24 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF VITICULTURE 



It is for this reason that the people of California have the right to ask 

 and demand that the power and authority that has been so instrumental and 

 potent in developing an interest of so great a magnitude, as is the horticul- 

 tural interest of California, of which the viticultural interest is an important 

 factor should give to it the protection that justice and equity demand. 



Magnitude of the Interest. 



There are about 1,100,000 acres planted to fruit in California represent- 

 ing at a minimum estimate a financial investment of from $650,000,000 to 

 $700,000,000. The percentage of this acreage that is planted to fresh shipping 

 varieties of fruit, when all is in full bearing will produce from 240,000 to 

 250,000 carloads per annum and if the tax on our brandy is permitted to 

 remain, it will either force the shipment of 40,000 to 50,000 more cars, or the 

 uprooting of vineyards in which men and women have the earnings of gene- 

 rations invested. 



Transportation Rate Problem. 



As the cost for transportation on fresh fruit shipments is such as to 

 absorb in many instances from 55 per cent to over 60 per cent of the gross 

 sales of cars, which means heavy loss, it will make additional shipments 

 prohibitive, unless they be made at an increased loss. I repeat that the 

 Federal Government is responsible to a great degree for the building up of 

 the wine industry of California to its present magnitude, by the establishment 

 of Government Experiment Stations and the importation of scores of varieties 

 of grapes from all parts of the world, and testing their adaptability for suc- 

 cessful culture in California, and distributing them to the growers. There- 

 fore, we FEEL JUSTIFIED IN DEMANDING THAT NO ACTION SHOULD 

 BE PERMITTED ON THE PART OF THE GOVERNMENT THAT WILL 

 RESULT IN IMPAIRING AND DESTROYING AN INTEREST IT HAS 

 BEEN SO INFLUENTIAL AND SUCCESSFUL IN PROMOTING. 



A CAMPAIGN OF WINE EDUCATION. 



By HORATIO F. STOLL, 

 Commissioner, State Viticultural Board. 



While this Congress is primarily interested in the technical side of 

 viticulture, we must not overlook a pest far more dangerous than phylloxera 

 or any of the diseases that infect our American vineyards. I refer to Prohi- 

 bition, which aims to wipe out the wine industry in this and every other 

 State in the Union. 



It is, of course, necessary that our winemakers and grape growers should 

 strive to keep up the standard of our wines and grapes, but I fear that they 

 will have very little enthusiasm for the industry unless they are given some 

 assurance that after they have produced the choicest grapes and made the 

 finest wines, the growers will be able to sell their grapes to the wineries, the 

 wineries dispose of their product to the dealers and the dealers reach the 

 consumer. Something must be done to assure permanency to the industry. 



