Daily Los Angeles herald., 1882-06-13
THE GRAPE.
Mrs. Jeanne G. Carr Gives an Elabor-
ate Review of the Grape Interest in
this County.
From the Pacific Rural Press. ]

ate Review of the Grape Interest in
this County.
From the Pacific Rural Press.l
Our vineyards, at this writing, are full
Of promise. Daily we measure their
growth by the narrowing lines between
the rows, and are reminded that the last
suckering is to be done without delay.
Some of us intend to sulphur once more,
to make assurance doubly sure, though
there has yet been no sign of mildew.
There has been an enormous enlarge
ment of the area devoted to grape grow
ing during the past year, Mr.. Nadeau
leading with his vineyard of thousand
acres Another of equal size will be-
long to and surround the mammoth
winery at the Alhambra, near San
Gabriel, of which J.. de Barth Shorb is
the manager, only part of
which has been planted this
year. Mr. Mayberry has doubled
the acreage of vineyard at lei
Molino. Mr.. Carter has planted 100
acres at the new settlement of Sierra
Vista. The Woodburys have 100 acres
in grapes upon their mountain slope,
near Kinneyloa. Hundreds of smaller
vineyards have been set, and are scat
tered all along the foothills from Los
Angeles through the Duarte, Azuza and
Pomona to Cocumongo. Here two or
three enterprising Pasadenans are en-
closing u large cooperative vineyard
with concrete wall, and Introducing
the most improved methods of sub-irri-
CATION.
Still farther eastward the vineyards OF
Lugonia, Sunnyside and Redlands begin
to show, and the acreage devoted to
raisin culture has doubled at Riverside.
A brother of G. G. Briggs has purchased
500 acres in the vicinity of Pasadena,
which will be planted to vineyard in the
Spring. Extensive improvements are
noticed at Orange, Santa Ana and
Tustin.
THE LEADING VARIETIES.
For wine the leading varieties planted
this year are Mission, Zinfandel, Char
bonneau, Blue Elben, Berger; for raisins,
Muscat of Alexandria and Muscatelo
Gordo Blanco. There are afew choice
spots, notably one at Orange, where the
Muscat reaches the highest perfection.
| have never seen rs fine Muscat grapes
as those of Mcpherson from any part
of the State except Mr.. Cantelow's, in
Solano, and the Nickerson vineyard, at
Lincoln. Probably there are many simi
lori 20 nj IN, he vol
and the foothills, where Muscats may
well be thought identical with the raj
sins of the sun, but they have not come
under my personal observation.
Mr. L. j. Rose has planted the Sulta
ma extensively this year, and others
would have done so could the cuttings
have been procured With us the Sui
tana and White Corinth are blooming
profusely. Their diminutve berries dry
so quickly that however late, there is no
danger of losing the crop on account of
bad weather; the only reason for hest
tation about planting these varieties is
that the public taste is not yet educated
with respect to their merits. A great
many plantations of choice table and
shipping grapes have been made this
year in and around Los Angeles.
cARPING FAULT-FINDERs.
One hesitates to state the simple un-
vanished truth concerning the indus
trial development here, lest the state
ment should sound like a canard. Do
we not remember that the "jewels of
our "Crown of the Valley" were de-
clared to be only paste, and our modest
hint of their value an advertising puff in
leading journal? But shall we there
fore refuse to answer thus publicly the
hundreds of inquiries made concerning
this section by those who earnestly de-
sire to make homes here? =" IL. H.,
speaking of the lack of verdure in our
California landscape in the hot and dry
summers, was cut short by Mr.. Short
with, MADAM, no Eastern meadow
ever dared to put on the rich green of
our vineyards !" And this is true, but l
am forced to confess that the price of
this incompatible luXuriance is ineessant
toll. Five times the plow and cultivator
have gone over our few acres; there has
been one suckering, which means re-
moving the lower buds, hoeing away the
earth Immediately around the vine and
rubbing or pulling off the strong adven-
titious shoots, which, otherwise would
consume the sap which feeds the clus-
ters. Then we sulphured every vine,
using for the purpose a capital imple-
ment invented by DR.. Cougar, kind of
dredging box, into which a long handle
is fitted. One can sulphur about as fast
as he can walk with it, but this is the
sepenh in number of our vineyard exer
cses, and there remains yet one more
suckering, and one more sulphuring
before the green expanse can be left to
Providence. until harvest time and
pruning close the annual round And
who knows but
THE GRAPE WORM
May yet bring upon us the most disgust
This pest has already made its appear
ance at Orange and Tustin, having ap-
parently bred and passed the earlier
stages of its growth in the rank fibre of
the unplowed pastures, These drying
up, hordes of the worms have been
driven by hunger into the vineyards.
have not seen any of the larvae, but from
description recognize it as the common
grape worm, Phtampelus sateliaia of
De Kay, which we often found upon
grape and ampelopsis vines in the East
ern States. We are lighting whatever
brush or rubbish we can rake up along
the edges of our Pasadena vineyards,
just after dark, hoping thus to destroy
the moths if there are any getting ready
for a crop of worms for next year.
ABOUT MILDEw.
To be forwarned is to be forearmed,
and have been reading up all | could
find concerning the Spacetoma ampetinum,
or black rot, which / incline to think
has been the trouble with the Muscat
of Alexandria grown in some moist To-
calities in the vicinity. If possible we