irrespective of what he has done. He is known, if his works are not. For this the magazines are chiefly responsible, not by choice but by the necessity of the case. The natural desire of a writer for a great body of readers and for personal reputation is thus satisfied at once, and, as the magazine is his easiest road to these ends, he is willing to submit to its conditions almost without a thought; besides, if he needs money, there is the best counter for him to go to, and the cherry-stone, in story, essay, or poem, is most sure of quick purchase. So far as the working of the commercial motive is illustrated by the magazines in other departments than literature there is no question but that it secures the most authoritative knowledge in the most portable and interesting form, and parallels the service done by the same motive in the book-literature of popular knowledge. But so far as literature in the strict sense is concerned, it does not appear that the necessary conditions of a magazine for general circulation permit much substantial encouragement of it. On the contrary, if we judge by the results of the last score of years, it would seem that the magazines tend rather to emasculate literary talent by directing it to small things, except in fiction, and even in that department the influence is in the same direction.

If these generalizations upon a very broad and complex subject have any validity it must be concluded that writing for money would lead rather to hack-work for the nameless trade of the Unknown Public; or to emulation of those who must be called our literary demagogues, often no doubt sincere, as political demagogues also are-Ouida, Roe, Lew Wallace, Albert Ross, and Bellamy; or to contributing to magazines under conditions highly unfavorable to literature of a great kind. In other words, it must be thought that the commercial motive cannot be relied upon to secure literature important enough to be called national. The fact is that the book-trade, like other branches of business, consults the taste of its customers and seeks to please the largest number. The reading public is now such, so far as can be judged, that the mass of readers is too imperfectly cultivated to impose such standards, either in matter or style, as would make a national literature of the first order. Our national life has been rather of the Roman cast. Our great achievements have been

political, military, and engineering. Our renown rests on these. Our literature has been incidental; but, modest as it is, it is much cared for by a considerable and influential part of the people. It will be welcomed in the future as it has been in the past; but great authors must still be content to write from the inner impulse and to wait for their fortunes, without much care for the money that may be gained. The notion that the copyright law will make any appreciable difference is probably a mistaken one. The increase of gain from foreign sales will be very slight, except in the case of genius, and then it will come only after the time of struggle, when encouragement is no longer needed. Copyright is justice—that is all, and that is enough. The cloud of argument, arising from other grounds, that has gathered about it may have served a purpose; there is no reason why it should longer obscure the main issue. The ground of justice is one from which advance can still be made; the ground of expediency, once admitted, ends in inevitable compromise. So far as, in the course of the agitation, it has been made to appear that literature which has greatness in it, for the author and the nation, is dependent on pecuniary gain, a little more or a little less, or is encouraged by the strengthening of the commercial motive, the argument is not only fallacious, but at the present time rather works against our chances of literature than for them. At the best this motive has operated to give us in late years humor and fiction, characteristic, it is true, but unprofitable in proportion to its excellence, and in no instance recognized with certainty to belong to the literature that lasts beyond its generation. No one well acquainted with the conditions now ruling would feel free to advise any youth, however talented, to trust to literature for his living; the chances are many against one that he would find his grave in journalism. On the other hand no one would hesitate to tell him that a condition precedent to his success in contributing to the literature of his country, even if he had genius, is to throw away all thought of money in the present, to refuse to work for it unless it comes in his way of work, and especially to resist the temptation of a little success for a little thing.

GEORGE E. WOODBERRY.

PROFITS OF FRUIT-CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA.

THE missionary fathers planted fruit trees and grape vines in California contemporaneously with the founding of religious and educational institutions, but merely to supply the domestic demand, and it is only within a comparatively few years that fruitculture has been engaged in there for revenue. Its importance as a source of wealth is now fully appreciated, and its development henceforth will be very great. The fruits that are successfully grown in California are the apple, the apricot, the peach, the pear, the plum, the prune, the nectarine, the cherry, the fig, the olive, the guava, the loquat, the orange, the lemon, the lime, all the berries, grapes for the table, for raisins, and for wines, the English walnut, and the almond. These fruits do not grow equally well in every locality, and some of them are confined to particular sections. In common parlance, fruits in California are divided into two classes, the deciduous and the citrous, and for convenience they will be thus designated in this article.

Fruit-culture began in the middle portion of the State; that portion first attracted immigration. It had San Francisco for a shipping point and the Sacramento River for transportation. It has numerous rich valleys and extensive plains, it was first connected by rail with the East, and it has been more densely peopled than any other section. Naturally development and diversification of products took place earlier there than elsewhere, and therefore in all kinds of fruit to which it is adapted, it takes the lead. The citrous fruits are not successfully grown there, and cannot be, except in a few limited and favored spots, but it is claimed that the climate and soil of that part of the State give it advantages over any other section in the production of all the deciduous fruits, berries, and grapes. There can be no doubt that the people of that section practise superior methods of cultivation, and have been more careful in picking, pack

ing, preserving, and shipping their fruits than those of southern California. Their products have acquired a better name in the markets, and are more widely known; and it may be that that section of the State is best adapted to growing many kinds of fruit. But the success that has followed the efforts made in the southern part of the State within the last two years has immensely increased expectations and given strong evidence that southern California can successfully compete with the central section in growing most, if not all, classes of deciduous fruits.

The Tehachapi range of mountains may be regarded as the northern boundary of what is called the "citrous belt." Southern California, as commonly understood, comprises six counties: Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego. The climate is sui generis, and in giving range to productions it is perhaps superior to that of any other country in the world lying in the same latitude. The Tehachapi range connects the Sierra Nevada with the Coast Range and extends to the sea. For 200 miles on the coast, and for distances inland varying from a few miles to 80 miles, the country is open to the sea breezes. The winds are monsoons and blow from the north-west during the summer and from the south and southeast in the winter, modifying the temperature properly in all seasons. There are no frosts that do appreciable damage, and it is never oppressively hot. The climate is especially adapted to growing the citrous fruits, the fig, the guava, the walnut, and the almond.

The soil of California in valleys and upon "mesas" contains mineral and vegetable fertilizers that have for ages been washed down from the mountains. Its richness is almost phenomenal, and it has borne all kinds of crops so abundantly and so long that many Californians believe that its fertility cannot be exhausted. But it is, of course, not of the same strength or depth in all localities. The belief in its inexhaustibility has led to imperfect cultivation, and to the growing of such continuous crops that production has not been as great as it might have been. Vineyards have borne for a hundred years in some cases without replanting and without fertilization. Deciduous fruit orchards are rarely enriched; until within the last 10 or 15 years orange

groves were not fertilized, and the fertilization of many of them is still neglected. As it is apparent that fruit will in the early future become the greatest source of profit, the people are studying methods of cultivation, are beginning to utilize all the means of developing production to the utmost, and are making use not only of manures produced in the country but of all valuable and available commercial fertilizers, with excellent results. Soil and climate are so favorable that the fruit crop never fails, though the yield is not always the same, and on the average profits are eminently satisfactory.

As is well known, California has its wet season and its dry season, and water for purposes of irrigation is an important matter to be considered. It is necessary only in the production of certain kinds of fruit. The deciduous fruit trees are not irrigated, as a rule, and they bear fruit as abundantly and of better flavor without it. In selecting a place for peaches, apricots, prunes, apples, cherries, pears, nectarines, or figs, only soil and climate need to be regarded. The wine grape has more sugar without irrigation, and it is asserted by men of experience in wine-production that a good article cannot be produced with irrigation, but the muscat or raisin grape vine must have water during the dry season in order to insure a large yield and a good quality. Absence of fogs or moisture in the atmosphere is essential during the drying season. Fresno and other localities in the San Joaquin valley are especially adapted to raisin-culture on account of a rich soil, abundance of water, and the dryness of the atmosphere in the latter part of the summer and early autumn. The same is true of El Cajon valley in San Diego County, of Hesperia, and generally of San Bernardino, and of a portion of Los Angeles County. The walnut tree requires some irrigation unless it be planted in moist land where the water is near the surface. The cost of producing the deciduous fruits is small, and the net profit is large. The fig tree is a profuse and constant bearer and requires very little attention. The peach, the apricot, the prune, the pear, the cherry, and the nectarine begin bearing very early. The walnut is of slower growth and does not produce in large quantity till the tree is from 15 to 18 years old, but its longevity exceeds that of the other deciduous