etc 



late years the raisin industry has been prominently before the 

 horticulturists of California. Many people now make their living and 

 acquire wealth by the cultivation of the raisin grapes, and many are now 

 studying the methods of cultivation, pruning, curing and packing while wait- 

 ing for their vines to bear. The literature of the raisin industry is a very 

 scant one, and, with the exception of a few notices in works of travel, or in 

 treatises on general fruit culture, we find not a single book in which this 

 important and interesting industry is made the special subject of study and 

 discussion. A book on the raisin industry may, therefore, be considered 

 timely. I have endeavored to so write it that it would contain something j 

 of interest to all those connected with the growing and curing of the raisin ^ 

 grapes, to those who have already succeeded in building up fame and 

 fortune, as well as to those who have just begun the cultivation of the 

 vine, and who have as yet only realized the pleasures, but not the profits, 

 of the industry. The historical part of the book will principally interest 

 the former ; for the latter the practical part on cultivation, pruning, curing 

 and packing is intended. 



As our climate and other conditions differ from those of any other country / 

 in the world, so must our mlthods f: of> cultivation and curing differ from 

 those practiced elsewhere. Foreign methods, while interesting and, in 

 some respects, of great importance to us, had to be greatly modified and 

 improved upon before our growers succeeded in producing raisins equaling 

 the best from the raisin districts of the Old World. It has cost years of 

 experimenting and study to attain success, as well as much money and dis- 

 appointment to many whohad^nothingjto guide them ^^n^^^comm^ncod. 



These processes~T5y~which success was achieved can now become the 

 property of all, and a safe guide to even the most inexperienced beginners. 

 The methods advocated here are the result of practical experience of the 

 author, as well as of the most successful raisin-growers of this State. 



For the benefit of those of our readers who now study the raisin indus- 

 try at a distance, but whose steps may in the future be directed to this 

 Coast, a descriptive tour through the raisin districts of our State has 

 been added in order that they may see what our country is like, the 

 country of the raisin and the fig; the country of almonds, olives, oranges 

 and prunes; the country where health, profit and enjoyment are more than 

 anywhere else derived from horticultural pursuits. It is for these prospective 

 readers, that the short biographical sketches of our principal raisin-men are 

 intended, short records of the pioneers of the raisin industry, men who 

 have broken the way which is now easy to travel, and through whose ex- 

 perience and perseverance others are now being benefited. 



GUSTAV EISEN. 

 SAN FRANCISCO, CAI,., OCTOBER, 1890. 



