The San Francisco call., 1895-07-20
A PROGRESSIVE SCIENCE,
Horticulture as 1t Is Practiced
in the State of Cali
fOrnia.
HOMEGROWN Oranges and Lemons
Largely Supplanting the I'M
ported Fruit.

The science of surgery is an exact
science, and of law is an established one
bur horticulture is a progressive science
the same as that of medicine. The fruit
growers of California are, as body, COM
posed of our most intelligent and progress
i've citizens, and for what they have done
thus far in that line toward developing our
horticultural productiveness, they deserve
all praise, but they should not listen to
the pessimist who is continuously talking
about "overproduction." The same en-
ergy and intelligence that made them sue
cessful in horticulture in the past will
bring about a condition equally as pros
porous in the future. 1t is admitted there
has been great deal of money foolishly
spent and wasted in the ''boom" enter
prises of big orchards, and quick returns
with promised a cessation of assessments
after the third year. Many such enter
prlses were manager by unscrupulous
real-estate dealers. and the superintend-
ents of such orchards cared more about
drawing their handsome salaries than they
did about informing themselves of the
needs and intelligent care OF trees. Many
such enterprises were badly located, and.
what is perhaps worse, the selection of
varieties adapted to locations was so ig-
norantly made that failure was sure to be
the result. 1t was such stupid acts as this
that caused the horticultural interests of
our State to take a short step backward for
time. When one recognizes the fact that
olives can be grown prohtably from Mount
Shasta to San Diego on lands that are now
used for sheep ranges, and that can
be had per acre for S. gold piece;
when we note that large portion of the
European emigrants are of the Latin
races, bringing with them their tastes
and habits, and transmitting the same to
their children; when we know, as we do
now, that ever since civilization began to
make headway, and perhaps before that,
olives and their products was largely the
food supply of nearly all the children of
the Orient, as it is destined to be in the
near future that of the Occident, with such
prospects for market for olives and their
products, there does not seem to be an
immediate likelihood of OVERRIDING the
olive culture in our State. Thirty years
ago tomatoes were looked upon with sus-
picion. Now more are consumed than any
other vegetable, except potatoes 1t will
be the same with olives thirty years hence.
The great industries of our northern neigh
boring States of the Pacific Coast are lum-
Der and mining, and to great extent the
foods consumed by the men of muscle and
Drawn engaged in such pursuits are of the
strongest character. Take man who
works at those laborious professions, feed
him on bacon and beans, and suddenly
present him in the early part of the winter
with one of our rich, juicy Porterville or
Oroville oranges. and note the avidity
with which he will accept it.
This taste and desire holds with all the
people of that section until their vegetables
are in market, and before that happens our
Central California oranges are gone, and
they are big consumers of the Southern
California product.
Last year California produced a few
lemons. All told there were shipped East
300 carloads, or 1000 boxes The United
States imported over $500 900 boxes. This
fruit enters into every part of our life, from
the culinary department to the sickroom
ard from the "circus" lemonade to the
''long drink" over a frst-class bar. There
are some few sections of our State that
produce lemon equal to the best i'm
ported-notably Tulare County, Ventura
County and about Ontario, Los Angeles
County. The value OF the importation of
lemons into the United States last year, as
made by the custom-house, was upward
of 81, 500, 900, and there is no reason WHY
California should not keep large portion
of that money at home by growing a great
many more of them than it does.
As an evidence of their profitableness to
the grower in TulaTe County, if he can get
s cents per dozen they will yield him $500
per acre, and doubtless the other favored
localities mentioned can show like results.
1t is scarcely worth while in this article to
show up the possibilities of apricot grow
ing in our State; the writer pointed out
in a newspaper article quite while ago
that California was shipping apricots in
pulp to England to be there made into Jam
and then returned to US, and we bought it.
Of course horticulture, or any other s'cul-
ture" for that matter, cannot stand long
against such poor business methods as that
There are thousand and one possibilities
in fruit production in our State and ere
many years it will be the leading product,
and it is hoped the manufacturing of our
fruits into desirable jams, preserves and
jellies will be maintained at home.
MAJOR G. ]. BERRY.
Baron Albert Rothschild is one of the