St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-27
A Hundred Million Dollars
Represents the Return on
This Years Crop.
TWenty-Four Million Acres Of
Fruit Land in This
Country.

sold will be fully 20.000.000 pounds. The
fruit producers of California now have
the benefit of the fastest freight trans
portation in the. world, says Mr.. Good
sell, as at this time it is possible to run
through solid train loads of Cali
ifornia fruit from Sacramento to New
York in seven days. The Fruit Trans
portation company succeeded in eStab-
fishing this fast freight service this
spring, and from this time on fruits
from the Pacific coast will be shipped
to the East i'm less time than was
dreamed of few years ago.
Mr.. Goodsell collected much valuable
information about the fruit industry
during the months he was in the Golden
state, and he has figures to show that
the fruit production of California
amounts to S35,0J0.000 more than the
production of gold, S15,00U,0O0 being
the amount of the gold output. while
the fruits amount to $50, 0,000.000 annu-
aily. Here is what Mr.. GeodseIl says
about California and the fruit industry:
"Land in I649 that was used only to
dig gold out of is now growing wheat
and fruit that each year sell for $780,
OOO, O,00O-the value of each product be-
ing equally divided. Besides this Spain.
France and Turkey formerly supplied
America with the 110,000,000 pounds OF
raSinS and pruneS that are annually
consumed. These fruits are now grown
so extensively in the Golden state, and
are SD popular by reason OF their 5upe-
rIority. that the foreign products are
nearly driven out of the market. This
is illustrated by the fact that, where
California produced and shipped in 1891
M HC nf ~
600 pounds of raisinS. there we're i'm
ported only 9,000,0G0 pounds of prunes
and lS,000,00 pounds OF raiSinS, as
against the previous years importation
of 61,000.000 pounds of prunes and
a, 100000 pounds of raisins. showing
! Joint falling off of 7S,000,000 pounds of
. both kinds of fruit in one year.
1T is safe 10 say in three years the
. production in California will be enough
to supply America and preclude impor-
tationS altogether. Peaches. pears,
plums, cherries. apricots and grapes
are also grown. of the finest flavor and
appearance. Formerly it was claimed
that some of these varieties were taste
less. The art of cultivation has been
brought to such perfection, however,
that both these desirable qualities are
now conceded to the Pacific coast prod
ucts. The finest prune produced i'll the
world is grown on the ranch Of re-
tired army surgeon. This man utilized
his knowledge of organic chemistry in
the curing of this fruit and enriching
the soil to the song of an income of $40,-
600 year from property that he gave
$1,000 for twelve years ago.
"A comprehe nsive view of the gre at
ness OF the 'tree-fruit' industry can be
bad from the statement that there are
nearly 100000 trees planted in CALI
fornia, ali of the varieties named.
When these are all in bearing fully
1000, 100000 pounds of fruit will have to
be marketed.
81 .ast year fourteen days was the av-
erage time in transit, and the reducing
of the time to seven days makes the
probability of fruit landing here i'll per-
feet condition unqueStioDed. In this
event 800, 900 can be saved to the grow
erS yearly from what has been realized
in the past. 1t is significant. too, that
in California any fruit produced any
where can be grown in its perfection
on the Pacific coast, and that not one
third of the available fruit land IS now
under cultivation. Therefore, whenwe
read that in 1891 there were shipped out
of the state 352, 100000 pounds of fruit
of various kinds, 100000 gallons of
angeS, there is not only material for
consumption, but also for reflection as
to where 1t will go in the future. Active
minds are taking up the question. and
England has been made all outlet posi-
BILE for green fruit already by placing
refrigerating boxes on board fast steam
ers, an experiment that has been re-
Gently tried with considerable success.
Dried fruits are already favorably
known and disposed of there. The
process of shipping fruit in a green
state has necessarily been reduced to
science IN order to get it here in mar
ketable shape. Picked from the tree. it
is packed in neat boxes. often each
fruit wrapped in paper, and loaded into
a refrigerator car built exclusively for
the business. Trains of fifteen of these
ears are made up at Sacramento and
hurried over the mountains and plains
to Chicago and thence to Jersey City.
From the fact that twenty-five
years ago land that is now worth 81, 900
an acre in all the best fruit eenterS
could have been bought for S25, it must
be accepted as fact that fruit culture
is profitable. This can be believed
when | say that q, 900 pounds of peaches
per acre have been produced from four
year-old trees on some of the best
ranches near Marysvllle. These were
sold at two cents pound at the ranch.
Besides this l know of fruit-growers
that have cleared $4,000 yearly from
small sixtv-acre fruit farms.
"The successful cultivation of the
olive has attracted the attention of En-
glish capitalists to California, who have
recently bought out some of the best
ranches. Nearly 100000 gallons of olive
oil are used in the United States yearly.
California is now producing only one
tenth Of this quantity. but will in few
years be able to compete for public
favor, and will unquestlonably drive
the imported article from the market in
a short time. There are now 100000
olive trees in cultivation and bearing"
7 But California can not grow the finest
of everything, Mr.. Goodsell admits. He
returned to New York by way of the
South, and he found great fruit coun-
J try there, he says.
sin Mississippi and around Crystal
Springs grow the finest tomatoes pro-
.duced in the United States," said he.
''There is tremendous acreage coming
into bearing that will furnish 1,000,
900 pounds for shipment this year and
double that quantity next. The first
arrivals can be looked for about June
10.
"Florida is a great fruit state also,
although oranges are her chief indus
try. Four million boxes were shipped
from there this last season. The total
production of oranges in California,
Florida and Arizona will in two years
be 100000 boxes. The present con-
sumption, as near as l can determine
it from statistics at hand, is
6,000,0 There Will soon, there
fore, be surplus of production
over consumption, and the firm of CAM
pion. Goodsell & Co., of London, have
determined to put into regular service
between Jacksonville and London, this
fall. line of steamers exclusively for
oranges. From our experience in send
over $4,000 boxes this season, we have
learned that English people have taken