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CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Soils for the Grape. The grape will thrive on a great variety 

 of soils, in fact, on any of those enumerated as fruit soils in Chapter 

 III. There are thrifty vineyards on the light, deep valley loams, 

 on the heavy clayey loams, on adobe, and on the red soils of the 

 foothills. Even on shallow soils the grape will do well if given 

 sufficient moisture, and on rocky subsoils it thrives if there be 

 crevices for the roots to penetrate, or if the rock t be shattered to 

 admit the roots to permeable substrata. Standing water during the 

 active period of the vine is, however, unfavorable to growth, and 

 alkali is adverse to satisfactory results in wine making. Almost 

 any soil which does not hold excess of water or is not tainted with 

 alkali will do for the vine, although the plant appreciates good, 

 deep soil, and will grow and bear fruit in proportion to its supply 

 of it. Of course the economic question of ease of cultivation enters 

 into the choice of soil for the grape, as for other fruits, but its claims 

 are obvious and need not be enlarged upon. 



Length of Grape Season. By choice of early and late varieties 

 the grape season extends over half a year in California, without 

 recourse to artificial means of preservation. Where the fall rains 

 are not very protracted, the late varieties sometimes remain in good 

 condition on the vines until the winter pruning. Good grapes have 

 been picked from the vines as late as the middle of January. In 

 the Lodi district of the San Joaquin Valley, one of the great centers 

 of the grape shipping industry, overland shipping begins about 

 August 10, with Black Prince. Tokays from light soil soon follow, 

 then from the heavy soil, and in about two weeks everything is going 

 at full blast, keeping up strongly for nearly two months. Then it 

 decreases greatly and continues into November with the later 

 varieties, like Cornichon, Emperor and Verdal. There are also a 

 number of other shipping varieties grown than those named, which 

 will be named in Chapter XXVIII. There is much latitude in 

 grape gathering, for grapes can stay on the vine for some time 

 without deterioration ; besides there is the "second crop" from later 

 blooming which is of advantage in shipping, but objectionable in 

 handling for raisins, though sometimes very profitable for other 

 uses. Tokays may be picked during a period of two months in the 

 same vicinity because of the "second crop" and because the ripening 

 comes earlier or later according to soil, as noted above. Even the 

 intrusion of a light fall rain, such as they have in the interior, may 

 help size and color, but a heavy rain is destructive and constitutes 

 a constant menace in the late ripening districts near the coast, while 

 occasionally injurious in the interior also. 



Snipping Grapes in Sawdust The tabel grape industry of Cali- 

 fornia entered upon a notable extenson of its marketing season and 

 area through the demonstration by the United States Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, that California grapes can be profitably packed in 

 drums, holding about 35 Ibs. of grapes, packed in redwood or spruce 

 sawdust, properly prepared and held safely in cold storage for win- 

 ter sale in the East as Spanish grapes in cork dust are handled. 

 Better results are attained with sawdust than with cork dust. Full 



