Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-12-06
PROPER RAIsIN CULTURE.
Read by A. ". Hawley Before the Horti-
 cultural Convention in San Diego.
lcalifornia Raisin Culture )

California Raisin Culture
 The varieties of grapes used in making raisins are but two, the Muscat of Alex andria and the Muscatal Gordo Blanca Some contend that there is but little or no difference between the two Gustav Eisen says: Both varieties are found promis- cuous in most raisin vineyards" Most vineyardists in California favor the Cor do Blanco, claiming that 1t is better and surer bearer, giving both larger clusters and larger berries In regard to planting, should make but little difference between cuttings and rooted vines. The roots are preferable for a dry year. The first year the rooted vines show a great CT growth, but after that there seems to be no perceptible difference. If irriga- ton is used I would recommend planting from eight to ten feet apart; if not, from ten to twelve. The soil should be plowed i deep and be thoroughly pulverized before planting. The system of blowing in win ter has become almost universal as the mode of cultivation. By blowing both ways nearly all the ground IS stirred to a ] good depth, which tends to prevent the | formation of evaporator tubes by which the soil is deprived of it's moisture. The 1 cultivator should then be used to destroy
 all weeds and break the crust after each ! rain..
 The most particular part in raisin cul- i ture is to get the vine filled to its capacity with large clusters, for upon this depends the final returns for our labor at the end of the year. There are vineyards in the
 Cajon that are not filled to half the capa- | city of the vines, and others that are over loaded. There is seldom good crop set l on vines in shallow soil, but the trouble comes on our rich. moist land, or irrigated vines, from the disease termed couture"
 Wickson in his California Fruits says
 "A frequent misfortune of the vine, and for which no remedy is yet known, is couture, a term signifying the failure of | the fruit to set or remain on the cluster" 1 It is pretty generally acknowledged to be caused by mildew, and sulphur is the ac- cepted remedy, yet this fails on vines 1 closely pruned. or moist land. 1 think we have a certain remedy for this in a sys- | tenn of winter pruning, summer pruning and suckering. 1 have never had a | failure in getting vine well filled with i large clusters of frst-crop grapes where | the Chaintre system of pruning is pursued,
 while with the old system the larger pro-
 portion will be second-crop, which are not so valuable to the producer. This meth cd distributes the grapes along the row, and not in a cluster about the head, leav- ing them so the sun and air, which seems | to be death to mildew, can get at them. I would recommend this only on such ground as that of which 1 speak. on shall low soil.
 I would advocate the spur system of pruning, by leaving five or more arms or branches, three to six buds long To de- velop these buds 1t will require strict at L., o1l
 pear. On next years pruning, instead of cutting off any of the old wood, you should trim the new wood to one bud besides the base bud. This will throw the ma iority of the bearing canes away from the the center, and by removing suckers when 1 ever they appear, will let in the light and air and prevent couture. It causes later als to start, which furnish the mueh-needed shade later, to prevent the grapes from sunburning and from premature ripening. It also, by checking the vines, developes the fruit. Grapes should not be picked before the expressed juice tests 24 degrees by the saccharometer, after which they should be picked as soon as possible, to get them cured before the rains.
 An unripe grape will not dyr as quickly or weigh as much when dry, as a ripe one; so too much haste may make waste. The picked grapes should be placed one
 thickness on trays. After they are about l two-t thirds dry, they are turned. This is done by two men, one at each end of the tray. They place an empty tray on top of the full one and clasping both ends firm ly invert them, then use the emptied tray for the next one, and so continue. When most of the grapes are dry they have to be sorted, taking out what will make layers l LI~ IL to the shelling. grading and packing of raisins, that has almost passed out of the producers hands into those of the packers the producers having to deliver them sorted in sweat boxes to the packing l house.