Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-03-20

shine on every day in their pursuits,
and it has kindled warmth and love in
my heart for Iowa that will last with
life and makes me feel akin to every
man, woman and child that halls from
that State.
1t has been ever source of pleasure
to mark your rapid progress. To sec
the magic change you have created in so
short a time, and every time l ride
through your hedge-lined streets and
look at your beautiful homes and charm
ing surroundings, it seems the work Of
the magician who has created all this
delightful change by the waving of his
magic wand.
1t seems only yesterday when this was
a wild, unduating plain of verdure,
where the native wild horse and cattle
roamed at will, where at rare intervals
one would possibly meet some gay
Vaquero no, with broad brimmed hat
and jingling spurs, circled over hill and
dale in pursuit of some band of horses.
Even the wild Indian yet claimed this as
his domain and it was not over safe to
be alone here where now are reared
beautiful cottages, where now Pomona
lavishes her choicest gifts of every cline,
here where the hand of woman trains
the honeysuckle, the jessamine and the
rose.
Although by reason of my life being
such busy one / have not been asso-
oiated intimately with you, yet have
watched this progress you have made
this transformation scene--with ever in
creasine pleasure, and although | have
ever been believer in the great future
of our country; have ever believed that
this is the most favored land in the
world; yet yor have taught me q still
higher appreciation Of its great possi-
bilities. 1t is only as ii it were yester.
day when all this neighborhood and
other like localities was considered of
no value, excepting with an occasional
year when barley might be grown.
That it would become the land for the
vino, the fig or the orange never entered
the philosophy OF the early settler. Then
it was considered a necessity that q
perfect food of water was required
to grow anything, and for man to
raise even melons or any other vegeta-
bles required constant irrigation. Now
all this is changed. Now the vine, the
fig, the peach, the apricot, pear, apple,
melou-n fact almost avery production
of the Temperate or Tropio zone-are
produced here in marvellous perfection
without irrigation. 1t is you and Others
like you who have taught us these pos
sibilities. 1t was your faith and pluck
that have changed this wide expanse of
almost desert into a paradise, and
changed values in only few years a
thousand fold.
| am invited here to say something
about fruit and its culture, but / feel
that you are more able to teach than |
to instruct, and can only repeat what
you already know.
The first care is to plant such varie-
ties as the public buy most readily.
Take the orange, the Washington No
vel stands far above any other variety.
You are aware that there are two varie-
ties or more of navel, and that the
Washington is much finer in appearance
and, too, in quality. The Mediter.
ranean Sweet is, too. a valuable variety,
ON account of keeping and ripening late,
and remaining firm long after other
varieties become soft. The blood red is
novelty which will always find buyers,
whilst for large crop per acre the seed
ling will always out-rank all Others.
In lemons the Eureka and true Sicily
will remain favorites. Although we find
that variety makes less difference than
formerly supposed, we find that all
lemons, like most pears, must be
picked before thoroughly ripe, and
that the proper size - such sizes
as the trade requires, say from $50 to
300 to the box, are more important to
have in view when picking than any
other condition, except that lemons
must not be over.ripe. When picked in
the proper stage of maturity and left ex.
posed to the free circulation of air, they
go through their heating and sweating
and become soft, shrinking in size by
thinning of the rind and maturing their
juices, when they can be put away in
some cool, dry place and kept.
Where it is true that the citrus family
will ever be the principal fruit, it will
require, too, other kinds of fruits in
order to fully occupy your time on your
small holdings. l consider the grape in
dustry second to none other, but with
you it will be secondary without you
should get winery, which will proba-
bly, not command your attention, and for
this reason the grape will be secondary
with you, and be used, perhaps for dry
ing mostly. Our climate here is not
sufficiently dry for the curing OF raisins
to advantage, but it is found that grapes
for raisins can be grown in favorable To-
calties for their growth and taken by
rail where the winds and sun are so
desiccating and the rains so rare that
| even the most favored localities will use
| these favored places, and nearly all the
raisin-drying will be done on the desert.
Besides, look forward to when much
attention will be paid to the growing of
grapes for shipment, and such varieties
as the Flaming Tokay, Muscat of Alex
andria, Black Farrar, the Emperor and
others will always command a good
price in the eastern markets.
The peach, the neetarine, the apricot,
the pear, the apple, English walnuts,
the olive, will all add to the varieties to
ill every moment of your time with
pleasant occupation. OF course you
know that the Bartlett, the Winter Mel.
lis and Easter Beurre pears are the prof
liable standard varieties, and that the
White Winter Pearmain, the Bellfower
and Newton Pippin apples grow here
and bear to perfection.
You will, too, grow the various ber-
res, and the refreshing and fragrant
strawberry can be made to deck your
board every day in the year. Truly it
is hard TO stop, when thinking OF the
various luxuries which Pomona gives to
all oar land 1t is not to be wondered
that Californians are charged with talk
ing nothing but California, and that it is
thought at times that they are over
enthusiastic. Bat they have something
to boast about, and, to tell the simple
truth, may seem like boasting to those
who have not been favored by having
been here or who do not reside in Cali
fornis.
Time has only permitted mr. to skim,
as it were, about this subject of fruit
growing. 1t is so full of details and
varied that il would require book to do
it justice,
For this there is no time on such an
occasion where your productions are on
exhibition and showing for itself that you
do not wish prosy details which you
show by the fruit and beauty OF flowers
you exhibit that You have already mas
tered this subject and show by yOur re-
suits here that you are the teachers and
your visitors the taught
thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for
your attention.
OTHER SPEAKERS.
Rev. NJ. N. Cornelius followed with
discourse which was devoted largely to
temperance, the speaker taking strong
prohibition grounds.
Mrs. J. C. Carr made an interesting
and practical address on fruit culture.
She endorsed the apricot and orange as
the most profitable fruits for cultivation
| in the San Gabriel Valley.
During the discussion on citrus culture
Mrs. Carr referred to the extension of
the citrus belt, and the assurance felt by
the growers in the northern part Of the
| State that their country was included