The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-01-06
THE DOMESTIC RAISIN PRODUCERS.
A Californian Gives an Account of the Great
Grape Industry and Its Product.

or two ago had great deal to say, in a
chance conversation, about the raisin in
dustry of his State. 1T has become con-
siderable feature of grape-growlng," ne
said. ct has been found necessary to get
some way of disposing Of the enormous crop
outside of wine-making, and the product IS
beginning to be devoted largely TO the cur
ing O. raisins, and our success is evident
from the steady rise of that article In pub
lie esteem, from the earliest experiments.
The grape crop, with rs, ripens IN three
separate installments, and you see flowers,
o. cen grapes and the ripe follow each other
in this order almost continuously"
"What is the character OF your curing
nroc>,SS7" was asked.
at varies somewhat, according to cir
curnsta noes and locality, but OF all meth
dds sun,drying produces, by odds, the hneSt
raisins, AID is practiced with the first crop.
in fire dry season, and the second up to the
last day possible before the rain opens the
Wet season All kinds of scientific drying
projects have been tested, but they, gener-
aaiiy result, if hot III absolute failure; at
least In producing very inferior ioh klna nr Oh
nitious. and in looking over the. fields OF
our great pla nations, the giistening edges
of the white trays containing the grapes
couId still be seen, in the warm sun, on
election DAY, WHICH 10 soseAah "0SNS A"'OA
than common" =,
How do you manage the last cropW
'sWell, that cannot be utilized for raislns;
because no sat isfactory indoor process OF
curing them has been discovered, and,
as the standard Of our wines has become SO
% it: 'ne so to u" prevent the crop
from perishing, it is made into vinegar-the
finest vinegar, by the way, in the world,
but we are prohbltcd rom SnaPpine t - nero
change in this will be effected in time, and
then we will let thousa nds of people here
who think that acetic acid and water Is
vinegar see how the genuine article tastes.
The grape growing lndhstry mas not tbs r prod
ucts resulting will make us bear exactly
the same relation to America that France
does to Europe" .
what is the proportion of raisins to
grapes grownT -
about one-third. A ton Of grapes will
average 625 pounds of marketable cured
raisins, exclusive of all waste. The amount
of profit has often been exaggerated by
those who fail to take into account the var
led expenses of maintaining q vineyard,
which does not begin to pay until the early
part of the fourth year, as rule, and inter-
est is high, being from 10 to IL
per cent; per annum. Yet the pron!s
s are rea nyrsu iargfr vineyard nsR is managed
rightly. One gentleman, near my house In
Fresno. in 1884, put in vineyard of seventy
acres of Muscatels (which, you must re-
member, takes, considerable capita ", and
year was $4,000. But he is perhaps excep-
tionally fortune"
t.Are the grapes packed on the fieldw
1.-The small growers generally take their
crops TO the large vineyards, where they
have usually their own packlng-hOuSes,
and put up their neighbors' products as
well as their own. Some very large pack
ing-houses that do general work for the
growers and ship direct to the markets of
and are nearly always behind their orders
received from Chicago and New York.
This season California has sent into the
market over one million tweDty-pound
boxes of raisins."
Heretofore they have been shipped
to us in carloads. knocked down. as we
call it, and nailed together on the telds
but now the growers are beginning to start
large box-making plants OF their own, and
yard districts, to the upland lumber belts
to bring the timber. Again, some others
have discovered a cheaper plan OF utilizing
the mountain torrents to- hi fumes and
float the lumber down that way. Large
quantities Of sawed timber are also re-
quired for the raisin trays, which now cost
about cents apiece, and for the picking
boxes, into which the raisins arc cut from
the vines, and which cost is cents. Then
there are also the large sweating-bOxes,
used in part of the curing process, that cost
so cents each, and when you consider that
thousands are employed. you see where
capital goes in running a vineyard"
Are the raisins grown throughout the
Slater
Every nearly; though the region sur
rounding Mt. Diable and the larger one ly-
ing along the Coast Range are the districts
where it is most successfully conducted.
nrpII &C. hot tSa. lraI ~
rigation from the mountain streams right
at hand. The mountains shut off all the
cold ocean fOgs. and the hot sun causes phe-
nomenally rapid growth, though the size of
the fruits is not, perhaps, so remarkably
large, as many people think. The season
opens early and closes late, from the fact
not generally known, that we receive with
the southern clouds and rains opening the
wet season, the genuine tropical trade wind
from over the plains of the Mexicos."