The herald., 1895-01-31
FRUjTSS and WINES Y AIN]I1IED EAST,

Tho fruit growers of both states have had TO
take their medicine, and sometimes II mas neen
very bitter.
But California is g mountainous state, and
herein it has a great advantage from inc colu
business standpoint. Destructive trosts occa-
sionally visit the lower lands of the valleys
while the sloping lands around those Valleys
are free from such frosts. An orange may
freeze solid in one locality, and yet the tenuer
twigs of the lemon tree only two or three
miles distant may not be touched.
There are in Southern California many
orange orchards which are more or less SUBJECT
TO loss by frost every winter; and yet there are
many other bearing orange orchards Gated
on the sloping foothills which nave never peeh
visited by injurious FRO ts; ana yet IL is bone-
thing OF a comfort to now that southern Call
TO mia contains enough good orchard lana 10
Gated within the warm belt along the loolhlls
where damaging fTosts are unknown, TO raise
enough oranges supply the present demand
for that frui in the United States.
While some OF the colder sections OF the val
l"ys of South ern California are subject to IN
furious frosts, so far as the o.angc and the
lemon ncerned still we have some ad-
vantages which cannot be ov Rocked. We are
not mpelled to rely upon the tickle clouds to
supply the moisture with which to mature the
crops. In countries dependent upon the rain
fall it either always rains too much or it does
not rain enough. To this rule the exceptions
are SO rare as not to be worth mentioning. 1t
is just as necessa y to give plant or tree the
right amount OF moisture at the right time as
it is to give a horse or man the right amount
of food and drink at he right time. Crops de-
pendent upon rain rarely get the moisture
they can always get it when required. Hence
we find that irrigated countries support
much more den population than can be sup
ported in countries dependent on rainfall
Here, in the irrigated region, we find that
10 acres is enough; while there where irriga-
ton is not practiced, we find that quarter of
section is not enough; but in some localities
where the rainfall is particularly tickle, and
where there are no irrigation facilities, any
amount OF land seems to be too much. ,,,.
The lemon question has been more difficult
one to solve. We could raise lem ms, but we
did not seem able to cure them properly for
market; ana when We did occasionally get
batch cured properly, the eastern consumer
being prejudiecd against them, the middlemen
took advantage OF the prejudice 10 mako
MIA lemons have been bought at low figures.
repacked in foreign boxes and sold as foreign
fruit at high fgures-the manipulaters getting
the profits and the orchardists getting left.
tits only a few yesrs ago, less tn an u decade,
since California and Florida learned the
simple process OF curing the lemon. since
that time thousands of acres of lemons have
been planted. and at last Southern California
is beginning to put hrst cass lemon in the
cas- ma ket in first class condition, and we
are beginning to command for them fair
Notwithstanding all this improvement in
the crop and increase in production, the i'm
portation of lemons from the Mediterranean
has increased during decade from $2,60O,-
900 in 1884 to 81 900, 900 in 1898.
The demand for lemons in the Uni ed States
is increasing very rapidly, and there must be
a more vigorous increase of production than
we have had yet if we ever expect to supply
the American market with this variety OF
American fruit.
1t has generally been considered that
country that would produce in perfection the
citrus fruits would not produce successfully
the deciduous fruits. If this statement may
be considered as being the rule, Southern
California is certainly a notable exection..
speak for Southern California, and not the
who o state, so as not to conflict with anything
you may have seen or heard further north.
The peach, the pear, the apricot, the prune
and the grape, are as much at nome mere as
are tne orange and the lemon; While the apple
in the valleys near the coast and in the int
rior mountain valleys having an altitue OF
from $500 to 1000 feet above sea level, will
compare favorably in the markets or under the
critical examination OF pomologlcal experts
with the apples from the most favored apple
countries. This was demonstrated for the fl st
time very fully at the fair held in this city in
1877 by the Southern California Horticultural
society, at which fair the apple exhibit,
placed side by side with magnificent exhibit
from oregon, attracted great attention and
caused widespread comment and discussion.
OTHER PRODUCTS OF THE SOIL.
Our peach orchards produce a fruit equal to
the best in quality and equal to the best yield
in quantity.
The apricot orchards OF this sections are
among our most profitable investments.
The pear is not so extensively grown as
some OF the other fruits, because there seems
to be less acreage suited to that fruit but
when it is planted in the right kind OF soil the
quality and yield very satisfactory.
California is emphatically the home OF the
prune, and the reputation of Southern Califor-
mia does not suffer from prune orchard point
of view
1t is only few years since California com
menced to place its prune product in the east
ern market in competition with the imported
article from France. At hrst the consumers
did not take kindly to our fruit because it diff
fered from the French prune in appearance.
The dealers took advantage OF this state of nf-
fairs and told us if we expected to compete
with France we must initiate the french prod
81. nj a Fk nnln fFtlf
ours was of light amber color 1t was soon
discovered however, that our prunes, were su;,
perior in quality to the French product. and
then they were in demand. Finally the deal
ers told the French producers that if they ex-
pected to retain the American market they
must initiate the California prune; but this
they could not do because they did not have
our balmy dry atmosphere and our cheap sun
heat with which to cure their fruit.
Southern California, an Gsmmoa with tho
Our wine vineyards, it is truo, have never been
considered profitable properties, but the raisia
vineyards were wealth plod,aaeers 4 Hntla the
prices of wheat silver, cotton, raisns and
nearly all other soil products more than one:
half With the return Of proSpeTiitX Prices ot
again all along the line, and people will won
der that they had ever considered that the
over-prodoction of fruits was even remote
possibility.
Thus have endeavored to give you birds
eye view of the fruit industry of Southern
California. Its growth has kept pace with the
developments of this sc ton. southern Cali
fornia proper embraces the seven counties
south of the Tehachepi pass The growth of
this section can be determined by the growth
of population. In 1870 the population of
these seven counties was 31,032, in 1880 it
64378, and in 1890 it was 202974 and at
present a careful estimate based on the school
census OF last June, puts our population at
260 5l5.
Los Angeles city has grown from a village of
about 5000 in 1870 to city with an estimated
DoDulatOn of about rs 600 in 1898,