_Extent of the Districts._--The Valencia raisins, or, as they are
called, the Lexias or Spanish dipped raisins, are produced in the
province of Valencia, situated on the east coast of Spain. The district
contains three sub-districts, the southern one, the Alicante district,
extending from Villa Joyosa in the north to Elche in the south. The
raisins of the Alicante district are inferior to those produced in the
other districts, both as regards quality and quantity. The most
northerly district is the Valencia district proper, extending from
Cullera in the south to Castellon in the north. North of the latter
place the Muscat grape does not come to perfection, and even within this
district comparatively few raisins are now produced as compared with a
few years ago. But the bulk of all the raisins produced in the province
are exported from Valencia city, and hence these raisins are known as
Valencias, while in reality they come principally from Denia.
The bulk of the Valencia raisins come from the central district, or the
Denia sub-district, comprising the land between Villa Joyosa in the
south and Cullera in the north, or about thirty miles on each side of
the town of Denia. Towards the interior the raisin district extends at
the most nine miles, but the average is less, so that the whole district
over which the Denia vineyards are spread includes only an area of 350
square miles, equal to ten townships of land, or about 224,000 acres. A
large part of this land is not cultivated, and consists of mountains and
waste places only suitable as watersheds. The town of Denia is the
principal town of the sub-district, and has now a population of about
2,600 people. It is situated about half way between Valencia in the
north and Alicante in the south, on the shore of the Mediterranean, in
about the latitude of Sacramento in California, or thirty-eight degrees,
fifty minutes north. Being one of the oldest towns in Spain, Denia was
first founded by the Phœnicians, who here established the worship of
Diana, from which word the name Denia is a corruption. The Phœnicians
also introduced the grapes, and possibly also the drying of raisins; but
the local tradition gives the honor of the latter industry to the Moors,
who are said to have brought with them the variety of grape known as the
Muscat of Alexandria. During a part of the year, Denia is the export
harbor for the raisins of the district. This is only possible in the
early part of the raisin season, as then only are the winds
favorable,--the so-called harbor being nothing but a roadstead. Later in
the season, when storms and rains set in, all the raisins are shipped to
Valencia by railroad, and from there exported by steamers and sailing
vessels.
Among other industries of the Denia district are the cultivation of
onions, the manufacture of cotton goods, its sardine fisheries, etc.,
all giving work to the vineyard workers during a time of the year when
there is nothing or but little to do in the vineyards and
packing-houses.
The raisins of Denia are not all of the same quality, but vary according
to the locality where grown. The whole district is dotted with small
villages, all producing raisins. The principal ones of these are,
besides Denia proper, Jabea, Jaraco, Jerrea, Oliva, Pedreguer, Jalon,
Gandia, Ondara, Vergel, etc. Of these, Denia proper produced in 1876
over 2,500 tons of raisins, Jabea 1,700 tons, Oliva 1,600 tons,
Pedreguer 1,000 tons, Retoria 900 tons, Jalon 850 tons, Ondara and
Benisa 800 tons each. But, besides these, there are some twenty odd more
villages or smaller raisin centers, which produce from 200 to 700 tons
each, or an aggregate of 20,000 tons of raisins.
_Soils and Appearance of the Districts._--The soils of the province of
Valencia, where the vineyards are situated, are of various kinds, such
as cretaceous and calcareous soils, containing admixtures of clay, sand
and gravel. The color is often red, changing to gray where irrigation
has been practiced, but much of the soil is of an ashy white color,
similar to that of bottom lands generally. In many of the lower situated
plains, the soils are blackish or dark gray, especially so where stable
or other manures have been used for years.
Many vineyards are situated on the hillsides or on the rolling lands,
where the gravelly soils produce raisins of smaller size and in less
quantity, but sweeter and finer flavored. But the largest bulk of the
vineyards are on comparatively level land, which can be and which is
irrigated. The raisins produced on these low grounds in the moist and
cool valleys are larger, but not of equal flavor and sweetness. In wet
seasons, the hillsides are preferred, the valley lands then being too
wet and cold. Accordingly, as the seasons are wet and cold, or dry and
warm, the various localities produce raisins of different qualities,
which again are valued and paid for differently. The extent of the
valley or plain lands decides the extent of the raisin districts, and of
late years the rolling vineyards have decreased in quantity, while those
on the plains have increased, until at the present time almost all the
plain lands are occupied with raisin vineyards, especially in the Denia
sub-district.
_Climate._--The climate of Denia and its surroundings is rather cold and
windy; damaging spring frosts, as well as early fall rains, frequently
interfere with the setting of the grapes and with the harvesting of the
crop; it has even happened several times that the entire crop has been
seriously injured by one of these, or by both causes combined. Farther
north, or in the Valencia district proper, the climate is milder, and
frost is rare. Oranges are here at home, while the culture of raisin
grapes becomes less every year. North of Castellon the climatic
conditions are such that no raisin culture is possible.
As compared with the climate of Malaga, that of Denia is much less
favorable to the raisin grape. The production of sun-dried and undipped
raisins in Denia is not possible, and, although it has been attempted
several times, it has seldom succeeded. The rainfall of Denia averages
twelve inches per year. The rainiest months are those of November,
February and April, but the heaviest rainfall at one time occurs quite
frequently in the first week of September, while light showers are not
uncommon in August, at that time doing much damage to the grapes or the
just exposed raisins.
_Irrigation._--Not only is irrigation necessary to grow the vines
successfully and to produce an abundance of grapes, but the irrigation
in the province of Valencia is necessary to the health and longevity of
the vines. Nowhere else in Spain is the water so abundant, and no saving
of the water is necessary in the majority of the districts. Through an
abundance of water, the soil on the lowlands has now filled up to such
an extent, that in the best vineyards the surface water is only from
five to eight feet from the surface of the ground. Those vines which
could not be irrigated have gradually become diseased, and the hillside
vineyards are being rapidly abandoned and devoted to something else.
Upon the abundance and constancy of the water depends the prosperity of
the whole province, and there is hardly a more prosperous country in
Spain. To show the close connection between irrigation and raisin
production in Spain, it will no doubt interest many to know something of
the irrigation system and the irrigation districts of the province of
Valencia, than which no more important ones are found in Spain.
The district of Alicante is supplied with water from the river Monegre,
and the Elche district from the river Minalapo. In the northern part of
the province is the Murviado irrigation district, taking its water from
the river Palencia. The Jucar irrigation district, situated immediately
south of the _huerta_ of Valencia, takes its water from the Jucar
river, distributing 850 cubic feet of water per second upon some 50,000
acres of land.
The Valencia irrigation district consists of 26,350 acres of land close
to the town of Valencia, and is watered by the river Guadalaviar, or, as
it is generally called, the Turia. The water is distributed through
eight canals, each carrying from 35 to 120 cubic feet of water per
second, the combined low-water discharge of all the canals being from
250 to 350 cubic feet of water per second. Of the importance of
irrigation in this district, we can judge when we learn that the above
26,350 acres contain 72,000 inhabitants and sixty-two villages, or an
average of 1,774 people per square mile, not including the city of
Valencia itself, with a population of 120,000 people. It is also
remarkable that this enormous population on a territory not as large as
the arable land surrounding any one of our principal inland towns in
California, is not alone due to the irrigation and care of the land, but
to the minute subdivision of the land, which makes this culture and
irrigation possible. It is a practical illustration of the value of the
colony system as inaugurated in California, showing what we can expect
of our inland plains when they become fully irrigated and the land
properly subdivided.
_Quality of the Raisins._--It has already been stated that the grapes
grown in Denia are the Muscat of Alexandria, which were introduced there
by the Moors. Farther south, in the Alicante district, other varieties
are more common, but play no important part in the raisin production of
the district. The Valencia raisins are inferior to those of Malaga, the
want of heat requiring them to be dipped in lye before drying. This,
again, gives these raisins a peculiar reddish, semi-transparent color,
which unfits them for table raisins. The Valencia raisins are
principally used for cooking; even the best grades of Valencias are
inferior to the inferior grades of Malaga raisins. During the last
season (1889) large quantities of Denia grapes were cured on the Malaga
style, and with great success. Large quantities of such sun-dried Denias
were sent in bulk to Malaga, and there repacked for export to the United
States, the Malaga crop having so diminished that the usual demand could
not be supplied. Years in which such sun-drying is possible in Denia are
rare.
_Planting and Care._--The Muscat cuttings are planted generally in
February. The best cuttings are considered to be those taken from vines
at least six years old. The cuttings are set at various distances
according to the richness of the soil. The richer the soil the less room
is given the vines. Thus the vines are set either five by eleven feet or
five by twelve feet, or, in other words, they are set in rows eleven or
twelve feet apart, with the vines five feet apart in the row. The depth
of the cutting is regulated by the moisture of the surface soil, but
averages eighteen inches. The vines begin to bud in the middle of March,
and are from the start subject to great care and constant cultivation.
The first operation after the cutting is planted is to cut off the top
bud as soon as the vine starts to grow, leaving the two shoots only from
the two lower buds. No more shoots are allowed to grow the first year.
Next winter the smaller of these two branches is cut off completely and
the remaining branch is pruned back to two eyes. In the second year the
young shoots from the vine are allowed to grow to ten inches or so long,
when all are cut away except two of the strongest. Next winter again
these are pruned so to leave only two eyes on each, or four buds on the
whole vine. In the succeeding years the branches are gradually increased
in number, but always pruned back to two eyes. After the vine is five
years old, it is seldom increased as to branches; it is then always
pruned back to the same number of spurs. It can be said that the Denia
growers pay less attention to the quality of the raisins, and prune more
to attain quantity. They leave more spurs on their vines than do those
in Malaga, and in this respect resemble many of our own California
growers, who frequently leave from twelve to fifteen spurs on a vine.
The vines in Denia are also raised higher above the ground than in
Malaga, very much as we have been in the habit of pruning our own vines.
At the age of three years the vines come into bearing; but no fine
raisins are made until the vines are five or six years old.
_Dipping and Scalding._--The dipping process is one of the greatest
importance, and gives the peculiar characteristics to the Valencia or
Denia raisins. As a similar process will sometime or other be more
generally used in California, a more detailed description may prove
interesting to California growers. We can probably not do better than to
imitate them, although in mechanical appliances we will readily improve
upon their methods. The dipping is always done at the drying ground or
_secadero_. The larger part of the dipping apparatus, or the kettles,
are placed under the ground so as to save heat and fuel. A trench eight
or nine feet in length is dug to the depth of three or four feet. At one
end is built a chimney protruding three or four feet above the level of
the ground. In the other end of the trench is built a brick wall with an
opening for feeding the fire. Some trenches are lined inside with
bricks, making them more permanent and solid. On the top of this flue,
and on a level with the ground, are built the kettles or boilers,
containing not less than twenty gallons each. The boiler nearest the
fire entrance is destined to contain a solution of lye or ashes, the one
next to the chimney being for boiling water only.
The lye is made from the ashes of burnt vine cuttings, together with
lime and sometimes some salt, by men who have acquired the art from
years of experience, and who know by the appearance of the scalded
grapes whether the solution is too strong or too weak. If too weak, the
skins of the grapes will be insufficiently cut, which will delay the
drying of the grapes, and cause them to rot if the weather is damp and
foggy. If, again, the lye solution is too strong, the skin will be
destroyed and the berries seriously injured.
The grapes to be dipped should be perfectly ripe. If dipped before, they
will become inferior both as to color and taste. The perfect ripeness is
a most important point. The grapes are picked in baskets of about ten
pounds each, and carried to the scalder. The man nearest him on the
right fills a perforated ladle with about twenty pounds of the grapes.
The ladle is made either of wire netting or of tin or zinc, with large
perforated holes about three-eighths of an inch wide. There is a scalder
at each boiler. The first scalder dips the grapes in the scalding water
for a second, and immediately hands them to the second scalder, who dips
the same ladle in the boiling lye solution for not over two seconds. The
grapes are then carefully turned out on trays to dry.
The dipping first in scalding water is of the greatest importance, both
in washing off the dust of the grapes and in preparing them to receive
the alkali wash with more effect. Since the hot-water process was
introduced, the Valencia raisins have materially improved in quality.
The grapes are never rinsed in cold water after being dipped, and it is
more than likely that the lye prevents molding, as, according to A. B.
Butler, dipped raisins are sometimes exposed to the rain for three weeks
without being totally ruined. In California, our dipped and washed
raisins spoil quickly if exposed to rain. The object of dipping is, of
course, to slightly crack the skins so as to allow the water to readily
evaporate. Dipped raisins dry sometimes in five days, while undipped
raisins would require as many weeks. Efforts to produce sun-dried
raisins without dipping them have repeatedly been made in Denia; but
they are invariably spoiled by the rain, and lately two firms were
ruined in their attempts to dispense with the dipping process.
_Drying and Curing._--After the grapes have been properly dipped, the
drying proceeds very quickly. The grapes are immediately spread on cane
trays or _cañezos_, about six feet long by three or four feet wide.
These cane trays are made of the common Italian reed or _Arundo donax_,
which grows everywhere, even in California, and is here incorrectly
known as bamboo. The trays are made either of split or of entire canes
tied strongly together. These trays are placed flat on the ground, only
leaving enough space around each one to allow the workmen free access to
the tray on all sides. After having been exposed to the sun for three
days, the grapes are turned, in order to dry evenly on both sides. On
the fifth day, the raisins are turned again, and, if the weather has
been favorable, many of the raisins are then ready to pack. A day or two
after this, all the raisins are ready, and are collected and housed. If,
again, the weather has been unfavorable, the drying is very much
delayed. At the approach of rain, the mats or trays are taken up and
piled on the top of each other, under sheds previously made. Every
drying ground has stationary appliances for this purpose. These simply
consist of poles stuck in the ground, and extending five or six feet
above the same. Other cross-rafters or scantlings are nailed between the
poles, thus forming rows of roofless sheds eight or nine feet wide, of
greater or shorter length. Painted canvas, or simply mats or empty reed
trays, are used as covers, under which the raisin trays are piled. Under
and between each tray are placed five little cubes of wood, for the
purpose of lifting the tray and preventing it from pressing too heavily
on the grapes underneath.
_Packing and Disposing of the Crop._--When at last the raisins are
dried, they are either stored by the producer, or, as is more generally
the case, are taken to the merchant or packer who has supplied the
grower’s wants during the year in anticipation of the coming crop. There
are thus a number of special packers in Denia, who own large and
splendid packing-houses in which the crop is yearly handled. The grower
never packs himself, the enhanced value of the raisins not being
sufficient to warrant the trouble. One of the best and by far the
largest packing-houses in Denia is owned by J. D. Arquimbau. A more
perfectly equipped establishment is not found anywhere else.
[Illustration: Views from Col. Wm. Forsyth’s Raisin Vineyard, Near
Fresno: Residence, Lake, Raisin Dryer, Packing House.]
All of the packing is done by women, while the men do the carting of the
raisins from the vineyards to the packing-houses. During the balance of
the year, when there is no more work in the packing-houses, these very
men occupy themselves with the sardine fishery, while their wives then
dress the sardines and pack them in oil. They have thus work all the
year round,--an absolute necessity in a country where the wages are so
small, and where the poor man has no chance to save up a capital. The
wages paid for packing in Denia is only fifteen cents per day; while in
Malaga the same work commands from forty to sixty cents per day. In some
of the warehouses in Denia, from two to three hundred women are
employed, as well as a number of men. The boxes now used are halves of
twenty-eight pounds, or quarters of fourteen pounds each. The large or
whole boxes of fifty-six pounds each are no longer in use. The raisins
are all packed “off-stalk,” or, as we say, “loose.” Bunch or stem
raisins, or “on-stalk” raisins, are seldom seen. This great improvement
in packing is of recent origin, and is due entirely to the influence of
English merchants. Some thirty years ago, the raisin industry of
Valencia had so deteriorated, that it threatened to entirely cease. The
cause of the deterioration was principally the habit of the buyers to
pay for crops, not according to the quality of the raisins, but
according to the quantity. The small farmer with a few hundred pounds of
raisins carefully cured was paid less, or at least not any more, than
the man who had hundreds of tons carelessly cured. As a consequence, it
was to no one’s interest to take any particular pains in curing. The
raisins deteriorated; no care was paid to packing; anything, almost,
stalks, dirt and bruised berries were dumped in boxes together; brands,
trade-marks and labels were unknown. The whole business was apparently
going to ruin. The orders from England became less and less every year.
Those from America almost ceased. The “equality price” or “average
price,” which has been so much in vogue in California, actually ruined
the Valencia raisin industry. We ought to take a lesson from them, and
change this system in time, or we will be in the same bad fix as they
were.
The improvement in Valencia raisins was entirely due to the energetic
efforts of English gentlemen. Mr. George Graham, agent for an English
firm, established himself in Valencia, investigated the raisin business,
and, seeing the true cause of the ruin, set himself to work to remedy
the same. He introduced better methods in growing, curing and packing;
and through his efforts a better price was paid for a better grade of
raisins, and it was not long before the raisin business was on an
entirely different footing. The object of the grower was from that on,
not only to increase the quantity, but to increase the quality as well.
To begin with, the raisins were shipped off-stalk or loose; but the
boxes were not faced. Now the raisin boxes are all faced, and the
raisins are carefully selected and assorted. As a consequence, the Denia
trade has of late years increased enormously, until at present all the
land available has been planted to raisins. There is at present but
little or no first-class raisin land left in Denia, and it looks as if
the raisin production there could not be further expanded.
_Export and Production._--Although the raisin industry had long existed
in the province of Valencia, it was only in late years that it assumed
an importance. They were already known as _Duracinae_ by the Romans.
Re-introduced or improved by the Arabs or Moors, it soon became a
prominent industry, and the export of raisins to England was already of
some consequence in the time of William and Mary. In the year 1638,
Lewis Roberts, in his merchant map of commerce, informs us that Denia
raisins cost eighteen rials or three shillings per hundred weight. In
1664, Gandia raisins were quite famous, and were known as Pasas. At the
end of the last century, the raisins from Denia and Liria reached forty
thousand quintals, or two thousand tons, distributed as follows: Spain,
six thousand; France, six thousand; England, twenty-eight
thousand,--equal to one million, four hundred and thirty thousand boxes,
forty thousand quintals, or two thousand tons. In 1862, the raisin
export from Valencia had dwindled down to seven thousand tons. In 1876,
it had again risen to nineteen thousand tons, and in 1883 to forty
thousand tons. Of these, nine hundred and seventy-nine thousand boxes
were exported to the United States, one million, three hundred and
eighty-five thousand were sent to England, and four hundred and
thirty-six thousand found their way to other parts of Europe and Spain.
In 1888, the yield was two million, three hundred and sixteen thousand
boxes of twenty-eight pounds each, equal to thirty-two thousand, four
hundred and twenty-four tons. If packed in twenty-pound boxes, this crop
would have equaled three million, two hundred and forty thousand, four
hundred boxes, or four times as much as California produced at the same
time. The crop of 1889 is calculated to have reached two million, eight
hundred thousand boxes of twenty-eight pounds each.
When we remember that this class of raisins is as yet hardly produced in
California, and that the nine hundred and seventy-nine thousand boxes or
more imported could and should be supplied by us, it would seem that our
fears of overproduction will not immediately be realized. The tendency
of the raisin market is now to supplant these Valencia dipped raisins
with California undipped or sun-dried raisins, the California Sultanas
being considered superior for the same purpose that Valencias were
formerly used.