Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-09-30

wa
which were fine looking samples of the
fruit. In the absence of Professor Hilgard,
who was kept away by the recent death of
his son in New York, Judge Stablef, of
Sutter county, presided.
NJ. a. Walter of Contra Costa county, A.
W. Foster of San Rafael, and c. T. Sadler
of Santa Clara county joined the Assccia-
ton.
Accompanying the grapes before men
toned was the following letter:
BARREN HILL NURSERY, I
NEVADA CITY, September 25 1859.
EdtCGrd j. WickSOn, Secretary State HOrticult-
urdt SCciety-DDAR SIR: To day send by ex-
press box containing samp es of grapes, not
precisely to show you what can be done in that
line right in the mountains at au elevation of
500 feet, but rather to show you what beautiful
and valuable varieties are some of those grapes
that have introduced from abroad. 3
The red is the Flame of Tokay, which, you will
notice, colors well in the mountains. The
white is the Blanc de Calabre, very fine and
good table variety, with tough stem and thick
skin, making it very nice shipping grape. In
the same compartment you VIII ind duly la
beled four punches OF Muscat Sarbelle, a
large and delicious Muscat. The blue is
the Ramona of Pennsylvania, very large
dark-blue grape and good eating grape. My
collection of grapes numbers 2Il varieties,
which l have divided into five classes, viz !:
Extra Early, Early, Medium, Medium Late and
Very Late. The four varieties contained in the
box belong to the fourth epoch of maturity or
medium late and at the altitude 1850 feet
ripen about the middle OF September. y
The Ramona always natures in this altitude
while the Cornichon and Emperor do not
Yours, very truly, FELIX GILLET
A discussion on the Kelsey plum en-
sued, the general tenor of the remarks be-
ing that it was one of the most profitable
fruits that could be grown in this State.
Robert Williamson of Sacramento said the
kelsey plum tree was the only japanese
variety that he would recommend. The
only way in which to obtain large tree
was to graft on six-year-old apricoIs. If it
is grated on nursery stock the tree will
never grow large. The plum is late one,
and the best shipping plum grown in this
State.
The subject of discussion for the after
noon was then taken up, but Robert Will
hanson of Sacramento was the only one
who spoke upon it. The subject was
What Fruits aud What Varieties are the
Best TO Plant this Winter" In introduc-
ing the subject Mr.. Williamson said that
one fruit was almost entirely overlooked
in California, and that was the apple.
Early apples could be grown at a good
profit in the Sacramento valley, and he in
stanced the fact that this fruit sold in the
San Francisco market this year for 81 to 81 80
per box, while in Denver as high as So per
box was paid for them. Even at this price
the fruit was not easily obtainable, and the
supply is growing scarcer every wear.
Winter apples would do well in the Sierra
and the Santa Cruz mountains, in the bay
counties and along the north Pacific coast.
h ar.ra, n
gon for this fruit VIXEN just as fine speci-
mems could be grown in this State. Fruit
growers were content to say that apples
could not be raised here and then let the
matter rest without trying. On account of
the Goblin moth the early apples might be
the more profitable, as the pests did not at
tack these trees as much as they did those
of later growth.
Peaches, also, would be good fruit to
plant this winter. The tree is a c0mpara-
lively short-lived one, and those planted
early in the history of the State are now
dying out. The tree is profitable one,
and there is never an oyerplus of the fruit.
OF the early varieties he preferred the Tus-
can Cling and the Early Crawford
Apricots are and always will be profit
able crop.
Prunes do well over a large area of the
State and there is always a demand for
them. Wherever they grow to advan-
tage orchardists cannot do better than
plant them. He believed the Silver prune
to be a better article than the French
prune, and was of the opinion that from
this time on, more of them would be
planted than of the latter variety.
Almonds pay well in some sections of
the State, but be would not recommend
their planting in Southern California. For
some reason they did not do well there,
and many orchardists were grubbiEg up
their trees. The best growing and most
prolific variety of this nut tree which
he had yet met he called the Texas
Prolific. He had found them near
Dallas, Texas, where they had been raised
from seedlings. Some few have been in
troduced into this State, but they are not
yet old enough to bear, and it might be
that the change would not be beneficial
one for them. He did not know, however,
that such would be the case, and hardly
thought it would.
The tree, par excellence, however, he
believed to be the fig, and he believed this
industry would be the largest in California.
He was in expectation OF seeing the time
when California FIGS, Taisins and prunes
would drive the imported articles from the
markets of the United States. The White
Adriatic and the Verdora were both good
figs, the latter, if anything, being the bet
ter. Externally they look alike, but while
the White Adriatic has q red inside, the
other has white meat. The San Pedro,
known es the White Smyrna, is the larges.
fig grown in the State. When artiacially
dried, it is one Of the finest looking of The
export figs, but it cannot be dried in the
sun. The common purple fig of California
is strong grower and an immense pro.
ducer, and even at three cents per pound
for the diied article is most
profitable tree. The White Isthmus is a
good fig. The Pacific White would be an
extraordinary good fig if it were not for its
tough skin. If some means could be
found for softening this, the tree would be
much more valuable. The Bulletin import.
alton of tlg cuttings, he knew of but two
trees which did not drop their fruit before
coming to maturity. These trees were Sc
cured from his orchard, along with several
others, by Mr.. Parker of Penryn. The
tree was heavily wooded one, a strong
grower and the fruit exceptionally fine
He had within a short time set out
several of these trees which did moi
mature iii his Sacramento orchard, neal
Penryn, and hoped in a short time to be
able to tell whether it YVES locality and
climate which had prevented the fruit from
maturing. The best country for the fig he
believed to be the foothills of the Sierra
where the soil was of granite formation
One other tree which had been imported
to this State from Southern Europe was
doing exceedingly well and promising even
better. He referred TO the olive, which
will do well at many places in California
So far, the majority of the olive groves
have been planted along the coast, but this
is not the best locality for the tree. BE
believed in planting it back in the Sierra
foothills in the same kind of soil as that
used for the fig. Here the trees
were not troubled with the fog, and
We're more healthy, while they yielded
jus. az heavy crops and were Just
as rich in oil. The old Spanish or
Mission olive he believed to be the best.
notwithstanding the fact that many new
varieties had been imported of late. The
picholine olive has got black eye, which
it did not deserve. 10 be sure the fruit is
small. but the trees can be planted closer
together, and for twenty years an acre OF
the picholine variety will outyield, both in
weight of fruit and quantity of oil, an acre
of trees of the Spanish variety. After
twenty years, however, if there we're any
advantage, he believed it would be with
the Spanish uees.
Before Mr.. Williamson resumed his seat
cue of the growers present asked him why
be did not mention the orange. The
r. -. = a. / = -