198 KE .SOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



as in Europe), the ignorance of the people of the arts of vine- 

 growing and wine-making, the dearness of casks (costing fr<jm 

 five to twenty cents per gallon), and the necessity of irriga- 

 tion. 



Land suitable for vineyards costs from twenty to one hun- 

 dred dollars per acre, whereas it is worth several times as much 

 in France ; but there is a counterbalancing difference in the 

 interest of money, so that the French vine-land at four hundred 

 dollars per acre, bought with money borrow^ed at six per cent, 

 a year, costs little more than a Californian vineyard bought for 

 one hundred dollars, with money at twenty-seven per cent. 



The vine Hkes a sandy or gravelly (not very moist) soil, and 

 never thrives in wet, loamy, or stiff clay soil. In California, 

 nearly all the vineyards are planted on flat land ; in Europe, 

 hills are preferred, and in Germany the name for a vineyard is 

 " Weinberg" — a vine-hill. 



Vineyards are planted with cuttings or with rooted vines. 

 The cuttings are obtained at the annual pruning in January or 

 February, are about thirty inches long, and are all of wood 

 less than a year old. They should be taken from vines not 

 less than four years old. The rooted vines are cuttings which 

 are planted in the nursery and allowed to grow there through 

 one season. These latter may be planted out from November 

 to March, inclusive ; cuttings from January to March. It is 

 not usual to plough more than once before planting, but sev- 

 eral plougliings would be better. The vines are planted either 

 six and a half or eight feet apart each w^ay : the former distance 

 giving one thousand vines to the acre, is customary at Los An- 

 geles ; the latter, giving six hundred and eighty vines to the 

 acre, is preferred in Sonoma and Napa. The vines are planted 

 about two feet deep, perpendicularly, leaving about three or 

 four inches with two buds above the surface. The holes are 

 usually made with a crow-bar, and after the vine is thrust dowm 

 into it, a httle loose sand or pulverized dirt is poured in to fill 

 up the hole. Sometimes holes are dug with the spade. Unless 

 the ground is very moist, the newly-planted vineyard is irri- 



