| Show RAISIN A great industry in tho state ot california treatment 0 the grape vinc to keep them ID Irrl Katlen Is a portion of the work fresno county of california is preeminently the raisin center of the united states its exports alone during the past year having amounted to sixty five millions of pounds this locality comprising an area of eight thousand square miles lies in the heart of the justly celebrated san joaquin valley two thirds of the county ia level vineyard and orchard land the remainder spurs of the snow clad sierra nevadas and their luxuriant and fertile foot hills fifteen years ago thia vast tract of land waa a barren plain fit only at its best for sheep pasturage and grain farming on a small scale today to day the desert literally blossoms as the rose and its milk and honey of solid comfort and wealth are its vineyards but these in turn are the product of the irrigation supplied by the two magnificent rivers kings and san joaquin which flow westward from the melting snows of the sierras this supply is ceaseless the water being conducted by about two thousand miles of canals and five thousand miles of lateral ditches to thousands of small farms and vineyards in fresno valley the county w supposed to have the most estan sive irrigation system in the wald certainly in the state and the system is as essential to its vital existence as is the warm blood rushing through tho veins to the health of the animal the cost of supply lug a vineyard with water is but sixty two cents per acre per annum and the labor of applying it if the land has been properly leveled to receive it is slight no venetian canal with its graceful gondolas sailing between the marbled walls of the old palaces is half as beautiful to the fresno raisin as the ribbon like and limpid ditch upon whose quiet surface are mirrored earth and sky and tho tangled leafy loveliness which lies between A raisin vineyard is in full bearing in three years but the grape has not reached its perfection until the vine from which it springs is six or seven years old the muscat and thompson seedless are the best variety of raisin grape cultivated the latter having only been introduced within the last few years but the Zin fandell and sultana have also large claims upon popularity standing before one of these vines upon which inverted cones of countless perfect spheres are hanging each cluster weighing several pounds a vision of the hebrew spies with their magnificent crapes of eshcol borne on a staff between the two rises before us and involuntarily we exclaim Is not this also the promised land few sights are more disappointing to the eastern tourist and stranger than a ride through a raisin vineyard in march or early april nothing greets the eye but acres of level land covered with brown soil from whose arable surface thousands of small hornet stumps protrude about four or five inches high and standing ten feet apart the pruning of the vines is done between the middle of november and the ast 1st of march boon after the wooing sunbeams Bun beams of may coax open the folded buda the cultivator begins its work soon the literals laterals late rals throw out their long arms upon which already appears the embryo grape cluster and until the leaves of the vine meet and abut out the possibility lity of getting a plow between them the cultivation continues in this constant vigilance lies the secret of success slowly the forest of vines expands As far as the eye can reach is a dead level of living green interspersed with silvery isles of running water about the firby of september the long sunny days the dewless nights and the percolated parco soil have perfected their marvelous work and the first crop is ready to be gathered by this time the literals laterals late rals have run riot and the can scarcely see over the top of his vines the process of grape gathering for raisins requires the most delicate handling and cleanliness hundreds of shallow wooden trays about five feet square are distributed among dozens of trained pickers the bunches are carefully cut from the vine and as carefully laid upon the base of the tray to avoid bruising them there they remain untouched for ten days and nights one halt the grape is by this time cured but instead of turning them with the hand an empty tray is placed over them the lower ona is inverted and the turning and transfer have been nade in twelve more days the curing is completed the trays and contents are tacked about twenty trays high where aliey remain for five days sweating when they are ready to be graded and packed in boxes of five ten twenty and fifty pounds for the eastern market vines six years old yield one and a halt tons of raisins per acre giving a net income of two hundred dollars per acre while the supply of raisins is as unfailing as the growing demand there is an cos as well as an economic side A few women have nut only found raisin vineyards vina yards a source of comfortable revenue but their cultivation a most elegant and healthful the approach to some of their homes with the vineyard in the rear ot the dwelling hauae is through avenues of palm and magnolia trees and if they lie as many do against the foothills foot hills of the sierras a tide through the columnar glories of giant redwoods is a fitting introduction to the beauty and utility which is sure to bo beyond nellie blessing in harpers |
