Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Sept.,  1890. 
California  Raisins. 
465 
CALIFORNIA  RAISINS.1 
There  is  one  vast  fruit  industry  of  which  California  has  and  is 
likely  to  hold  a  practical  monopoly.  That  is  the  production  of 
raisins.  Vineyards  elsewhere  may  compete  with  those  of  California 
in  wine  making,  but  nowhere  else  are  there  combinations  of  soil  and 
climate  so  favorable  to  raisin-making  as  here.  This  fact  was  dis- 
covered a  long  time  ago.  Dried  grapes  of  various  kinds  were  pre- 
pared in  the  old  missions  long  before  California  became  a  part  of  the 
United  States.  And  fully  30  years  ago  the  manufacture  of  raisins, 
for  home  consumption  chiefly,  was  systematically  carried  on,  and  on 
a  considerable  scale.  But  it  was  not  until  five  years  ago  that  the 
State  began  fully  to  realize  its  capabilities  in  that  direction.  In 
1885,  there  were  almost  as  many  raisins  produced  as  in  all  the  20 
years  preceding  put  together.  Since  then  increase  has  been  phe- 
nomenal, amaunting  to  about  250  per  cent,  in  four  years.  There 
has  been,  however,  no  overproduction  and  no  reaction.  A  ready 
and  profitable  market  has  been  found  for  all  the  output,  and  every 
one  who  has  gone  into  the  business  has  been  more  than  satisfied 
with  the  results.  Next  year  there  will  be  a  greatly  increased 
acreage,  and  the  output  of  raisins  will  be  enormous. 
The  Spaniards  and  Indians  used  to  dry  the  Mission  grapes.  That 
was  about  the  only  kind  of  grape  grown  here  down  to  i860,  and  the 
first  experiments  in  genuine  raisin-making  were  made  with  it.  That 
they  were  not  highly  successful  was  due  simply  to  the  fact  that 
nature  did  not  design  the  Mission  grape  to  be  turned  into  raisins, 
But  the  men  who  made  the  experiments  were  not  discouraged, 
They  were  convinced  that  California  might  easily  be  made  the 
greatest  vineyard  in  the  world.  But  to  accomplish  that  end  it  would 
be  necessary  to  introduce  some  other  varieties  of  grapes.  So  they 
sent  to  Europe  and  brought  over  shiploads  of  cuttings  from  the 
vineyards  of  France,  Spain,  Italy,  Germany  and  Hungary.  These 
were  scattered  all  over  the  State,  and  from  them  have  sprung  the ' 
vast  vineyards  of  the  present  day.  The  chief  object  aimed  at  then 
was  the  production  of  wine,  and  the  cuttings  were  selected  accord- 
ingly. But  among  the  varieties  imported  were  three  of  the  best 
raisin  grapes  in  the  world — the  Feher  Zagos,  the  Muscatel  and  the 
x  From  a  correspondence  dated  Los  Angeles,  July  28,  1890,  published  in  The 
New  York  Tribune. 
