Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-04-18
THE RANCH.
The Rainfau-Crop rospects-GenerS.
Farming Jnterests.


The RainfaIl-Crop Pr ospects-Genero'. 1
Farming J.nterests.
There has been n lore or less ralniao dur
ing the present GEEK in most parts OF the
State. The reports from many Localities
are that a sufficient supply OF rain has now
fallen % insure fine crops, while IN other
sect ons it has been only enough to be of
temporary benefit. Flowing of vineyards
and orchards, which had been suspended
nv reason of the around being too hard to
work has been largely resumed. The
prospects may be said to be good for con-
tinuance of the showery weather. and this
promises good crops generally and pros
porous year. The having season bids fair
to be somewhat delayed, as the growth of
grain has been very slight, for want OF
moisture, during the past few weeks, to
what it would otherwise have been. but
with a good soaking rain now, 1t will take
new start, and thus be longer in matur-
ing The fruit crop is most promising, as
a rule. and with ordinary prices, the cash
product in the State will be very large.
PURE WATER FOR HORSES.
An exchange SAYS, with much truth, that
MANY farmers are too careless about proyld-
ing good watering places and good water
for their horses Very often farm horses
are compelled to drink from creeks and
brooks. which are liable TO run low IN the
summer season, when the water becomes
low and unfit for any living thing TO drink.
Even this may do for horses that are In
pasture, but when horses that work hard
,>nlln Cd 70 q
such places, it is not only inhuman, but
improbable as we'll Not only wells OF
good water should be provided, but good
troughs SO arranged that the water left in
from one time to another can be drained
off and fresh supply furnished before the
horses are allowed to drink. Good pure
water is as essential for the welfare of the
horse as good food, and no other essential
is so easily provided Reno Gazette.
DISASTER TO APRICOT TREES.
H. Thoma, of Visalia, writes TO the
Rural Press as follows: " l have just re-
turned from a tour of inspection of the
orchards III Tulare and Fresno counties,
and find the apricot trees from two to live
years old dying.to an alarming extent. In
some orchards the top is One-fOurth of the
trees. After careful examination | find
that in all instances, whether the trees have
been grated on the peach, plum or almond,
that the roots below the graft or bud seem
to be perfectly healthy and the disease en-
tirely in the apricot wood. Where the
land is the warmest and most sandy the
percentage of loss is the greatest-in fact,
but few have died on heavy, cold soil. In
some instances one-half of the tree will die
and the remainder of the branches appear
healthy. There has been sufficient vitality
in the trees to bring out the leaves over the
ot,A nf the terminal hgIdS have
made growth of two inches, and in some
instances the fruit is as large as quail eggs.
A great many of the trees are bursting out
buds through the heavy bark foot OF so
above the union of the buds and roots |
have not heard from any other portion of
the State except this county and Fresno;
the loss in these counties Will be heavy. ]
think the cause is climatic, and give this as
my theory for what it is worth: The past
season was very favorable for tree growth,
and the trees grew vigorously. The rain
came early in the fall, which kept them
growing too late to mature the wood, and
about the first of February the weather was
quite warm, which started the sap to flow
ing, and after this we had some cold
weather, which congested the sap and
caused it to sour, hence the death Of the
trees ! come to this conclusion from the
fact that the sander and warmer the land
the greater TIE percentage VI NCtilis III
some instances | have seen, where a sand
streak runs through an orchard, all the
trees on the sand are dead or dying, while
the trees on the heavy ground, within
twenty feet Of them, are not affected. The
apricot crop here is quite light. The trees
were full Of fruit buds. but they did not
bloom out l account for that from the fact
that the trees grew very late and thrifty, and
we had an unusually early frost last fall,
which killed the buds before they matured.
So many apricot trees dying is quite alarm
ing. and we fruit-growers would like the
opinion of anyone expressed freely as 10
what they think is the cause
THE BIGGEST BUTTER RECORD.
A Jersey COW in Hamilton, Ont, owned
by V L. Fuller, has produced So pounds,
l2i ounces OF butter in seven days. The
test was made by 4 committee of the Amer
lean Jersey Cattle Club, and it began Sep
TENDER %, 1884. The COW was 81 years
old and the care and feeding were at the
pleasure of her owner. She was fed on rich
food before the test began, having in view
the production of the largest possible
amount Of cream. When the test began
she was in a poor pasture, bat her feed was
as follows Twenty quarts ground oats 10
quarts peameai, 3 quarts ground oilcake, ,
quarts wheat bran; and this was increased
up to about 50 quarts per day, the compost
ton of the above food being varied. She
was also fed small quantity of roots and
cabbages and n few apples. She always
appeared, excepting once, greedy for her
food. This was divided up into five or
seven feeds. This feed must have cost
about 81 - a day. Her butter yield would
bring about 81 IS. This is not a very profit
able business. a COW that would make two
pounds of butter 4 day on average feed,
costing from 70 to - cents day, would be
more profitable. This one COW is worth
more as a curiosity. and her record as an
example of what can be done, than for any
profit 10 be got from her Lowell Courier.
MULBERRY TREES.
Mulberry trees grow rapidly from cut
tings. They attain large size and their
dense. bright green foliage makes them very
desirable fer timber shade or ornament
But the best varieties are more valuable for
their enormous yield Of fruit. | have
tree six years old, from a cutting of the
Hicks variety, tenincheS in diameter, thirty
feet tall, twenty feet spread of top, that
bore twelve bushels OF berries, some of
them two inches long, last summer. This
variety is insipid, but is greedily eaten by
fowls and hogs and supplying, rs they can
be made 70 do, chicken and hog feed for the
two months preceding harvest, they are a
valuable adjunct to farm products. All
the dark-f ruted varieties attract birds,
alluring them away from cherries and other
early fruits. BY this means | have saved
hundreds of pounds Of cherries every year,
while my neighbors, having no mulberry
protection against birds, never get a cherry.
-. Nisalia Delta.