The record-union., 1892-05-11

Market for Mediterranean Fruits
A Fruit Garden-Increase In Olive
Planting-Banana Food Company
Breeding Bacon Hoes-The Guinea
Fowl-Miscellaneous Items.
We make no apology for repeatedly
urging orchardists to thin the fruit with
an unsparing yet judicious hand. Grow
ers are frequently timid about this and
regard the operation of thinning their
fruit as purely incidental and of no spe-
clal importance. This is surely an error.
Next to good cultivation the regulation
OF the number OF specimens on each tree
is the most important. AS general
statement, all fruits, except oranges and
lemons, which are liable to overgrow, set
more fruit than the tree can properly ma
ture. If this is allowed to remain on the
trees much inferior fruit is sure to result,
and injury to the tree from breakage of
limbs by cheap fruit often entails heavy
losses.
Apricots and all other stone fruits
should be thinned early in the season be-
be remembered that nature puts forth
her strongest efforts to mature the seed;
hence, great number of seeds draw far
more heavily upon the vital forces of the
tree than the formation of more pulp
about fewer seeds. The seed is natures
special care; pulp is incidental and comes
OF mans efforts through cultivation. a
tree Will properly mature only given
weight of fruit, and the fewer specimens
making up this weight the better for the
grower generally. suppose peach tree
able to yield one hundred pounds of
fruit-it makes a wide difference to the
grower and shipper whether it requires
five hundred peaches to make up that
weight, or whether it requires only two
hundred. 1t needs intelligent courage to
thin properly. a good rule is to leave
space of at least four to six inches be-
tween specimens. Care in this regard
distributes the weight more evenly and
saves the tree, as well as allowing the
crop to ripen more nearly at one time
California Eruit-Grower.
THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.
The dairy industry in this State is
making such rapid progress as to encour-
age the belief that before another half de-
cade passes it will not only supply the
consumptive demand but will give large
surplus for shipping out of the State. In
1888 the receipts of butter at San Fran
cisco aggregated 1876, 700 pounds Of Cali
fornian and 1857 800 pounds Of Eastern.
Last year the receipts aggregated 10, 4S4 800
pounds OF California and ,0S0,90O pounds
of Eastern. This shows a most remarka-
ble increase in the receipt of California
butter within the short space of three
years. Not only do the receipts of butter
show large increase, but the receipts of
cheese have kept fully abreast. In 1883
receipts of California cheese at San Fran
cisco aggregated !, ,32l 200 pounds, and last
year the aggregate was 4, ,427 500 pounds.
When il is considered that San Francisco
in point of population is only about one
fifth of that of the entire State, then the
rapid strides made by the dairy industry
is readily seen.
FRUIT GARDEN.
Much sound advice is condensed into a
paragraph in the last Country Gentleman
which is written for farmers who seem to
feel that great deal of ground is needed
for fruit-garden, when in reality small
lot reserved for this purpose and properly
cared for will yield much more than the
ordinary home garden affords. Here is
the advice: 'Set Oft a piece Of ground
three rods wide and seven rods long, or a
little more than one-twentieth of an acre.
Lay il out in straight lines running
lengthwise so that all may be cultivated
with horse, and leave space of ten feet
wide at each end for the horse to turn on;
then plant three rows with strawberries
one with Eay's currants, one with rasp-
berries, one with Dwarf pears and the
rest with grapes. With horse cultivation
one hours labor a week will keep the
ground clean and mellow, and will give
delicious supply of fresh fruit through
the greater part Of the season."
MEDITERRANEAN FRUITS.
Along the Mediterranean Coast, above
Almeria, there is large acreage devoted
TO deciduouS fruit growing. Fine cher
ries, apricots, peaches and kindred fruits
are grown in quantities, which have here
tofore found good market in the fresh
state in Paris, Bordeaux and other cities
in France. In the south of France these
fruits are produced in limited quantities;
but, for the purpose Of further encourag-
ing the fruit industry on French soil,
France has imposed a heavy duty on inn
ported fresh fruits of the varieties above
mentioned, and in the future they will
be virtually excluded from that mark et
The growers on the Mediterranean will
market their fruits the coming season in
London, Liverpool and other cities in
Great Britain.
A GREAT INCREASE IN OLIVE PLANTING.
Some two years ago olive culture
seemed at a standstill and nurserymen
found almost no sales for young trees A
notable change has taken place, particu-
larly in Southern California. For exam
pie, the southern California Horticult-
ural Society reports that since January lst
over $4,000 olive trees have been set out
and that there is demand for over 100000
more, which cannot be supplied. All the
olive Oil produced in that region last year
is said to have been sold at very remu-
nerative prices, and there is a call for
twice as much more. 1t is claimed that
this state of things has been brought
about by the increased popularity of Cal
ifornia olives and olive oil in the Eastern
States.
BANANA FOOD COMPANY.
A company, with a capital of $4,000,
has been formed in New York for the
purpose of drying and otherwise utilizing
the banana and plantain for food. The
company will operate their works at CO.
Ion on the ISthmus of Panama. Expert
ments show that the banana may be sue
cesstully dried and prepared for market,
either as dried fruit, as flour or meal, or
canned in pulp. 1t is expected that thus
prepared the product will, in one or other
form, come into immediate and general
use in the United States and Europe.
BREEDING BACON HOGS.
A good deal of discussion has been GO
ing on for some time past as To what breed
OF swine is most desirable for breeding
bacon, either in the shape of pure-bred
hogs, or as sireS to cross upon other
breeds, to obtain a Iong-boGied animal
that VII! make desirable bacon sides.
The Berkshires have been found unde-
sdrable IN this respect, being too short
and thick In the body. The large white
Yorkshires and the Tamworths have
proved, so far, much more desirable as
bacon hogs than any other; and they also,
swhen used as sires upon the Berkshire or
the ordinary swine of the country, pro-
duce pigs OF better class for the bacon
curer than any other breeds as regards
the most desirable qualities of quick
growth, feeding so as to makea nice mix
ture of fat and lean, instead of too much
DO % u.