174 THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 



the very best imported brands. Many large packing-houses are estab- 

 lished in Fresno, Riverside and El Cajon. 



1888. The pack reaches in California 850,000 boxes, and the Fresno 

 as well as the Riverside raisins are very large and choice. Forsyth and 

 Butler raisins take the lead, some of the choicest layers bringing as high 

 as one dollar per five-pound quarter box. Only 112,000 boxes of Ma- 

 laga raisins are imported to the United States. 



In October, 1888, the following prices were obtained for imported 

 raisins at auction sale in New York: 645 boxes best London Layers, 

 $3.25 to $3. 12*^; 348 Imperial Cabinets, $3.35 to $3.20; 200 fine De- 

 hesa Bunches, $4.50 to $3.75; 50 Imperial Dehesa Bunches, $5.65; 104 

 Dehesa Bunches, $4.05 to $4.00; 100 Finest Selected Clusters, $4.45 to 

 $4.40; 50 Finest Royal Clusters, $4.75; 3 Imperial Excelsior Dehesa 

 I^oose Muscatels, $5.00; 140 Imperial Loose Muscatels, $3.30 to $2.15; 

 i Imperial Excelsior Dehesa Clusters, $5.50; 9 Imperial Dehesa Clus- 

 ters, $5.12^ to $5.00; 2 Dehesa Dessert Fruit, $4.10; 1,194 Finest Va- 

 lencia Layers, 8^6 to 8 cents; 899 Finest Valencia Raisins, 7 to 6^ 

 cents; 150 half boxes Finest Valencia Layers, 8^3 to 8 cents; 246 

 boxes Finest Sultanas, 8^ to 8 cents. 



At the same time California layers were quoted at from $1.80 to 

 $2.25 for medium grades, while for Dehesa and Imperial quarter boxes 

 from eighty cents to one dollar were realized. Raisins in sweatboxes 

 were bought by packers at five cents per pound, prices not rated ac- 

 cording to quality. 



1889. The crop of 1889 was not as large as at first calculated, on 

 account of loss through unusual and heavy rains. It was especially 

 the second crop which suffered. The first crop was good, and brought 

 good prices, average layers bringing from $1.75 to $2.25 per box of 

 twenty pounds. Great improvement is made in packing and labels, 

 and our average raisins are better than the average imported Malagas. 

 Our choicest layers, however, do not yet equal in size, curing and 

 packing the choicest Malagas, and no efforts have been made to com- 

 pete with them. There are at least four higher grades packed in 

 Malaga which we do not produce here. During last season raisins in 

 sweatboxes have ruled higher than before, and have been bought by 

 packers at from three to seven cents. 



1890 (to July). The crop promises to be as large as last year. It is 

 greatly in demand, and representatives of Eastern and California dealers 

 have already bought up the most of the coming crop at prices averaging 

 one-half a cent more per pound than last year. 



From the above statistics we learn that through the production of 

 raisins in California the price of sun-dried raisins to the consumer on 

 this coast has been lowered from $3.00, $3.75, $4.00 and $4.50 in 1873 

 to $2.00 and $2.50 in 1890. The importation of Malaga raisins in the 

 United States has greatly diminished, while that of Valencia or " dipped " 

 raisins has increased. In 1873, the United States imported 35,271,312 

 pounds of raisins, for which it paid $2,292,948, while in 1888 our im- 

 portation was 40,340,117 pounds, or about five million pounds more, 

 for which we paid $2,098,503, or about $200,000 less. 



