Apricot

a fine fruit half way between a plum and a peach. A native of Armenia, or, as some say, of Japan. The apricot is fond of the sun, and in Europe is trained frequently against stone walls. It blooms early, before its leaves come out, and the fruit ripens earlier than peaches or plums. For this reason the apricot is liable to suffer from early frosts. Otherwise it is as hardy as the peach, and may be raised under similar conditions. Its chief enemy is the curculio, the same insect that attacks the plum and the peach. This insect must be caught on canvas by jarring the tree, and burned. The apricot is grown very generally in peach regions. It is one of the leading fruits of California, where it was introduced at the Spanish missions as early as 1792. The interior valleys of this state now shelter 3,000,000 trees and ship out as high as 30,000,000 pounds of dried apricots, 9,000,000 cases of canned apricots, and well on toward 200 cars of fresh apricots in four-pound crated baskets in a single season. Apricots are raised from the seed. The young plant is grafted during the second summer. Apricot grafts are set also on plum and peach seedlings. The apricot is a rapid grower. The shoots require thinning out, and it is usually necessary to remove a large part of the young fruit to secure the best results. See Grafting