18830 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



237 



the following figures, carefully collated from the 

 experience of prominent fruit growers in California. 

 The estimates are low and abundant allowance 

 has been made for errors and accidents. 



COST OF ORCHARD. 



](• acres of laud, (if 3100 per ucie S 1 



KOi) trees, S years, budded on 8 year-old stocks 1-, 



Planting and care of orchard, first year 



Ctre of orchard for 2 yeais 'rfi >1.5 per year per acre 



Capital required. 



000 I 

 00(1 1 

 300 

 8011 



;,.500 



RECEIPT.S FRO>[ ORCHARr). 



Third year, from trees 9 years old, -50,000 oranges, (^ 



?15 per 1000 * 



Cost of marketing 



750 

 250 



Profit 20 ff, or rt > per year . 



50" 



Fourth year, 100,000 'ff Hh per 1000 . S 1, 



Oare of orchard and marketing fruit 



Profit 40 ',;, or M > per year 8 l.OOn 



Fifth year, 500.(X)0 *? ?1.5 per 1000 > 7, 



< 'are of orchard and marketing fruit 2, 



Profit 20*1 •■', or .')2 -'. per year S 5,000 



Sixth year, 1,000,000 (r^. S15 per 1000 ^\?). 



Care of orchard and uiarketing fruit .5, 



Profit 400 <, or 110 J per j'ear. 



810,000 



The price obtained for the oranges in the above 

 estimate is for common sorts. For the finer varieties 

 already named i^o or $50 per 1,000 is generally 

 obtained. The market is always good, and with 

 our rapidly growing country and increasing wealth, 

 it is not likely to fail. 



Grapes. — Vineyards are perhaps the most im- 

 portant form of fruit culture, and have the advant- 

 age of bearing sooner after planting than any other 

 fruit. The red granite soil of California, and the 

 hot cloudless weather of the interior, are specially 

 fitted to develop the rich saccharine properties of 

 the grape and the fine aroma of the raisin. On 

 the coast where the fogs are frequent, or on rich 

 bottom soils, where the water is within six feet of 

 the surface, the grape although it may be large, 

 is apt to be sour and watery, and to lack the fine 

 appearance which only perpetual sunshine can 

 give. On the other side where there is not suf- 

 ficient moisture to produce a luxuriant growth of 

 rind the grapes and consequently the raisins are 

 apt to be what might be called lean. 

 * In California where there is almost perpetual 

 sunshine, a level piece of land is best for a vine, 

 yard, and a hill-side of northern exposure prefera- 

 ble to one facing south. Level ground will absorb 

 nearly all the water that falls as rain, while a slope 

 will shed it. If a hill-side be used, it should be 

 terraced. The best soil for the grape is a finely 

 -divided sandy loam, easily worked, and absorbing 

 and retaining water readily, A sandy soil, by its 



porosity, has more capacity than a clay soil, to 

 take up air in the day-time, and draw out its 

 moisture during the night. In preparing a vine- 

 yard, the ground is plowed as deep as possible 

 four weeks before planting. Just before planting 

 it is harrowed as smooth as possible. For wine 

 the vines should be planted six by six feet, and 

 for raisins eight by ten feet. 



Irrigation should be provided, but used very 

 sparingly, for the vines require very little water 

 and will do perfectly well during many seasons, 

 without any more than nature supplies. By ex- 

 cessive irrigation the grapes are made watery and 

 insipid, and inferior for wine or raisins. The phy- 

 loxera is the most deadly enemy of the vine, and 

 has destroyed all the vineyards in many places. 

 It has not yet appeared in Southern California, and 

 possibly never may, for energetic measures are 

 adopted to prevent its introduction, and irrigation 

 prevents its growth and spread. Yet the safest 

 way is to plant only varieties grafted on the native 

 stock, which is very hardy and does not succumb 

 to its attacks. 



The most profitable use of the grape is for 

 raisins, next for wine and lastly for table use. 

 Very nearly all the raisins in California are made- 

 from grapes dried in the open air between the rows 

 of the vineyard. Still it is better to have a drier 

 on hand in case of necessity. The California wine 

 is of very fine quality and improving each year. 

 Much of it is marked and sold as celebrated 

 European wines of different brands, for if marked 

 from California it does not bring so good a price. 

 The variety most used for raisins is Muscat of 

 Alexandria, but the Sultana is supplanting it in 

 many places, making an excellent quality of both 

 wine and raisins. The best varieties for wine, 

 varying according to locality, are Blanc Ellu, Zin- 

 fandel, Bergen, Burgundy, and Black Malvoisii. 



For Raisins. — The cost and profits of a vine- 

 yard for raisins is shown as follows : 



COST OF VIXEYAKD. 



10 acres of land $ 1 ooo 



5,000 vines, 2 years old, @ SlOO per 1000 .iOO 



Planting and care of vineyard, first year 250 



Care of vineyard, second year ' i.'io 



Incidental io<i 



Capital re(iuired 5 2,000 



:<rET RECEIPTS. 



Second year, 500 boxes raisins @ 81.60 § 800 



Cost of marketing .300 



Profit 25 ^, or 12 ;i per year $ 500 



Third year, 1,500 boxes raisins @ 81.60 $ 



Care of vineyard and marketing 



2,400 

 1,000 



Profit 70 4, or 32 <% per year 8 1,400 



