AND WINE MAKING. 163 



water for irrigation was to be found so near at hand, 

 caused several to suspect that the land was not altogether 

 so worthless as generally believed. The Southern Pacific 

 Railroad was drawn through the county, the water was 

 taken out from the rivers and made to flow through the 

 plains, and to-day, only six years after settlement, we 

 pride ourselves on having the finest vineyards in the 

 State, and the brightest prospects for the future. 



Grapes, as well as everything else, have to be grown 

 with irrigation. The land must be leveled, and so pre- 

 pared that it can be flooded whenever needed. The soil 

 is very variable, but consists principally of three varie- 

 ties. First, a red clay soil ; this is the best for grapes. 

 Second, a white, ashy-alluvial soil, evidently made up most- 

 ly of pumice stone, the original beds of which can yet be 

 seen at the foot-hills ; this soil is much poorer both for 

 grapes and other plants. Third, a sandy, yellow soil, 

 poor in organic matters, and always occurring on elevated 

 places ; this soil is worthless for grapes. 



My brother's vineyard consists, principally, of the first 

 named soil. The first year the land had to be flooded 

 six or seven times during the summer, to make the cut- 

 tings grow, but now the whole country seems to be filled 

 up with water, and one irrigation during the winter is 

 enough. Cuttings planted directly in the vineyard last 

 year, needed only two irrigations during the summer, 

 and will after this need only one every winter. The first 

 year we found water at a depth of 65 feet. Last summer 

 we found it at a distance of 6 feet below the surface. We 

 have found that the best way of starting a vineyard is to 

 plant cuttings directly in the ground where they are to 

 remain. Generally we plant the cuttings, say 2 feet deep, 

 but for a trial, I planted some 5 feet deep, and the latter 

 at one year old were several times larger than the for- 

 mer, and bore quite a crop the first summer. Our soil is 

 deep and loose, and free from stones. This enables us 



