The San Francisco call., 1901-12-28
OUR FRUIT FIGURES.

has its California fruit store" As the towns get
larger the number Of such stores increases in some
cases being numbered like national banks. In the
great cities are many elegant places under that sign
where Or fruit OF all kinds is repacked in such a
way to exhibit to best advantage its form and
color. In this holiday time our grapes, the white
and black cornichon the great queen and the Tokay
may be seen arranged together in baskets best
TO display their contrasting coors and looking de-
licious enough to tempt an anchorite.
The universally Of the name OF California
fruit stores means that have captured the domes
tic market and made every Eastern dealer our adver
tisng agent 1t that without rival
in the production of fruit and that need not fear
failure OF the market if we practice commercial
honor in furnishing the supply. 1t also that
our railway lines must be admonished by the unfor
tunate experiences of last season, which are now
being repeated, and must be equipped to carry this
crop promptly, quickly and in good condition from
the producer to the consumer Surely it is odiouS
that the Eastern holiday market shall be reaching
for our fine oranges which are rottng under the
trees for lack Of cars TO carry them! The railroads
must expect to prepare for the moving Of this fruit
crop which IS going to market every month in the
year. Just as Eastern roads equip themselves to move
the grain and coal and iron OF the States which pro-
duce them,
We have heretofore used the excellent report OF
General Chipman president of the State Board of
Trade 20 show the variety and value OF our fruit
crop This information is supplemented by
bulletin No % Of the miscellaneous service OF the
Agricultural Department, prepared by Statistlclan
Holmes field agent OF the bureau. He has visited
every county in California and laborousy collected
statistics that may not be found collated elsewhere
than in his report He reports that in 1900 there were
nd
AZ non-bearing in orchards, making total OF
o4o22S7 trees, occupying 452,252 acres.
OF the total number 8o72843 prune trees
5.52Io67 peach, 3652,454 orange, 2744,oIo apricot
and 2.I62.74o olive.
There were 100000 fig trees and 9o5742 lemon,
p 400 pomelo, I6o3,485 almond and 535,76I walnut
Grapes occupy the greatest area, $4,000 acres and
prunes are next with o4656 acres; peaches third
with 5000 acres, and the orange fourth with g.,
ga acres.
Mr.. Holmes is not only a statiStican, but horti-
cuturist as we'll and his report shows that while he
counted trees and vines and acres he closely observed
physical conditions in the light of their adaptation to
the various fruits OF the citrus fruits, including the
orange lemon lime and pomelo, he says: Much
OF the land of the State is adapted to the cultivation
Of citrus fruit and while by far the greater portion Of
the commercial crop OF the State is at present grown
in Southern California fruit of this character be
safely and proftaby grown all along the foothills of
the Sierra Nevada Mountains from San Diego to
Tehama County, distance of over 700 miles. This
area is thermal belt and varies in width from three
to thirty miles The mean summer temperature in
this belt is higher in the northern than the southern
part, and in the winter is higher in the southern
than the northern. The mean temperature for the
entire year. however does not vary more than four
degrees throughout the whole belt"
Here we have the first official statement of the
physical reason for the fact that the Northern Cali
forna oranges grown almost in the latitude of Chi
cago, ripen and go into market two months earlier
than the Southern California crop It is because Of
the greater heat in the summer when the fruit is
growing and maturing. This also accounts for the
greater earness of all stone fruits in Northern Cali
forna.
Dealing with the distribution of the fruit trees he
reports that in 1898 Northern California had of all
kinds bearing and non-bearing, Io,I7I5o6 and
Southern California 8,367,I93 OF the bearing trees
Northern California had 77.3 per cent and Southern
California 22.7 per cent The non-bearing trees were
more equally distributed, the north having 57.2 per
cent and the south 1873 per cent showing that plan
tations are being extended in Southern California
and new land is being brought into action.
| He finds that in 1000 there were $1,000 tons of
green fruit shipped out of the State from Northern
and 1o8 tons from Southern California. Northern
California also shipped I64,7o5 tons of dried and
canned fruits and raisns against 1925 tons from
the south. But in citrus fruits proportions re
versed, Southern California shipping 2I8,I83 tons,
against 1913 tons from the north The total ship
mcnts of all kinds Stood according to Mr. Holmes,
at o58 tons from Northern California and 2284I8
tons from the south, making the magnificent total
for the whole State OF 489,476 tons of fruit, the
product of 452,252 acres, or strictly speaking,
of I6Io2876 trees since the above acreage was also
occupied by I3,2oo,4II non-bearing young trees The
bearing trees being IS per cent Of the whole, the
bearing acreage was also IS per cent SO that 248738
acres produced 48o,476 tons of fruit of all kinds and
conditions for export a market outside the State
or one ton and eighttenths of ton per acre. This
of course in addition to very large home con-
sumption. This is a land of fruit and flowers and
Californians eat the one and the other in