The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1894-04-26

turtles. The goods had always been con-
I sumed in small Quantities at the holiday
season, as luxuries, and sold at CORES
ponding prices. Certain very careful
and systematic producers, like the late
q. q. Briggs and DR.. Blowers OF Yoio
and Miss Austin and Col. Forsyth OF
Fresno, demonstrated that we could
produce larger quantity to the acre,
place them in equally attractive pack
ages and adopt such labor-saving
methods as to enable us to compete with
labor so much cheaper than ours, as it
is in Spain.
Real estate men improved the opening
to subdivide large tracts, acquired at
little cost, upon the expectation that
anybody on any land could achieve such
results as the few they loved to quote
had done under most favorable sur
roundings. All were made rich on paper.
Many OF the vineyards were owned and
some operated by those who hardly knew
whether alfalfa grew on grape vines or
grapes on alfalfa trees. They knew their
section OF the country was famous for
the production of grapes and alfalfa.
Land that never could be made to pro-
duce anything else, was represented as
just the spot for raisin grapes AMI both
non-residents and farmer invested many
a good dollar in hopeless cause.
Again, planters seemed to forget that
any section OF California was subject to
late and early frosts, or that rasin vine
yards must be favored in those respects.
lear after year many one has lamented
the loss OF his first crop and best crop
and some have lost vines and all.
Again, they reasoned that if some was
good, more was better, and they planted
vineyards upon land so thoroughly sub
irrigated that the vines threw ut a rank
growth and the grapes kept on forming,
but they waited in vain for them to ripen
so as to show the amount of saccharine
necessary for good raisin.
AS the lrishman said, all of those vine
yards planted by people who knew
nothing about it, all those planted on
barren land, all those planted in places
too frosty or too wet to mature raisin
grape, ought to have been pulled up be-
fore they were planted.
There are hundreds who are pulling
up good vineyards, because they argue
from the experience OF two seasons past
and have been so much excited by parti-
san discussion OF the tariff that they
think there will never be anything in
the business again. We think that these
are as much mistaken as those who
rushed headlong into the business in the
first place.
Raisins are staple fruit product that
will always be in demand, and at a
reasonable margin upon cost OF produc-
ton and distribution they are second
only to the prune as a cheap luxury for
the poor. When they are sold upon this
basis the consumption will far exceed
the present per capita OF IL pounds in
America or 8 pounds in England, and
may approach the 60 pound per capita
of the Fowler family in
Fresno. The late remarks of our Repre-
sentative Bowers, in Congress. show
that many of the dealers are taking ad-
vantage of the competition to sell among
producers, but are not trying to increase
by selling at the lowest
prices they can afford. The butcher
reasons that about SO much steak will be
consumed anyway, and sells his best
cuts at 10 cents pound whether he paws
five cents or two cents for his cattle.
just so with the retail grocer. But that
won't last long. One will begin to crowd
them as specialties, and sell upon the
basis OF profit regulating staples, and
that will force competitors to pursue the
same course. AS Mr.. Bowers SAYS. the
matter OF tariff cuts very small figure
whe compared with exorbitant profits.
Before the late G. G. Briggs went
largely into the business, he visited
every prominent raisin center in the Oh
World, and satisfied himself that his sol
was so much more productive, and that
he could save so much of the labor re-
luired by Spanish methods, that he
could pay dollar day for labor and
the product of their cheap
abor, tariff or no tariff.
Unsrroupulous packers have lowered
the reputation OF California goods. Ex-
brilliant profits have prevented increased
consumption. A financial panic has
lnmanfully struck the poor raisin- grow
er when he was down. But the man
who has good vineyard, well located,
and is willing to persevere until he be-
comes a master Of his business, may feel
assured that the industry is now passing
through its darkest days.
So long as Spanish competitors must
import from distant countries CONNER
'ial fertilizers in steadily increasing
quantity, so long as they must bear the
many burdens OF their customs and
the independent proprietor,
n free America, upon the virgin soil OF
california, has little to fear in an even
ace.
THE MILKING HABIT.