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CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Mission. "This variety, grown at the old missions, has never been determined, 

 nor its exact source ascertained. It is by some regarded as a most delicious table 

 grape. It can be found in small areas in every county of the State adapted to the 

 grape. Vine a strong grower; wood short- jointed, dull dark brown to grayish; 

 leaf above medium size, slightly oblong, with large, deeply-cut, compound teeth, 

 basal sinus widely open, primary sinuses shallow and narrow, secondary sinuses 

 ill-defined, smooth on both sides, light green below with light, scattered tomen- 

 tum." Hilgard. "Bunches slightly shouldered, loose, divided into many small, 

 distinct lateral clusters ; berries medium size, round, purple black, heavy bloom ; 

 exceedingly sweet, juicy, and delicious; seeds rather large; skin thin." Hyatt. 



Muscatel; syn. White Frvntignan. "Vine of medium size, with strong, spread- 

 ing canes ; canes reddish-brown, with short internodes ; leaves of medium size, 

 thin, five-lobed, glabrous, except for a few hairs on the lower side of the well- 

 marked ribs ; bunches long, cylindrical, regular, compact ; berries round, golden- 

 yellow, becoming amber-colored, very sweet and of marked aroma. Ripens a 

 little later than the Chasselas." Bioletti. 



White Muscat of Alexandria* "Vine a short, rather straggling and bushy 

 grower, well adapted to short stool pruning, as it forms rather a bush than a 

 vine; wood gray, with dark spots, short- j ointed ; leaf round, five-lobed, bright 

 green above, lighter green below; young shoots a bright green. The laterals 

 produce a second and even a third crop ; bunch long and loose, shouldered ; 

 berry oblong, light yellow when fully mature, transparent, covered with white 

 bloom, fleshy, with thick skin, very sweet and decidedly musky." Husmann. The 

 leading table grape of California. Rejected for irregular bearing on some mesa 

 lands in southern California. 



Muscatel Gordo Blanco. "Muscatel Gordo Blanco has a closer bunch and 

 rounder berry than the Muscat. The skin is softer and the pulp is not quite so 

 hard. The berry inclines to be a little darker in color and not nearly so green 

 when it is ripe, and I think not quite as long as the Muscat of Alexandria. If 

 the. Muscat would set as well as the Muscatel, the difficulty would be obviated. 

 One very important difference is that when you come to dry them, the Muscat of 

 Alexandria loses the bloom very rapidly. The bloom comes off when you come 

 to dry and pack them. But the Muscatel does not lose its bloom. The Muscat 

 of Alexandria has to be dried a little more than the Muscatel to bring it into a 

 keeping condition under the same condition of ripeness." R. B. Blowers. 



"The growth of the Muscatel or Gordo Blanco vine is low and spreading, with 

 no upright branches in the center ; clusters heavy, and, when perfect, close and 

 shouldered; berries round and large (the greatest circumference being at the 

 center), a crease often being found at the apex of the berry; color green, or, 

 when fully ripe, amber green or yellow. Distinguished from Muscat of Alex- 

 andria by low, depressed growth of vine, closer cluster, rounder berries, and by 

 thicker and finer bloom. The Muscatel is the choice raisin grape for the San 

 Joaquin Valley, and for the interior generally." Dr. Risen. 



Huasco Muscat. A variety brought from Chile, but after wide trial in Cal- 

 ifornia, seems not superior to the other White Muscat varieties previously men- 

 tioned. Its dense cluster is not well adapted to raisin making. It is held, how- 

 ever, to be less subject to coulure. 



Feher Szagos. "Vine a strong grower and heavy bearer ; branches erect but 

 slender ; leaves glossy, entire ; bunches medium to small, pointed, and solid ; 

 berries greenish amber, medium oval, pointed, with thin skin and few small 

 seeds; flesh not firm, but dries well and makes a good raisin." Dr. Eisen. 



Larga Bloom; syn. Uva Larga. A variety of Muscat said to be named because 

 of the length of its berries, but held by some growers to be indistinguishable from 

 Muscatel Gordo Blanco. An excellent raisin grape, but now chiefly grown as a 

 table fruit in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 



* There is much doubt about the White Muscats as grown in California. Some 

 claim inability to distinguish between certain grapes of the Muscat type which are 

 being grown in this State under distinctive names; others pronounce them clearly 

 different varieties. The matter can not be adjusted at present. 



