Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-03
FORTUNES IN FRUIT.
What There Is in Store for the FIR
Growers of California.

What There Is in Store for the Frui
Growers of California.
Four years ago 100000 pounds q
California fruit were sold in New York
last year 100000 pounds found pur
chasers there, and this year E. L. Good
sell, the fruit auctioneer, who has lare
fruit interests in California, and VIII
has just returned to his home in In
east from four months stay on IN
Pacific coast, says the amount of frni
sent to New York to be sold will be fnll
10000, 900 pounds. The fruit-producer
of California now have the benefit q
the fastest freight transportation in tn,
world, as at this time it is possible &
run through solid train loads OF Cali
fornia fruit from Sacramento to New
York in seven days. The Fruit Trans
portation company succeeded in estab
fishing this fsst-freight service thi
spring, and from this time on fruit
from the Pacific coast will be shipped t,
the east in less time than was dreamed
OF few years ago.
Mr.. Goodsell collected much VALUABLE
information about the fruit industr,
during the months he was in the Colder
state, and he has figures that show tina
the fruit production of Californi.
amounts to 35,000,000 more than tn,
production of gold, $15, 900, 900 being tn,
amount of the gold output, while tn,
fruits amount to $4,000, 900 annually
Here is what Mr.. Goodsell says abou
California and the fruit industry:
Land that in 1849 was used only tc
dig gold out Of is now growing wheat
and fruit that each year sells fol-
100000, ,000-the value of each product
being about equal. Besides this
Spain, France and Turkey formerly sup
piled America with the 10000, ,O0C
pounds OF raisins and prunes that are
annually consumed. These fruits are
now grown extensively in the Golden
state, and are so popular by reason OF
their superiority of flavor and quality
that the foreign products are nearly
driven out of the market. This is illus.
trated by the fact that where California
produced and shipped in 1891 81 ,OOO. 900
| pounds of prunes and 1900, 900 pounds
| of raisins, there were only imported
5000, 600 pounds of prunes and Is ,OOO,-
900 pounds of raisins, as against the
| previous years importation of 81 ,OOO. 900
pounds of prunes and $4,000 900 pounds
of raisins, showing joint falling off of
| $4,000, 900 pounds of both kinds of fruits
| in one year.
ut is safe to 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 ap-
pearanee. Formerly it was claimed that
some of these varieties were tasteless.
The art of cultivation has been brought
to such perfection, however, that both
these desirable qualities are now con-
ceded to the Pacific coast products The
finest prone prodaced in the world is
grown on the ranch of a retired army
surgeon. This man utilized his
knowledge of organic chemistry in the
curing OF his fruit and enriehing the soil
to the song OF an income of SAC, 900 a
year from property that he gave $4,000
for twelve years ago.
"a comprehensive view OF the great
ness of the 'tree-fruit' industry can be
had from the statement that there are
nearly IA 600, 800 trees plantedin CaIifor-
MIA, all of the varieties named. When
these are allin bearing fully / 1000 000,-
600 pounds of fruit wilD have TO be mar
keted.
"Last year fourteen days was the aver
age time in transit, and the reducing of
the time to seven days makes the prob
ability of fruit landing in the east in
perfect condition unqnestioned. In
this event $50, 600 can be saved to
the growers yearly from what has
been realized in the past. 1t is
significant, too, that any fruit produced
anywhere can be grown in its perfee-
tion on the Pacific. coast, and that not
onethird of the available fruit land is
under cultivation. Therefore, when we
read that in 1891 there wereehipped out
of the state 352, 100000 pounds of fruit
of various kinds, $4,000, 0G9i gallons of
wine and brandy, $500, 900 boxes of Or
anges, etc., there is not only material for
consumption but also for rejection as to
where it will go in the future. Active
minds are taking up the question, and
England has been made quite an outlet
possible for green fruit already by plac-
ing refrigerating boxes on board fast
steamers, an experiment that has been
recently 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 a
science in order to get it to the east in
marketable shape. Picked from the tree, it
is packed in neat boxes, often each fruit
wrapped in paper, and loaded into a re-
frigerator car built exclusively for the
business. Trains of fifteen of these cars
are made up at Sacramento and hurried
over the mountains and plains to Chi
cago and thence to Jersey City.
From the fact that twenty-five years
ago land that is now worth $1,000 an
acre in all the best fruit centers could
have been bought for $25, it must be ac-
| cepted as a fact that fruit culture is
profitable. This can be believed when
1 say that 27.000pounds of peaches per
acre have been produced from 4-yeal -old
trees on some of the best ranches. These
were sold at 2. cents a pound at the
ranch. Besides this, know of fruit
growers who have cleared SIS, 900 yearly
from sixty acre fruit farms.
The successful cultivation of the
olive has attracted the attention of Eng
lish 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 only producing one.
tenth of this quantity, but will in few
years be able to compete for public
favor, and unquestionably will drive
the imported artical from the market il
a short time. There are now 1000, ,00G
olive trees in cultivation and bearing. .