Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-09-15

well on the hillside, while in the valleys
where both phosphates and humus are
doubtless more abundant and the soil Is
more retentive, other fruits would thrive.
Except as to inferior retentiyeness and hu-
mus, this soil is very similar in compost
ton to that of VIOLA valley, on which cher
ries flourish"
| deem it proper at this point TO note
what the professors say as to the defect OF
our soil: cit is important to note the
frequent deficiency in phosphates that char
acterizes the soils of many regions IN the
State, and the importance of an adequate
supply of phosphate fertilizers to the con-
| tinued prosperity of such districts. Nher-
| ever the growth languishes the use OF bone
| meal should be very effective
You will perceive that Auburn soil ex-
ceeds the soils of France in phosphorlc
acid iron, lime Except the Dafitte soil and
| in alu.nina, the characteristic constituent ol
clay.
LOOMS soils can easily and cheaply be sup
piled when needed by lime, which is manu-
| featured at your very doors, and by bone
meal.
have my hobby like every other man,
and it is to see these foothills devoted 10 the
| culture of grapes. We have been delighted
in the past with the eulogiums on ;he foot
hills. but there has So Tar been but little
system pursued in the planting of the
proper kinds of fruits
The time has passed for haphazard plant
| ing Given the right soil and the proper
| fruit adapted to soil and climate, an indie
pendence must be the fortune OF the pos
SCISSOR. AS a fruiterer said 10 a friend of
mine " The man who will plant good
keeping apple in the foothills, on line of
railroad. will be a bonanza" You must
| look beyond the market of the State There
are so. 600, COO people who will eat our fruit
in the United States if we can get TO them
| cheaply They will buy our pears, apricots,
plums and grapes, because they cannot in
open air or dollhouse raise those fruits.
We have complete monopoly of these four
fruits. At present the tariff on a carload
from Sacramento 10 the East is from $500
to $500, and many persons are exclaiming
that the fruit business will be overdOne.
NV impression is thatit has not begun.
! am told that the market now is about
equal to the demand and that 10 per cent.
of the trees planted are not in bearing. In
! three or four years we shall have more fruit
than the home market demands and more
than the dealers will buy. At that point
is our opportunity. The railroad company
| will carry out its own doctrine that the
service is what the traffic will bear. 1t
1t will be good doctrine for us then. The
traffic will bear probably $500 per carload,
and that sum in few years must be the
tariff. The railroad companies are not 60
ing To see the fruit wanting a. market and
must of self-interest come to our rescue.
The valley will probably excel us in
the quantity of pears and plums raised per
acre, but if they should excel US i'll the
or and ar mr.
than compensated by the superiority OF our
fruit
Can tie wine business be ovsrdone? Not
while you and | live, provided we make a
cheap, and as Mr.. WetmOre says, = a potable
and transportable wine" l am able from
the reports OF the Assessors TO the State
Board of Equalization, to state the number
of acres devoted to wine culture in the
State OF course these tables are some
what faulty and perhaps understate the
truth. as for instance Placer is stated not to
have produced any raisins, when there is u
raisin vineyard of 200 acres within few
miles of ROcklin.
There were planted at the close OF 1888,
of table grapes, Is. 446 acres; of wine grapes,
G5, 702 acres; of raisin grapes, 5907 acres,
making total Of 81 ,055 acres. The esti-
mate is exclusive of Los Angeles, whose
Assessor failed TO report ! suppose the
true estimate is 100000 acres Estimating
that in time there will be 1901 600 acres
devoted to wine and the product al the rate
of 500 gallons per acre, California; yield
will be 500O0,000 gallons This seems i'm
mensc but compare this with France alone,
which produces Z, Geo coo 600 gallons. Cheap.
good wine will make its own market, and
the taste for it will increase as good morals
increase and people become refined and
temperate.
You have along the line of the railroad
an advantage over the present vine growing
counties. You are one day nearer the
| Eastern markets For green fruits this one
day in value can hardly be 0veT-estim&ted.
One acre in the foothills is worth two of
the lower valleys in the mere matter Of
facility of transportation. Again, look at
the first cost of the land. Naked land in
Napa and SOnOma, near & railroad, cannot
be purchased for less than 800, and in
come localities, such as St Helena, at less
than $500, while land in the foothills can
be purchased at from $40 TO $50 per acre.
Most of you know the average product OF
grapes per acre in the foothills, and most OF
US are accustomed to think that Los An
geles, Napa, SonOma and Santa Clara eX-
Gel US 1t will be & surprise to most of you
to know that, according to the Assessor 5
report, the average production per acre OF
table grapes, the yield Of which is larger
than wine grapes, in SOnOma is three tons
Napa, two tons Sacramento, two and one
half tons, and Santa Clara, four tons. am
sorry that | cannot give you the yield OF
Placer, as none of the Assessors reported it..
El Dorado reported the yield at three tons.
| ! would like 70 hear from some of our El
Dorado and PlacerviIle viticulturists on
this question.
] conclude that the soil, climate, near
ness to market, railroad facilities, rainfall,
pure water. timber, and the superiority Of
the fruit produced, all combine to make the
foothills Of the Sierra, and especially the
hills Of this district, the most desirable sec
ton of the state for a home, founded upon
absolute security of a comfortable indc-
pendence.
As to the kind of grapes to plant am
not prepared to say. ] have diligently
studied the question, with the light which
the work of Mr. Weunoro and Professor
Hilgard afforded me, but 1 fear to offer you
my Judgment But this | can recommend :
Just do not be in too much hurry; plow and
| summer fallow your land and expose it one
year TO the fertiliZng and amcli0raLing in
| tuence Of the air; then plant resistant
vines, such as the wild grapeyines grown
from seeds and Riparia seedlings.
You will then be safe from the fatal at
tacks OF the phyllOXera, for it has been
proven by experiment in France and in
this State that these vine roots are truly
resistant. The insect may visit the district,
and while its progress is slow it is sure. In
the district below Auburn, in the sandy
soil, the progress will be slow, because the
soil is sandy, and in such soil the insect
cannot travel, but in the more ciayey and
compact soil he is TO be feared.
| In TWO wears from DlaUtiDr graft in thc
grape desired. The cost Of grating need
not exceed IS or Sc per acre.
( The advantage of planting the resistant
vines are obvious. First, the security OBJ
aned against the ravages of the insect
and secondly, in the increased product of
/ the vine, rs the root system OF the wild
vine is more vigorous than that of the Utis
! cisteteyG, and correspondingly the air growth
will be healthier and more luxuriant. The
vitis Cdiifor7aica, or wild grapevine Of this
State, has L tendency to throw down a tap