452 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the quality than for the quantity which it produces. This is compara- 

 tively a new wine district, and has grown up within the last decade. The 

 first systematic planting of high-grade grapes began in 1882. 



There is in the second district a great viticultural interest, embracing 

 table grapes, raisins, sweet and dry wines, and brandies, excelling in the 

 latter. Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Tehama, Yuba, Butte, and Yolo 

 counties produce large quantities of table grapes, and quite a quantity of 

 raisins is shipped from some of these counties. Tehama has the largest 

 vineyard in the world, 3,800 acres, to which the manager says 1,000 acres 

 of new vines are to be added within a year. There were in the distillery 

 on this vineyard in April, 1890, when visited by the special agent of the 

 census office, 300,000 gallons of brandy and 1,000,000 gallons of wine. 

 Another large vineyard, the second largest in the state, contains 1,500 

 acres, and is situated at Folsom, Sacramento county. The winery belong- 

 ing to the vineyard has a capacity of 600,000 gallons. Many table grapes 

 are shipped from this vineyard to the eastern markets. The sales in this 

 direction have largely increased during the past two seasons. 



The third district is composed of San Joaquin, Merced, Fresno, Tulare, 

 Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, and 

 San Diego counties. Near Stockton, in San Joaquin county, is located- 

 one of the largest vineyards and wineries. Fine brandies are made in this 

 district; also sherries, ports, and some excellent clarets. Fresno county 

 contains at this time some 25,000 acres of bearing vines and 15,000 acres 

 of new plantings, the larger portion of which is grown for raisins. There 

 are, however, a great many gallons of wine and brandy made in this 

 county. The wines are mostly sweet, and of excellent quality. The raisin 

 pack in 1889 was 626,595 boxes; the wine produced, 1,200,000 gallons. 

 The California " Wines and Vines," speaking of the Muscatel de Gordo 

 Blanco, the true raisin grape, says: " The soil seems to impart a vigor to 

 the vines that is unknown elsewhere in the world. The second crop is 

 often very nearly equal to the first, and the third comes before the leaves 

 fall off." More than half the raisin grapes grown in California are pro- 

 duced in Fresno county. 



San Bernardino county, in this district, is also principally devoted to 

 the growing of raisin grapes. There are 9,562 acres of bearing and 4,125 

 acres of non-bearing vines, and the raisin pack for 1889 amounted to 375,- 

 000 boxes. Two wineries in San Bernardino county produced 279,000 gal- 

 lons of wine in 1889. There were also shipped from this district 1,700 

 tons of table grapes. 



Los Angeles county has 18,120 acres of bearing vines. A new and mys- 

 terious disease attacked the vines of the southern portion of this district 

 about 1885 and ruined more than one half of the acreage. Every effort 

 has been made to discover the cause and remedy the evil. The most 

 expert scientists have been consulted by the State Board of Viticulture in 

 California, and the Department of Agriculture appointed an expert to 

 investigate and report upon the matter. There were produced in 1889 in 

 Los Angeles county 25,820 tons or 51,640,000 pounds of grapes for wine, 

 and 1,000 tons or 2,000,000 pounds of grapes for table purposes. The 

 wines in this county are justly celebrated, and were the first shipped from 

 California to the eastern markets. This county excels in its sherries, 

 ports, and brandies. There were 20,000 boxes of raisins packed in 1889, 

 the new disease having reduced the product about one half. The product 



