The herald., 1897-11-12
PROGRESS MADE
McComas Sounds the Keynote That
the Farm Is the True Place
for the Home

OF the tnlrty-tnlrQ meetlnS OF the TOIilo-
logical Society of Southern California
was held in the M. e. church here at
10:30 a. m. today. The call to order was
given by President Abbot Kinney of Los
Angeles. Rev. Searle Wren, rector of the
Episcopal church delivered the invoca-
ton, after which Mrs. Sumner sang a
solo. Hon. ]. E. McComas then delivered
an address Of welcome, in which he said
in part: "Ten years ago welcomed the
Pathological society to Pomona, and 1t is
marvellous to look back and see the pro-
gress of these years. We see many mis-
takes which have been made by the pio-
neers in fruit growing, such as planting
oranges on lands best suited to alfalfa,
and vice versa. These mistakes were
caused by lack of knowledge and not
understanding the conditions Of horti-
culture in this state. II is to such meet
ings as this and to the work done by
this society that we are able to trace the
improvements along this line"
He also deprecated the custom of the
young men leaving their homes on the
farm, going to the city and taking up the
crumbs that fall from politicians tables.
They should realize that the farm is the
true place for the home.
President Kinney, in replying, stated
that he we'll remembered the boom of
1875, and also recalled the fact that in
1872 an enterprising land company sold
at auction $4,000 worth of real estate
where Pomona now stands. He referred
to the evolution of booms; that in 1885
1.,e fDt1 ~,
only really now recovering.
Speaking of the work which might be
accomplished by the Pathological soci-
ETY., he said it might well take up
the subject of Diseases ETC., and make a
careful study of it. Particular attention
was directed to the subject of foot rot"
in orange trees, from which he person
ally suffered great loss. In the connec-
ton of studies of diseases, he suggested
cooperation by the University at Berke-
ley and the agricultural section of the
Southern California Academy of Sci
ences at Los Angeles.
Continuing, he suggested that for sue
cessful orange growing there were three
essentials: /. To grow a large crop of
first-class fruit; 2. To secure an equita-
BILE and proper schedule of freight rates
|3. Market the fruit properly. He also
suggested as a fourth essential (al-
though he did not indorse it) the tariff Of
cent a pound on citrus fruits. But ir
speaking of this he deprecated as a
great misfortune that orange growers
should get mixed up in politics.
Mr.. Kinney spoke very strongly on the
Importance of governmental control and
ne fuit
calling particular attention to the great
danger which lies in the denudation of
the mountains, which must eventually
destroy the perennial supply of water
and cause an untold amount of damage.
He also referred to the necessity of
restricting immigration, touching on the
question Of Chinese labor and other low
class foreign immigrants.
Secretary Goodwin then read the re-
port of the Azusa meeting and the report
of the finances, which were referred to
the proper committees.
AFTERNOON MEETING
When the meeting was called to order
there was a fair attendance, which was
considerably augmented during the af-
ternoon.
duet, "Dews Of the Summer Night
which was charmingly rendered.
Mr.. w. c. Fuller Of Cotton read a
scholarly essay on 1.-THE Orange, Types
and Varieties" He took the ground that
the sour or bitter orange may be con-
sidered the primary type of our Cali
fornia orange. The acidity Of a fruit
depends largely on the staminate power
Of the tree. He urged great care in the
selection Of stocks from which to take
buds, as on this care depends the quail
ity of the fruit. In taking buds from the
'ribbett' tree, the parent Washington
navel tre. of California, he noticed the
shameful manner in which the tree had
been abused, for so many buds had been
cut from it that the tree itself was weak
and puny, so much so that Riverside
people were averse to showing the tree.
They were evidently ashamed Of it.
In the discussion that followed Mr..
Fuller stated that in selecting navel
buds they should be taken from near a
strong staminal development of thorn
and from the sunny side, because there
is where they are in perfection Of
growth. He scored the nurserymen,
or rather those who were in business
ten years ago, for either dishonesty or
ignorance in their selection of stock.
sighting his own experience of having
to cut off and rebud trees ten years old
and over In response to an inquiry,
Mr.. Fuller said he would dig up the
Australian" navel. 1t is the best thing
to do with it.
The question was raised to the longev-
ity of the orange tree. Mr.. Fuller stated
the young navel is precocious-is Of
early maturity and bears unusually
heavy crops quite young. This pre-
cocity will necessitate the use of fertil-
izers in later years and it will eventually
become a race between the tree as to
whether it will yield enough returns to
pay for the fertilizer.
Mr.. Kyle of Riverside took the ground
that we are too avaricious in forcing our
orange trees to bear when young; the
dropping Of the oranges in the early
summer Is blessing in disguise, as the
trees would be dwarfed were all the
oranges which set or even half Of them
allowed to remain on the tree.
A paper on "Cultivation of the
Orange" by A. Scott Champan of San
Gabriel, was, in the absence of the an
thor, ready by the secretary. He re-
ferred to Judge B. s. Eaton number of
years ago who planted a vineyard on the
mesa, which now forms part of the
city Of Pasadena. Everybody then