AND WINE MAKING. 299 



St. Helena "Star," who, with commendable enterprise, 

 gathers a full report of the product of Napa County each 

 year, shows how easily it might be done. 



During the last few years, however, grape culture has 

 advanced with giant strides, stimulated, no doubt, by 

 the gratifying success and the good prices obtained for 

 viticultural products. Here, in Napa and Sonoma coun- 

 ties, it 'would seem, indeed, as if the prices paid for 

 grapes, for the purpose of wine making, would hardly 

 allow a living profit to the wine makers and dealers. Last 

 year the prices ranged from twenty-five dollars per ton, 

 paid for Mission, to thirty-five dollars per ton for Zin- 

 fandel, Riessling, Chasselas, and other finer varieties, and 

 this year the finer varieties seem to bring the same price, 

 while Mission and Malvasia have gone down to twenty 

 dollars per ton, unless extra well ripened and heavy, to 

 fit them for ports and sherries. When we take into ac- 

 count that a ton of grapes generally yields about one 

 hundred and thirty gallons, and that the young wines of 

 last year have not generally sold at over twenty-eight 

 cents per gallon, at an average, to the dealers in San 

 Francisco. I, for one, can not see how the wine makers 

 can afford present prices, and make any profit. That it 

 is a very profitable business to the growers is apparent, 

 if we figure up the cost of establishing a vineyard in full 

 bearing, planted with resistant roots, to make it perma- 

 nent. This may be estimated as follows: 



Preparing land, plowing, harrowing, and rolling, 



per acre $ 5.00 



600 Riparia vines, including freight- ._ -.. - -25.00 



Marking and planting --- 5.00 



Cultivation, first year 10.00 



Cultivation, second year . 10.00 



Grafting, including cost of cions - 5. 00 



Staking and tieing -- 10.00 



Cultivation and pruning, third year 20.00 



Cultivation and pruning, fourth year . 20.00 



$100.00 



