THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



501 



couldn't be followed out reasonably and have both crops of alfalfa and 

 grapes, but he didn 't think of the crop of hogs then. 



AVhen I came to this State twenty-seven years ago I used to attend 

 the fruit .growers' conventions regularly, every one that came along, 

 and to-day when I saw our old friend, Russ D. Stephens, come up with 

 his old subject attacking the Southern Pacific, and Mr. Swett here with 

 his address on grape growing, I felt like it was a representative fruit 

 grower-s' convention in which I am privileged to take a little part. Aside 

 from the use as cover crops, which a little experimenting in that line of 

 growing alfalfa, w'here he has given fertilization to the ground lying 

 between the grapes without extra cost, except the expense of cultivation, 

 and adding considerably to his crop of grapes, he has besides a crop of 

 hogs, if treated that way. 



Also another part of the story is that he could get some phenomenal 

 profits shipping east the crops of those vines, because now the eastern 

 markets are supplied with the Almeria grape from Spain, and which we 

 have had a good deal of trouble in getting a crop of in this country. It 

 may be of interest to add what I have noticed in various trade reports ; 

 that there are from four hundred thousand to six hundred and fifty thou- 

 sand barrels of Almeria grapes imported into New York every year. 

 Here is an opportunity for a new^ industry in this country, if we can 

 find out just how to do it. 



Mr. Schmidt. We are experimenting with a few vines, about sixty or 

 seventy, that we are going to train up in the Spanish style, the trellis 

 system, that is seven feet high and then separating the branches. As I 

 believe I stated to Mr. Swett this morning, these kinds we have are only 

 a few years old and have all been grafted on resistant vines. They have 

 done fairly well this year, considering the variety. Some few of the 

 grape-s over there (on the table) now show how they keep, how they do, 

 in sawdust. This particular variety we handle is the better variety of 

 the Almeria. 



Mr. S^^^TT. What time do they ripen? 



Mr. Schmidt. In October, extending through the month, and they 

 don't deteriorate very rapidly. We have them also in the northern part 

 of the State, but not in sufficient quantity in the north to say much 

 about it. We know that some vineyardists are troubled with some 

 physiological trouble — the black spots appearing on them, and of w^hich 

 we know nothing. 



Mr. Eoeding. In regard to the Almeria grape, I want to say that 

 nearly every one who has had any experience with the Almeria grape in 

 California has found it rather an unsatisfactory grape to grow. This 

 has been largely due to the fact that these grapes have spotted more or 

 less and the vine has been subject to mildew. I have both Almeria 

 grapes and another variety which bears a close resemblance to it in 

 my experimental vineyards, called the Olivette de Vendemian, that I 

 imported from France a number of years ago, and I think Mr. Schmidt 

 will bear me out that, although the two grapes bear a very close resem- 



