Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes

In this document, texts between _underscores_, =equal signs= and ~tildes~ represent texts printed in italics, in bold face and underlined texts, respectively.

More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this text.

THE RAISIN INDUSTRY.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE RAISIN GRAPES, THEIR HISTORY, CULTURE AND CURING.

BY GUSTAV EISEN.

SAN FRANCISCO: H. S. CROCKER & COMPANY, STATIONERS AND PRINTERS, 1890.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by GUSTAV EISEN, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE.

Of late years the raisin industry has been prominently before the horticulturists of California. Many people now make their living and acquire wealth by the cultivation of the raisin grapes, and many are now studying the methods of cultivation, pruning, curing and packing while waiting for their vines to bear. The literature of the raisin industry is a very scant one, and, with the exception of a few notices in works of travel, or in treatises on general fruit culture, we find not a single book in which this important and interesting industry is made the special subject of study and discussion. A book on the raisin industry may, therefore, be considered timely. I have endeavored to so write it that it would contain something of interest to all those connected with the growing and curing of the raisin grapes, to those who have already succeeded in building up fame and fortune, as well as to those who have just begun the cultivation of the vine, and who have as yet only realized the pleasures, but not the profits, of the industry. The historical part of the book will principally interest the former; for the latter the practical part on cultivation, pruning, curing and packing is intended.

As our climate and other conditions differ from those of any other country in the world, so must our methods of cultivation and curing differ from those practiced elsewhere. Foreign methods, while interesting and, in some respects, of great importance to us, had to be greatly modified and improved upon before our growers succeeded in producing raisins equaling the best from the raisin districts of the Old World. It has cost years of experimenting and study to attain success, as well as much money and disappointment to many who had nothing to guide them when they commenced.

These processes by which success was achieved can now become the property of all, and a safe guide to even the most inexperienced beginners. The methods advocated here are the result of practical experience of the author, as well as of the most successful raisin-growers of this State.

For the benefit of those of our readers who now study the raisin industry at a distance, but whose steps may in the future be directed to this Coast, a descriptive tour through the raisin districts of our State has been added in order that they may see what our country is like,--the country of the raisin and the fig; the country of almonds, olives, oranges and prunes; the country where health, profit and enjoyment are more than anywhere else derived from horticultural pursuits. It is for these prospective readers, that the short biographical sketches of our principal raisin-men are intended,--short records of the pioneers of the raisin industry,--men who have broken the way which is now easy to travel, and through whose experience and perseverance others are now being benefited.

GUSTAV EISEN.

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., OCTOBER, 1890.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE. HISTORICAL 5

Raisins 5

The Currant 6

Muscatels 7

Dehesa Raisins 7

Lexias or Lye-dipped Raisins 9

Various Kinds of Raisins 10 --Muscatels; Currants; Belvideres; Black Smyrnas; California Malagas; California Sun-dried Sultanas; Seedless Muscatels; Thompson Seedless; Dried Grapes; Lexias; California Dipped; Smyrnas; Faros; Huascos.

RAISIN DISTRICTS 10

Foreign Districts 10

Raisins in Ancient Times 10

Modern Raisin Districts 11

The Malaga District 12 --Extent and Age; Climate; Soil; location of the Vineyard; Varieties of Grapes; Characteristics of the Raisins; Yield of Grapes; Distances of the Vines; Pruning; Manuring and Fertilizing; Drying Floors or Sequeros; Drying and Curing; Packing; Labor.

Valencia and Denia 15 --Extent of the District; Soils and Appearance of the District; Climate; Irrigation; Quality of the Raisins; Planting and Care; Dipping and Scalding; Drying and Curing; Packing and Disposing of the Crop; Export and Production.

Corinth and Currants 22 --Historical and Geographical Notes; Characteristics and Quality; Soil and Irrigation; Preparation of the Land; Distances of the Currant Vines; Care of Cuttings; Planting and Grafting; Pruning the Vines; Care of the Vineyard; Ringing the Branches; Drying and Curing; Cost of Currant Vineyards in Greece; Consumption and Production.

Smyrna Raisins 30 --Districts in Smyrna; Climate; Care of the Vines; Dipping, Drying and Curing; Production and Export; Cost of Vineyards in Smyrna; Other Varieties of Raisins.

Italy and Italian Raisins 36 --Lipari and Belvidere; Pantellaria; Calabria.

Chile and Huasco Raisins 36 --Characteristics; Location; Varieties; Soils; Climate; Irrigation; The Vineyard; Drying and Curing.

California Raisin Districts 38

A General Review 38 --Early History; Later Planting; Acreage and Crops.

Yolo and Solano 40 --Soil and Climate; The Vineyard; The Crop.

Northern California 43 --General Remarks; Placer County; Yuba County; Sutter County; Colusa County; Butte County; Tehama County; Shasta County.

Fresno, Merced, Tulare and Kern 44 --Extent and Location; Soils and Climate; Irrigation; The Vineyard; Pruning and Other Operations; The Crop.

San Bernardino County 48 --Location and Acreage; Climate; Irrigation; Soils; The Vineyard; The Crop; The Profits and Other Items.

Orange County and Santa Ana 52 --General Remarks; Location; Climate; Soils and Ripening; The Vineyard; The Crop and its Curing; Yield and Profits.

San Diego and El Cajon 55 --Location and Acreage; Climate and Rainfall; Soils; The Vines and the Vineyard; The Crop.

Other Raisin Districts 59

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, SOILS, LOCATION AND IRRIGATION 60

Climatic Conditions Favorable and Unfavorable to the Raisin Industry 60 --Limits of the Raisin Districts; Dry Seasons, Spring and Fall Rains; Winter Rains; Frost in Spring and Winter; Summer Temperature; Winds, Injurious and Beneficial; Fogs and Moisture in the Air; Ideal Conditions of Climate.

Soils 67 --General Remarks; Malaga; Valencia and Denia; Smyrna; Zante; Chile; Fresno; Other Soils in San Joaquin Valley; Orange County; Redlands and Riverside; El Cajon; Subsoils; Hardpan Soils; Comparative Value of Soils; Alkali Soils; Fertilizing.

Irrigation 77 --Introductory Notes; the Necessity of Irrigating the Raisin Vines; Health and Longevity of Irrigated Vines; The Bearing Quality of Irrigated Vines; Quality of Irrigated Grapes; Various Methods of Irrigation; Irrigation by Flooding; Irrigation by Furrowing; Subirrigation; Seepage; Drainage; The Influence of Irrigation on the Soil.

The Raisin Grapes 87 --Introductory Notes; Muscatel or Gordo Blanco; Muscat of Alexandria; Huasco Muscat; Other Varieties of Muscat; Seedless Sultana; Black Currant; Other Varieties of Currants; Thompson Seedless; Other Seedless Grapes; Malaga; Feher Szagos; Other Raisin Grapes.

DISEASES AND INSECT PESTS 93

Powdery Mildew or Uncinula 93 --General Notes; Characteristics; History and Distribution; Remedies.

Downy Mildew or Peronospora 95 --General Notes.

The Vine Plague 96 --Characteristics; Nature and Cause; Damages; Remedies.

Leaf-hopper 98 --Characteristics; Damages; Distribution; Remedies.

Red Spider 100 --Characteristics; Remedies.

Caterpillars 100 --Characteristics; Damages; Remedies.

Black-knot 102 --Characteristics; Remedies.

Grasshoppers 102 --General Notes; Remedies.

THE RAISIN VINEYARD 104

Planting 104 --Distances for Muscat Vines; the Marking Out of a Vineyard; Relative Value of Cuttings and Rooted Vines; The Making of Cuttings; The Care of Cuttings; Planting Cuttings; Care of Young Cuttings; Transporting Cuttings to Distant Parts; Rooting Cuttings; Care of Rooted Cuttings; Planting Rooted Vines; Proper Time for Planting; Cost of Cuttings and Rooted Vines; Winter Plowing; Plowing Devices; Cultivation; Back- furrowing; Cross-plowing; Weed-cutters; Cutter-sled; Hoeing; Time for Cultivation.

Grafting the Muscat on Other Stocks 117 --Time for Grafting Raisin-vines; Points to be Observed in Grafting; Various Methods of Grafting; Stocks and their Influence.

Various Summer Work 121 --Sulphuring; Tying Over; Covering the Vines; Thinning the Crop; Ringing the Vines; The Vineyard Labors of the Year.

Pruning 124 --Winter Pruning or Pruning Hard Wood; Bleeding of the Vines; Summer Pruning or Pruning Green Wood; Root-pruning; Suckering.

Various Vineyard Tools 130 --General Notes; The Sheep’s-foot; The Planting-bar; The Dibble; Planting Chains; Spades; Hoes; Plows; Cultivators; Randel Disc Cultivators; The Ash-trough; Sulphuring Cans and Bellows; The Cutter-sled; Vineyard Trucks; Shears.

DRYING AND CURING 133

California Sun-dried Raisins 133 --Notes; Time of Ripening; Signs of Maturity; Picking; Cleaning; Drying on Trays; Turning; Reversing; Slanting the Trays; Elevating the Trays; Stacking Against Rain and Dew; Taking Up; Covering; Drying-floors; Dryers; Sweatboxes; Trays for Drying.

California Lye-dipped Raisins 149 --General Notes; Dipping Process; Drying and Curing; Stemming, Grading and Packing.

THE PACKING-HOUSE 153

Buildings and Mechanical Appliances 153 --The Packing-house; The Stemmer and Grader; The Sweating- house; The Presses; Boxes and Cartoons; Packing Frames and Packing Trays; Facing-plate; Scales; Labeling Press; Tables; Bags and Bagholders; Trucks; Trays for Weighing; Followers; Paper; Tin Boxes.

Loose Raisins 158 --Stemming and Assorting; Packing and Cleaning; Sacking; Facing, Top-up Method; Facing, Top-down Method; Comparative Value of the Two Methods.

Layer Raisins 162 --Sweating and Equalizing; Packing Layers, Top-up Method; Packing Layers, Top-down Method; Filling; Nailing and Trimming; Labels.

STATISTICS OF IMPORTATION, PRODUCTION AND PRICES 169 --Production of Raisins in California from 1873 to 1889; Number of Acres in Raisin Grapes in California in 1890; California and Malaga Prices, Importation, etc., from 1871 to 1889; Exports of Malaga Raisins from 1864 to 1889; Exports of Valencia Raisins from 1850 to 1889; First Cost of Crop of Valencia Raisins; Production and Distribution of Smyrna Raisins from 1844 to 1884; World’s Raisin Production in 1890; Importation of Raisins, Currants and Figs into the United States from 1873 to 1878; Importation of Raisins, Currants and Figs into the United States from 1879 to 1888; Consumption of Currants and Raisins per Head of Total Population in 1884; Prices Ruling in the California Raisin Districts.

THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA RAISIN DISTRICTS 181

Through San Joaquin Valley to Fresno 181

From Los Angeles to Santa Ana 189

From Santa Ana to San Diego 192

El Cajon 195

Riverside 199

Redlands 202

An Hour in a Packing-house 205

RAISIN-GROWERS AND THEIR VINEYARDS 208 --G. G. Briggs; R. B. Blowers; Robert McPherson; T. C. White; Miss M. F. Austin; Joseph T. Goodman; A. B. Butler; William Forsyth; A. D. Barling; San Joaquin Valley Raisin Packers of 1889.

LITERATURE 215 --Introductory; List of Books of Reference.

GENERAL INDEX 219

THE RAISIN INDUSTRY.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE RAISIN GRAPES, THEIR HISTORY, CULTURE AND CURING, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CALIFORNIA, BY GUSTAV EISEN.

_Copyrighted._

HISTORICAL.

RAISINS.

The word “_raisin_” as spelled and pronounced to-day, is not of very ancient origin, but rather a corruption and evolution of older words, both spelled and pronounced differently. Thus Falstaff replies to Prince Hal: “If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give no man a reason upon compulsion” (Henry IV, Act II, scene 4). Also, Cooper, in his dictionary of 1685, indicates that “_raisin_” and “_reason_” are of identical sounds. The derivation of the word has, again, been very variously suggested either from “red” or “rose” color, connecting it with the German and Danish word “_rosine_;” and it has even been suggested that the word was derived from the fact that the raisins were cured in the “rays” of the sun. The true derivation, however, is from the Latin word “_racemus_,” meaning a bunch or cluster. Richardson, who first points out this derivation, quotes: “Whether a reisyn (E. V. graap, _racemus_) of Effraym is not better than the vindages of Abiezer” (Wicliffe Judges VIIJ, 2). “And there shall be left in it as a rasyn” (E. V., braunches of a cluster). Marginal note, “A rasyn is a lytil bow with a lytil fruit” (Idem. Is., XVIJ., 6). But we have much older testimony of this derivation being the correct one. An old document states that, in 1265 A. D., the Countess of Leicester paid in London twelve shillings for fourteen pounds, or, as the statement reads in Latin, “_Pro uno fraello racemorum_;” which, translated, would be, “for one frail of bunches.” The evolution of the Latin word _racemus_ was thus seen to have been accomplished rapidly enough; but, on account of the illiteracy of the olden times, it was spelled and pronounced promiscuously. Thus we meet with such spellings as “_reysyns_,” in 1266; “_reysons_,” in 1447 (“Russell’s Book of Nurture”). In 1554 the _Stationers’ Company_ in London paid twopence for one pound of “_greate reasons_;” while Andrew Borde, in his “Dietary” of 1542, says that “_great raysens be nutrytyve, specyally yf the stones be pulled out_.” In 1578 Dodoens speaks of dried raysens. In 1685 the word “raisin” is used and spelled as in our days, and from that time on the different spellings were used, if not promiscuously, still without any great uniformity. The term of “greate raysens” was introduced to distinguish them from the smaller raisins, or currants. In our own days, the latter is seldom classed or alluded to as a “raisin” proper, although it, strictly speaking, should be considered as such. The tendency at present in California is to make the distinction between “raisins” and “dried grapes,” meaning by the former certain varieties of grapes which have been skillfully dried and cured, and which are superior in taste, flavor, thinness of skin and saccharine matter. “Dried grapes,” again, are simply any kind of grape, especially wine-grapes, which have only been dried, and which have not undergone that skillful treatment which the grape-grower is so proud of, and justly enough designates as “curing.” They are an outgrowth from the late efforts of the French wine merchants to make genuine French wine out of anything that is sweet, and as they are immensely preferable to beets, potatoes and glucose, they will always be in demand.

With the above definition of the “raisin” accepted, we can proceed to consider their different varieties, their names and derivations. The old designations of the different varieties were derived from the places where they were produced, without special reference to the grapes from which the raisins were made. Thus we had Malagas, Currants, Valencias, Denias, Turkish and Italian raisins. But since it has been found that the same kinds of raisins have been produced in very different localities, and that some localities can produce all the different kinds, a new division has been found necessary. Thus, disregarding the many various brands with which this and other markets are flooded, the following different varieties of raisins will be found the principal ones: _Currants_, _Muscatels_, _Dipped_ and _Sultana_.

THE CURRANT.

The _currant_ is one of the very oldest raisins known. As early as 75 A. D. Pliny speaks of the fine grapes grown in Greece, the berry being thin-skinned, juicy and sweet, and the bunch being exceedingly small. This, then, must be the currant of later times. After this first mention of this grape, the same drops out of history for ten centuries, and the name currant is first to be identified with raisins de Corauntz, or rather, “reysyns de _Corauntzs_” as late as 1334. As early as the eleventh century, a lively traffic in this kind of raisins had taken place between the Greek producers, the _Venetians_ and other of the Mediterranean merchant nations. In 1334 we find them called “corauntz;” in 1435, “corent;” and old MS. of the Grocers’ Company in London, speaks of “x butts and vi roundelletts of resins of Corent.” Thus spelled, the name was used for years. In 1463 “reysonys of Corawnce” were three pence per pound, and in 1512 the Duke of Northumberland paid two pence per pound for rasyns of Corens. In 1554 the name had changed to currans, and the Stationers’ Company provided for a banquet “5 punde of currans at one shilling and eight pence.” In 1558 the same company provided for “6 punde of currance for 2 shillings.” In 1578 we find in Lytes’ translation of Dodoens’s “Herbal,” in the description of different varieties of vines, that “Small raysens, commonly called Corantes, but more rightly raysens of Corinthe. The fruit is called in the shoppes of the countrie,[1] passulae de Corinthe; in French, raisins de Corinthe; in base Almaigne (Dutch) Corinthea; in English, Currantes, and small raysens of Corynthe.” Here, then, is indicated for the first time that the true and correct name should be “raisins of Corinth.” But we need not follow this evolution any longer; there can be no possible doubt that the name _currant_, the one now accepted for this class of raisins, is derived from the town of Corinth, on the mainland of Greece,--the Morea of our days, the Peloponnesus of the ancients. Until the time when the Turks conquered Greece, the port of Corinth was the principal point of export for this class of raisins, and while, after the subjection of Greece this commerce entirely ceased, still this fruit always continued to bear the name by which it first became known to commerce.

[1] Holland, Dodoens was a learned Dutch botanist.

MUSCATELS.

The principal and most valued class of raisins are the Muscatels or Muscats. They all derive their name from the Muscatel or Muscat grape, from which these raisins are made. As to the origin of the name Muscat, opinions differ. The most popular one is that the grape got its name from the supposed musky flavor peculiar to this variety of grape. It is, however, far more likely that the name is a very ancient one, and derived from the Latin word _Musca_, meaning a fly,--these fine grapes when drying being especially attractive to flies. The Romans called this grape, “Uva Apiaria,” meaning bee grapes, or grapes beloved by bees, from the fact that the bees are especially attracted to these grapes when they are being dried. The Muscat or Muscatel would then not originally designate a certain variety of grapes, but grapes used for drying generally. In the course of time the name was transferred to or especially given to the _best_ grape for drying purposes,--the Muscatel of our own times.

DEHESA RAISINS.