82 



ROEDING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



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The correct method of pruning Emperor vines. These vines are four years old. Note the distribution of the spurs 

 and the canes, which will very shortly be tied to the two trellis wires. 



shipments 170,000 tons; wine and brandy produced 

 50,000,000 gallons. Up to a few years ago there seemed 

 to be very little chance for the development of the late 

 table industry but now the method of shipping grapes 

 packed in kegs in redwood sawdust has been discovered 

 through the efforts of the Division of Pomology of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, and so an- 

 other great field is open for exploitation. The first 

 carload of grapes shipped out of California packed in 

 this manner was forwarded by the writer in 1912. The 

 work was carried on under the instructions of C. W. 

 Mann, and under the direction of A. V. Stubenrauch, 

 now deceased, of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. It was only after careful experimental 

 work extending over a number of years that the value 

 of sawdust as a preservative material was finally 

 evolved. When grapes are packed in sawdust and 

 placed under refrigeration the temperature being 

 maintained at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, varieties like the 

 Emperor, Cornichon, and Almeria will keep in perfect 

 condition for several months. The shipments now 

 average five hundred carloads annually. The kegs 

 hold thirty-two pounds of grapes each. The great 

 possibility for late table grape culture in California may 

 be drawn from the fact that in normal times we import 

 annually from Spain 1,000,000 kegs of Almeria grapes, 

 each containing forty-five pounds of fruit. Cork dust 

 which is used for packing demonstrates the complete 

 use of a material in some form for a beneficial use. 



SITUATION AND SOILS 



The magnitude of the industry in California indicates 

 that the growing of grapes is not confined to any one 

 locality. It is very difficult for one to realize unless he 

 has observed the climatic conditions of California care- 

 fully or fully appreciates the scope of this industry. 

 Were it not for the variations in climate it never would 

 have been possible to engage in so many branches of 

 viticulture in this state. It is only in the great interior 

 valleys, where there is very little or no rain during the 

 summer and fall months, that it is practical to make 

 raisins, and this is possible on account of the clear sun- 

 shiny days and the high temperatures which prevail. 

 It is in these same valleys that the table grapes reach 

 their greatest perfection. This does not mean that 

 there are not certain sections in the Coast regions where 

 table grapes can not be grown. However, the late 

 ripening varieties are as a whole better adapted to the 

 interior valleys than to the Coast regions. For light 

 table wines, the Coast counties are found to be better 

 adapted to the growing of the finer types of the wine 

 varieties, while in the interior valleys in many cases 

 the same varieties of grapes are grown, but on account 

 of their high percentage of sugar it is very difficult to 

 make light wir es from them, so instead they are used for 

 making ports and sherries, and for the manufacture of 

 brandy for fortifying purposes. The grape will' thrive 

 in a great variety of soils; in fact there are few soils in 

 which it will not do well. The deeper and more alluvial 



