The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-05-21
How Fortunes Can Be Made From a
Few Acres of Vines.
Small Farms in Sacramento County
Reliable Statement of the Returns
From One Mans Vineyard.

says:
! "a California acre, when cultivated to
It's fullest capacity with painstaking in
! telilgence, and planted to Truit adapted to
It's soil, and of the first quality, is capable
! OF returning a yield, and consequently q
! profit, far beyond what q majority of the
public, and many of the fruit-growerS as
well, now deem possible. But that acre
| must have skiilful, unremitting over
sight, and vigilant, hornyhanded indus
! Try, TO back its marvelously fertile
soil and unrivaled climate. The man
! who reaches the top rung of the ladder in
| this or any other business must work
with brain as well as muscle. Riding
! over this acre In Well-cushioned buggy,
| with kid-gloved hands, will result only
III deserved failure. To reach success in
/ any business the head, heart and hands
! must all be brought into active and con-
| slant service. Enlist the powers of the
! entire man IN any occupation and success
! is the rule in life. IN no business is this
| more universally and strikingly true
than in grape culture. Utilize every
force of mind and body, study soil, sub
soil, moisture, light, the air needed, cul-
| tIyatIon, picking, packing, handling,
shipping and finally, probably the most
| vital point OF all, the markets, and one
! duplicated on earth, will yield such a
truit-grower certain and large return
every year.
ENORMOUS PROFIT PER ACRE.
GAS illustrative Of the foregoing, the
| following figures of my crop Of table
/ grapes Tor this year are given. From
! fifteen acres OF ground my books show
! the gross receipts to be q fraction over
| $4,000. After deducting freights. com
missions, cost of irrigation, exclusive of
| plant, cultivation and labor of every
! kind, the net returns were S., 343, or
5000 20 per acre.
My shipments began on August 18th
| and ended October 18th, the season agCre-
eating $4,000 pounds. The date Of the
highest price realized for the season was
at about the close, or November 9Th,
when the unprecedented figure Of IS 30
| per double crate was realized for Tokays
the single crates bringing 81 Is. These
| splendid prices were brought by auction
| IN the New York market on the above
GATE by 4. Il. Goodsell. The lowest price
obtained during the season was October
18th, when single crates We're sold for
81 40 in Chicago.
| RESULT OF IRRIGATION.
1.-THE varieties raised in my VINEYARD
are IOEays and COrnichons. The major
| portion OF these were planted by me four
teen years ago, few being planted by
my father about twenty years ago. /
gave careful study to the yield OF this
'Aii~y t'l u NtbI1AiES oil lDtS6 Years. ana
noted the fact that an increased yield and
improved quality of grape was gathered
! whenever the rainfall was abundant dur
! ing the late spring months. This led to
the firm conviction that irrigation would
| pay me handsome returns. 1t was de-
cIared by other growers that the expense
/ was wholly useless III this locality; that
would ruin my vineyard; that the grapes
/ would be green and inferior in size, and
/ that | would do the business an injury
In the face of this adverse criticism the
| experiment was tried on limited scale
last season. The result was so satistac-
| tory both in the increased WELD and per-
lection Of the grapes that two wells were
sunk this year on the highest points Of
/ the vineyard. An engine and Weber
| pump, having capacity Of lifting l,OOO,-
| 600 gallons per hour, was put in, and
| dykes and bitches We're constructed. The
| entire plant cost nearly $4,000.
! Early in June so much of the tract as
was prepared for irrigation was flooded
to the depth OF from eight inches to three
feet. This one application was all the
| extra moisture the vines received The
! future crop demonstrated to my satisfac-
tiOn as 1t must to all fair-minded grow
erS, that Irrigation pays in my portion of
| the State handsome return on the in
vestment. The yield was far beyond the
unIrrlgated portion of the vineyard.
though it was applied on the lightest and
/ poorest soil, While the quality was far su-
| perior to that yielded from the vines
where no water was applied. The clus-
ters were extraordinary in weight, the
grapes uniform in co.oring and OF excep-
uOnal size.
CARE IN CULTIVATION.
sit will be asked if the high prices Sc
cured were wholly the result of irriga-
ton. Certainly not The marvellous
! beauty OF the grapes and the enormous
yield were due TO this; but the fact that
the utmost care and attention was paid to
each vine, that it was nurtured, pruned,
cultivated and Kept so as to receive the
greatest amount of both air and light,
aided materially in the result. If grapes
are excluded from free access to air or
light, by too much foliage, or by lying on
| the earth, the clusters will invariably
ripen unevenly. Some will be clear and
OF perfect color, while some will be green
on the same cluster. Such grapes will
not bring fancy prices for table use. 1t is
the grapes OF uniform color and large size
that reach the top figures.
The picking IS quite important. I'm
der no circumstances should grapes be
picked too green. On the contrary espe-
cial care should always be taken to gather
the crop when the grapes are fully ri
pened. Uniformity of grades should also
be maintained in packing for market. in
| ferlOr grapes should always be rejected
Us being worse than worthless. Too
much emphasis cannot be placed upon
what might be termed wholesale reiec-
ton. Every pound of fruit so culled,
and the inferior grapes thrown away,
| Will bring two 10 Iour times what would
be realized without such rejection. In
other words ali fruit packed for Eastern
markets should be only OF the very high
est possible quality. Equal vigilance is
necessary in the
/ AWNING Avn d
Much of the latter I do with my own
hands, SO important is it to the sale of the
fruit. An assistant has been under my
tutelage for several years past, who is
but Just beginning to be proficient in the
art. Crates neatly packed, attractive 10
the eye, and each shipment counterpart
of the other, viii very soon attract the
eye of the purchasers, and popularize a
brand providing always that the grapes
are superior. The fastldious public. Who
are ever alert to find the best the markets
afford, are willing to pay fancy prices.
/ Any grower who never puts any Inferior
or i'm properly packed or assorted goods
OH the market will soon have the salts
faction OF reaching topmost prices for his
fruit.
BENEFIT OF PERSONAL SUPERVISION.
in further explanation of how such
extraordinary prices We're realized i: is
due to the exact truth TO further declare
that they would not have been obtained
If / had not Kept absolute control of my
own business. l have deemed it my duty
TO be independent and choose, as my
best judgment might dictate, when tc
ship, through whom and to whom 10
ship. At times [ have shipped by differ
ent agents TO different agents, thus bring
ing small consignment in competition
with my own goods: but this would be to
/ determine who would secure the best
prices. This learned l continued to con.
sign to the successful agent, while the re-
turns were satisfactory. thus Stimulating