Pacific Rural Press, Volume 92, Number 15, 7 October 1916 — General Agricultural Review. [SECTION]

General Agricultural Review.

DECIDUOUS FRUITS.

The largest part of the Hollister prune and apricot crop has been sold, and is now in hands of packers.

The packing business of the California Peach Growers promises to be one of the important industries in Suisun.

County Horticultural Commissioner Chas. F. Collins believes the total fruit and grape crop of Tulare county has been a record breaker.

Over nine tons of Bartlett pears were picked from 70 trees in Lake county by Ray Huston and Claude Rowden this year, and were sold for $40 per ton.

W. C. Chisholm, located near Windsor, Sonoma county, has sold his crop of prunes, probably the largest in Sonoma county, this year. It is estimated at 75 tons of dried fruit.

One hundred thousand cases of canned peaches was the output of the Central California Cannery at Yuba City this season. Last year year about 42,000 cases of peaches were packed.

George N. Herbert has purchased 110 acres of the Thomas Fisher estate, a short distance south of Coyote, for between $70,000 and $75,000. Mr. Herbert stated that he purchased the property owing to the great richness of the soil, which he considers the best prune land in the valley. His 25 years' experience in the packing business has taught him that the largest and highest quality prunes are raised in the territory running from Edenvale to several miles south of Coyote. He stated also that the biggest production of prunes comes from this section. ( ITJIUS, NUTS, SEMI-TROPICAL. Over 250 carloads of lemons were shipped from Santa Barbara this season. Growers are sending out a carload of almonds daily from their warehouse at Oakley.

Ten thousand olive trees have been set out, and 4,000 more will be planted next spring in the little town of La Grange, in the eastern part of Stanislaus county.

The Banning Almond Growers' Association shipped five carloads of nuts recently, most of them going to the State Association warehouse for distribution.

G. W. Pierce, president of the California Almond Growers' ExChange, will visit every almond grjwers' association in California and interview personally as many of the 1265 member growers as possible.

Appearances Indicate that the Santa Barbara olive crop will be but one-third of what it was last year. The Santa Barbara Olive company is planning the erection of a factory shipped from Santa Barbara this on the Modoc road outside the city

The walnut crop in Goleta valley ran almost 93 per cent No. l's, according to grading done at the Goleta walnut house. The association pays the growers 15% cents a pound for the No. 1 nuts, No. 2 bringing 12% cents a pound.

The sale of the Fogg olive grove of forty acres in Thermalito to the Ehmann Olive Company has been announced. It is understood the price was in the neighborhood of $50,000. The grove was planted twenty-eight years ago, and has a State-wide reputation for producing large olives.

The Riverside Citrus Experiment Station is planning an orchard Institute to take place the third week in November, when ranchers and those interested in agricultural subjects will be welcomed at the station and a splendid series of programs will be presented. Cultivation, irrigation, fertilization, test control and other subjects will be discussed.

The first carload of figs from the

Bald Eagle ranch owned by the McHenry Brothers, located just west of Modesto, has been contracted to the Roeding Fig and Olive Company of Fresno. This fig orchard comprises 42 acres. The trees are twenty-nine years old. This is the largest bearing orchard of the kind on the coast. The crop is heavier than ever—six carloads or 360,000 pounds being now ready for sulphuring. They are Calimyrnas. GRAPES. Table grapes have been shipped East in good quantities from Merced, Atwater and Livingston, and for the first time in years wine grapes are being sent East in quantity. Five cars of the latter went to Chicago on one day recently. The recent rain did practically no damage to the fruit in that section. While there have been heavy grape shipments of Tokays to the East from Lodi district this season, the berries are not as large, as uniform, or as well colored as they were last season. The wide range of prices shows that a quantity of inferior grapes have been shipped. However, the outcome of the season will be satisfactory to the growers. FIELD CROPS. A fine seed bean crop is being harvested in the Santa Ynez valley. The bean crop in Yolo county is 100 per cent better than last year. The damage to drying beans from rain in Ventura county has not been serious. In the Imperial Valley two bales of cotton to the acre is grown this year in some instances. The Visalia Sugar Factory ran for twelve weeks this season, the longest consecutive run on record. It has been definitely announced the sugar refinery in Fallon, Nev., will be operated next season. A new variety of rice (No. 81) developed in Butte is proving most successful. It is an early ripening rice. The Riverside and Arlington Chambers of Commerce want a beet sugar factory for the Riverside district. Some Yolo county people are busy dredging the outlet of Clear Lake, so as to get more water for the rice fields in the valley. Pound for pound, Imperial valley cotton is more profitable to the grower because the bright sunlight of the valley bleaches it. The sale of 100 bales of cotton in the Brawley district has started the buyers to come to Brawley and the rush season is now on. A party of Japanese students and professors has been in Tulare studying the rice and fruit industries of Tulare and the Tulare lake region. MONTHLY CROP REPORT.

From the State Commission of

Horticulture at Sacramento the following estimate of citrus fruit was sent out as of Oct. Ist: Oranges in the six principal producing counties are estimated for the coming crop as follows: Los Angeles 90 per cent; Orange 100, Riverside 80, San Bernardino 95, Tulare 90, Ventura 100. These six counties are credited with producing 96 per cent of the oranges grown in the State, and the report indicates the prospect of a very large yield. In the seven principal lemon counties, producing 97 per cent, the crop estimate is: Los Angeles 90, Orange 100, Riverside 90, San Bernardino 90, San Diego 75, Tulare 95, Ventura 100. Olives are estimated in the 15 principal producing counties as follows: Butte 40, Fresno 100, Los Angeles 80, Madera 100, Riverside 60, Sacramento 80, San Bernardino 75, San Diego 100, San Joaquin 75, Santa Barbara 100, Sonoma 75, Tehama 33, Tulare 90, Yolo 60, Yuba 60.

CORN AND ALFALFA IN LAKE CO. I Written for Pacific Rural Premi.J The McKinley Brothers, one mile north of Middletown, Lake county, are the lucky owners of a $200 silo. It is the first one in this part of the country. In spite of cool and dry weather in the spring, the boys raised corn enough to fill it the first year, giving them about 60 tons of silage. They also raised five cuttings of alfalfa, giving their milk stock a good ration for the winter. A sixth cutting of alfalfa could have been obtained, but owing to the extra work of silo-building the cows were left to graze this last crop. The boys intend to seed some of their land to alfalfa every year. Water for irrigation is obtained from a creek on their place. In the summer a good market for butter is found right at home. The nearby health resorts are good customers. Durham cows are kept on the place, crossed with Holstein bulls. Mr. R. M. Collins is another successful alfalfa grower. All his low land is seeded. Mr. Collins has planted the high land to walnuts, which are doing well. RAIN DAMAGES GRAPES. While it is too early to say, at this writing (Monday), to what extent the raisin crop of Fresno county has .been damaged by rain, it is sure to be considerable. The heaviest loss is anticipated in vineyards where paper trays were used, it being impossible to stack them and the water both on top and bottom is certain to cause mildew. Even those vineyardists who had wooden trays will suffer a loss because of scarcity of labor for stacking. Raisin men predict a still heavier loss if the rain continues as many of those in stacks, need sunshine already. I

Green grape shipments have been cut in half and while some of the Malagas will be cleaner and more marketable, lower bunches will be spoiled. It is not thought that the Emperor crop will be affected.