twenty feet apart if the owner intends to remove alternate rows, but to plant at forty feet, or even farther apart, with other fruit trees or vines between, on the plan of alternate or double squares, described in Chapter X, would be the best way to lay out a fig orchard — the intermediate growths to be removed as the figs require more room. Very handsome effects are produced by planting the figs along avenues to inclose orchards of other fruits. Fig trees are grand for shade around buildings, and wild or Capri figs are desirable to plant in this way for a purpose which will be mentioned later. In transplanting fig trees extra care must be taken to keep the roots from drying. After planting, the stem must be diligently guarded from sunburn, to which it is liable in the warmer parts of the State. Pruning the Fig. — The fig requires very little pruning after its shape is outlined. There is difference of opinion and practice as to the height at which the head should be formed ; some head nearly as low as already advised for common orchard trees ; others, having in mind the immense thickness attained by the limbs, and their dis- position to droop, head as high as four to six feet, which is the better way to proceed when the trees are wide-spaced and expected to attain large size. This height system is particularly desirable with the Mission fig. In planting varieties less disposed to great size it is usual to retain four branches above twenty inches of clear trunk, but some prefer to start with five branches above thirty inches of trunk. The Kadota fig, chiefly grown for hand-picking for preserv- ing, is often headed about at the ground-surface and grown as a large bush rather than in tree form. In shaping the tree, branches should be brought out at a dis- tance apart on the stem, so that there may be room for their ex- pansion without crowding each other, and care should be taken not to leave too many main limbs. The branches putting out on the under side of these limbs should be suppressed, and those growing upright, or obliquely upright, retained. As the fig has pithy shoots it is very desirable to cover all cuts with paint or wax. After get- ting the general shape of the tree fixed, there is little need of pruning except to remove defective branches or those which cross and interfere with each other and to prevent the interior of the tree from becoming too dense. It is better to remove branches entirely than to shorten them ; or, in shortening, always cut to a strong lateral. Stubs left at pruning are very undesirable in the fig. This refers particularly to trees given much distance and allowed free growth. CAPRIFICATION OF FIGS 339 In handling fig orchards of the Smyrna and other smaller grow- ers, more systematic pruning is followed. The following is the practice in the Markarian orchard at Fresno : If trees are allowed to grow more than two feet of trunk they are liable to become bent and to be sunburned for lack of shade. Trees having the best shaded trunks are the most vigorous and frost resisting. Trees that are once sunburned are practically ruined; but few recover. Stunted trees are very hard to develop into good trees. When the trees come into maturity, after the fifth or sixth year, they must be pruned back by cutting the top branches off from about ten to fourteen inches, so that the tree will throw out more lateral branches, with a larger proportion of new lateral fruit wood. Ordinarily if this method of pruning fig trees to a bush form is used it will only be necessary to prune once every two years. The season to prune fig trees depends upon the age of the trees. Young trees should not be pruned before the month of March as they are very susceptible to frosts. Larger trees can be pruned as early as January 15 and not later than March 15. Unlike other trees, the bearing fig trees need little pruning. They should be topped about every two years. Go over the upper quarter of them and cut back the terminal branches, in no case more than twenty inches. With most branches a few inches is enough. The shaping of the trees enters into the pruning. The terminals cut back will send out several lateral branches of new fruit wood. By keeping up this system of pruning larger fruit and larger yields are obtained. Cultivation. — Young fig orchards are cultivated as are other fruit areas. Irrigation is governed by local conditions, as already stated. In starting the orchard it is exceedingly important that the young trees should not be allowed to suffer from drying out of the soil. Bearing Age of the Fig. — The fig often, and, perhaps, usually, begins its bearing very early, in the most favorable situations in this State. Some fruit is often had the second year, and a crop worth handling the third year. Still, it is wiser not to calculate definitely upon such returns, for four or five years sometimes pass without a satisfactory crop. CAPRIFICATION* Caprification consists in suspending the fruit of the wild or Capri fig in the branches of the tree of improved variety, that the pollen may be carried by an insect from the former to the latter. The old mission fig and the more recently introduced White Adriatic and many other varieties matured fruit regularly and freely, but until 1900 California was never able to produce dried figs like the fig of commerce or the Smyrna fig. This was, at first, thought to be due to lack of the Smyrna variety. After painstaking effort this *In a general treatise like this only a passing reference can be made of this subject, which is perhaps the most interesting in the whole realm of science as applied to fruit growing. The literature of the subject is very large and cannot be even indicated in this connection. The materials and methods of caprification are also numerous. The latest available exposition of the whole subject, its literature, science and practice is given in "Smyrna Fig Culture." by G. P. Rixford, of San Francisco, which is Bulletin 732 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture and can be had by sending 10 cents to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. A detailed account of caprification and the methods and agencies employed may be had by application to the Col- lege of Agriculture at Berkeley for Bulletin 319, "Caprifigs and Caprification," by I. J. Condit, 1920. CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM variety was introduced. Trees grew readily from the cuttings; fruit appeared upon them and dropped before maturity. Doubt then arose as to whether importers had not been deceived, and other efforts were made, resulting in other importations. These also cast to the ground immature figs. Discussion turned then upon the fact of caprification — the necessity of having the fruit of the Capri or wild fig adjacent to the fruit of the Smyrna fig so that insects from the Capri might visit the fruit of the improved variety and pollinate its inclosed flowers, which, appearing upon the inner wall of an almost closed cavity, could not be reached by ordinary visiting insects. The wild trees had already been introduced and were freely growing near the others, but this fact availed nothing — the figs fell just the same from the Smyrna trees. In 1890 Mr. George C. Roeding, of Fresno, essayed to demonstrate the fact that the lack of pollination was the secret of failure, and he succeeded in intro- ducing the Capri pollen into the eye of the Smyrna fig, and secured thereby the retention of such pollinated figs upon the trees, and when ripened and dried these had the Smyrna character. The demonstration was complete that California could not grow Smyrna figs without the pollinating agency found to be essential to success in Smyrna. This agent is a minute wasp called the blastophaga — an insect so minute that it can make its way through the mesh of ordi- nary cheese-cloth and can enter the almost closed eye of the young fig — So minute that a magnifying glass is necessary to give one any clear idea of its outline. For years constant effort was made by various parties to secure the introduction of this insect. Urgent appeals were made to the United States Department of Agriculture, after private undertakings failed, to secure the insect alive or other- wise in form for permanent residence. In April, 1899, the feat was accomplished, the blastophagas being received from Algiers as col- lected and forwarded by W. T. Swingle to Mr. Roeding. Their offspring appeared in large numbers during the summer and fall of the same year. On the basis of this achievement the commercial production of a true Smyrna fig in California began and has rapidly developed. Mr. Roeding gave his product the musical patronomic "Calimyrna," which now adheres also to the variety from which it is produced. To avail himself of the benefits of caprification, every grower of varieties which require it must also grow suitable Capri fig trees and 'establish the insect in them by securing wild figs infested with the insects and exposing them in the trees. After such introduc- tion the insects will maintain themselves — if the proper capri trees are able to carry their fruit on the branches during the winter be- cause frosts are only light. In these carry-over wild figs the insects safely survive the winter. FOES OF THE FIG The fig is freer from insect pests than any other fruit trees, and t is a mistake to consider it wholly free— still, practically, the fig tree m California has not yet suffered from insects. FIGS GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 341 The gophers have a pronounced appetite for fig roots, and their presence should be carefully watched for. Swine have a liking for fig bark. Figs make good food for hogs, and plantations have been made with this in view, but if the hogs are to be the harvesters, it will be well to protect the stems of the trees from them. VARIETIES OF THE FIG Except in small production of fresh figs for local sale California fig planting in 1921 proceeds almost exclusively upon the White Adriatic, Calimyrna, Black Mission, and Kadota, and there is no agreement among planters as to which will prove most permanently profitable — considering cost of production of each. It is hardly likely that the present phase of popularity of varieties will be en- during. It seems reasonable to believe that to command world trade, California must grow the type of cured fig which the world is accustomed to as the fig of commerce, which Smyrna production established in world esteem. , The fig has a very confused nomenclature in California. Dr. Eisen published a catalogue of varieties introduced into California, with descriptions of each in Bulletin 9 of the Division of Pomology of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The following enumeration is restricted to varieties more or less common : White Adriatic.' — Size, medium, roundish; neck medium; stalk short; ribs obscure; eye open, with red iris; skin very thin, greenish in the shade, yellowish in the sun; pulp bright strawberry red or white, with violet streaks in the meat; varies in quality according to location. Very produc- tive and often very profitable as a dried product. Apt to sour if weather is dark or showery during ripening, or if grown on water-logged soils. Agen.— Medium size, roundish; skin bright green, cracking longi- tudinally when ripe, showing white bands; flesh deep red, very rich; a good bearer, but very late, requiring a long hot season. Bardajic." — "Very large, obovate, pyriform, long neck and stalk, skin very thin, grayish green; pulp rich crimson, fine table fig and largest of Smyrna class." — Roeding. Black Bulletin Smyrna. — Large, obtuse, pyriform, short neck, long stalk, light purple, flesh pink, luscious. Bourjassotte, White; syn. Panachee. — Medium, round and somewhat flattened, eye large, sunk; skin waxy, green; pulp bright red. A very fine fig. Tree very large. Brown Turkey .^Large, turbinate, pyriform, with hardly distinct neck; stalk short; apex flattened; ribs few; slightly elevated; eye medium, slightly open, scales large; skin smooth, greenish to violet-brown in sun, with darker ribs; pulp dark rosy red, quality good, and tree a good bearer. Brunswick is frequently confounded with this fig. A distinct variety is grown in Vacaville as Brown Turkey, which is named by Dr. Eisen "War- ren." Brunswick.— Very large, pyriform, with swollen cheeks, one of which is larger than the other; apex very obtuse; neck and stalk very short; ribs distinct; but not much elevated; eye medium, open; skin pale amber, with violet tint; pulp amber. An early, large fig, but lacking flavor. Very com- mon; requires ri^ch, moist soil. Celeste, Bluei syn. Violette. — Small, oviate, turbinate; ribs few, but dis- tinct, especially near apex; eye raised, rough; color dark violet amber, 342 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM without reddish blush; bloom confined to the neck; skin thin; pulp deep rose; meat amber, sweet, but lacking in flavor. Col. de Signora Bianco. — Medium sized, pyriform; long ribbed neck; skin green, changing to yellow; flesh deep red, very rich and luscious, a strong grower; late, suited for a warm region. Croisic syn. Cordelia. — Notable for ripening fruit near the coast in Central California. "Large, glossy green in color, sweet and good quality. Three trees planted about 1900 are growing near the bay shore, one of the windiest and bleakest spots in San Francisco, and still ripens its first crop perfectly, and sometimes the second crop." — G. P. Rixford. Douro; syn. Black Portuga^— One of largest figs grown in California, black; tree very prolific; ripening in August and September. Drap d'Or. — Large, pyriform, with very low neck and stalk; ribs ele- vated; apex obtuse and concave; color light violet-reddish amber, not dark; pulp rosy red. A fig of very fine quality; especially useful for confections and crystallizing; not identical with Brunswick. Genoa, White. — Above medium, pyriform; neck small; stalk short, ribs indistinct; skin downy; eye very small; skin pale olive-green; pulp pale rose. One of the better figs, quite distinct from Marseillaise. Gentile. — Similar to San Pedro; large, light colored, amber pulp, sweet and luscious. Ischia, Black. — Small; neck short; stalk medium; skin smooth; color dark violet, black, greenish around the apex; neck dark; eye medium, open; bloom thin, dark blue; pulp red. Of fair quality but small size. Ischia, White. — Size below medium, round, with small neck; stalk very short; eye open; skin smooth, bluish green, with brown flush, pulp rosy red. Common in California. Kassaba. — "Medium to large, globular, flattened, short neck and stalk, pale green, pulp reddish, very sweet, dries well. Tree handsomest of Smyrna varieties." — Roeding. Kadota; syn. White Endich. — A re-named variety. Medium, golden yel- low, pulp white, Ringed with pink; tree prolific and long ripening season. Esteemed for shipping, also for preserving and canning. Ladaro. — Very large, oblong, pale yellow, brown cheek, flesh deep red, rich and sugary. Lipari. — Small, greenish yellow, soft, and showing purplish spots; widely distributed, and popular for home use. Marseillaise, White. — Medium ovate, pyriform; neck short; stalk me- dium; ribs numerous and distinct; apex flattened; eye large, open; skin downy, pale yellowish green, mottled with white; pulp amber, with a few large seeds. One of the best figs for drying. Requires sandy, rich soil. Mission,'1 Black.— Medium to large, turbinate; neck long; stalk short; ribs distinct; eye prominent, open; skin rough, deep mahogany violet, with red flush; pulp not fine, red but not bright or brownish amber; sweet, but not high flavored; common in the Southern States, California and Mex- ico The oldest fig in this country. Very regular and prolific in bearing, and free from souring while sun drying. Pacific White"— An unknown variety found growing on a farm in Placer county. Medium size, fine grained, very sweet, dries well, but the skin is -hicker and more tough than the imported fig. That and its small size are fornfa" °bjectlons to Jt Tt is Chapter will be suggestive to one who desires to grow his own shelter trees from seed. Trees from small seeds are best grown in boxes and in many cases, as with eucalyptus and cypress especially, do best when put in permanent place when quite small. Whether put at once m permanent place, or in nursery, the land should be deeply worked and the young plant well planted and cared for. Cultivation of Shelter Tr,ees.— If one desires rapid growth of shelter trees, they should be cultivated the first few years as thoroughly as an orchard. Much disappointment results from al- lowing roadside trees to shift for themselves in a hard, dry soil. With such treatment the root extension is naturally most rapid into cultivated orchard ground, which is undesirable. Cultivate and en- rich the roadside, and the tree will grow chiefly on the waste land. At the same time the roadside will be prevented from producing vast quantities of weed seed, to be blown over the fence, and the place will have a name for neatness, which is too rare even in Cali- fornia. PROTECTION FROM FROSTS Much attention has been given during recent years to the pro- tection of citrus fruits as they approach maturity, and of deciduous fruits as they are starting on their growth, from occasional fall of the mercury a few degrees below the freezing point. It has been shown by ample experience that fruits may escape injury by a temperature of 28 degrees if the ground surface is wet and the ex- posure be but of short duration. Fruit has, therefore, been saved by irrigation, while that over dry ground has been nipped by the same temperature. About the same result has been secured by checking radiation of heat by covering the orchard or vineyard with a cloud of smoke. Both these protective measures fail when the tempera- ture falls a few degrees below 28 degrees or when such freezing temperature is continued for several hours. During recent years much progress has been made in preventing frost by numerous small fires distributed among the trees to be pro- tected and many devices to secure such distributed heat easily and economically are being enterprisingly promoted by inventors and manufacturers. The extreme low temperatures of January, 1913, gave full opportunities for testing orchard heating appliances and very striking success was had with them. Comparative tests and observations have been made by the experts of the University Ex- periment Station, but conclusions are not available at this date. They must be looked for in Experiment Station bulletins, in the pub- lications of the U. S. Weather Bureau* and in horticultural journals. The subject is clearly seen to be too complex to admit of a brief generalization except to say that, when orchard heating is thorough- ly and economically done, it is a most profitable investment and should be studied by all growers. *The latest review of the subject is to be found in Farmers' Bulletin, No 1096. on "Frost and the Prevention of Damages by It." It can be had free by writing to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 496 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM SUSCEPTIBILITY OF DECIDUOUS FRUITS The most systematic observations of danger points in deciduous fruits have been made by Dr. J. C. Whitten and Professor W. L. Howard in the course of their work at the Missouri Experiment Station. Both these experts are now connected with the California Experiment Station at Berkeley and the local bearing* of their re- searches may be had from them by any one interested in the subject. Their work in Missouri involved artificially freezing thousands of peach buds, from which these conclusions were drawn : "Fully dormant peach buds can stand 8 or 9° below zero, F. When they are appreciably swollen, zero is the danger point. When the buds are show- ing pink, they can stand 15° above zero. When the buds are almost open, 25° is the danger point. When they are newly opened, about 26° would be the point of danger. When the petals are beginning to fall, 28° above zero is dangerous. When the petals are off they can stand 30° above zero. When the 'shucks' (calyx lobes) are beginning to fall off, 32° is the danger point." Presumably these limits would apply also to the apricot and almond. Apple buds, when the petals begin to show, can stand from 10 to 12 de- grees of freezing. When the petals are well emerged, but have not opened, they can stand from 4 to 6 degrees of freezing, but when open, but not yet fertilized, there would be great danger at two or three degrees below the freezing point. When the flowers have been fertilized, the petals dropped, and the young fruit increasing in size, the slender stems which support the apples are unable to resist a temperature lower than the freezing point. The apples seem to be more hardy than their stems, but if the latter are injured of course the fruit also suffers. Similar behavior may be expected from the pear, cherry and plum. Orchard Frost Studies. — In connection with the foregoing it is interesting to note conclusions which Prof. Fabian Garcia draws from several years' observation of frost effects in the orchard of the New Mexico Experiment Station and of which full details are given in Bulletin 89 of that station : The data recorded at the Station show that the fruit-buds, particularly those of the peach, at their different stages of development are somewhat more resistant to cold than has been reported by observers from other parts of the United States. The data further show that the degree of re- sistabihty to frost varies with different stages of growth. The peach is least resistant when it is about the size of a pea, when the calices are falling off. Contrary to the findings of other observers, the bloom is not the most tender stage of growth. In other words, the data indicate that the newly set peach is more delicate than the newly opened blossom. In the majority of cases a temperature of 26 degrees, lasting only a short time, did little or no injury to the opening bud, newly opened blossom or newly set fruit of the peach, native plum, pear and apple; while one-half a degree below this or 25^2 degrees, although lasting only a few minutes, killed a large percentage of the opening buds, newly set blossoms and young fruits of the peach, in a number of cases. In other words, 26 degrees was the danger point, and any temperature below this is liable to do more or less injury; depending on how low it gets and how long it remains at that temperature. In some cases, however, a temperature of 24 degrees lasting only a short time left about 25% of the blooms and 9% of the newly set fruits uninjured. Three important factors that influence the amount of damage done by spring frosts are: the degree of killing temperature, the time of day at h it occurs, and the length of time the temperature remains below the danger point. The longer the time the killing temperature remains and the DELAYING BLOOM OF FRUIT TREES 497 Tected " tO SUndse' the greater the amount of damage that should be As a rule, the killing temperature recorded in these experiments oc- nm the mommg, from one to two hours before sunrise. Whenever the killing temperature occurred this late in the morning, and remained below the danger point until sunrise, the injury was great. On the other hand, if the minimum occurred at midnight, or a little later, and then gradually rose to the freezing point, so that the frozen buds, blooms and truits had time to thaw out slowly before sunrise, the injury was in- significant. This was the case April 5, 1910, when at 2:15 A. M the tem- perature was 24M degrees. By 5:30 it had risen to 31 degrees, and the injury done to the Alexander peaches — which were in full bloom— was estimated at 2l/2%. As the young fruit develops it seems to get more tender, until it grows beyond a certain size, when it seems to get hardier again; so that the later frosts which come after the young fruits have made quite a growth are liable to do more injury than the same degree of cold in the earlier part of the season, when the fruits are less developed. At this -stage of growth, 2fr/2 to 27 degrees would probably be dangerous to peaches. The very late frost of 25 degrees on May 4, 1912, killed practically all the peaches in the experimental orchard, while 24££ degrees on April 17, 1910, left about 30% of the Elbertas. On the whole, apples and pears seem to be more resistant than peaches and plums, This was strongly indicated in 1912, when practically all the peach crop was destroyed on May 4, by a temperature of 25 de- grees; while there was a very heavy crop of pears and apples harvested the following fall. European and native plums seem to be slightly hardier than Japanese plums and apricots, which are the least resistant of all the fruits included in the test. DELAYING BLOOM BY WHITEWASH Another suggestion comes from Missouri. It is concerning de- laying activity in deciduous trees by spraying with whitewash to reflect heat — the absorption of which by dark bark causes the ac- tivity of the tree to begin. Prof. J. C. Whitten of the University Experiment Station says : Purple coloring matter on untreated peach trees often absorbs heat enough on a sunny cold day in winter to raise the temperature of the trees 25 degrees or more above the temperature of the atmosphere. Whit- ened trees remain at atmospheric temperature or usually a degree or so below. For ten consecutive years we whitewashed diagonal rows of peach trees across the Experiment Station orchard just before midwinter. In this section we had five general peach crops during that ten years on untreated trees; on whitewashed trees of the same varieties we had eight crops. The five crops on untreated trees were not all full crops; the eight crops on treated trees were all but two full crops. More than double the amount of fruit was secured in ten years on the whitewashed trees. The treated trees were anywhere from a few days up to ten days later in blooming. In years when normal weather prevailed until sudden warm spells brought the trees into bloom hurriedly, there was only a little difference in time of blooming, and under normal conditions there was a week or more difference in their blooming. This is less important, however, than the fact that the whitewashed trees began their first starting into slight growth on sunny days in late winter fully six weeks later than the naked trees. The writer is not aware that whitewashing to delay bloom has directly entered into California practice, but it may have had in- 498 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM directly much influence in that direction. The free use of lime-sul- phur and Bordeaux mixture for other purposes may have inci- dentally delayed bloom while protecting the tree from too early sap flow which following frost turned to ill-account by causing die-back, sour sap and for which whitewashing is being confidently prescribed as a preventive. PART TEN : MISCELLANEOUS CHAPTER XLVI. UTILIZING FRUIT WASTES Some progress has recently been attained in the securing of horticultural by-products from various kinds of fruit wastes. There has been a considerable product of cream of tartar from the pomace and lees of the wineries in Central California. In Southern Cali- fornia citric acid factories have to some extent used lemons rejected in packing, and some other by-products of citrus fruits are being secured in considerable quantities. Vinegar from wine and cider are, of course, made here as everywhere in fruit countries. There is also a good demand for fruit pits. During the last few years they have sold profitably. Comparative value of fruits, and hay, grains, meals, etc. 100 Pounds Fruit Equivalent to Pounds of FRESH FRUITS, ~ I Apples 34 Oranges 33 Pears 40 Plums 50 Prunes 46 Apricots 40 Nectarines 43 Figs SO Grapes • Watermelons 22 Nutmeg Melons 19 DRIED FRUITS. | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Raisfns * . . .* .' .' .' .' .' .' .' ' •' 216 128 153 97 100 108 103 111 103 82 As the demand was partly due to war needs it may not always continue so productive, but the Prune and Apricot Growers' As- sociation, in their contracts for 1919, were guaranteed $31.50 a ton for apricot pits, cash on delivery, and whatever further profit may develop from their operations. The kernels are valuable for the es- sential oil that is extracted from them, which is used in various chemical and commercial preparations. The meal resulting from 500 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM crushing and expressing is used in the preparation of macaroons and other confections. The shells are burned to a charcoal, which is used in the gas masks. Peach pits are burnt for the same purpose, and the Peach Growers' Association gathered quantities of them. The disposition of waste fruit by growers will, however, lie chiefly in the line of feeding animals unless denatured alcohol enter- prises which are now being exploited should consume it at profitable prices. Waste Fruits for Stock Feeding. — Refuse fresh fruit of all kinds, and especially refuse dried fruits, have nutritive value which is now being systematically secured. A statement of the value of cost of handling. Refuse fresh fruits of all kinds, and especially refuse dried fruits have nutritive value which should not be lost. A state- ment of the value of various fruits as compared with various cattle foods has been prepared by Prof. M. C. Jaffa, of the University Ex- periment Station, in the adjacent table. A good average of the pitted fresh fruits is represented by prunes. Using the equivalents in the table above for computation, it appears that if wheat bran costs $15 per ton, fresh prunes would be worth as a substitute $3 per ton ; likewise, if cottonseed meal is selling for $21 per ton, the prune value would be about $2.75. At the market price of oat hay, the figures for fresh prunes should be nearly $3 per ton. A practical demonstration of feeding fresh cull peaches to hogs was made by a Sutter County grower. About 110 head of hogs, young and old, were kept for fattening on peaches. A sack of bar- ley was fed twice a week and a few small potatoes bought at 25 cents per sack. About 25 boxes of peaches twice a day was the hogs' capacity. The grower's judgment was that the hogs fed on fresh peaches made such satisfactory gains that he hauled twenty tons a mile and a half from another orchard to feed them. It is also claimed that hogs will leave milk and cocoanut meal to eat cull oranges, but whether for food or tonic does not appear. The dried fruits naturally rank far above the fresh material as stock feed. Of the dried fruits represented in the table, raisins lead in food value ; containing one and one-fourth to one and one-half times the nutritive ingredients of alfalfa and oat hays, respectively ; 100 pounds of the fruit being practically equal to the same quantity of grain, but to only eighty-two and fifty-nine pounds respectively of rice bran and cottonseed meal. Dried apricots rank slightly lower than raisins, because they con- tain more water. Apricots are, however, of equal value as a feeding stuff, with wheat bran and almond hulls about half as much as alfalfa hay, bran or middlings. Concerning the feeding of raisins to hogs, the following state- ments are made : "With raisins selling at 2*/2 cents per pound they are much cheaper food for hogs than corn or barley. Raisins give the hog a hard, sweet meat and are much sought after by the butch- ers. Care must, however, be exercised in feeding raisins to hogs, as they are full of sugar, and consequently too rich when fed alone. They heat the animal up so that the hogs lose flesh and will kill the little pigs of a farrowing sow. For fall and winter feeding, FRUIT WASTES FOR STOCK-FEEDING 5Q1 pumpkins, citrons and alfalfa are the best feed to give the hogs in conjunction with the raisins, but in the spring a change is found very beneficial. Many people feeding raisins to hogs are not having the success they should because they overfeed their porkers. A pound of raisins a day is ample to start in with. After the system of the hog has become accustomed to the raisins the amount can be increased so that the last three weeks each hog should get about four pounds of raisins a day. The last ten days, when the finishing touches are being put on, the hogs should be allowed all they can get." Cull and second-crop raisins beat barley, pound for pound, as a feed for work mules, according to O. Peterson of the W. M. Gifnn vineyard near Dinuba, who fed sixteen mules nothing but a gallon a feed twice per day of raisins with alfalfa hay. The mules had received practically nothing else for years, says Mr. Peterson, and were reported "hog fat," showing that their appetites do not fail on the fruit. Stems and all are fed, and a few moldy raisins in the lot do not seem to signify. A San Joaquin County grower reported feeding dried cull To- kays. For five years he has dried all the culls he needed from the early pickings. Horses, cows and calves eat them, stems and all, and he considers these dried grapes at least equal in feed value to barley. Wine grapes rich in sugar have been cheaply dried on the ground and used to advantage for hog feed. One grower says that having more than the hogs required, grapes were fed to the horses : "The horses soon got a taste for them and seemed to thrive well on the new diet and in a short time became fat and sleek, while they were being worked as hard as ever, and we continued to feed them dried grapes and have kept it up for a whole year. The effect seems to have made the old horses five years younger, both in looks and in ability to work. The hogs fattened up so quickly that we thought the pork would be soft and sloppy, but to our surprise, we never had better bacon and ham than was produced from these grape-fed pork- ers. It was not only solid, but sweet and tender." Prune-fed and Taisin-fed pork is indeed an accomplished fact in California. As to the acceptability of the fruit diet to the hog, what could be more pertinent and more fitting appendix to this treatise than this little tale? It is stated that Mr. Balaam, of Farmersville, used to have a pet pig that ran under the fig trees near the house. When the fruit began to drop, he ate figs and rested in the shade until he finally grew too fat to move about to gather the sweet morsels. By this time his owner became so much interested in the case as to carry him his figs regularly three times daily. Gradually he grew so fat that his eyes closed entirely, but still he ate figs in contentment and delight. PLATE ILLUSTRATIONS Plate I. California homes submerged in a sea of prune blossoms Frontispiece Opposite Page II. Ground view of good job of fruit-thinning 32 III. Deep plowing in young orchard 33 IV. Cement ditches and irrigation by check system 96 V. A good start toward an apple orchard 97 VI. Typical aspect of a bearing apricot orchard 128 VII. Young cherry orchard in good form 129 VIII. Bearing peach orchard in an irrigated district 224 IX. Profuse bearing of vine by long pruning 225 X. Prize Emperor Vineyard in Tulare County 256 XI. The Sevillano olive as grown in Tehama County 257 XII. View in bearing orange orchard 384 XIII. The Mammoth Blackberry 385 XIV. The Loganberry 416 XV. California sunshine evaporator with accessory buildings 417 INDEX Page Acorns, edible 40 Alfalfa in orchard 133 Alkaline soils 34 water for irrigation 192 Alligator Pear 324 Almond, The 433 growing from seed 68 hulling and bleaching 436 pollination 437 propagation 433 pruning 435 situations and soils 434 wild 40 varieties 199, 437 Animals, injurious 490 Apple in California 198 aphis, resistant 201 aphis, woolly 474 drying 460 exposures for 201 gathering 206 irrigation 295 localities for 198 mildew 486 mission 42 native crab 36 planting distance 203 picking and packing 207 pollination 209 propagation 202 pruning 203 scab or smut 202 second crop 200 seedlings, growing 61 shipping 208 soils for 201 storehouse for 206 summer and fall 208 thinning 205 varieties, most popular 196 when to pick 206 winter 208, 214 worm 479 varieties 209 Apricot 213 climatic requirements 214 diseases of 222 distances for 217 drying 461 exposures for 214 growing seedlings 65 irrigation 221 localities for 214 mission 42 old trees 214 on almond root 216 planting 217 . 218 shot-hole fungus 220 Page Apricot — continued stocks and soils for 215 thinning 220 varieties ' .' 223 Army worms 469 Atmospheric humidity '. 21 Avocado 324 Banana, The 393 Barberry, native 39 Bear berry 39 Bergamot 393 Berries and currants 409 Berries, various wild 38 Birds, poisoning 492 Blackberry, The 410 cultivation 411 hybrids 425 distances for 411 irrigating 413 longevity of 413 propagation 410 pruning 412, 416 wild 38 varieties 414 Blasting for planting 94 Bordeaux Mixture 486 Borers 478 Brush, cutting to kill 59 Budding, common method 71 June 72 over old trees 80 spring 73 Bud, cutting to a 123 Buds, dormant 79 Buffalo berry 39 Cactus fruits 40 Canker worms 470 Canned fruit product 453 Canning industry 453 Caterpillars 470 Chain for laying out 93 Chamisal and chaparral 57 Charcoal making 58 Cherimoyer 399 Cherry 226 delayed fruiting of 228 distances for 230 exposures for 229 gum disease 234 graftingthe 233 localities for 229 moisture requirements 233 old trees 226 pests and diseases 233 pollination 229 pruning the 231 seedlings, growing 64 504 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Page Cherry — continued slug 471 soils for the 227 stocks for the 230 wild 37 varieties 199,232 Chestnut, The 450 seedlings 68 wild 40 Choco or Chayota 400 Citron, The 397 Clearing land for fruit 55 brushy 56,59 gradual 55 stump puller 56, 58 with powder 56 time to cut to kill 59 Climate, divisions of California 11 of California, characteristics of . . . .9, 18 of California, why mild 10, 18 foothill 15 mountain 16 coast 13 valley 14 value of 23 Cloudiness, east and west 21 Coast pests and diseases 14 Codlin moth 479 Corner, to find true 88 Cover crops 133 Cranberries 415 wild 39 Crops between trees or vines 133 Cultivation 129 adequate 132, 141 hillside 136 methods of 134 purposes of 130 shallow, results of 131 summer 136, 140 to retain moisture 130 without plowing 139 Currants 419 culture of 420 regions for 419 varieties grown 421 wild 38 Custard apple 399 Cuttings, fruit trees from 67 Cutworms 469 Dates 327 at the missions 327 bearing age of 330 bearing in Solano County 327 blooming of 330 first fruit 327 from seed 329 from suckers 329 propagation of 330 requirements of 328 transplanting 329 Dewberry 415 Diabroticas 480 Die-back 488 Diseases of trees and vines 486 Dormant buds 79 Drainage desirable 60, 191 Dried fruits (see Fruits) 455 covering 474 cutting sheds 458 dipping ^ 460 drying floors 458 grading and cleaning .457, 460 packing 460 product of 455 sulphuring 459 sweating 460 trays for 457 worm 474 Elderberries 37 Evaporated fruits 466 Evaporator, sunshine 466 Feijoa Sellowiana 401 Fertilization, science of 142 analyses not guide to 146 essential elements 145 plant food, "available" 147 specific effects 149 substances for 152 use of 154 value of organic 157 Fertilizers in California 141 caution in use of 156 for trees and vines 143 lime and gypsum 155 methods of applying 158 value of green , 157 when necessary 150 sources of nitrogen 152 sources of phosphoric acid 152 sources of potash 152 waste products for 158 Fig... . 333 ,ring age 331 budding 336 caprification 339 drying 461 foes of. 340 from cuttings 335 from seeds 337 grafting 336 mission 42 planting and pruning 341 regions for 334 size of old trees 333 soils for 334 varieties 341 Filbert growing 451 wild 40 Frosts, protection from 493 Fruit, cultivation 130 Fruit gardens, early 47 Fruit industries, influence of 52 Fruit industries, outlook of 53 Fruit interest, extent of 51 INDEX 505 Fruit products, value of Fruit shipments, eastern 51 Fruit, soil ingredients of ] ' 14, Fruit thinning ' 127 Fruit tree acreage 5 Fruit trees, dwarf .'v*47 2fl Fruits, California leadership in. ... ' 4< Fruits, drying . ' 451 drying floors 45! graders. . .' ] 450 grafted, first in California 46 locations for j< value as stock food 499 Fruits, commercial varieties 19£ Fruits, locations for 12 Fruits, mission 42 Fruits, native ' ] 3( Fruits, Russian 45 Fruits used by canners . 40 421 Goat nut, or jajoba Gooseberry, The ^x culture of 422 requirements of ] 42] varieties 422 wild [ 3£ Gophers, killing 49C Graft, time to 82 Grafting ."'.'.'.' 72 bark 84 bridge 82 cleft 76 old trees ....', 83 root 76 side 76 time for 83 top 81 whip 76 wax for 75 waxed bands 76 Grafts, planting out 76 Granadilla 402 Grape, area of 51, 288 budding 296 conditions of ripening 19 dibbles for planting 302 diseases of 315 distance 301 Eastern 320 from cuttings 292 from layers 292 from seed 292 frost injuries 314 grafting 297 industry 288 length of season 290 mildew 486 mission 42, 44 number per acre 301 planting devices 302 planting in rows 301 products 289 pruning 305 Grape-^-continued pruning, long pruning, short resistant rooting in nursery shipping soils for stakes, twine, etc suckering sulphuring summer pruning syrup topping trellising varieties wild Grape fruit or pomelo. . . Grasshoppers, killing. . . Growing season, long . . . Guava, The Gummosis Gypsum, uses of . . 311 306 300 296 291 290 305 317 476 ....310,313 463 309 312 317 37 387 468 23 400 486 145 Hardpan, breaking up 85, 94 Heat, deficient on coast 13 importance of 18 summer, records of 19 Heeling in young trees 99 Hexagonal planting 91, 92 Hillside, rows on 90 use of triangle on 93 Holes for trees 94, 95 Huckleberries, wild 39 Humidity, atmospheric 21 deficient 24 east and west 22 excessive 24 [nsects, injurious 468 [nsects, remedies 482 [irrigation 157 alkali water 192 ditches 185 drainage and 194 evils of excessive 161 flooding 170 for citrus fruits 164 for deciduous fruits 164 flume building for 184 hillside 176,180 how much 157, 159 implements for 172 in early days 48 in basins 175 in checks 170 in furrows 173, 177, 182 leveling for 187 locating contour lines 187 measurement of water 190 methods of 170 nursery 69 objections answered 161 overhead 185 relation to cultivation 166 506 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Page Irrigation— continued relation to rainfall ............... J| relation to soil .................. 165 relation to tillage ................ 166 reservoirs, small ................. 188 running ditches for .............. 185 subirrigation .................... 1 suggestions for .................. 192 summer ..................... 170,179 taken from ditches .............. 186 wells and pumps for ............. 190 wheels for ...................... 189 when desirable ............... 160, 164 winter ......................... 168 Jajoba ........................... 401 Jujube of commerce ............... 403 Jujube, native .................... 40 June buds ........................ 79 Kai apple ........................ 408 Laying out land for fruit ........... 86 Leaf lice ......................... 474 Lemon, The ...................... 390 curing ......................... 395 picking ........................ 396 planting and pruning ............ 389 propagation ..... ............. 70, 392 situations and soils for ........... 391 varieties ....................... 396 Lemon berry ..................... 40 Lice, leaf ......................... 474 Lime, The ........................ 397 Loganberry ....................... 425 Loquat, The ...................... 403 Manure .......................... 157 Manuring at planting .............. 103 Manzanita berries ................. 39 Marls ............................ 145 Measuring wire ................... 88 Melon Shrub ..................... 406 Melon tree ....................... 407 Mildew .......................... 486 Miner's inch ...................... 190 Mission fruits ..................... 42 Moisture lost by weed growth ...... 130 retained by cultivation ........... 128 Morning Glory, killing ............. 138 Moss, removing ................... 487 Mulberry, The .................... 423 Mulching, after planting ........... 105 Mulching as substitute for cultivation 142 Nectarine ........................ 256 compared with peach ............ 256 dried ....................... 256,462 future of ....................... 257 varieties ....................... 257 Nitrogen for fruits ................. 152 Nursery .......................... 61 budding and grafting ............ 70 classes of nursery stock .......... 79 growing seedlings ................ 63 imported seedlings ............... 67 irrigation ....................... 69 laying out and planting .......... 68 Nursery — continued Page pruning in 78 selection of site for 62 soil, preparation of 63 soil, proper for 61 trees, ages of 80, 81 trees, digging 98 trees, disinfecting 472 trees, selecting *. 97 when to plant 100 Nuts, growing in California 433 growing from seed 66 wild 40 Olives 344 at old missions 43 budding 348 canning 357 climate for 344 from cuttings 345 from seed 345 grafting 349 localities for 339 oil making 354 planting 351 preferred varieties 352 pruning 351 pickling. . 357 small cuttings 347 soils for 345 truncheons 347 twig borer 478 wild 40 varieties 199, 357 Orange 359 all the year from California 362 budding and grafting 371 California regions discussed 363 conditions for citrus fruits 365 diseases 382 distances for 371 from cuttings 70, 367 from layers 367 from seed 367 in Central California 364 in Southern California 364 mission 42 nursery 369 outlook 365 planting in orchard 372 product 53, 359 propagation 368 pruning 376 ripening first at the north 364 seedlings, care of 372 situations and soils f or 366 superiority of semi-tropical 362 transplanting 373 world's industry 359 varieties 200,383 Orchard land, preparation of 85 laying out in squares 88 alternating squares 89 equilateral triangles 89 measure and sight 87 measuring wire 87 INDEX Orchard land — continued quincunx planting 90 time for planting 100 Oregon grape 39 Oso berry 37 Palm nuts 40 Peach 238 age at planting ;.,; 243 approved lists of 199 blight 249 curl-leaf 249 diseases 249 distance in planting 243 dormant buds 244 drying 462 early bearing 238 grafting . : 248 growing season of 23 irrigation 248 localities for 240 longevity of 238 mildew 248 mission 42 moth 478 "peach almond" 243 pitting clings 462 propagation 242 pruning 116, 239, 245 renewal by cutting back 239 root borer 478 seedlings 65 soils for 241 stocks for 243 thinning 125, 247 varieties 199, 250 Peanut growing 451 Pear 259 Bartlett, why popular 260 blight 262, 265 characteristics in California 259 diseases 259 distances for 257 drying 461 dwarf 263 for alkali soil 255 gathering and ripening 268 irrigation 265 largest on record 259 localities for 260 mission 42 on quince stock 262 pollination 268 propagation of 262 pruning 264 seedlings, growing 64 slug 471 soils for •. 262 storing and ripening 267 thinning 265 varieties 199, 269 Pecan, The 452 Persimmon, Japanese 404 Persimmon, Virginian 404 Persimmon, curing 405 Phenomenal berry 425 507 Phosphates 152 Phylloxera 474 PJAeapple , , , . 405 Pine nuts 40 Pioneers, planting by 46 Pistachio, The 452 Planting, conditions favoring 85 bar for setting % cutting back after 105, 112 depth of 103 digging holes for '.[ 94 laying off for 87, 89 mulching 104 operation of 101 preparing land for 85 speed in 103 time for 100 triangular tree-setter 96 use of manure 103 use of water 102 Plow, laying off with 88 Plowing, devices for 132 orchard and vineyard 133 on hillside 134 to break hardpan 85 Plums and prunes 272 California false 37 confusion in names 278 definition of a prune 272 drying 463 from the root 274 grafting 276 in Southern California 273 length of season 272 localities for 272 mission 43 myrobalan 274 planting 275 pollination 281 propagation 273 pruning the 275 seedlings 65 stocks and soils 273 thinning 281 varieties 199, 281 wild 36 Plumcot, The 278 Pomegranate, The 43, 406 Pomelo 387 varieties 200,387 Popular fruit varieties 197 Potash 143 Powder for planting 94 Prickly pear 41, 407 Prune curing 46J Pruning 107 bearing trees 117 California style 110 effects of 123 gathering brush 126 influenced by location 107 low, advantages of 108, 109 nursery 78 prunings as fertilizer 1 purposes of 108 508 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM Pruning — continued Page times for 121 tools 125 to renew old trees 123 vase form, securing 115 wounds, covering 126 Quince 286 demand for 286 propagation 286 pruning 286 soils for 287 varieties 287 Quincunx planting 90 Rabbits, destroying 490 poisons for 491 smears for 490 Rainfall, records of 12 Rainfall or irrigation 163 Raisin making 465 Raspberry, The 423 black-caps 425 hybrids 426 pruning 424 varieties, popular 425 wild 38 Red spider 473 Root rot 488 Root-knots 488 Russian introduction of fruits 45 Salal.... 39 Salmon berry 38 Sapota, white 407 Scale insects 47$ Scions, care of 73 selection of 73 Sea Fig 40 Seed, growing trees from 65 Seedlings, imported 67 Septuple, laying off 89 Service Berry 39 Soils for fruits 25 adobe 33 alkali 34 alluvial 31 bed-rock or hard-pan 34 blasting 94 characteristics of California 26 classification of 28 clay ] 33 defective 33 desert 30 examination of 35 granitic 32 loams 28,29,32 mesa 30 organic matter 157 plains 29 red 32 river bottom 31 sedimentary or silty . 31 shallow blasting 94 Sour sap ' 452 Spider, red '.'.'.'.'.'. 473 Squares, laying off in '. 87 bquirrels, destroying 491 Stock, fruit as food for 499 Strawberry 426 care of 429 continuous bearing 430 laying out for 427 planting 429 propagation 427 situations and soils ....'; 426 varieties, popular 200, 431 wild 38 Strawberry tree 406 Summer pruning 120 Sunburn, protection from 105 Sunlight, value of direct 20 Sunshine, evaporating 452 records of 21 Temperature, lowest 18 records of 18 Thinning fruit 125 Thrips 472 Tomato, tree 408 Toyon 40 Trees, activity and rest of 17 heeling in 99 selecting 97 Tree-setters 96 Triangle for laying out 92 Tuna fruit 41 Tussock moth 471 Varieties, chiefly planted 194, 196 Vine hoppers 473 Vine-puller 61 Vineyard — see Grape Walnut, black 40 Walnut, English 439 bacteriosis or blight 483 bleaching 447 blossoms of 446 budding 441 culture and soils 440 gathering and drying 446 grafting. . 441 growing seedlings 68 product 51, 439 propagation and planting 441 pruning 445 soils 440 varieties 200, 447 wild 40 Water, measurements 190 Wax, grafting ^ . . . . 75 Weed killing by cultivation 141 Weeds, evaporation by 132 Weir measurement 192 What fruits to plant 198 Whitewash against sunburn 105 Whitewash to delay bloom 497 Wild fruits of California 36 Windbreaks 493 Winter-killing unknown 18 Wire, measuring 87 Woolly aphis 474 Wounds, covering 126 Yellow jackets, killing 480 FEB 18 1934 AUG SEP OCT 41! JAN 14 193) R1AR 7 88 YC 62C64 192.1 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY