A FREMENDOUS ORCHARD IN CALIFORNIA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 1194, 15 December 1871, Page 3

A FREMENDOUS ORCHARD IN CALIFORNIA.

A few days ago (says an American reporter) ifr was our pleasure to visit the orchard »f John Briggs, located about two miles soutlv of Yuba City, in Sufcter county. The proprietor is the owner of 426 acres, mostly bottom land, lying along the west bank of tike Feather Eiver. The soil is a rich, sandy loam, and composed of the yearly deposits of the river many years ago. No better or richer land is to be found in the state, and the orchard we shall briefly notice promises to be the pride of the Briggs Brothers, who have a state reputation as orchadists and fruit-growers. Before reaching the orchard proper we rode through :i field of 150 acres of castor beans, growing in the most luxurious manner — which field, by-the-by, is to give place to a new orchard, next year, the fruit trees for the same at present growing in the nursery by the side of the field of castor beans, and containing. 25,000 one year old budded peach trees, 16,000 plum trees, 6000 Eastern walnuts, 25,000 Californian walnuts, 2000 apple trees, 5 0 Italian- chestnut trees,. &c. Passing along, this forest of young trees, we arrived at the present peach orchard, consisting of 600 trees, two years old, and some of them bearing this season 150lbs. o£ peaches. These trees have made a remarkable growth, owing to the rich ground upon which they are planted, and in another will make a tremendous yield of fruit. We next rode into the cherry orchard, containing 3000 of the most thrifty young j trees ever seen on any ground. The different varieties, fifteen in number, gave this orchard a variety of aspect, and broke up the usual monotony of the steeple-like I formed cherry orchard. These cherry trees were all imported from Rochester, N.Y , about three years agoj Off to the south of this wonderful wilderness are 2;>00 plum trees, of twelve varieties,, and 500 apple trees, mostly winter varieties Passing the peach orchard, we reached the apricots, 22U0 in number, which are also two years old, and have borne a fair crop the present seasom