210 THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 



Dehesas, it occurred to him that a block or plate might be made with 

 cavities in which the raisins could be placed quickly and without danger 

 of being disturbed. His idea was entirely original, and the facing device 

 as made by him is a perfect machine which has not been improved 

 upon. This device is now covered by patents. 



In packing T. C. White employed the Blowers' method, or the ' 'face- 

 down ' ' method, which he so improved upon that it has not since been 

 excelled. Many of the fine points in raisin curing and packing were 

 perfected by him, and the raisin industry will always be benefited by the 

 work he has done. Below I give a list of the premiums taken by T. C. 

 White's raisins at various fairs: 1885, silver medal and special first 

 premium for best raisins at Mechanics' Fair in San Francisco; 1886, 

 first premium and gold medal at the Mechanics' Fair in San Francisco ; 

 1888, first premium and one hundred dollars for best raisins at the 

 State Fair. Same year they received first premium and gold medal at 

 the Fresno District Fair ; 1889, first premium at the Fresno District 

 Fair. 



MISS M. F. AUSTIN. 



The story of Miss M. F. Austin and her success with the Hedge 

 Vineyard reads like a beautiful tale. A schoolteacher' by occupation 

 Miss Austin possessed many prominent qualities and elevated ideas, 

 among others that horticulture should become a business for women as 

 well as for men. Acting upon these ideas, Miss Austin removed to 

 Fresno in 1878 in company with a lady friend and teacher, Miss L. H. 

 Hatch, and she began immediately to improve her Hedge Row Vineyard, 

 a part of which had been planted two years before by Bernhard Marks, 

 the founder of the Central California Colony. The vineyard was grad- 

 ually extended until it contained one hundred acres, nearly all in Gordo 

 Blanco vines. Miss Austin must be given credit for having improved 

 upon many operations in the vineyard and in the packing-house. She 

 first discovered that under proper conditions the sulphuring should be done 

 in the flowers of the grapevines. By this method she one year largely 

 increased her crop of grapes. In packing she showed her womanly 

 taste and refinement, and not only succeeded in producing superior 

 Layer and Dehesa raisins, but made several innovations in packing 

 which to this day are imitated. Among these we may mention the 

 packing in cartoons, and in small ornamentecLDaper bags, which latter 

 were again placed in paper boxes. Miss Austin and T. C. White were 

 the originators of fancy packing in this State. 



The largest pack of the Hedge Row Vineyard was seventy-five hun- 

 dred boxes, while the total of one year's pack reached sixteen thousand 

 boxes. Miss Austin built the first raisin dryer in Fresno, and demon- 

 strated that machine-dried raisins were a success if not a necessity as 

 regards the last crop. . The pluck and intelligence of Miss Austin soon 

 became extensively known, "and rnrmy were- thp Indies who T imitating 

 her, engaged in horticulture ^pH in ffie raisin industry. Fresno county 

 and the State at large owe her a debt ot gratitude for what she has done. 

 Those who had the pleasure and honor of her friendship lost in her a 

 dear and faithful friend, a brilliant and intelligent companion, and a 

 person who had few equals in any path of life. 



