160 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



being being trained higher — the Catawba* and Isabella in particular, 

 as they are. not so subject to mildew. But of one fact I am certain — 

 the nearer the ground the richer the fruit, whatever the variety. Air, light, 

 warmth, and moisture are all needed to cause a vine to flourish ■ but tbe 

 fruit itself should have one of its own broad leaves quivering over 

 every bunch, to shelter it from the direct rays of the midday sun. 



Irrigation should never be resorted to after the first year. A good 

 sprinkling over the top, of a warm still evening, when the berries are 

 about half grown, might be of great benefit, but to soak the roots with 

 water in the summer is calculated to lessen the richness of the fruit. 



A friend of mine who cultivates from sixty to seventy thousand vines, 

 came to me in the very dry summer of eighteen hundred and sixty-one, 

 and said the ground was so dry he feared his crop would be verj' light, 

 and said he had a s> - reat mind to irrigate. I told him what I would do. 

 He went at once and bought a water cart with a very fine sprinkler, 

 went through his whole vineyard, taking four rows at a time, on a still 

 moonlight night. This he did three different times between the setting 

 of the fruit and its beginning to ripen, each time creating a fine shower 

 all over the foliage ; and although he did not make as large a quantity 

 of wine as the year previous, it was much richer, and is now selling at 

 a dollar a bottle. 



I could adduce any amount of reason why the renewal long cane sys- 

 tem here recommended is preferable to the spur system of pruning prac- 

 ticed by many : 



First — "You make less cuts on the vine. 



Second — You can distribute the bunches singly along the canes, so as 

 to prevent their crowding and locking each other. 



Third — You can choose the very best buds on the vine for fruiting, and 

 place them in the very best possible position. 



Fourth — You can keep the vine and its fruit nearer the ground, and 

 thus avoid that terrible scourge of the vine, the mildew. 



But this essay has already swollen to an unreasonable length, and I 

 fear the patience of the committee will be exhausted. I hope they will 

 forgive me. I can only plead in extenuation the importance of the sub- 

 ject. But to do it full justice would fill a book as thick as a cheese, and 

 I can say no more now but to express my hope that this boon of a be- 

 neficent Providence to the people of California may be duly appreciated, 

 and that the men placed in this Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep 

 it, will do their duty and find their pleasure in doing it. 



