198 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
as in Europe), the ignorance of the people of the arts of vine- 
growing and wine-making, the dearness of casks (costing from 
five to twenty cents per gallon), and the necessity of irriga- 
tion. 
Land suitable for vineyards costs from twenty to one hun- 
dred dollars per acre, whereas it is worth several times as much 
in France; but there is a counterbalancing difference in the 
interest of money, so that the French vine-land at four hundred 
dollars per acre, bought with money borrowed at six per cent. 
a year, costs little more than a Californian vineyard bought for 
one hundred dollars, with money at twenty-seven per cent. 
The vine likes a sandy or gravelly (not very moist) soil, and 
never thrives in wet, loamy, or stiff clay soil. In California, 
nearly all the vineyards are planted on flat land; in Europe, 
hills are preferred, and in Germany the name for a vineyard is 
“ weinberg”—a vine-hill. 
Vineyards are planted with cuttings or with rooted vines. 
The cuttings are obtained at the annual pruning in January or 
February, are about thirty inches long, and are all of wood 
less than a year old. They should be taken from vines not 
less than four years old. The rooted vines are cuttings which 
are planted in the nursery and allowed to grow there through 
one season. These latter may be planted out from November 
to March, inclusive; cuttings from January to March. It is 
not usual to plough more than once before planting, but sev- 
eral ploughings would be better. The vines are planted either 
six and a half or eight feet apart each way: the former distance 
giving one thousand vines to the acre, is customary at Log An- 
geles; the latter, giving six hundred and eighty vines to the 
acre, is preferred in Sonoma and Napa. The vines are planted 
about two feet deep, perpendicularly, leaving about three or 
four inches with two buds above the surface. The holes are 
usually made with a crowbar, and after the vine is thrust down 
into it, a little loose sand or pulverized dirt is poured in to fill 
up the hole. Sometimes holes are dug with the spade. Unless 
the ground is very moist, the newly-planted vineyard is irri- 
