Los Angeles daily herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1873-1876, 1874-04-08
PROFITS OF ORANGE CULTURE.


ject by local and other writer's. On
one point they all agree, which is the
fact that the culture of oranges, LEM
ons, lines, etc., is very profitable. A
recent correspondent for one of the
Chicago papers says that the whole
thing is over-estimated, and would
lead his readers to suppose that posi-
bly, the profit was very little greater
than for ordinary products.
Yesterday we sent our 'locar' out
to collect the facts from the orange
growers and from the fruit stands
where the fruit was bought and sold.
w. Workman, who owns an orchard
of sixty lime trees on the east bank OF
the Los Angeles river, states that the
trees are from to Is years old, that
the lime tree commences to bear at
five years old from the seed. His fif-
teen year old trees are in flower, bud
and fruit all the year round. The ripe
fruit is gathered every week. The
yield per year pei tree is $500, and
sells at for ten to fifteen dollars per
thousand. The product Of single tree
has been known to amount to fifty
dollars in single year. About three
hundred trees can be planted to the
acre. He has one hundred and seven
ty-five lemon trees fifteen years old.
The average return from the sale of
the fruit nets fifteen dollars per tree,
about two thousand lemons per tree.
About one hundred and fifty orange
trees are in bearing condition and yield
ten dollars worth of fruit per tree.
For large bearing trees the yield is one
thousand to fifteen hundred each.
They can bear three thousand, but the
fruit in such cases is small. His bear
ing trees occupy six acres, and he has
planted out young orchard of twenty
acres.
III. D. Barrows' Sicily lemon
trees are twelve years old. The crop
last year sold for fifteen hundred dol
lars. The proceeds per tree were
thirty-eight dollars, coin. The lemon
begins to bear at five years old. His
orange trees commenced to bear at
from eight to nine years from the seed.
They come into full bearing at ten
years; from that time to fifteen years
old the yield increases about fifty per
cent, and at twenty reaches what may
be termed the maximum. A small
increase may be expected after that
age. Some trees yield over two thou
sand; his neighbor counted twenty
five hundred on one tree. Some old
trees, seventy years old, have been
known to yield five thousand oranges.
By careful grating the trees can be
brought into bearing two or three years
earlier. Citrons can be made an i'm
portant trade. They come into bear
ing at about three years and bear very
politically; will grow, like a willow,
from the cutting.
S. Wolfskill says that the Wolf
skill orchard in this city con-
tains thirty acres of trees, now
about twenty years old. Last year and
this year the trees were pruned
very close and the crop was not SO
large as usual. The income has been
in the past from $1,000 to $4,000
per year from the thirty acres. Be
sides the orchards above referred to
there are the large orchards of L. j.
Rose and B. d. Wilson near the Mis-
sion San Gabriel, the yield Of which is
reported much above the foregoing.
Mr.. Childs has large orange orchard
in this city which has been well Guilt
waited and which yields very heavily.
The orange crop usually sells at from
SIS to $25 per 1000 on the trees, owing
to whether the fruit is large or small.
At SIS per 1000, or one-half a cent
each, the crop will pay on an orchard
of ten years old $3.50 per acre. The
trees will yield about 1000 each, fifty
to the acre. The building Of railroads
to the interior States and Territories
will open up a market which cannot
be oversupplied even at the present
prices. The crop is one that keeps
well. The ripe fruit remains on the
trees without injury from January
until June. They have a very thick
skin and bear transportation remarka-
bly, well. Mr.. Halves carried box of
them from Los Angeles to New York,
thence back to Nashville, Tenn. On
arriving at the latter place the fruit
was perfectly sound and in fine condi-
ton; at least that was the verdict Of
those who ale the fruit. By using
windmills to pump up the water to
irrigate with, there can be had thous-
ands of acres suitable for the cult va
ton of the semi-troplcal fruits. This
will always be one of our most impor-
tant industries.