STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 293 



Pruning 



First hoeing with fork-hoes, very deep, and spading. 



Second hoeing and suekering. 

 Third hoeing and suekering... 



Total 



$350 



1,000 



400 



100 



61,950 



But this expense includes officers' salarj^, wear and tear of tools, while 

 the calculation by horses does not. The work is superior to ploughing, 

 and no vine gets ruined entirely, or cut, which is often tlie case with bad 

 ploughing. 



But Ave must consider the culture of the vine, not only as carried on 

 by wealthy companies and rich private individuals, but also b}' men with 

 small means who wish to embark in this so well paying branch of indus- 

 try. What a chance for such individuals ! what a difference between 

 them and the grain or stock farmer! A man engaged on a grain farm 

 needs at least one hundred and sixt}^ acres to make a living. To fence 

 this in California, it requires cash for material, as lumber, posts, and 

 nails, in a favorable situation, outside fence, and division fence, at least 

 one thousand doUars, besides his labor; one pair of horses, harness, 

 wagon, harrows, ploughs, hoes, spades, grain and ha}' for his horses, seed 

 for his land, provisions for eight months — another one thousand live hun- 

 dred dollars, or in all two thousand five hundred dollars. In any other 

 country but California, a man who possesses two thousand five hundred 

 dollars considers himself well off. In this sum, however, no price for 

 land is included — this he gets from the Clovernment, if he finds any left. 

 Now, how is it with the man who has no such sum as we have stated? 

 What is he to do ? and what can he do? He can plant a vineyard with 

 very little capital ; what does he need ? 



First of all a pick, a crowbar, a shovel, a spade, an axe and wheel- 

 barrow, and one year's jDrovisions. He goes to Avork, rolls the rocks out 

 of his wa}' into a fence, inclosing ten acres therewith, or with chaparral 

 and brush, as either of the two are good for fencing wine lands, and he 

 will usually have plenty of them to make his fence. This done, he hires 

 some neighboring farmer to plough up for him this land, and exchanges 

 work for him in harvest time; or, if no such chance exists, he goes to 

 work, digs his holes, plants his vines; when finished planting, then he 

 hoes the space between the vines with fork hoes. It is hard work, but 

 industrious men, anxious to get an independent home, will do liard 

 W'Ork. The planting and cultivating his newly planted vines will not 

 take him more than half the year; the balance of the time he can work 

 out, and earn enough to supply him with provisions for next year. He 

 annually increases his plantation ; in the third year he has a small income, 

 enough to buy his provisions, and in course of six j^ears this man will 

 be independent, with an income of a couple of thousand dollars, and 

 worth in property from ten to fifteen thousand dollars. This is the 

 difference between the farmer and the vintaorer ; one can bes'in Avith 

 nearly nothing, the other needs at least tAvo thousand five hundred dol- 

 lars. These are not imaginary things, but facts. I had a case of this 

 kind myself. Thomas, an industrious German, hii"ed out to me in 

 eighteen hundred and fifty-efght. Prior to this he and another man 

 entered into partnership, took up some mountain land of the Govern- 



