Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-08-13

Los Angeles, and tolerable ones in Visalia;
out they sell, very commonly, in the shops,
what they call dried grapes" which are
not ra'sIns at all. but damp, sticky, disagree
able things, not good even in puddlngs. This
year, however, have seen, in several places,
good native raIsins and the head of the
largest frult importing house in San Fran
cl co told me, the other day, that one raisin
maker, last fall, sold the whole of his crop
there at 81 per box of 25 pounds, Malagas
OF the same quality bringing, at the same
time, but $2.373' There is market for all
veil made ralsins that can be produced in
the state. he said, and they are reerred to
the foreign product. At Folsom, Mr. Bugby
told me he had made, last year. l 700 boxes
of raisins. and that he was satisfied with the
pecuniary return; and l judge, from the
testimony of different persons, that, at seven
cents per pound raisins will pay the farmer
very well. The Malaga and white Muscat
are the grapes which appear here to make
the best raisins. Nobody has yet tried the
seedless Sultana. which, however, bears we'll
here, and would make, | should think, an
excellent Cooking raisin.
For making raslns, they wait until the
grape is fully ripe, and then carefully cut off
the bunches, and lay them either on hard
clay floor, formed In the open air, or on
brown paper laid between the vine rows.
they do not trim out poor grapes from the
bunches. because, as they assert, there are
none but suspect this will have to be done
or the very finest raIsIns, such as would
tempt a reluctant buyer. The punches re-
qulre from Is 20 "a days of exposure in the
sun, to be cured. During that time they
are gently turned, from time to tune, and
such as are earliest cured are at once removed
to raisIn house. THIS is fitted with shelves,
On which the raisins are allowed to sweat a
little. 1t they sweat too much, the sugar
candies on the outside, end this deteriorates
| the quality of the raisn. IL is an object e.
keep the bloom on the berries. They are
Kept In the raIsln house, be ieve, FIVE or six
weeks, when they are dry enough to box. Ii
Is. as yet. customary to put them in 25 pounc
BOXES, but, no doubt, as more experience Is
gaiue1, farmers will contrive other parcels
Chinese do all the work in raisin making
and are paid one dollar day, they supply
ing themselves with food. There Is no ram
during the raIsin making season, and, conse
quentiy, the whole outdoor work may b,
done safely as well as cheaply.
| Enormous quantities of fruit are now pu
up in tin Cans, ID this state; and you viii b,
| SUI pfiSeo pefnape,- was tue o6uer udy
to hear o. an orchard of peach and aprlco
trees, which bears, this year. its first ful
crop; and tor 100 acres of which the owner,
have received 5 900 cash, gold, selling the
truIt on the trees, without risk of lipeninl
Or trouble OF picking. Yet peaches and apri
cots are not the most profitable fruits in this
state, for the cherry-the most delicious
cherries in the world grow here-is wortl
even more and | suspect that the few farm
ers who have orchards of PLAINS, and core
iully dry the fruit, make as much money u:
the cherry owners. There has sprung up
very lively demand for California drle'
plums. They bring from 20 to % cents pc
pound at wholesale, in San Francisco, an
even as high as 30 cents for the best quality
and | am told that last season conslderab bI
quantity Was shipped eastward, and sold a
handsome profit IN New York.