Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-06-28
Blind MaIignity.

The NAL nero has undoubtedly made
some progress in Los Angeles county. 1t
came up on sudden, as such visitations
are likely to do, and made its ravages on
the start. The difficulty WAS immedi-
ately grappled with by our local vigner-
ons, assisted by Mr.. J. de Barth Shorb
and the State Board of Viticulture, and
their intelligent labors have been re-
warded with gratifying degree of sue
cess. In fact, the fell disease, after
doing great deal of damage, may fairly
be said to have run its course. The
vineyards affected have already started
again on the up grade, and those not
affected have been up to their usual old
time standard of production.
But the up-country newspapers, which
have hoped for the extinction of the
vines of Los Angeles county, are not
willing to admit of this remarkable re-
newed energy of production in this
region. A recent issue of the Oakland
Enquirer has the effrontery to say that
even the wild grapes are dying in Los
Angeles county. This is a sheer, unmit-
igated lie. ANY one who cares to take a
ride on the Sycamore Grove route to Pas
adena will see the trees encircled with
the wild grape vine in never surpassed
luxuriance. ALI through Southern Cali
fornia the same experience will be re-
corded. The Oakland paper quotes from
the Fresno E1poSitor, journal that
ought to have better sense, the following
misleading if not malignant passage:
What Immediately attracts our atten-
ton is that this Santa Ana district, where
the vine disease first started, is, of ali the
raisin districts in the State, the one stu
ated nearest the Pacific ocean. Santa
Ana City is situated only nine miles from
the coast Tustin, the principal seat OF
the now destroyed raisin vineyards, is a
mile or so nearer the hills. We
have already stated that in the Santa
Ana district the temperature in the fall
was such that the vines failed to become
dormant in time to allow their pruning
in the proper season. This in itself
points to phenomenon peculiar to the
tropics, as no grapes can be proftably
grown in such regions on that account.
The vines there become evergreens. But
in other respects, also, the Santa Ana
raisin district ia unique. The moisture
in the air and fog and dew are daily ad-
juncts to the raisin vineyards. Every
morning the vines are covered with
heavy dew, and from early dawn to 10
o'clock the sky is overcast with a
heavy fogbank, obscuring the sun
which is so necessary for the
raisin grapes. Even during the
drying season the fog and the dew are so
bad that large canvass stretchers have
to be used for covering the trays 80 as to
prevent them being soaked. The effect
of such a climate on grapes can easily be
understood. Instead of ripening in
August, as with US, the picking cannot
begin until the Goth of September, and
sometimes even not before the LIST OF
October. This extreme lateness and
dampness is the most favorable condition
known for the development of fungoid
diseases. In fact, none OF them can
exist in absolutely dry air any more than
a man can live without drinking, or
breathing the air. Later Investigations
have convinced us that the development
of certain fungus under unusually IA
yorable conditions is the cause of the
destruction of the vine. Just as far as
the Santa Ana climate extends inland,
Just so far has the disease extended, and
within that district we may expect, in
case no effective remedy is found, that
every vine will ultimately become dis
eased and die.
This is all the purest "rot." The in
jury to the vines in the Santa Ana and
Tustin City region has already reached
its perihelion, and the NAL nero is con-
quered as to that section, formerly be-
longing to Los Angeles but now con-
stituent of Orange county. The new
vines are coming forward with all the