THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 123 



line towards the center, as it would then expose too many of the lower 

 grape bunches, but in a spiral direction round the vine. If there is 

 any fear that the grapes will be exposed and sunburned, and the vines 

 have not been properly summer pruned, the tying over is the only 

 process by which great loss can be prevented and the grape crop saved. 

 In tying over, no twine is used. The end of the long branch is twisted 

 and fastened to other branches, and, when the grapes are ripe and the 

 picking season comes, a single light pull will suffice to untie all and 

 allow the grapes to be picked. Great care should be used in tying 

 over, lest the lower branches become exposed and sunburned. Careless 

 or inexperienced laborers will often accomplish a great deal of work 

 and a great deal of harm in an incredibly short time. I have seen 

 vineyards where more harm was done by tying over than by the sun 

 and wind combined. 



Covering the Vines. Instead of tying over, many vineyardists now 

 cover the vines, and place the covers on the open center of the vine, 

 in order that they may protect the grapes from exposure to the sun, 

 This is done in June, several days before the hot spell is expected. 

 The last week in June is the best time almost everywhere in Califor- 

 nia, as the vines are then open in the center, and any unusually hot 

 weather would easily cause the grapes to sunburn. The process of 

 covering is very simple. With a pair of shears the longest branches 

 are clipped off and immediately placed on the open center. This is 

 generally enough to prevent the exposed grapes in the center of the 

 vine from being scalded. More than half a dozen branches will seldom 

 be required, and at picking time these dry branches must first be thrown 

 off, so as to give the picker access to the grapes. The covering of the 

 vines is a better process than tying over, requiring less work and being 

 more quickly performed. It is especially useful for old vines, as the 

 grapes of young vines are principally exposed from the sides. 



Thinning the Crop. The proper thinning of the crop should be 

 done by pruning. If the proper amount of wood is left, no thinning 

 out of the grapes is needed. If a few show-grapes or extra large 

 raisins are needed for exhibiting purposes, they can be produced by a 

 judicious cutting of the majority of the grapes from any single bunch. 

 If the free half of the bunch is cut off, the part that is left will pro- 

 duce very large grapes. This operation is, however, never likely to 

 enter as a regular vineyard operation in our vineyards, as with us labor 

 is too scarce. The object of our raisin industry is to produce cheap 

 medium-sized raisins of good quality, to be used by the masses of the 

 people, instead of a smaller quantity of very large grapes, which 

 could only be used by the rich. 



Ringing the Vines. This consists in removing a part of the bark 

 all around a cane. In France and Greece a special instrument is made 

 to perform this operation quickly and carefully. A ring of bark half 

 an inch wide is all that is required to have the desired effect. The 

 vines are ringed when the grapes are half grown, and only a few canes 

 are ringed on each vine. The effect of ringing is to greatly increase 

 the crop of grapes, also to produce the grapes earlier in the season. 

 So far this process has not been used in California to any extent. In 



