REPORT OP COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION 99 



southern part of the Rio Grande^ Valley, particularly the Mesilla Valley, has 

 been noted for its fine fruit, especially the Mission grape. The Mesilla Val- 

 ley is one of the largest irrigated districts in New Mexico and during the 

 latter part of the Mexican and the early part of the American rule the Mexi- 

 cans made an effort to develop the grape-growing industry. As a matter of 

 fact, the history of grape growing in New Mexico may be reduced to the 

 history of the Rio Grande Valley. 



During the 50's and 60's much interest was manifested in the cultivation 

 of this crop, since this fruit could be manufactured into wine and dried into 

 raisins. The wine was sought after quite extensively by the United States 

 soldiers who furnished a market for this product. In 1866 Judge J. G. Knapp, 

 a resident of Mesilla, the county seat of Dona Ana County, in the early 60's 

 wrote as follows: "Two kinds of grapes were grown, the El Paso (Mission) 

 and the Muscatel. Both are sweet grapes. The origin of these grapes is 

 shrouded in mystery. No trace of them can be found beyond El Paso (now 

 Cuidad Juarez, Mexico), though they are of Asiatic origin and probably 

 were produced from seed of dried grapes from Spain or even further east, 

 planted by some of the Spanish missionaries." 



In 1868 one of the first large vineyards was started by Mr. T. J. Bull 

 of Mesilla. Others were started by Messrs. Thomas Casad, Ramon Gonzales, 

 Rafael Ruelas and Rafael Bermudes. These men played quite a part in the 

 early development of grape growing in the Rio Grande Valley. From 1880, 

 after the A. T. & S. F. Railroad came through, the grape industry developed 

 very fast, as there were facilities for shipping the grapes to outside markets. 



Other Districts. 



There are in New Mexico a number of districts in which the Vitis vini- 

 fera grape does well. As has already been stated, these grapes prefer the 

 lower and warmer valleys. The best grape growing districts are to be found 

 in the lower and warmer valleys at altitudes ranging from 3000 to 6000 feet, 

 the Rio Grande Valley being the principal and largest grape growing district. 

 Large plantations are also found in the Pecos Valley, Tularosa Basin, in the 

 Mimbres Valley, and on a smaller scale around Santa Fe and Las Vegas. 

 Vitis vinifera is the grape that has been grown and is being grown for com- 

 mercial purposes in New Mexico. 



Propagation. 



The propagation, soil, irrigation, pruning, etc., in this paper refer to the 

 Vitis vinifera grape. The New Mexico grape grower propagates his vines 

 by cuttings. These cuttings may be taken in the fall, winter or at the time 

 when the vineyard is being pruned. If taken in the fall or winter, the cut- 

 tings are hilled in until spring. If taken in the spring, when the vineyard 

 is being pruned, the cuttings are then placed in the field where the vines 

 are to grow. Hardly ever are the cuttings taken and rooted in nursery rows 

 the first year. This method has been used by all of our native grape 

 growers for many years and if the work is properly done and the cuttings 

 are well taken care of during the summer it is surprising how large a per- 

 centage of them will root. As a rule, if the vineyard is propagated in this 

 way, it comes into bearing about one year earlier than if the cuttings are 



