196 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



excellent quality of both raisins and wine already produced. Regard- 

 ing the latter, the analysis of a Zinfandel claret has been given and 

 commented on in a previous bulletin (No-. 9). 



The soil of the San Diego River Valley is a fine sandy loam of a 

 dark mouse color, glistening with mica scales; it becomes somewhat 

 heavier downwards, and at three feet is chocolate-colored and moder- 

 ately coherent. From its appearance it should be very productive. 



EXAMINATIONS OF GRAPE-GROWING SOILS. 



No. 727. — Sandhill soil, from a tract near Fancher Creek Nursery, 

 about seven miles southeast from Fresno City; sent by Dr. Gustav 

 Eisen, of Fresno. This is a representative sample of the soil of the 

 higher sandhill ridges which traverse the Fresno country irregularly, 

 mostly in a northeast and southwest direction. Thej^ are but slightly 

 elevated above the general level of the country, and frequently with- 

 out any obvious relation to the present drainage. Their sandy soil 

 passes by gradations into the brown adobe bordering the foothill 

 streams, or into the reddish, light loam of the country inland. In 

 some cases their material was originally so loose as to be blown about 

 by the wind. Their vegetation was the usual one of dry lands in the 

 San Joaquin Valley, viz. : In Spring, more or less of the bright flora 

 of gilias and dwarf sunflowers [Baeria chrysostoma), and during the 

 dry season the drought-resisting turkey weed [Eremocarpus setigerus) 

 and the blue camphor weed ( Trichostema lanceolatuvi), with a few 

 others. Since irrigation has become general, and the land has filled 

 up with water, the deep, pervious soil of the sandhills has followed 

 the general example of the plain in growing up into tall weeds, such 

 as the pig weed (Erigeron Canadense), cockle bur (Xanthium struma- 

 rium and sjn'nosum), sunflower (Helianthus Calif ornicus), and others. 

 This rank growth has encouraged the settlement of sandhill tracts, 

 previously supposed to be too poor for profitable cultivation, until at 

 present large areas of such soil are occupied by flourishing colonies, 

 e. g., the Scandinavian. The question now arises, how durable the 

 productiveness of this soil is likely to be. 



The sample sent by Dr. Eisen is very sandy and unpromising look- 

 ing — probably the extreme of its kind. It was taken to the depth of 

 12 inches. The whole of it passes through the sieve of 1-50 inch 

 meshes — a fine grayish-yellow sand, with black particles (which are 

 mainly hornblende), while the white portion is a mixture of angular 

 quartz, feldspar, and glassy particles of pumice-like aspect under the 

 microscope — a material of which considerable beds are found on 

 Kings River where it issues from its canon in the sierra. On moist- 

 ening, it scarcely becomes adhesive. 



The chemical analyses resulted as follows: 



