Fruits, Vegetables and General Interests. 



17 



in 1889 there were 1,186 acres of bearing vines and 9,000 

 acres of new vineyards, which produced 296,500 gallons of 

 wine and 1,779 tons or 3>558,ooo pounds of table-grapes. 

 The information received from New Mexico by the census 

 office shows a great advance in viticulture since irrigation has 

 proved practicable. Two companies are building immense 

 canals 45 feet wide at the bottom, capable of carrying seven 

 feet of "water. These canals will irrigate 400,000 acres of as 

 rich land as can be found in the world adapted to the growth 

 of fruit and grapes." 



The largest vineyard in the world is at Tehama, California, 

 which comprises 3,800 acres and to which 1,000 acres are to 

 be added at once. In April, 1890, this great establish- 

 ment had in stock 300,000 gallons of brandy and 1,000,000 

 gallons of wine. But if " Califoraia has the largest vine- 

 yard in the world, it may be well to state that she has 

 also the smallest. It is a vineyard consisting of a 

 single vine, in Santa Barbara county. It was planted by a 

 Mexican woman about sixty years ago, and has a diameter at 

 one foot from the ground of 12 inches, its branches covering 

 an area of 12,000 feet, and produces annually from 10,000 to 

 12,000 pounds of grapes of the Mission variety (many bunches 

 weighing six and seven pounds), the crop being generally 

 made into wine. The old lady who planted this one-vine 

 vineyard died in 1865 at the age of 107." 



In the Pacific division the European grape is grown almost 

 entirely. This division contains somewhat over half of the 

 entire grape-acreage of the country, but the greater part of 

 the product is consumed in wine and raisins. Most of the 

 table-grapes of the country are produced on the remaining 

 half of the grape-acreage, and these are the native grapes of 

 our woods. No more remarkable instance can be produced 

 of the rapid improvement and dissemination of native species 

 of plants in any country. In 1825, according to Rafinesque, 

 there were 600 acres devoted to grapes in North America, of 

 which the larger part were undoubtedly planted to the Euro- 

 pean species (Vitis vinifera). Five years later there were 

 some 5,000 acres under cultivation. The native grapes, im- 

 proved by cultivation, are now grown upon nearly 200,000 acres 

 in the United States, and they yielded in 1890 9,655,905 gal- 

 lons of wine and 225,636 tons of table-grapes ! And to this 



Largest 

 and 



smallest 

 vineyards. 



Early 

 statistics. 



