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Show California Growers, at Wit's bilf End, Will Take Chance on j fj Change in 'Dry' Laws 1 1 J SAN FRANCISCO, May 17. The jJ buds of- a tremendous vintage aro on JH the grape vines in California and the f H growers aro taking a chance that pro- hibltlou restrictions will be modified , before grape crushing time next Sep- j tember and October, according to B, ' M. Sheehan, former secretary of the . lM state viticultural commission. !, "Last "year," Sheehan said, "the J wine grape yield was 300,000 tons from 170,000 acres, with an uncertain ,fi market This year the yield, weather permitting, will be equally as great fM with a market that must be brought h rM , into existence. Tho growers have II 1 3 staked a fortune estimated at ?12.000r LH J 000, the value of the vintage, on ( hope that the prohibition statuteswill , bu swept away or modified to th,e ex- fifH tent that they will allow wineS of the I IH moderate alcoholic content formerly HH manufactured here. ! Two Courses Remain. "If prohibition remains two avenues, I IH both'hlghly uncertain, according to the growers, are open for disposal of the grape yield. One is through manufac-ture manufac-ture of grape syrup and the other 4s the wine raisin grape market Of, tho jH two the grape syrup agency Is said TITtW l grape raisins to tho extent of about 10,000 tons were turned out of Cap- H fornia vineyards last year, but It was jH reported that when tho growers learn-ed learn-ed eastern and other consumers were said to be converting them into wine, jH they stopped the sale as they did npt IH want to create an illegitimate market IH Unseeded the wine grape raisin Is good for little but wine making. Seed- tM ed it is declared to be a close rival to tho little currants brought from-the Grecian vineyards, but the seeding jH process is costly and the market uife .J certain. ' "The wine grape syrup is an intense JH concentration of the crush from any H one or a number of grape varieties The raw juice is subjected to a vacudH um condensing process which drawH off the water while preventing canjH nielization or 'browning.' T-j-egl reduces the liquid to vdn'e-fcTmuorTtB original quantity ana creates a sugaijH content averaging GS degrees, chomiH ca) measurement. Tho syrup may3 be H used for a number of purposes, ncjH of the principal ones being the crcaH tion of a variety of soft drinks. H Develop New Market. H "The syrup market, however, still is in the embryo and has a number of other commercial elements to com-pete com-pete against There is no reason to believe, according to growers, that it will absorb even a small quantity Of the enormous vintage, therefore, they say, wine appears to be the only relief.' Syrup condensors have been cstab HH lished at Benicia, Sacramento, an ' Healdsburg, Cal., and the process is si? i simple that it is said they can be e& tablished almost anywhere on short notice. "Growers now are being offorea IH from $50 to $70 a ton for this year's yield, but they aro taking all the cnances. me contracts hold good only if tho grapes can find a market, and the growers In addition must bearf all the risk of securing transportVH tion. They are being urged noffllH sell at those Inflated flguros, iflH we deem to bo purely speculath "The Grape Growers' ExchanH being formed to develop if POH new markets for the wino grapJH big purpose being a light wlmH ket if it can legitimately bo jH nn HHHi |