The morning call., 1892-01-10
A CALIFORNIA
FRUIT-GROWER.
Els Impressions Of FrIitGIOFiDg East
Of The Rockies.
Advantages and Disadvantages Of tbs East
err Horticulturist-Cl Is Really
the Key to the Situation.
Written for The SUNDAY CALL


terest to any one who is growing fruit IN
California, and have made it my especial
care to see all the best Of the Eastern fruit
growing regions and collect what informa-
lion l could on the subject. While have
done things in a necessarily hasty way, L
have got hold Of a good deal that is new to
me,
The key to the whole situation is the
climate, and in this country east Of the
Rocky Mountains, no one can tell what an
hour may bring forth, for there is nowhere
even to the utmost southern point OF
Florida, where there is not danger Of cold
wave late in the spring, which will kill the
fruit-buds and ruin the crop. OF course,
mild winter is generally more dangerous
than a cold one, for then the blossom buds
will begin to swell early, and as soon as they
begin to break a cold snap will cold them;
at a later period, when the little rudiment-
airy fruit is forming. a slight degree Of cold
will cause n complete failure of the crop.
Il is the chaugeablenes5 that makes the mis-
chief-bright. warm weather in the spring,
and then cOld-aud that is why an open
winter is so much dreaded by fruit-groWers,
though & cold winter is no absolute guar
antee, for billiards may come very late IN
the spring, and there are no great mountain
chains TO protect the region, as there are IN
our State.
THE MICHIGAN DISTRICT
As far as | can learn, the region that Is
the most regular in producing fruit Is that
east of Lake Michigan, which l spoke OF ID
a former letter and near to that lake IN
narrow strip extending north and south OF
South Haven. This district is regular not
because it is warmer, but because 1t IS
colder Ii has a great body of cold water
and ice north and west of il, which keeps
a.. e. d. hae1 in n at
when tie danger of spring fT0sts is slight.
A big body of water near at hand probably
also lessons the danger OF these trOsts COM
ing after once the ice is melted. In the
northern portion OF TINS belt, l was IN
formed. 8 failure Of crop IS almost I'M
known. They even had r crop last year.
Mr. Bragg, the nurseTymau, OF Kalamazoo,
told me that the fTuIt-grOweTs OF the lake
region were doing as well as ever, and that
land was even increasing In value, fact
that is not true Of any other region that
visited.
In the peninsula Of Delaware and Mary
land land is worth scarcely 90 per cent OF
what it was a few years since, and one
Florida oTange-gIOwer told me t1St his
groves would not sell now for more than 40
per cent Of what they were worth A few
years ago. But of Florida more anon. Mr..
o. Beebe is one Of the foremost grape
growers In the Michigan region, and has
great variety, all of the native kinds, how
q
al the South Haven fair, and they were
beautiful They were Of all cOlOrs, from
black and purple to amber and white.
There were several red sorts about the color
OF the Flaming TUkay that were new u me.
The soil here is very rich. Judging by
Eastern standards, for they have to use but
little fertilizer on IT,
NEW ENGLAND FARMS.
New England astonIshed NE both with its
dense population and with the immense
amount Of waste land within its borders.
In California We expect to fud In all our
valleys aud on much Of our rolling aud bill
land continuous stretch OF land that Is
plOwed and planted each aud every year
and that al good o. fair quality land that is
not too dry or too wet Will be so plOwed.
Not 50 in New England. There seems TO be
more land Idle than farmed at present,
farmland continually. The railroads pass
Though pieces OF woodland every feW
minutes. There will be a patch Of from
200 to 800 acres Of clear land, that is, clear
except for stones.
This land will be cut into rather irregular
little fields by stone walls Of various sizes.
The largest that l saw were some inClOslng
field that contained from five TO seven acres.
They were at the smallest part four feet high
and ten wide and at the largest over six feet
high and nearly twenty-five feet wide.
If any one viii estimate the cost Of pI.lng
up such a vast amount Of stones lie Will
conclude, as Ibid, that even il the land we're
given TO one in the first place, by tie time
he had got tie stones picked Up his land
would cost a bout as much as boom land
in California; and even when he got il clear
ii would not be very productive, as no crop
can be obtained without fertilization. The
owner of the land that was luClOsed Ia the
way mentioned was q bank President, so
no d ubt he could afford to farm such eX-
pensive lands.
And yet, in spite Of this state In the agri
cultural regions, the cities are growing. All
the towns Of above certain size are grow
ing. and those below that size and the farm
ing communities are getting less POI u.Ous.
Many farms have been abandoned and
many others very much encTOaChed on By
wood and. but there remains enough to show
what solid prosperity existed in old times
aud what a thrifty well-to-d0 race of yeO-
man farmers lived then. For their big, CON-
Portable houses dot the hills, and would put
the average California farmhouse Of to-day
to shame with Their size, general good looks
and their fine shade-trees. There are many
of them to such a small amount of land.
Most Of the farms here have only a score or
so of acres. In the neighb0rhoOd Of the
cities the country folk are doing well on
tTuck-farmng, small fruits, and so forth,
but far from cities Il is hard for a man to
make even bare living at that occupation.
The other side OF the picture comes IN the
towns which are very frequent along the
railroads. From Worcester to Boston there
are towns every few miles as large as all
except our largest cities In California.
Menu1actuTlng IS what mas built them up
and made them prosperous, and II would 90
the same for our State if it were only wen
started, and II is coming, too, rapidly.
The old New England apple trees were
continual surprise TO me. They would ap-
pear in most unexpected places and seemed
to have little idea Of regularity either in
their growth or location, for their great
gnarled and crooked trunks would appear
dotted over an old pasture with little or no
attempt at rows, or strung In a Struggling
procession beside old stone walls, aud even
in one or two cases l came across them in
the midst Of great forests Of second growth
timber" There we're a few growing in
scraggly hardihOod far up the slope Of Wa
chusett, the big mountain OF the"Old Com
m0nYeath."
PEACHES-THE YELLOWS.
There are not many peaches grown in
Connecticut now. and the prospect is not
bright either III New Jersey or on the ''pen-
insuls," but grapes and apples are grown
IN immense quantities in certain sections
throughout all the Northern States though
Of course subject to periodic failure The
Georgia peach belt and that In Western
MARY land / was not able to see, but that in
Maryland is subject 10 yellOws TO some ex-
tent, and both lose their crops by frost fire.
Quenlly.
Now, as to yellows. that scourge Of the
peach-grower. In Michigan they claim that
they have eradicated IL by the strict enforce
ment Of the State law which cOmpels the
destruction OF all affected trees. They seem
to consider il an infectious disease, whereas
Mr.. LoYett the Durseryman Of Little Silver,
N. j., says that it is nothing but starvation,
and that on rich land the trees will never
have IT. 1t is very prevalent in Connect
cut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
and in fact in all but Michigan
Of the peach regions which | have
been in. Many and diverse were the differ
ent views that different growers gave me of
its cause. Mr.. Wilbur EeSon. one of the
largest and most wel-informed growers on
the least shore" las they say In Baltimore
when they mean the west shore of the pen
inSnla of fhnml said fhaf ms I'm