Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-03-15
Farm AND ORCHARD.
PLANTING OF ORANGES GROVES IN
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA.
Importance of Fertilizing Dry Preserv-
ing Fruit-single Eye Potato
Cuttings-Farm Notes.

| 1t is a mistake to suppose that valley
lands are not suitable for orange culture.
The orange lands of Southern California
are chiefly level or gently sloping plains or
| table lands, known as ''mesas" in that part
of the State. OF course, orchard sites in
our valleys must be carefully chosen, just
as in the hill lands. Low, wet lands are
to be avoided, on account of the coldness
of the soil and the liability to FROST But
deep, rich valley soils, such as are known
as sandy loans, or clay loans having a
mixture Of fine gravel, so as to give good
drainage, are well suited to the orange.
Good drainage is essential 1t is for this
reason that hard-pan near the surface is
unfavorable for the best success with the
orange.
The foothills of this part of the State
furnish innumerable sites for orange or
chards, and have the great advantages of
superior drainage and warmth and poros-
| ity of soil. But the greater richness of
the valley lands, in general, gives bal
ance Of advantages.
| Orange trees may be planted as late as
the month of June; in fact, that time is
preferred by many persons experienced in
the culture of the tree.
The profit of orange-growing is likely to
remain very good, and there is no fruit
likely to give greater satisfaction to the
grower in this part of the State, if orchard
sites are chosen with good judgment, and
the requisite care given TO the trees. As
the oranges of Northern California, owing
to their early ripening, can all be mar
keted in advance of the crop of Southern
California, our growers will be virtually
free from competition with that section.
| They can dispose of their crop at high
prices in November or early in December,
and escape all danger of injury to the fruit
from frost, something which, however, is
rarely to be apprehended.
The Appeal urges more attention to
orange culture in this part of the State, as
a thoroughly practical and exceedingly
profitable branch of horticulture There
are fortunes to be made in it for those who
have the necessary skill and enterprise to
take advantage Of the present golden op-
pcrtunities. Those who are disposed to
slight the orange as commercial product
lose sight of the fact that California is find
ing a ready sale for 5000 carloads of the
fruit annually, which is about 900 car
loads more than the total quantity of all
the deciduouS fruits, such as peaches, pears,
| grapes, ETC., annually shipped from this
State to the Eastern markets in a fresh
condition.
This State of itself affords fine home
market for hundreds of carloads of oranges.
There were no less than 1S5 carloads of
oranges received at San Francisco in a
period of thirty days since January last,
and more of the fruit is constantly arriv-
ing there. Yet the prices continue to be
such as to afford large profits to growers
and shippers.-Nary8riNe appeal.
IMPORTANCE OF FERTILzING.
An acre of land may be induced to yield
crops that apparently could not be pro-
duced on such limited space, and under the
stimulus of competition and awards many
surprises have been made the past year 1t
has been demonstrated that, with proper
cultivation and the application of fertiliz-
ers without limit, the yield of q measured
plat far exceeds the yield of an entire
field As many as LOCO bushels of potatoes
have been grown on an acre, proportion
| ately to area cultivated, and more than 200
bushels of corn have also been produced.
Although this necessitateS a heavy ex-
pense, vet there has always been profit in
proportion to the cost. The methods
adopted in some of the dairy districts of
Holland, Denmark and France are such as
to allow of large profits in the face of
heavy rents, while in England the sheep
| gives large return on land that rents for
more than the cost of farm here.
In some of the European dairy districts
the COWS are given pasture by growing a
supply of green feed, cutting it, and feed
ing it to the cattle, but in some localities a
piece of land is divided into four or
five plats, and after the first crop is cut
| the cows are allowed the run of the plat
| While the COWS are on this plat the
food is being grown on the others, and
| in this manner the COWS are changed
from one plat to another, the plat
from which they were recently re-
moved being plowed and seeded down
again. 1t does not, under this system,
necessitate the seeding down of grass, but
of any quick-growing grain or vegetable
As soon as the green food reaches the stage
at which it can be cut it is used, as it is
not necessary for it to mature At the
same time grain is fed at the barn. Ia this
manner a small plat not only supports
more COWS than when they were turned
out to pasture, but the land is manured by
| the cattle at the same time, the plowing
of the plat turning the manure under to be
mingled with the soil. As farms in this
country are large, the necessity for the
European system has not been impressed
on our farmers, but that it would be
adopted here by some, if they were aware
of its advantages, there is no doubt
| la England no attention is given the
production Of wool, though wool is, Of
course, one of the natural productions from
sheep They use only the large mutton
breeds, and hurdle them on small plats,
using movable hurdles. Turni ps are grown
largely for sheep, and every inch of the
land is used. Quick-growing soiling crops
are grown, and the sheep confined SO as to
concentrate the manure on small plats. In
this manner a small plat can be made to
yield large profit, and this is made mani
fest by the fact that the English farmer
pays his rent by the use Of sheep, and at
the same time keeps his land in the high
est condition of fertility Philadelphia
Record.
DRY PRESERVING FRUIT.
The following method of drying fruit
has been handed to us by gentleman, an
amateur in the business, with the sugge--
ton that some of our larger operators
| might try it another season:
For choice dried peaches he selects the
largest and best clingstones he can find.
These are peeled, split, pitted and then
put into a white sugar syrup, such as Is
used for canning. The syrup is allowed to
come to boil, when the fruit is inmedi-
diately taken cut and placed on wooden
trays in the sun, where it is dried four
days Tin trays, kept bright and clean,