The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1870-01-19
Ausb aHdty
Miscellaneous Items.

The monthly report of the Department OF
Agriculture for November and December has
been received from Washington city. We
extract the following items:
Melons and Fruits IN Cdlitornia.-A cor
respondent, writing from Chico, California,
in reporting his success with seeds sent from
this Department, states that several varie-
ties of the cantaIoupe seed produced melons
which the world cannot surpasS, the Japan
White cantaloupe,' the 'Cassaba cantaloupe,
and the 'Phinney's Early watermelon, being
particularly fine The 'Cassaba' Imported
from Smyrna) produced the finest melons
ever grown on this continent, being as far
superior to the choice Hunter melon as the
latter is to the common muskmelon. The
whole appropriation made by Congress for
your Department is repaid by the introduc-
ton of this one excellent variety of melon"
In reference to the shipping of California
fruits to eastern markets, he adds:
Without railroad our choicest fruits
command one and half to three cents per
pound, while with a railroad we could obtain
six to twelve cents per pound. The railroad
will soon be completed to Chico. Shipping
fruit East has been failure thus far. This
result is owing entirely to want of know
ledge on the subject. Most of the fruit
shipped has been picked while green, and
being poorly packed, has been lost before it
reached the eastern markets. There can be
no question that our apricots, cherries, pom
egranates, pears, and grapes can be laid in
New York in good condition and command
high prices, but the science of picking and
packing must first be understood.
OrangeS-Putnani County, Ha.-The on.
ly crop with us that exceeds an average is
the orange crop, and the quantity upon the
trees is truly surprising and is without pre-
cedent. Of lemons and lines there are
scarcely any, the frost having destroyed the
fruit buds, though it did not generally injurt
the trees.
Scuppernong Grape-MOwan County
~ C-The grape crop is very fine. There
is black Scuppernong vine in Mr.. Cannon
vineyard that measures four feet in circum
ference, two and half feet from the ground
1t is forty-fve years old from the seed ant
is supported by 70 posts; yields los bushels
of grapes, from which Mr.. G. makes 315 gal
Ions of wine.
CaIfornia.-A San Francisco correspon
dent states that his company have ordered
fifty thousand ramie roots from New Or
leans, which will be planted in moist SOIL
The company have contracted with an Eng
lish house to take all they can produce. Tn,
company are also setting out twenty thous
and cuttings Of yellow ozier They alsc
have large quantity of madden seed com
ing from France, and six barrels of whit
Silesian sugar beet seed, sugar cane, anc
bamboo, from the Sandwich Islands ant
China, which are to be planted. 1t is statet
that fifteen thousand gallons of fine sorghum
strip is now in the market.
The Buena Vista vineyard, California
has produced this year about fifty four thous
and gallons of wine, against ninety-eigh
thousand last year, when the grape crop wa
unusually large. The amount of sparkling
wine put up this year is fifty thousand bot
ties.
st. Johns Ri'ver. Recent exploration ha
practically demonstrated that the st. John
River, Florida, is navigable for steamers BIZ
miles The steamer Pannasofka, with ;
party under Or. Moragne, president of tn
Inland Navigation Company, landed engi
neers on Lake Washington, at the distance
named from the mouth of the river. From
Lake Washington the party made tour o
inspection to Indian River, six miles distant
The lake is about ten miles long and fv
miles wide. The lakes through which tn
party passed are described as beautiful, an'
the country as much diversified.
Fruit IN 0hiO.-The assessor returns 70
1870 shows the acreage in apple, peach ant
pear orchards in Ohio to have been, in roun,
numbers, 100000. Apples produced 10,
100000 bushels; peaches, l, 450, 900 bushels
pears, $4,000 bushels; total, 11,525,00'
bushels. For 1867 the figures are, numbe
of acres, 342,512; apples produced, II,
637. 515 bushels; peaches, 500, 499 bushels
pears, 66,712 bushels; total, 12,203,79
bushels. Estimating the apples at fifty cent
per bushel, the value of this crop for 1856
would amount to nearly six million dollars
the peaches at one dollar and fifty cents, t
nearly one million dollars; and the pear GRO
at one dollar and fifty cents, to nearly on
hundred thousand dollars; making an aggre
gate of over seven millions of dollars TIL
average product of the orchards of the Stat
in 1867 was only thirty bushels per acre
and for 1868 only thirty,six bushels pc
acre. Allowance should, of course, be mad
for the young orchards not yet in bearing
In what are termed the "bearing years" tn
average product is about fifty bushels pc
acre; in the alternate years, only twenty
making general average of thirty five bush
els to the acre. Adding five per cent. a
allowance for orchards not yet in bearing
the average would be thirty-six and three
fourths bushels per acre.
From this statement it is evident that the profit
of growing fruits in Ohio are very small. Virgini
can do far better than that, and five orange trees
Florida would be worth more than an acre of appl
trees in 0hio.-CEN Pres.