68 THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 



or gray, it makes but very little difference, as long as it is rich and 

 susceptible of the highest state of cultivation and has the faculty of 

 retaining moisture. The deeper and richer the soil the better the 

 Muscatel grape will thrive and produce, and as such soils are most 

 generally found along the banks of creeks and rivers, or in their 

 bottoms and sinks, we might conclude that in such localities the best 

 soils for the Muscat grape may be found. Other varieties of raisin 

 grapes, such as the Malaga (California) and the Sultana, do well in less 

 rich soil; indeed, they bear profitably in places where the Muscat 

 would be a failure. It is therefore important for every vineyardist 

 to carefully select his soil and then plant on it the proper variety of 

 vine. 



Malaga. The soils of Malaga are of various kinds. The best is a 

 reddish loam containing much gravel, both coarse and fine. This soil 

 is very stiff and hard, and when dry is as solid as a brick. The red 

 color is derived from oxide of iron or other iron compounds, which 

 many of the best vineyardists consider a most desirable element in any 

 raisin soil. The upland vineyards, or those on the slope of the hills, 

 contain soils of decomposed clay and slate mixed with more or less 

 gravel and sand. The Dehesa lands contain alluvial deposits of a black 

 or gray color. 



Valencia and Denia. In this district we find soils of many different 



' grades and colors. The sandy and gravelly soils are considered as 

 producing the finest flavored raisins, and those having the best keeping 

 qualities, while the rich, loamy soils of the valleys produce raisins of 

 inferior flavor and keeping qualities, but of larger size and more per 

 acre. For economical reasons, the latter soils are preferred, as they 

 alone can be irrigated and made to produce large crops. Some -of the 

 best vineyards in this district contain a gray, ashy soil, quite similar to 

 the white ash of the Kings river lands, while others are growing on a 

 red clayey loam similar to the California red soil. 



(/ Smyrna. The raisin-grapes of Smyrna in Asia Minor are almost 

 exclusively grown on a white limestone soil, which consists of decom- 

 posed white rocks mixed with a stiff ocher-colored loam. This soil is 

 so rocky that it must first be cleared, and the large rocks are carried 

 away and used for boundary walls. This is the soil in the coast 

 districts. In the interior the Sultana vines, as well as the Muscats, 

 are replaced by fig orchards and other trees which delight in sandy 

 soil, too sandy to produce profitable raisin crops. 



V Zante. The soils of Zante, the home of the Currant grape, are of 

 various kinds. The heavy marl df the plains, which contains a large 

 percentage of gypsum or sulphate of lime, is considered the best; 

 indeed the gypsum is by many considered indispensable, or at least 

 highly beneficial, to the above variety of grape. Other soils are red 

 clay, gray marl and gravelly loam, all containing an abundance of 

 lime. The Currant grape grows well and produces well on all these 

 different soils, but does the best on the gypsum soil, which is there- 

 fore the most valued. On other soils the bunches are less solid, and 

 the quantity of grapes produced is somewhat less, while their quality 

 is inferior. 



