Curing Ratsins. 431 
off the impurities). This final hot dip kills insect eggs, and the 
fruit, after drying off away from the access of insects, should be 
packed tightly in boxes. 
Raisins —The varieties of grapes used for raisins are de- 
scribed in Chapter XXVI. The production of raisins has 
reached such an extent, and employs so much skill and capital, 
that the processes employed to facilitate the curing and packing 
are so various that a description of them can not be attempted. 
Besides, there is now available an excellent special treatise on 
this subject.* However, in beginning the commercial production 
of raisins, one should visit the raisin [arms and packing-houses 
during the harvest. The following description by T. C. White, 
cf Fresno, gives an outline of practise in the vineyard:— 
In Fresno picking commences about the first of September, although 
there have been seasons when it occurred as early as the 20th of August. 
The grapes under no circumstances should be picked for raisins until 
they are ripe. There are three ways by which to ascertain this fact: 
First, by the color, which should be a light amber; second, by the taste; 
and third, by the saccharometer, which is by far the most accurate. A 
grape may be ripe, and not have the proper color, when grown entirely 
in the shade. The juice of the grape should contain at least twenty- 
five per cent saccharine, to produce a good raisin. 
The method of drying is with trays placed upon the ground The 
almost entire absence of dew in our locality greatly facilitates this 
method. The trays are usually twenty-four by thirty-six inches, which 
hold about twenty pounds of fruit, and should produce from six to 
seven pounds of raisins. The product of a vineyard depends largely 
upon its age and favorable conditions, varying from two to nine tons 
of grapes per acre. 
The trays are distributed along the sides of the roads, from which 
they are taken by the pickers as they are needed. As the grapes are 
picked from the vines, all imperfect berries, sticks, and dead leaves are 
removed from the bunches, which are then placed upon the trays, right 
side up. A cluster has what is called a right and a wrong side, the wrong 
side having more of the stems exposed than the right side. Great care 
should be used in picking, so as to handle the branches only by the 
stem. If the berries come in contact with the hands, some of the bloom 
will be removed, which will injure the appearance of the raisins. The 
trays are placed, after filling, between the vines, one end being elevated 
so that the grapes may receive the more direct rays of the sun. 
Too rapid drying is not desirable. The grapes are left upon the 
trays until about two-thirds dry, which, with us, will be in from six to 
eight days. They are then turned. This is accomplished by placing 
an empty tray on top of the one filled with partially-dried raisins, and 
turning them both over. Then take oif the upper or original tray, and 
you have the raisins turned without handling or damage. After turn- 
ing, curing will proceed more rapidly, and frequently 1s completed in 
four or five days. During this time they should be carefully watched 
to prevent any from becoming too dry. When it is found they are dry 
enough, the trays are gathered and stacked one upon another as high 
as convenient for the sorting which follows. This protects them from 
the sun and prevents overdrying. Stacking should te attended to early 
¢ “The Raisin Industry,” by Dr. Gustav Eisen, large 8vo., 255 pp., fully illustrated. 
