The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-05-04
Orchards So Burdened With
Fruit That They Must
Be Trimmed Out.
Late Frost Did Slightly Nip the
Apricots, but the Yield
Will Be Good.
Leading Houses Receive Encouraging
R p1rts From the Fruit.Pro-
ducing Districts.

Reports by wire and letter that the
prunes were rapidly dropping in the
orchards of Vacaville, Visalia, Sonoma
and Santa Clara, caused some alarm
among dealers in this City yesterday.
a prominent orchardist near Saratoga
wrote to Porter Brothers last Saturday that
the prune crop there would be lighter this
season than il was last year. Three or four
other letters of similar character, one
from Sonoma County, another from VISA
liza and one from Vacavile, created the
impression that the crop OF prunes and
apricots might be seriously affected. 1t
was said that the north winds and change
abe weather at the times the prunes were
setting had caused the unusual dropping.
Inspection of reports from every fruit
growing region of the State gives no Just
cause for alarm. The Castle Brothers keep
very we'll posted and assert that nothing
has been received that justify the predlc-
ton OF q diminished yield, On the con-
trary the reports from agents IN Santa
Clara, Sonoma and SoIano counties indi-
cate that the crop will be larger.
Sidney Smith OF the Cutting Packing
Company has an excellent system OF OBJ
tanning and charting reports from all the
great truit-producing sections OF Calltor-
MIA. The prune, apricot, peach. cherry
and plum charts were placed before
CALL reporter yesterday. AT the same
time the reports for the week ending last
Saturday were exhibited in connection
with the charts. In order TO fix line Of
measurement last years yield is placed in
each district at 100 points. Many predlc-
tions of 200-or quantity twice as large
as that produced last year-are noIed. In
q very few instances only do the returns
60 below 100
The dropping of the prunes is readily
explained by the immense quantity OF
fruit borne by the trees. Ii they did
not drop they would not be larger than
cherries.
One orchardist wrote to Cutting & Co.
that ne lad thinned and thinned, spend
ing an hour or more on tree, and yet the
branches were so heavily laden that one
could not tell where the thinning had been
done.
1t is claimed that there must be great
dropping Of prunes in order to develop
the fruit on the trees. Nature is now
taking the proper course for giving good
crop of fair-sized prunes ana apricots.
The reports from the lower San Joaquin
Valley and Southern California are en-
couraging. Peaches are promised in abund-
ance.
Sonoma is not big peach county, but
large quantities and the outlook is good.
Santa Clara County is the great prune
and apricot region of California, and de-
spite the recent dropping, the trees are
overburdened and much thinning must yet
be done.
Yuba and Suffer counties produce great
quantities of peaches, and the outlook Tor
a large yield is excellent
Nothing to cause the slightest discour-
agement has been received by the Cutting
Packing Company from Tehama, Suffer,
Placer, Solano, Sonoma ana Santa Clara
counties.
The frost hit the apricots in the region
of Visalia, but the yield OF other fruits will
be large. From the orchards Immediately
around the town 500 carloads will be
shipped.
Last year the pear crop was large and
bid fair to be good this season. Cherries
promise fair yield.
The apricot. yield, according to reports
from Haywards and San Leandro and
other places in Alameda County, will be
large.
In looking over the situation carefully
Castle Bros. and the people of the Cutting
Packing Company see nothing to cause
discouragement. In some sections rain is
needed to increase the size of the fruit.
Castle Bros. have not discovered any
particular demand Tor prunes now on
hand, so it is reasoned that dealers do not
anticipate short crop.
Reports from the East are studied with
absol bing interest. Should the fruit crop
in New YORK, Michigan and Georgia prove
light, as foreshadowed by reports some
days since, there will be an increased de-
mand for California products.