50 THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 



Ontario the soil varies from a heavy clayey adobe to a lighter but very 

 rich sandy loam of a grayish color. The very sandy soil in some 

 river bottoms, especially around Lugonia, has, through experience, 

 been found to be entirely unsuited to the raisin grapes. 



The Vineyards. The variety used for raisins is nearly entirely the 

 Muscat of Alexandria, although several vineyardists call these grapes 

 incorrectly the Gordo Blanco. I saw nowhere this variety, but I 

 suppose some must have been imported there. In planting, cuttings 

 have been preferred, probably because they are the cheapest, and 

 because the value of rooted vines has not been properly understood. 

 The vines are set, almost everywhere, eight by eight, only in a few 

 vineyards nine by nine feet. There is, however, a growing belief 

 that eight by ten feet or eight by twelve feet is better than the old 

 accepted eight by eight feet. But I believe that this tendency to give 

 the vines greater room will, in course of time, be followed by the 

 opposite tendency to plant them closer, at least one way, and give 

 more room the other way. The Muscat of Alexandria begins to bear 

 in three years, and in four years will pay fifty dollars per acre. The 

 practice of plowing is, in Riverside, to first plow towards the vines in 

 the fall, and then, when the vegetation has begun in the spring, the 

 soil is turned back towards the center of the space between the rows, 

 or from the vines. Then the soil is cultivated with chisel-tooth 

 cultivators, both crosswise and lengthwise, also similarly after every 

 irrigation. But this practice is not entirely the same everywhere, and 

 the different vineyardists have here as elsewhere different ideas, even 

 in regard to the most common farm or vineyard practices. Pruning 

 was formerly done much closer than now, but it was found that by 

 close pruning the vines bore less. To-day from fifteen to twenty spurs 

 are left on the strongest vines, and on every spur about two eyes. 

 From twenty to twenty-five spurs were found to be too much; with 

 such quantity of spurs the vines produce smaller and inferior grapes. 

 Some vines which were pruned with twenty-five spurs last year have 

 this year been given nine or ten spurs only, so as to enable them again 

 to recover and grow strong, when the quantity of spurs will again be 

 increased to fifteen. Summer pruning is used by some, but not by 

 others. It does not, according to observation, injure the vine, but 

 produces always a second crop, which is difficult to cure. Sulphuring 

 the vines is practiced by some, but not by all, growers. A great many 

 cannot see the use and value of sulphur. No one sulphurs for colure 

 or the dropping of the grape, which is quite a common occurrence. 

 The vines, however, never suffered from the leaf-hopper nor the grape 

 caterpillars, but sunscald is not uncommon, nor is black-knot. 



The Crop. The Muscat grapes begin* to ripen in Riverside later 

 than in the San Joaquin valley, and picking commences between the 

 loth and the 3oth of September. Highlands is said to be two weeks 

 later than Riverside. The first crop is ready to turn in two weeks, 

 and is ready for the sweatbox in three weeks' time. For drying, trays 

 are used, and about twenty pounds are placed on each tray. These 

 trays are all made of pine or fir. Redwood has been found unsuitable, 

 as imparting both a color and a taste to the raisins if accidentally wet 



