The record-union., 1895-01-01
EVERYBODY'S COLUMN.

EvERYBODY'S COLUMN.
Correspondence of Interest to the
General Public.
Under this heading the RECoRD-UNIoN will
publish short letters from correspondents on
topics of interest to the general public. The
matter in these communications will be un-
derstood to represent only the views of the
writers. All communications must be accom-
panied by the name of the writer, not for
publication unless SO desired, but as a guaran-
lee OF good faith.-EDS.
Fruit-Growing in California.
EDS. RECoRD-UNIoN: For the past
few years this industry has been prose,
cuted with zeal and enthusiasm seldom
equaled in any country or by any peo-
pie. Large fortunes have been expended
and in many instances large fortunes
have been made. This industry has al
most become the paramount interest of
the State. Fruit has become one of the
staples OF the country, and will yet. in
my judgment, become the staple of Cali
tornia, and will yield larger revenue to
the State than any other one product,
king wheat and the mines not excepted.
But an unfortunate train of circum-
stances has given the industry tempo
rary backset, or, as common parlance
would have ii, black eye. But what
other Industry has not suffered? Busi-
ness of al kinds has been paralyZed, es-
pecially all lines of agricultural pursuits.
The farmers, as a class. have been run
ming behind and growing poorer of late,
But shall we stop all farming and weep
and pirate over our bad luck, as we call
it? but more properly speaking, our bad
management, extravaganza, etc. No.
Let us start out, as 1t were, anew, with
determination to succeed, and to profit
by our past mistakes and cease bowling
that the country has gone to ruin. The
quickest and surest way to create panic
Is for everybody to commence bowling
panic, and it is sure to come. Nothing
stimulates activity, promotes prosperity
and success like faiuh-fafth in our abjl-
ity to do what we will TO do, aud nothing
Is so disastrous to success as want of
that faith. Faith and hope are the main
springs OF all success.
j do not believe that there is anv lust
cause for the farmer or orchardist TO lose
courage and abandon all effort or even
allow his zeal to falter. l can certainly
see no good reason Tor the horticulturist
to give up. The population OF the world,
and especially Of the United States, is in
creasing very rapidly, and all people the
world over are learning to live more and
more on a fruit diet. Thirty or forty
years ago fruit was eaten only occa-
sionally as luxury on special occasions,
Now 1t is found in every house, from the
humblest cabin to the palatial residence,
and on the table in some form almost
every day in the year, SO that the people
are now eating from three hundred to
five hundred-told more fruit per capita
than they did forty years ago; and this
increase of fruit consumption is going to
continue until we may yet come to Pro-
fessor Mannlng's standard of strictly a
truit-eating race. But whether we get
that far or not, feel very confident that
the increased consumption will more
than keep pace with the increased popu-
latiou.
One of the great problems to be solved
is how to get the producer and consumer
closer together-or how to get the product
to the consumer at price that he can
afford to pay. This problem will be
solved. More rapid strides are being
made in that dire now than ever
before. New markets are being sought
and supplied il many foreign countries,
as well as in our own country. Hun
dreds of tons are now being sold in mar
kets that ten years ago had never taken a
pound of our fruit. The grave question
OF cheaper transportation is now being
adjusted so that in the near future we
may look for vast Improvements in that
direction. We have positive promises or
pledges on the part of the great
traascontinental railroad company that
they will give us the coming season
cheaper rates and quicker time. This
quick time will enable US to dispense
with the very expensive refrigerator
service, which will save us from $l25 to
Sl75 on every car, and save to the railroad
people many tons of dead weight on each
car. They can haul the lighter cars for
much less money, and they no doubt will
do it. Moreover, new methods for pre-
serving our fruit in transit, in new style
and much lighter cars, has been tested
and demonstrated to be perfect success,
and we have every reason TO expect these
methods and these cars to be brought into
general use in the near future. With
these savings in our favor we could make
reasonable, nay, a good, decent profit,
even at the average sales during the past
season. 1t was not so much the low
prices our fruit brought the past season
that hurt us, but it was other causes, and
the cost of handling at the other side.
Again, our growers are trying with
some measure of success) to become more
thoroughly organized for mutual protec-
ton. THESE organizations and com bina-
tions will have the effect of at least steady
ing the market, and iii large measure
regulate prices, especially when these or
CARNATIONS get to point where they can
advance money to growers ON their fruit,
and thus enable them to hold it till they
can get its value.
So much for the market outlook. Now
for some of the natural advantages that
California has tor the production OF al
kinds of fruit. A moments thought
will convince any well-informed person
that there is but small area of the earth
surface well adapted to general and
profitable fruit culture, and still smaller
portion where the full line of fruits can
be grown that can be grown in this
favored State. Where but in California
can the apple, the orange, the fig, the
peach, the apricot, the prune, the raisin,
the lemon, the citron, the pomegranate the
pear-indeed, the whole family OF valu-
able frui,s-can all be successfully grown
to the highest perfection in the one State,
in one county-yes, in the same field.
even on the same acre of land? Echo
answers where but in our glorious Cali
fornia?
With all these soil and climatic ad-
vantages, and being geographically
located in the center of the commercial
world, with all the ports of the world
open TO us. may we not, can we not, lead
any and all the nations of the earth in
the pleasant. profitable, God-given
occupation OF frult-growing, and recline
in an easy chair under our own vine and
fig tree? r. w.
Sacramento. December 20. 1894.