The record-union., 1899-07-31
Agriculture
and
Horticulture.

oah OteSo Union. 1t is known TO per-
maps but few of the many Eastern Wis
ltors now in the city that San Diego
County produces more lemons than any
other county in the United States. 1t
is generally conceded that Southern
California leads all other sections Of
TINS country in the lemon growing bus
mess, and of Southern Californias out
put San Diego County is credited with
tWo-fifths. The remainder is distri-
buted among four or five other south
ern counties.
The total area in lemons in this coun-
ty is about 1000 acres, which, of
course, is added to, year by year. The
number of trees is about 100000 OF
which at least 100000 are in bearing.
Inc remainder are still young, and it
Will be year or two before the great
er number of them will begin to bear.
1t is for this reason-that the lemon in
oustry is still in it's infancy here
that the growers have called upon Con-
gress to protect them against the for
e1gn lemons, which, on account of the
cheap labor, can be grown for two
thirds less than the California fruit
Southern California is as yet but a
small competitor of the great lemon
ern Europe. Besides supplying nearly
all the other countries of the world.
this section of Europe furnishes the
United States with seven-eighths of the
lemons consumed by Americans, while
Southern California furnishes only one
eighth. When this fact is taken into
consideration it will be seen that the
cry of over-production of lemons in
California 10 lint 20 &
A total of about 500 carloads of lemons
was shipped from this county last year,
and this years shipments are expected
to be considerably in excess of those
figures, with marked increase each
year that will follow, on account of the
many trees that will come into bear
ing.
The soil and climate of San Diego is
peculiarly advantageous for the grow
ing of lemons. This fact was ascer-
tanned years ago, and enterprising
growers were not slow to recognize it.
1t has also been proven by chemi-
cal analysis that the lemon of San Di-
ego County contains more acid than
the product of northern localities, and
hence is in a greater degree possessed
of the essential quality of the fruit.
clude the Villa Franco, Lisbon, Eu-
reka, Sicily and Bonnie Brae. The Viii
Ia Franco is the most popular, with
the Lisbon close second, on account
of the appearance of the fruit and it's
keeping qualities.
The lemon is decidedly the poor
mans crop. After the trees have at
tanned the age of five or six years q
picking of the fruit is necessary every
three or four weeks the year around
and the growers can always get from q
of cent to 3 cents for the green fruit
II 1t is clean and of the proper size. A
grower who can average l cent for his
lemons will never have reason to COM
plain. The future is bright and lemon
growers will have no reason to be-
come discouraged.
SMALL FARMS.
Scott Valley Advance: That a system
of small holdings is better for the agri-
culturist is shown by a comparison of
the conditions of rural England and
France. The latter country is pre-emi-
nently the land of small farms, while
england is on the other hand a coun-
try of large land holdings. In France
the agricultural classes are the back
bone of the country. while in England
they occupy the public attention par
ticularly on account of their generally
PROSTATE condition financially. That
system of small holdings would
be better for the State at large is self
evident and there are many reasons for
believing that the land owners would
ultimately be benefited by the adoption
of system having an object the
subdivision of large land holdings. This
is accomplished in France by the divis-
ion of estates equally among heirs at
the death of the owner. Such a sys-
tenn would go far toward solving the
tramp problem at least.
CALIFORNIA CLOVERS.
Pacific Rural Press: Jesse Pound
stone of Colusa gives some very in
teresting observations and experiments
with sweet clover. AS he clear
ly indicates, this plant is one
of the most grievOus weeds
which has gained entrance to Califor-
mia. This view is strange to Eastern
people, for with them the plant has
some standing as a forage plant, both
for large animals and for bees, and the
seed is found advertised in Eastern
seed catalogues chiefly under one of its
names, Bokhara clover. AS matter
of fact it has very many names. Botan
ically the sweet cloveEwith the yellow
flower which is the one Mr.. Pound
stone describes, is Melilotus officinalis.
and there is white Powered one which
is Melilotus alba. The latter is the
less Objectionable one judged by its
perfume ard therefore not so bad in
the wheat field, and yet it is too bad TO
be desirable, while the yellow one is
rank and disagreeable and knocks a
good fraction from the price of the
wheat which is grown with it.
There is another very hateful work
which sweet clover, chiefly of the white
Powered species, is doing in the alfalfa
fields. 1t is not liked by animals and
they allow it to seed and distribute it
self The result is that the sweet
clover spreads, and if something is not
large areas of the State-for we per-
sonally know of it all through the San
JOAQUIN and Southern California-it
has come to be roundly hated by the
alfalfa grower, and with very good
reason. At first the grower is apt to
befriend it. 1t starts into growth at
a lower temperature than alfalfa and
appears in strong clumps over the field
while the alfalfa is still very small,
and it makes a great show of thrift
and verdure Several growers have
proclaimed it as a new, early and har-
DIV alfalfa. and have wished their whole
field was of that sort until they learn
more of its character. Mr.. Poundstone