THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 37 



Varieties. The grape used for raisins is a variety of the Muscat, 

 very similar to the Muscat of Alexandria. Grapevines transplanted 

 to California resemble this variety very much, but, according to Pro- 

 fessor Hilgard, set their fruit better, and do not suffer so much from 

 colure. It is said that these grapes were imported to Chile long ago 

 by the Spanish conquerors, and it is supposed they grew the vines 

 from seed brought from Spain, and selected the best of the- seedlings. 

 In this way the slight difference of the Huasco grape from the Muscat 

 of Alexandria can be accounted for. 



Soils. The soil in the coast valley consists of a reddish, sandy loam, 

 which changes to a fine yellow sand, of great richness. This sand 

 covers the hills almost everywhere in the vicinity of the Huasco river, 

 the nature of the country being a rolling one. 



Climate. The climate is notoriously dry, and rain falls only very 

 seldom between June and September, is of short duration and very 

 scant. In the interior valley, rain is said to be seldom known, and 

 the climate there can be called entirely rainless. Dew is abundant in 

 the winter, but the summers are warm and dry. 



Irrigation. Near the coast no irrigation is required, but in the interior 

 valley the grapes are irrigated three times a year, first when the buds 

 begin to swell, second when they begin to blossom, and lastly when 

 the fruit is wett advanced. 



The Vineyard. The vines are planted six feet one way by eight feet 

 the other, and the intermediate space is often planted to alfalfa, giving 

 three crops of hay each year. The heads are kept low, the vines are 

 pruned heavily, and only two eyes left on each cane. Sometimes 

 whole branches are cut away, especially if they do not bear well. 

 The vines are grown both on hillsides and in the valleys on the bottom 

 lands. Many of the vineyards are surrounded by elevated arbors or 

 trellises, over which the vines are trained, to keep off the heavy spring 

 winds which otherwise would break the branches, windbreaks, in 

 fact. The cultivation of the Huasco vines is of the most primitive 

 kind. The land is poorly cultivated, and the fact that alfalfa is grown 

 between the rows of the vines indicates that the industry is not highly 

 developed. On the other hand, it is not impossible that the crowding 

 together of various things on the land may help to give the grapes a 

 certain flavor or aroma. 



There is said to be a great difference between the various Huasco 

 grapes, some being very superior to others. The inferior kinds are 

 called simply Muscats, while the better kinds are the Huascos. It is 

 not known if these varieties come from different kinds of grapes, but 

 it is likely that this is the case. Vines of the best variety transplanted 

 to other localities than the Huasco valley give invariably indifferent 

 results, and produce raisins inferior to the Huasco. 



Drying and Curing. The poorer qualities are simpiy dried on boards 

 or on the roofs of the houses in the sun; but the fine and most valuable 

 raisins are dried in the shade. When ripe, the bunches are carefully 

 picked and taken to open K sheds with thatched roofs, and there hung 

 up to dry. The raisins are turned at intervals, and when ready are 

 packed in twenty-five-pound boxes without any great care or skill. The 



