THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 91 



Other Varieties of Currants. The White Currant grown in Califor- 

 nia is not the true raisin grape which produces the Currant of com- 

 merce. The bunch and berry resemble the Black Currant, but differ 

 in not being black, and in lacking the peculiar aroma and flavor alone 

 possessed by the Black and true Currant. There are in Greece several 

 other varieties of Currants, such as red and gray, but these are used 

 for wine and not for raisins. The White and Red Currants were 

 introduced from Crimea in 1861 by Colonel Agoston Haraszthy. 



Thompson Seedless. This variety has been growing in California for 

 many" years, but has only lately come into notice. It was imported 

 from Rochester, New York, from the establishment of Elwanger & 

 Barry, about 1872, and was by them described as a grape from Con- 

 stantinople under the name of I/ady Decoverly. Thompson Seedless is 

 the name given this grape by the local growers around Yuba City, and 

 not the original name. I am inclined to believe that this grape is 

 related to, but not identical with, the oblong, seedless grape which 

 is grown around Damascus in Asia Minor, and there dried into a raisin 

 of very good quality. This Damascus grape is brownish when ripe. 

 Thompson Seedless is an oval grape, greenish yellow, as large as a 

 Sultana, seedless, with thin skin, good but not strong flavor, and 

 without that acid which characterizes the Sultana grape and raisin. 

 The bunches are large, or very large, and the vine is an enormous 

 bearer. As yet it is principally grown around Yuba City and 

 Marysville in limited quantities, but the raisins are in good demand. 

 When sun-dried and cured, these raisins are bluish and dark like 

 Muscats, but narrower and more tapering, and only a quarter the 

 size. " Their sjveetness and taste commend them for cooking purposes, 

 and the bearing quality of the vine will no doubt make their growing 

 profitable in all places where the seasons are too short to thoroughly 

 ripen the Sultana. In Yuba this grape ripens early in August. 



Other Seedless Grapes. In ' the Islands of Lipari and Pantelleria a 

 coarse but seedless grape is grown, out of which a variety of Sultana 

 raisin is made. We have no further notices and description of this 

 variety. 



Malaga. This is not a real -raisin grape, but of late years raisins 

 have been made from it and found both fair in quality and profitable 

 to the grower. The Malaga is a heavy bearer of one crop of very 

 large but loose bunches. There is no second crop. The berries are 

 large, oval, not tapering, the flesh is meaty and solid, very sweet, but 

 with no decided flavor. The skin is thick and green, when ripe 

 amber yellow, with thick bloom. Raisins made of this grape are very 

 large, and the bunches are also large and solid, and the berries are not 

 easily torn off. When sweated, the skin becomes thinner, and the 

 quality improves generally. The Malaga is a very hardy vine, not 

 particular about soil, a strong grower, bears well, and its grapes ripen 

 at the time of the Muscats. But, as there is no second crop, the 

 vintage of the Malaga will be over long before that of the Muscats, 

 and out of the way of rain or fog. This is what makes this grape so 

 valuable. Four cents per pound has been paid for these raisins in 

 sweatboxes for the past two years, and at that price this grape pays 



