It must always be remembered, though, that such returns are only realized after years of patient waiting, hard labor intelligently applied, and under favorable conditions. Thus, while fruit-growing is a pleasant and safe business for persons of all ages and both sexes, and while the grove or orchard is better than a bank account as a pension for old age, it must be studied and prepared for the same as any other calling in life. For this reason I should strongly urge any young person intending to embark in it to serve at least a two years' apprenticeship, or while his nursery stock is growing, in some well-established grove of the kind that he proposes to make. Here, in addition to familiarizing himself with the routine work of the grove, he should study the chemistry of soils and fertilizers, the habits of such insects as may attack his trees, and the laws regulating the supply and demand of markets. In other words, success in fruit-growing can only be attained by following the self-same rules that lead to success in every line of business under the sun, and by the practice of industry and perseverance.
It was a sultry summer morning. The rays of the sun beat down with merciless power through an atmosphere which was saturated with humidity. The sea, flashing in long slanting lines of dazzling silver, melted away in the distance into a cloud of thick yellowish haze. There was no horizon-line, for this haze hung downward from the sky like a veil. It seemed to grow thicker and more dingy in appearance from hour to hour, and as it did so the atmosphere became more and more oppressive. The sunlight, which had blazed in clear white glory early in the day, became yellow and faint, but its heat did not diminish. On the contrary, it seemed to grow greater every minute. The sky had been a deep luminous blue early in the morning, but at eight o'clock great tufted white clouds, looking like gigantic masses of white cotton sailing through the air, began to rise out of the west. After a time they seemed to draw parts of the low haze upward with them, and hence, now and then, a dark shadow appeared among the expanses of white. The light breeze from the west was soft and hot, as if it had passed over a great lake of warm water.