Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1873-08-16

But all this is widely foreign to the
relation of green leaves and "sunny
vines " and sparkling lights of which
promised to write about in my last let
ter l oughtn't to have made that pro-
mise: for, when n promise has grown
cold it is dreadfuily tedious thing to
fulfill it; and to sit down deliberately to
write as one is expected to write, gush-
ingly, that is, of trees and leaves and
those delicate natural objects of which
poets have sung SO much and SO vari-
ously is a stint which one must have
more courage and more glibness OF touch
and speech than l can command to I'M
dertake with deliberatlon and malice
aforethought. But l will do my best to
rid myself, decently, of this task; and
that will be an end of it.
Careful observers who had a habit of
walking round about the neighborhood
of the Episcopal Church in Carson, last
year, will remember the castor bean
plant which then grew SO handsomely in
Mr.. Rigby's garden. 1t was more like
young fig tree than any bean l had ever
seen before; but when the frost came in
the autumn it was all at once blackened
and shrivelled and cut off from the
glories of the vegetable kingdom. Why
/ mention this will be understood when
l saw that within a hundred yards of
where write are two castor bean trees
real, sure-enough trees, with trunks as
big as my leg-the fat part Of it, I mean
and branches which spread out later
ally and upwards full twenty feet. I
have possessed myself of some of its
pods which shall detain as witnesses of
the truth of what say.
Another among our passengers from
San Francisco was Mr.. Packard, a
wealthy man, q lawyer, whose residence
is here. The other day rode through the
extensive graperies and orchards. Here
are acres upon acres of vines bending
under their heavy burdens of grapes;
long avenues of the dark-leafed, compact
growing orange tree with golden fruit
hanging, gorgeous, against the deep
green foliage and its shadows; the null
berry, in its profusion of leaf is here in
deep jungles; almond trees with their
stunted peach looking fruitage: and the
olive tree with its hard,
shiny green fruit-these and the luxu-
rant, rich, tropical looking fig tree, all
50 extensively planted and SO mature
and far-stretching as to make long and |
interesting carriage drive, these are
arborescent glories well worth the COM
ng here to see.
And yet there are trials of climate and
disastrous incidents to the vineculturists
md the tree-grower even here. Some
Tears an unusual excess of fogs causes
he vines and grapes to be widowed; the
vine made hereabout, very delicate and
much priced is very difficult of preserva-
ion; the unusual drouth of this year
,auses a short crop of almonds; and last
,sar there came a visitation of millions
# millions of minute insects which
;ettled upon the olive trees and made it
,eedful to their preservation that their
ops be all Topped off. But when these
dive trees are in full bearing they yield
very profitable crop-as also do almond
rees-and the English walnuts, which
rich leafed tree like to have
orgotten. Mr.. Packard tells me that
he olive oil produced here is of very
uperior quality and that it retains its
weetness for two years from the time Of
IS expressing.
1 have been invited to go to Santa
,osa Island and take look at the great
heep ranch of the Moore Brothers
here; and if go Gas 1 am likely to, to-
,orrow) you won't hear again from me
IL return from that interesting place.
II.