Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-04-10
a Great ana Growing Ia,ere.,.


that wines and brandies are des-
tined to be the leading source of
wealth in Los Angeles county.
Even the cultivation of the citrous
family of fruits, upon which such
great hopes are justly built, Is g
minor consideration. compared to
our vinicultural and viticultural
interests. While we think that
there are Immense areas in Los
Angeles county adapted to farming
the cereals, still, until We are pre-.
pared 10 ship by water, there is
little profit in them. The impulse
shared by nearly all our farmers to
plant barley, always barley, in
season aud out. has seemed to us
inexplicable. There was a time in
the history of Los Angeles county
when barley might be made to pay.
That was when we had only one
farmer where we now have ten,
and when we had innumerable
teams, which consumed gtain, in
stead of locomotives, which feed
upon coal. Yet our farmers, not
withstahding the changed condi.
tIons and tho competition, 60 on,
year after year, sowing barley. OF
course, lessened transportation
rates would relieve the situation, to
some extent, but the evil lies deep
or than that. The barley market,
at best, is limited, and it is not a
product which can bear the great
cost Of shipment by rail distance
of five or six hundred miles. With
wheat the case is different. ani we
note with pleasure the gro WITH of a
disposition amongst our farmers to
seek out and utilize all available
spots where this staple of world
wide demand can be grown suc-
oessfully. Diversified farming, as.
slmilating to that of the East,
where the farmer raises most of
the things he consumes, is also
making gratifying progress
throughout the whole OF Ia, .Ange-
les county.
But, far more satisfactory than
this, Is the news which reaches us
from every hand that the area of
our vineyards is being steadily ex-
tended. Four or five years ago 1t
was, we think, when large tract
OF the Wolfskill vineyards was de-
nuded of its vines, and the roots
sold for frewood, to make way for
ths orange. a paralysis seemed to
T .sten upon this ordinarily prolita-
b industry. Many persons fol-
lowed the WoIfskll example. The
dtstillery difficulties encouraged
this tendency. TIE demand for
grapes to be manufactured into
brandy largely ceased after this
local disaster. Even the sturdy
Anaheimers were discouraged. Los
Angeles wines and brandies no
longer commanded any reeogni-
tion.
How brave.y all this is changed
now little instance In point will
show. Mr.. l.. J. Rose, of Sunny
Slope, on his return from his at
tendance at the meetings Of the
State Viticultural Society, inform
ed US that the demand for Los An
gelss wines aud brandies is now
brisk and Increasing in force day
by day. His own experience has
been peculiar. First came the diff
ficulty, after urgen at solicitation, of
getting any one to take hold of the
product of his wine presses and
stills. BY energetic and unilagging
personal canvassiUg he was at last
able to command a market on suf-
ferance. Now his wines and bran
dies are competed for at prices fully
one-third larger than the utmost
he ventured to insist upon two or
three years ago.
We are pleased to learn that the
Significance of such facts is at last
being appreciated by our people.
We have never wavered In our
often expressed belief that Los An
geles county is destined, in the
next twenty years, to be one of the
richest spots on the American con-
tinent, il not the very richest; and,
discarding all advantages and ac-
cidents Of location or mining and
sectional development, we have
founded this expectation on our
wine and brandy. making capacity.
1t Is not matter OF vaunt but of
downright ascertainment that our
vineyard, will yield, to state the
minimum figure, three-fold that of
the French vineyards, acre for
acre. After being for years at
tached to the Mission grape, our
vineyardists have discovered that
they can grow any grape equally
we'll here; and that, by changing
their vines, they can change at will
the peculiarities of their wines. II
is absolutely at~their pleasure
to make light or heavy wine, and
their wines. properly naade, all
ready command satisfactory
price.
Wines aud brandies can bear the
charge of even expensive trans
portation. Unlike oranges and
r~r.fn ft,cv iraprova iuetaaJ Of Ia