The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-10-19
HEALDs BURG.
The Raising Of Vegetables-The Season
for Drying Grapes.

The Raising If Vegetables-The Season
for Drying Grapes.
Jack Frost made his debut this week, his
first appearance for the season of 1S9091.
His advent was so quiet, his touch so light
we would not have known lie mad been
here if the red pepper and cucumber vines
had not told the tale. They are the first TO
Succumb, the vegetable men say, to his icy
breath; then the string beans trembled on
their stems and the tomatoes grew redder
than before as If they kney that soon their
turn would come to feel his blighting touch.
and so it was.
We can never realize that summer has
gone until the frost has come. AT this time
OF the year 1t can do but little harm. No
one enjoys cucumbers in October and the
Wise housewife has before this hung the
green peppers on the pantry walls where
they re fast turning to that glowing red-hot
color that bespeaks the nature of that pun
gent plant. The tomato has done good serv-
ice ana has been canned, picked ana
'ch0Wchowed'' until now it can easily be
spiced. The string bean has been with us
since early summer and as the weather
grows colder we willingly exchange it for
the little brown bean-pUt with its savOry
contents. String-beans have also been
canned most satisfactorily our local can
nerieS doing an extensive business III that
line.
In place of the vegetables that are gone
we Lave others, equally good of their kind;
the succulent cabbage, the aristocratic cauli
flower; that most excellent, but hardly APP
preciated esculent, the yellow turnip; the
crimsun-hearted beet, the golden carrot. In
fact, we raise all vegetables here in Heads
burg in abundance and of fine quality and
flavor from the commonplace lettuce and
green onion TO the artichoke and gumbo.
said all. but the exception proves the rule.
For some reason, satisfy or oyster plant has
never been grown here, that is to my
knowledge. Our vegetable gardens are on
n large scale, and owned and managed eX-
clusively by a very good class of Italians,
who are mostly citizens and very prosperous.
Occasionally, during the early spring, Chi
neSe vegetable peddler may be seen on his
laborious round from house to house, but
his patronage must be small, for he soon
retireS. As workmen only, do Cinnamon
succeed in Heaidsburg. There are not more
than half dozen employed outside of the
laundries, even as domeStcs in families.
The grape-grower is. or ought TO be, very
thankful that the lain has not come upon
him. The greater part of the immense
quantities OF grapes that have been drying
IN the open air are, as yet, exposed to the
clements. This is new industry to this
part of the country, and they have not the
warehouses they need to store so much
fruit while they are getting it ready for the
market. There is central depot estab-
liShed at Ltton Springs Station, few miles
north of Healdsburg. From Cloverdale and
GeysPryille north, from Alexander Valley
east, from Dry Creek Valley west, they are
handling the grapes they have dried this
fall At this point they have an engine,
called the "lhrasher." the only one Of its
kind in the country round. This engine is
quite a curiosity to q person who has never
seen the like before. 1t stems and asserts
the dried grapes at the rate of ,trsack-fii
every four seconds. Each sack contains
ninety pounds. 1t is running night and day.
giving employment to fifty men and boys, and
there viii be work for three weeks to
come. Three freight-carS are filed every
tweuty-four hours. By another year there
will be more "thrashers" at work. for every
large grape-grower will find it to his interest
to have one on his vineyard, and the work
will then be not delayed. 1t seems as if
every team in the country was employed,
and still they have not enough. The grapes
that are grown about here are found to
make a very superior quantity Of dried
grapes, and as there is great demand for
that article, whether IL goes under the name
of dried grapes or Iaisins. this industry will
hencefo:tn vie with that OF Wine-makipg.
This competition will necessarily keep up
the price of grapes; and at no time in the
future will era eS bring as low prices as
they have for the last two or three years,
when the grapegrOwcr had to depend en-
tirely on the wineries for market for their
grapes
L. l.. Gale, formerly n citizen of Heads
burg, has returned, after an absence of sew
eral years in Tacoma and Port Townsend,
Wash, and was heartily welcomed by his
family AMI numerous old friends, who hope
lie has come to stay.
William Rutfner, a prominent citizen of
Woodland, Yolo County, is visiting his
many staunch friends in HealdSburg Sew
eral years ago Mr. Rutfner was one of our
most popular merchants, and Healdsburg
has always regretted the loss of SO exem-
plary citizen.
The friends, and they are legion, of John
Livernesh Jr., editor of the HealdSburg
Enterprise will be deeply panied to learn
of his continued and very serious illness.
He is Il young man of exceptional integrity,
superior business qualifications, and the
light of his home circle. PAN.
HeoidSJurD oct. ISN.