Part 5

_Consumption and Production._--The importation of currants to England was, at the end of the last century, about 3,600 tons. In 1832 this had risen to 7,135 tons, in 1864 to 37,151 tons, and in 1876 to 48,595 tons. As regards the production of currants in Greece, the average yield from 1816 to 1826 was, for Cephalonia, 2,000 tons, for Zante 3,000 tons, and for Morea 4,000 tons or over. From that time on the exportations from Zante and Cephalonia increased, while the export of Morea decreased. Thus, in 1833, Zante and Cephalonia exported about 11,000 tons, and Morea only 2,000 tons, this principally on account of the Greek revolution. In 1840, the three places exported 14,206 tons, which again in 1849 had risen to 30,850 tons, in 1858 to 32,950 tons, in 1868 to 55,283 tons, and in 1876 to 86,104 tons. This large crop was exported as follows: England, 60,263 tons; Germany, 1,475 tons; Holland, 4,847 tons; Trieste, 3,241 tons; America, 11,225 tons; Belgium, 4,105 tons; Various, 948 tons.

Since that time the production of currants has increased greatly in Greece, especially on the mainland, and now it reaches yearly from 126,000 to 130,000 tons. During the last four years the production has been about as follows (according to L. C. Crowe in the _California Fruit-grower_): 1884, 130,000 tons; 1885, 114,000 tons; 1886, 126,000 tons; 1887, 127,000 tons.

In 1886 this crop was produced in the following places:

Gulf of Corinth 7,000 tons. Vostizza 10,000 “ Patras 12,000 “ Gastuni, Pergos, Olympia 38,000 “ Kyparissia, Figliatra, Gargaliano 17,000 “ Ligudista, Pylos, Modone and Corone 9,000 “ Kalamata and Nisi 14,000 “ Missolonghi, Ætolico, Lepanto 2,500 “ Nauplia and Argos 600 “ ------- Total for Morea and Acarnania 110,000 “ Ionian Islands, Cephalonia, Ithaca, Santa Maura 10,500 “ Zante 6,000 “ ------- Total 126,000 “

Of this crop the United States imported as follows (the freight to New York in 1886 ranging from 17s. 6d. to 20s. per ton, gross): 1883, 13,895 tons; 1884, 10,175 tons; 1885, 8,283 tons; 1886, 8,755 tons.

In the United States, the consumption of currants has increased largely during the last twenty-five years. In 1874, we imported 14,141,797 pounds of currants; but in 1888 the importations had increased to 30,636,424 pounds, valued at $1,176,532. The duty is now one cent per pound in this country; while in England it is seven shillings per hundred pounds.

The currants exported to the United States are known as Provincial currants or American staple, and are not considered the best quality; they are grown principally in Trifylla and Pylia and are shipped from the ports Zante and Patras. Some come also from Vostizza, Catacolo, Kalamata, Nauplia and Cephalonia. The Kalamata currants are inferior and are mostly exported to France for brandy and wine making. The choicest currants are those grown in Zante, and there known as “Cascalina.” They go mostly to England, while the other products of the islands go to Belgium, Holland and Northern Germany.

_Currants in California._--California has so far not cut any figure as a currant-producing country, not because the currants will not grow here, but because no one has ever seriously engaged in their culture. Currant grapevines are scattered all over the State; but, to our knowledge, no plantations are larger than an acre or two. In Fresno, a few acres of currants are found in the Mirabelle Vineyard east of town, and a few hundred vines are also grown on the Raisina Vineyard in the Central Colony. Outside of these we know of only scattered vines. These currants are all of the white variety, which is considered inferior to the black currant of Zante and the mainland of Greece. When dried, they produce a most beautiful semi-transparent raisin, entirely seedless, with a very thin skin and of very fine flavor. The yield, however, has from some cause or other not been equal to expectations, and, the price of currants being lower than that of other raisins, the former has not been considered as profitable as the Muscatels. Until we import the true black currant from Zante and find the most suitable locality to grow them, it is not likely that currant culture will make much headway in this country. We have, however, no doubt that, with our various climates, many places will be found in California where the currant will yield enough to pay, provided our raisinmen will be satisfied with a reasonable profit.

SMYRNA RAISINS.

_Districts in Smyrna: Their Extent and Climate._--The port of Smyrna, so famous for its dried figs, is hardly less renowned for the immense quantity of raisins and dried grapes of different kinds which are shipped from there to all parts of the world. While Smyrna figs are better known than Smyrna raisins, the latter are by far the most important industry. Thus from 1880 to 1881 the raisin crop exported from Smyrna was valued at $4,602,388; while the value of the fig crop did not exceed $1,646,998, or about three million dollars less than the former. Since that time the raisin trade has yet further increased, until it to-day reaches one hundred thousand tons of raisins and dried grapes. Unlike the figs, which are only grown in the interior valleys some thirty to sixty miles from Smyrna, the grapes which produce the raisins are grown in the immediate vicinity of the town. The large territory which exports the Smyrna raisins can, however, be divided into several sub-districts, each one having some characteristics of its own, both as regards quality of raisins, time of ripening, etc. These districts are: Chesme, Vourla, Yerly and Carabourna. The principal variety of grape grown in these districts is the Sultana, a seedless grape with enormous bunches. Many other varieties are found there also, such as “black” and “red,” the latter said to be identical with the Spanish Muscat of Alexandria, which I doubt.

The Chesme district is situated to the west on the peninsula near Smyrna, its principal port for exportation of the crop being the town of Chesme. The Chesme raisins are considered inferior to those of the other districts. Three-fourths of the raisins from the district are exported to Hamburg, Bremen, Stettin, Amsterdam, and to Trieste in Austria. The latter town is the main distributing point for most of the raisins grown in the eastern Mediterranean raisin districts.

The Carabourna or Karabournou district produces the best raisins,--both of the Sultanas, the red and the black. The district is situated to the east and north on the same peninsula as Chesme. The district is rough and hilly, but the whole is cultivated to vines. The Carabourna “Elemês” go about one-half to Russia, the balance to England and Trieste.

The Vourla district consists of a fertile plain lying on the isthmus between the Bay of Smyrna and Scala Nova or Ephesus. The export place is the port of Vourla, one of the finest harbors on the coast of Asia Minor, and often the meeting place for fleets of the Western nations of Europe during their remonstrances in Turkish waters.

The Yerly district immediately surrounds the town of Smyrna, and extends from Nymphio in the east to Tourbali in the south and Sivri-Hissar in the west, thus bordering the Vourla district. Yerly Sultanas are the earliest in the market, sometimes being ready in the first weeks of August.

Small quantities of raisins also come from Tyra, Bairdir, Aidin and other places in the fig districts in the interior. The Island of Samos, off the coast of Asia Minor, produces raisins of several kinds, such as Sultanas, black raisins, principally for distilling abroad, and Muscatel raisins, the latter reaching three thousand tons in favorable seasons. The Island of Cos or Stanchio is also famous for its Sultana raisins, said to be the finest of any produced in Turkey.

The climate of the Smyrna raisin districts is very mild, allowing farm labor to be performed the year round. The temperature seldom falls below the freezing point, while from the middle of May to the middle of September it ranges from 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. During the summer, the _Imbat_ or seabreeze tempers the heat and makes the climate pleasant to live in. The grapes begin to ripen about July first, the Sultana grapes being the earliest. The rainfall is abundant during the rainy months of the year, September to April, and averages twenty-five inches, varying from fifteen inches in dry seasons to thirty-three inches in very wet years. The following table of the rainfall is taken from the consular reports published in 1884:

_Table showing the monthly rainfall in the city of Smyrna, in inches and hundredths of inches, during the nineteen years ending with 1882._

Compiled by W. E. STEVENS, Consul at Smyrna.

=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+ YEAR| Janu-|Febru-|March.|April.| May. | June.| | ary. | ary. | | | | | | | | | | | | -----+------+------+------+------+------+------+ 1864| 3.59| 1.53| .58| 3.75| 1.59| .80| 1865| 7.07| 9.05| 4.43| 1.42| .23| .34| 1866| 1.40| 1.78| 1.79| .20| .95| .63| 1867| 2.63| 3.14| 1.16| .37| 1.37| .67| 1868| 8.30| .32| 11.24| .92| .83| .67| 1869| 3.21| .74| 12.07| 1.78| .19| .59| 1870| 5.79| 2.81| 2.29| 2.24| .07| -- | 1871| 11.10| 1.19| 1.29| .66| 1.09| .39| 1872| 3.17| 1.46| .50| 4.18| 3.09| .60| 1873| 2.41| 5.64| 2.08| .50| 2.38| .16| 1874| .14| 5.82| 1.92| .40| .15| -- | 1875| 4.58| 9.48| 5.78| 1.36| -- | -- | 1876| 2.88| 1.45| 2.53| 3.12| .42| 1.76| 1877| 3.08| 2.92| 4.84| 1.11| 3.47| .94| 1878| 6.27| 2.10| 3.00| 4.97| .29| .13| 1879| 4.28| 2.69| 1.61| .35| 2.36| .01| 1880| 1.61| .30| 2.87| 1.69| 2.69| .18| 1881| 6.15| 3.92| 1.74| .80| 1.45| -- | 1882| 1.27| 1.17| 1.04| 3.45| .66| .09| -----+------+------+------+------+------+------+ Aver-| 4.15| 3.03| 3.30| 1.75| 1.22| .42| age | | | | | | | -----+------+------+------+------+------+------+

=====+======+======+======+======+======+======+====== YEAR| July.| Au- | Sep- | Octo-| No- | De- | Year- | | gust.| tem- | ber.| vem- | cem- | ly | | | ber. | | ber. | ber. |total. -----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ 1864| 2.40| .50| 3.30| 3.51| 6.80| 1.49| 29.84 1865| .10| -- | -- | 1.27| 2.67| .10| 26.69 1866| .13| .06| .39| .08| 3.84| 3.91| 15.16 1867| | -- | -- | 1.54| 5.76| 7.08| 23.72 1868| .27| .07| .52| 1.30| 4.92| .84| 30.20 1869| .04| -- | .08| 1.81| 3.46| .80| 24.77 1870| -- | .47| 3.95| 4.45| .18| 6.73| 28.98 1871| -- | -- | .07| 1.36| 7.04| 4.58| 28.77 1872| -- | -- | 2.82| -- | 3.65| 4.76| 24.23 1873| -- | -- | -- | 2.50| 2.92| 2.62| 21.21 1874| -- | -- | .02| .30| 10.31| 8.99| 28.05 1875| -- | -- | .15| 2.87| 4.86| 3.96| 33.04 1876| .54| -- | .08| .94| 5.75| 8.48| 27.95 1877| .11| .36| .61| 4.00| 6.09| 5.98| 33.51 1878| .40| .63| 1.22| -- | .44| 8.50| 27.95 1879| -- | -- | 1.38| 2.71| 4.06| 1.81| 21.26 1880| .04| -- | 1.32| .60| 4.09| 2.49| 17.88 1881| .10| -- | -- | 5.47| .15| 4.72| 24.50 1882| -- | -- | -- | 1.02| 7.89| 4.56| 21.25 -----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ Aver-| .22| .11| .84| 1.88| 4.47| 4.34| 25.73 age | | | | | | | -----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------

As will be seen, most of the vineyards are situated within the reach of the seabreezes, some even being almost on the edge of the waters of the Mediterranean. The best vineyards are those which are situated inland from seven to twenty miles from the coast. The vineyard districts are all rough and hilly, except those in the Vourla district, which are on comparatively level ground. While some vineyards stretch from the seashore, others reach an elevation of four hundred feet or over. The soil varies with the districts. The best soil for the Sultanas is considered to be hippurite limestone soil, common in some districts. This white, marly soil is in places mixed with a yellow-ocher-colored loam, with sand and gravel. The abundance of the rainfall makes irrigation unnecessary, and no vines are grown with irrigation.

_Care of the Vines._--While no general irrigation is needed, the young vines are watered by hand in years of exceptionally light rainfall. The vines are generally grown from rooted cuttings, which have been planted in trenches the year before. Previous to the planting of a vineyard, the soil is dug to the depth of three or four feet. If this can be done the year before planting, it is considered better, as resulting in a quicker and stronger growth of the vines.

In older vineyards, the vines are set in rows six or seven feet apart, and with three or four feet between the rows. The vines are not grown to standards, but from branching stalks from one to two and a half feet high, with an average height of one and a half feet from the ground. No stakes are used, and only occasionally is there seen a prop under heavier loaded branches.

The pruning is done in the winter, when the vines are comparatively dormant. The superfluous branches are then cut away, and the remaining ones are cut to two or three eyes each. The cultivation was, until lately, performed in the simplest way with pick and spade. The first digging is done in January, at which time also the ground is manured. This is done by digging pits and trenches in the vineyard, which are filled with goat and camel dung. These trenches remain open for a month or more, and are after that time filled in. The first digging in the soil is done in November, the second one in January and February, when, in leveling the ground, it is at the same time dug over again one foot or more. The third or last digging is performed in March, when simply the weeds are spaded under. Of late years, vineyardists from other Mediterranean districts have settled in Smyrna and brought with them better methods. Greek farmers have especially done much to improve the old ways of cultivation used by the slovenly or ignorant natives.

In May, the young shoots are pinched back after the grapes have set well and began to develop. The pinching of the ends produces a second crop, which, besides being later, also consists of smaller grapes than the first. All sterile and inferior shoots are then cut off, and this is repeated during the summer in order that the vines may not be weakened unnecessarily. The vines come into bearing in the third year, begin to pay expenses in the fourth year, and leave a profit in the fifth year after being set out. In the seventh and eighth years the vines are considered in full bearing.

The Sultana grapes begin to ripen in July. The vintage begins towards the end of July, and lasts until the middle of August. Other varieties of grapes are later, lasting from the middle of August to the end of September, their vintage seldom lasting as late as the first week of October. The first raisins are ready about August 1st, and the last Sultanas are all in by September 1st, the other varieties of raisins coming in later.

_Dipping, Drying and Curing._--The curing of the grapes into raisins requires great care, and nowhere is any more skill shown than in Smyrna. Its raisins are the most beautiful of any, their splendid appearance and transparency being due to the process employed. The drying is done on drying-floors, which sometimes consist of the bare ground only, at other times of elevated beds of earth a foot or so high. When the soil is not naturally hard and suitable for drying-floors, it is first prepared by cutting off the weeds, and is then watered and packed until a smooth and hard surface is produced. This hard bed is sometimes left bare, and at other times covered with matting. In other places the grapes are dried on canvas, or on trays made of the Italian reed, or of grasses. These trays are raised on props three or four inches above the ground, and are loose so that they may be put on top of each other to exclude the sun, rain or fog, according to locality and season. Great stress is laid upon having the grapes fully ripe. Before thus exposed, the grapes are dipped in a solution of lye and oil, and upon the skill in this performance depends the beauty and value of the raisins. A potash is made from the ashes of the vine cuttings of the previous year. About one gallon of this potash solution is mixed with from twenty to twenty-five gallons of water, making a weak lye solution of a strength of from five to six degrees in Beaume’s “Lyeometer.” A similar strength would be obtained by dissolving one pound of pearl ash in ten gallons of water. Tubs of wood or zinc of the size of two and a half by two feet are used for dipping. To every such tub of twenty-five gallons is added from one-fourth to two gallons of olive oil. The latter quantity is used in the Karabournou district, where the finest raisins are made. When of proper strength as regards both oil and lye, the wash runs off from the bunches smoothly; when, again, the wash runs off in small globules, there is a deficiency of either oil or potash. The grapes are loaded in small baskets of twenty-five pounds each, and immersed in the wash for half a minute. They are then taken out and spread either on the ground or on trays or canvas. In the interior, where the sun is hot, the reed mats are placed on top of each other to exclude the sun. The same is also done if rain or fog is feared. After a few days of exposure, and when partially dried, the raisins are sprinkled every morning with the same lye solution, but without oil. The Sultanas are dried in from five to eight days. This dipping process is also used for the larger Muscatels, but the lye is made stronger, probably reaching the proportion of about one and a half pounds of pearl ash to five gallons of water. The carefully dipped raisins have a pure greenish amber color, and a peculiar flavor. They are worth twenty per cent more than undipped fruit.

The Sultanas of the better grades are now sold off-stalk or loose. The finest brands are the Chesme elemê, or Chesme select. Elemê means choice or select, and is used both for raisins and figs. The yield of an acre of Sultana vines varies in different vineyards, according to the quality of the soil. A good yield is considered about seven tons of fresh grapes, or about two and a third tons of raisins.

The price of the Smyrna Sultanas fluctuates considerably; but it may be said that the best grades are always from twenty-five to thirty per cent higher than the dipped raisins of Valencia. Thus, in 1843, dipped Valencias brought six and a quarter cents, while the Smyrna Sultanas brought ten cents. In 1844, the Valencias were quoted at ten cents, while the Sultanas brought twenty cents per pound. Of late years, the Smyrna Sultanas have fluctuated between four and a half and twelve and a half cents per pound.

_Production and Export._--The production of Smyrna raisins and dried grapes has enormously increased during the last few years. In 1844, the average crop was only from six to eight thousand tons. In 1868, this had increased to nineteen thousand tons, and in 1871 we find the export from Smyrna to be forty-eight thousand tons. In 1881, this had grown to seventy-five thousand tons (according to the consular report of Consul-General G. H. Heap of Constantinople). Of the districts already mentioned, Chesme and Vourla produce about three times as much as Yerly and Carabourna. A somewhat varied estimate of the Smyrna raisin crop is given by Consul W. E. Stevens of Smyrna, in his report dated February 28, 1884. According to him, the raisin crop of Smyrna should amount to one million, nine hundred thousand hundred weight or ninety-five thousand tons. These two consular estimates would give Smyrna as follows: 1871, forty-eight thousand tons; 1872, thirty-one thousand tons; 1879, seventy-five thousand tons; 1881, forty-nine thousand tons; 1884, ninety-five thousand tons. This, of course, includes all kinds of raisins. As regards the Sultana raisins, the reports of the two consuls also differ. By Consul Stevens, it is estimated to be thirty-two thousand, five hundred tons, or sixty-five million pounds; while Consul Heap puts the figures at only nineteen million, four hundred thousand pounds, or only nine thousand, seven hundred tons. We have no means to verify the statements, but are inclined to think the higher figure the more correct. If it is true that the raisin yield of Smyrna to-day reaches one hundred thousand tons, it would be absurd to think that only ten per cent should be Sultanas, which is the principal raisin grape of the district. It is more probable that at least one-third of the whole crop consists of Sultanas. About eighty per cent of all the Sultana raisins go to England, ten per cent are consumed by Eastern Europe and Russia, a small part only going to the United States.

_Cost of Vineyards in Smyrna._--The cost of vineyards in the Smyrna district varies just as it does elsewhere. Bearing vineyards change hands at from three hundred to four hundred and fifty dollars per acre. The yearly labor on an acre of vines, including pruning, cultivation and drying, amounts to fifty dollars an acre or more. The average yield per acre averages from about eighty-five to ninety dollars, leaving a profit of from thirty to forty dollars, equal to from about eight to ten per cent on the capital invested. I believe, however, that these figures may be modified, and that the profit on an acre of average vineyard often reaches from fifty to sixty dollars. The fact that an acre of vineyard sells for four hundred and fifty dollars indicates that it must not only give a fair but a good interest on that sum. The raisins from one acre of a Smyrna vineyard are sold for $88. The interest on the par value of an acre ($450) for one year at five per cent is $22.50. The other expenses during the year amount to $50, leaving, as net profit, $6.50. The above is a low estimate copied from English statements.

_Other Varieties of Raisins._--Besides Sultanas, Smyrna produces an enormous quantity of raisins of other kinds. The demand for these has been and is constantly increasing, the most being shipped to manufacturers of wines, distilled liquors of all kinds, jellies, jams, etc. These varieties are known as Large Black and Large Red. These varieties are grown in all the Smyrna districts, and in quantity far exceed the Sultanas. The following will give an idea of how this trade has increased of late. Red and Black Smyrna raisins in tons: 1868, 12,795; 1876, 15,500; 1881, 40,000; 1883, 45,000; 1888, 60,000. The price varies from three to four cents per pound in the local market. Judging from the constantly increased export of these kinds of raisins, it is not likely that the production of the same is likely to soon be overdone.

ITALY AND ITALIAN RAISINS.