Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-10-04
CALIFORNIA FRUITS.
THE APPLE, ALMOND, FIG, OLIVE.
 AND WALNUT.
Another Interview with J. NJ. Hixson, the
 Experienced Expert.
los Angeles Commercial Bulletin.

Los Angeles tOlnniSfclal BullSliu
 What do you think of California as an apple-producing country and the profits upon applesF
 The apple has always been standard and paying fruit on this coast, from early times, when they retailed for si each. to the present time, provided the right varle- ties were propagated, in suitable soil and location, and convenient to cheap trans pOrtation to market. At the same time that there have been large profits to many growers of apples there have been more acres of unremunerative apple orchards than of almost any fruit grown in Cali fornia, owing to the poor varieties planted in locations not adapted to that specles ot fruit and selection of the varieties often entirely different from what should have been planted. Some varieties require a much greater amount of moisture than others, and will succeed where there is a great amount of fog, while others do best iu high attitudes and dry climate. As a rule, after leaving the fogs from the ocean, 1 would seek an elevation about the snow line for apples. One of the causes of the unprotitable apple orchards was that many were planted before fruit was the great article of commerce 1t has now become, and those planting did not have the experience of others to guide them as to varieties that would succeed like those following them, who planted largely of peaches, apricots, cherries, and other fruits from which such large profits have been made. Had the varieties adapted to the soil and climate been planted and those in blocks, so economy could have been practiced in cultivation and gather ,.na,,lt xx-..,ll hox-a haa1, IIf ferent. On going into many orchards one found tree or two of Early Harvest at the southeast corner, perhaps a few trees of Red June at the northwest corner, an Astracan ill an other direction at the extreme edge of ten or twenty-acre orchard, and thus 1t goes through the en- tire catalogue the season through. And the party planting had to have Ill his list when planting every variety laid down in Downing and a few other varieties raised at the old homestead where he came from If you have suitable location se- lect a good early variety, a couple of good fall varieties, and two or more good late varieties, plant them in blocks and you will find profit in the apple like pota- toes everybody wants apples. As to this state producing good apples l will relate an incident that happened while 1 was doing business ip Chicago. Two of my neighboIs. on South Water street, han dled large amounts of eastern apples from different states. When we commenced to receive cherries, large, red luscious plums, etc, these neighbOrs would look at, and admire them and remark: You can raise very fine stone fruit in California, but you cannot raise apples" Our reply would be, if they were to see some of our apples we thought they would change theiI mind on that subject, not expecting that they would have an opportunity to do SC at their door. It was not long before we received a dispatch from large apple grower in Marin county saying: Ship ped car of 556 boxes of Gravenstein ap- ples.' This looked very much like ship ping coals to Newcastle, as my neighbOrs were selling apples which they claimed to be so much superior to California apples at from $1.25 to SI75 per barrel When the car arrived tEe apples opened out fine: we sold them out Iii a few days from Si.JU to $1.75 per box, box holding about one third as much as barrel. Then l wanted to know what they thought of California apples, and their reply was we give 1t up With the same attention given to planting apples that there has been to some other varieties there would be large and permanent profits from them"
 What do you think of the almond as q profitable crop"
 10 commence with. the planting ot the almond, 1t has pot been a paying crop. Perhaps no other tree disappoint ed the planters as much as the almond, a: all appeared to be sanguine of it's success and large sums were expended planting 1 know one party who planted 30,000 al mond trees at an expense of Sl each, bu they never paid and they have all beer grubbed up. Many who had fine, thrift, trees concluded to graft the apricot ol ! them. but they soon found that would not do, as both woods being hard they diC not mite and would split. Then wha was called double working was adopted The Hungarian pr1ne was grafted on tn almond, and that being soft and vigor CHS grower united readily. The mex
 year the apricot was huddad Gp the Hun garian, and ill this way a good aprico | tree was secured. When the Erencl
 prune-the d'Agen, the present fruit 0 commerce-began to attract attention | that was grafted on the non-prodncinJ
 almond and succeeded well, and man
 orchardists have made a success in tha
 way. Investigations were started as t
 the cause of the failure of the almon
 from which so much was expected. was found different varieties of the hard
 shell bore we'll In orchards that con
 tained the hardshell, that blQomed at tn
 same time as the Languedoc, it WIS foun
 that the Languedoc bore fairly well, an
 that variety being the one mostly plante
 and the one depended upon for prof
 parties who still chung to the almon
 commenced to have hope of the succes
 of the fruit on which they had banked $
 long. About this time one of the wide
 awake and most successful orchardist propagated a hundred seedlings frol
 which he obtained four varieties he ha
 been budding from, and now he can plaI
 an almond orchard of either of those for
 seedlings or the Languedoc, mixed i
 with hardshells for fertilizers, with q
 much certainty of getting a crop, as
 can from the apricot or peach, provide
 all the conditions of soil and climate al
 suitable, and there Is a vast amount land that is suitable and where the a
 mond and one or two other varieties fruit can be grown, proftably, whi other fruits could not. 1 once asked
 gentleman, who had large almond O
 chard on very steep hillside, if his 0
 chard was a success; his reply was tn the rstg!H Was not all he would like, bl he thought better than he could get fro that class of land planted ill anything els
 One need have no fear of over-stockiI the market with almonds"
 , What do you think of the future the fig industry"
 , II think it good, # is one of the comir 9 fruits; as a commercial fruit it has not a r tained any considerable prominence , California. The black fig, known as u i Spanish or Mission fig, has been grov
 in California for 100 years around Il
 missions, and since the Americans COT
 menced settling in the valleys, on comil
 down from the gold diggings in the mou tajps, they have planted the fig in almo every class of land and condition of st and climate, and 1t has always borne fru I | A great many varieties have been add Il from time to time, but little attention h l. been given to the curing, either drying | crysialigipg, until recently. In 1882 ! | travelled all over the Atlantic states hun ing for markets for California produc r which had begun to show signs of ovt Y, production. Prior to leaving home I h n received a sample of dried, or more pro V eTly speaking, cured figs from one of I # customers, asking my advice as to paC o ing, etc. There was no bragging abo a their superiority, but as they were bett q than any l had ever seen 1 took the ;- with me. l packed few ip small T. Il l.