Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-22
our vineyards.


vines. Following these come o. ner
gangs lifting the canes out OF the
yineyard to be burned out OF the way.
Near Anaheim some OF the vlne-
growers do not cut the cane OIL all at
once, but take off the tops hrst,whlch
are cut SO short as to allow OF piow-
ing them under. Later the thicker
portion is pruned, and as this is much
shorter than the first trimming 1t Is
covered at the second plowing. Ihls
process does not require much more
labor than the other, and the canes
are thus returned to fertilize the soil.
There is much advantage in this
method. From a good vineyard there
is gathered an aggregate of five to
eight tons OF fruit each October. In
the prunings there is carried oil the
soil a further mass of growth amount
ing to great many tons. 1t is dill
cult under such process to prevent
the land from becoming impover-
ished. The reason why this has not
been felt here before is that our vir-
gin soil thus far shows no sign OF ex-
haustion. In the long run 1T must
and will.
1t is worthy of observation that IN
some of the vineyards, men are fol-
lowing the pruners and getting out a
large supply of cuttings for the spring
planting. Last year there were few
vines set as compared with what was
done in 1881 and all the succeeding
springs up to 1884. The reasons OF
this falling off were two. The great
est trouble has been lack of facilities
to handle the crop. There has been,
after all is said, too much tendency
to speculate in lands, and too little
disposition to enter into the legltl-
mate business OF development. The
specu' live fever has made money
scarce and dear. When this era OF
gambling in realty comes to an end,
there will be dropping Oft in inter
est rates, and money will seek invest
ment in building up wineries and
other substantial improvements oil
the country. Our great crowds OF
new comers will be compelled to JOIN
those of us who have seen Los An
geles in all her ups and downs, and
become actively engaged in develop
ing some of he industries of sterling
worth. Then We shall get more
wineries, and more effort will be made
to introduce our wines into the mark
cts of the world. 1t will not be long
before this desirable change is
brought about, and when it comes
the price Of grapes will go back to
$40 or $25 per ton. This will be upon
ns before the paintings of this year
are in bearing four or five years
hence. Now is an excellent time to
plant vines.
Another reason for Stacking up was
the uncertainty as to what sort Of
grape to rlant. Time was when the
Mission was regarded as one OF our
best vines. All conversant with this
matter remember when the Malvoisie
was thought to be one of the very
best grapes to plant. Later all ran
to the Znfindel. Then it was dis
covered that the Mission was no
good, that the Malvoisie was cum
brance to the ground, and that the
Zinfindel was not possessed of all
the good qualities in the world.
Within two years many new varie-
ties, have been introduced, and at
length it seems as if the era of teuta-
tive experiment were at an end, and
that of knowledge well founded in
experience ours.
Among the best new varieties are
the Pinotrose, the Pitt Bouscher,
the Souvignon Vert, the Mataro and
the Huasco. The Malbeck, once a
great favorite, is now only used in the
ratio of five per cent. tor blending
with other clarets.
The end of this experimental
stage, and the knowledge derived
from these views of experience are
most valuable to the new vine plant
er. One going to plant vineyard
can now avoid the mistakes OF four
or five years ago. He can set not
only the best wines in general, but
any vigneron can tell him what vari-
cites would do best in his own par
ticular locality and soil.
This knowledge and experience
have resulted in the production of
sounder qualities of wine. The re-
suit OF this is much better demandfor
our wines, and better prices in the mar
kets, where supplies are always at
low ebb. The vintage OF 1856 is OF
excellent quality. The total for the
State reaches about 100000 gal
Ions, exclusive OF about 4,O00,00O
distilled to brandy. Los Angeles
county produced nearly 100000
gallons OF the wine. OF 1884 and 1885
there is not a gallon on the markets.
It has all gone out of the hands Of
dealers. 4
These facts all go to show
that the current year is a good one to
plant vines. The demand at the East
Increases at the rate of p
~. 600 gallons . year Ihfra|