THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 27 



Care of the Vineyard. After irrigation is over, the vineyards are 

 dug over. The soil is dug up around the vines and placed on top of 

 the ground in small heaps, which process is considered beneficial both 

 to the roots of the vines and to the soil. In April, this soil is all put 

 back, and the ground leveled. Each vine is staked. By the middle 

 of April, the vines are in leaf. By the middle of July, the first fruit 

 is ripe, and by the middle of August the harvest has everywhere 

 begun. The stakes for the vines are imported at a cost of $15 or $16 

 per thousand, and constitute the most expensive item in the construc- 

 tion of a currant vineyard. 



The mildew or oidium, which some fifty years ago spread all over 

 the world, destroyed many of the vineyards before the sulphuring was 

 discovered as a sure remedy. Sulphuring the vines is now regularly 

 practiced in all the vineyards; but there is a popular belief that the 

 raisins are no longer of the same fine and pure flavor as they used to 

 be before the advent of the oidium and the sulphur. 



Ringing the Branches. A process much used in the currant vine- 

 yards is the ringing of the branches. At the time of blossoming, some 

 of the main branches are cut in such a way that a small ring of bark 

 is separated from the branch near its base. The sap which ascends 

 in the interior of the branch, but which returns by the bark, is 

 thus prevented from returning, and must remain in the branch. The 

 effect is that a large number of clusters are formed with berries both 

 larger and sweeter than those not thus treated. But the practice is not 

 without its drawbacks. In the dry lands of Cephalonia, where it was 

 first introduced, it was soon discovered that the ringed vines began 

 to fail after two or three years, and the method had to be modified or 

 abandoned. In Morea, where the soil is moister and richer, the ring- 

 ing did not prove as dangerous, and is yet practiced, though great care 

 is taken that the same branch is never girdled or ringed in two suc- 

 cessive years. Only the strongest vines are able to resist the exhausting 

 effects of the process; the weaker ones should never be forced to 

 overproduce. 



The exhalations of fig-trees and pomegranate bushes are considered 

 most beneficial to the currant grape, and the former are found every- 

 where among the plantations, especially along roads and ditches. 



Drying and Curmg-.-Sbe drying and curing of the currant grapes 

 are done on drying grounds. These are simply leveled places covered 

 with fresh cow dung, or cow dung first mixed with water into a 

 paste. When this paste is dried, it presents a smooth surface, firm 

 but elastic, and entirely free from smell. This kind of drying ground 

 is considered the best kind. Inferior drying grounds are simply made 

 of the cleared soil. The currants dried on the latter are always full of 

 sand and dirt to an alarming extent, and bring an inferior price in 

 the market. The bunches are turned several times until dry, when 

 they are raked over with a wooden rake or broom, by which process 

 the stalks are separated from the berries. The berries are now 

 gathered, and the better qualities are winnowed in machines like 

 our fanning-mills. The next step is to sweat the currants, which is 

 simply done by piling them in air-tight rooms. The currants are here 

 put in large piles, which by sweating and pressure become so hard 



