The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-06-03
ALAMEDA COUNTY,
The Condition Of the Fruit Crop.
Notes From Niles.

In patches, so to speak, and while large
areas in different portions are already
| covered, and have been for years, with pro-
| ductive orchards, a neighboring section,
| with perhaps just as good fruit land, will
| still be devoted 10 grain or grapes. 1t is
well, however, to know that while one tract
may produce fruit the very next piece will
not. That fact is strikipgly illustrated on
the road to the Mission from Niles. The
| lowest point on the road is about a mile and
| halt out OF town, just south Of Mrs. Myers
| Only very narrow strip is left next to the
hills upon which vegetables are grown and
fine almond orchard is growing. Finer
vegetable or grain land could not be found.
| Trees may do nicely two or three years and
then will come wet season and every tree
| will die, as was the case last winter with
| several thousand almond trees four years
old on this same piece Of land.
| Oranges do well when sheltered wherever
fruit or grapes grow. Grapes do we'll on the
| sidehills, near Niles, but mildew in the val
| ley. Grapes do especially well at the Mis-
| sion, and on further south to Warm
| Springs. Acres upon acres spread out
there into the valley, and numerous wine
cellars are found nestled in among the foot
| hills within short distance of the Mission,
| or even in the valley, the most notable in
the valley being John Boards, at Warm
| Springs. All are we'll stocked, and many
| of them make wines which are already
we'll known in the East and Europe.
Grapes do not make as large returns to
| the acre as fruit-$75 to $50 being good
| average. Much grape land is therefore be-
| ing reset TO trees, tree being set every
third or fourth row of grapes; the balance
| of the grapes are allowed to remain Gutil
| the trees are about in bearing. Thousands
| If bau haan or in
| Springs District this past season. Two
orchards of prunes. 5000 trees in each, are
doing finely.
The foothills, too. are more extensive and
| rolling just here. allowing many more acres
| to be planted to garden truck than near
Niles, where the hills are quite precip-
itous.
Following the bay around from Warm
| Springs up TO Union City, nothing but
grain is grown for an income, yet here and
there few scattered homes of the early
| settlers still have heavily laden fruit trees
about their houses, which, one should think,
| would be example enough to warrant plant
ing orchards. At Union City, or Alvarado
(the two towns being so near together as to
be almost One), the soil is particularly
adapted to vegetables or berries, being low
| moist AMI sandy. The farmers are Just
now planting acres upon acres to sugar
| beetS. The soil is here similar TO that just
| north of San Jose, near the bay shore
| sandy and moist, producing berries and
| vegetables to perfection. There IS another
noticeable point OF reSemo ance-fowin
| arteSian wells are numerous in both places
One in Alvarad0, belonging to Mr. Granger,
| is so near the bay that it is on the very edge
| OF the marsh land. 1t IS one of the finest
| on the Coast, and sends out steady stream
| large enough to nearly supply city of the
sizs of Oakland with water; indeed the
| subject OF purchasing the well Tor Oak
| lands water supply was seriously consid-
cred not more than year ago, and it may
| be considered again.
1t is thought by many people, more or less
| familiar with the underground currents and
| lakes at Niles, that if a well was bored deep
| enough a n0Wlng stream would be obtained.
| Those things are necessarily speculative. The
| wells at AlVaradO are about 10 feet deep,
| while no well in or about Niles Is more than
seventy-five or eighty feet in depth.
The scale bug is coming to the front again
AMI is Well-deveiOped enemy. The scale
| that has been infeSting the trees is the
| orange or olive scale, round, black scale,
| but the genuine apricot scale, a longer, red
| brown fellow, is found on trees in every
| orchard this season. Another, the same
size and shape, is grayish-brown, and looks
as if he were lightly busted with -four
| They are found particularly on plums or
| prunes, and few on other trees. Three or
| four smaller varieties are also found, until
the outlook is certainly far from en- Ourag-
| ing for oTchRrdiSts, and still no remedy, no
| absolute remedy, has been found. Four or
| five kinds of bugs are found in the orchards
| which feed upon the scale, but there are so
| very few of them that they cut no figure at
| all. The many spraying compounds used
do more or less good, but each year sees
more scale on the trees. 1t is very I'M
| pOrtant subject to the Orchardist and a
more thorough study of the matter should
be made 10y horticultural societies. The
| showers the past few days have hardly been
| heavy enough to do any damage either to
| hay or to cherries as yet.
Cherries are being shipped, and good
| prices are reported, as high as cents nav
| ing been offered for a choice lot of Royal
! Annes.
No offers for peaches or prunes are vet
out; ~ cents has been offered for aprcOts,
nine to the pound.
Every day brings more campers into the
canyon.
The Ladies' Guild met last Wednesday at
! Mrs. Chlsholm's. Mrs. Clarke read a very
| Interesting paper upon the Condition OF
the Colored People in America"
The Spare-mnute Circle also met last
Saturday evening at Mrs. ChishOlm's, and
| the usual programme was carried out. Mrs.
! +. ii. Maar and Miss Ollie Lamb were APP
| pointed editor and assistant editor, re-
! spectlyely, Tor the next issue of the Boone
| rang.
! Mr. and Mrs. c. B. Oyeracker gave a
drive whist party last Thursday evening.
| which was the event of the season; twelve
tables wero filled with players; the favors,
! which were very handsome, were won by
| Mrs. Bedard, Mis-. Al lieu and Mrs. Cush-
man, and by Mr. II. Tyson, Dr. Allen and
Mr.. Ford. The commodious rooms were
| most artistically arranged and decora ted.
| The programmes were particularly notice
| able. being, like the invitations, in white
and gold, and were gotten up by Mr. Over
/ acker.
Sunday, being Decoration day, the services
were appropriate to the day; the remarks of
the pastor to the children were especially
| good; red, white and blue flowers and flags
| were used In the decorations; the handsome
| school flag being draped over the pulpit.
| Niles, June I, 1891 MRS. L. f. THANE