_Location and Acreage._--San Bernardino county, California, is entirely
an inland county, sheltered by low and high hills from the ocean. Fogs
and dew are rare, in places unknown, and the county offers unusual
advantages for raisin-growing. The vineyards are widely distributed
through the county in different localities or raisin centers, all of
which are greatly similar as to climatic conditions, except as regards
altitude. The San Bernardino vineyards are the highest elevated above
the sea of any in California. Below will be found a list of the raisin
centers in the county, with the number of acres and their altitude above
the sea. It must be understood that each locality has a large extension
as regards altitude, and varies in many instances several hundred feet;
this fact being indeed a characteristic of the San Bernardino county
vineyards. The raisin centers in San Bernardino county are:
Riverside, 1,500 acres. Altitude above sea, 900 to 1,000 feet.
Redlands, 800 “ “ “ “ 1,200 “ 1,600 feet.
Highlands, 400 “ “ “ “ 1,500 feet.
Ontario, 500 “ “ “ “ 983 “ 2,350 feet.
Cucamonga, ---- “ “ “ “ 900 “ 1,500 feet.
Etiwanda, 700 “ “ “ “ 1,200 feet.
There are several other localities where raisin vineyards are found in
smaller quantities, and it is safe to estimate the number of acres in
the county at over five thousand. Nearly all these vineyards are
situated on mesa lands, by which is meant the lands situated between the
river bottoms and the foothills. As a consequence, the surface water is
never near the top, but generally far down, and even continued
irrigation would not be liable to raise it much higher, as the water
will as rapidly drain off through the substrata, which generally
consists of sandy soil and gravel. The land is in fact well drained, and
differs in this respect from the plains of the San Joaquin valley. In
Riverside, the surface water is from thirty to fifty feet down, and only
in one or two vineyards situated deep down in the _arroyo_ is the
surface water as shallow as ten feet. These latter vineyards are never
irrigated. In Redlands the surface water is at an average of thirty feet
on the mesa lands. In Ontario the surface water is even deeper, and
found at from seventy to eight hundred feet, and the shallowest water in
the district is, according to Mr. W. E. Collins, twenty-five feet below
the surface. It is the general belief in the San Bernardino district
that deep water is necessary for, or at least beneficial to, raisin
grapes, and that shallow surface water is conducive to all kinds of
diseases. In this I cannot agree, as contrary to my own experiences and
to the experiences of the Spanish growers.
_Climate._--As regards temperature, there is some difference in the
various districts. A true comparison between them and other districts is
almost impossible, as the signal service thermometers are placed at
unequal heights above the ground, and in localities with very different
characteristics. It can, however, be said that the winter climate of the
district is much milder during the winter than that of the plains of the
San Joaquin valley, and very similar to the Orange county and the San
Diego districts. In Riverside and Redlands, the thermometer seldom
reaches one hundred and nine degrees Fahrenheit in the shade during the
summer, and in winter seldom goes below twenty-four degrees Fahrenheit,
while twenty-eight or twenty-seven degrees Fahrenheit is no unusual
occurrence once every year, but is considered the extreme of the season.
It may thus be seen that raisin vineyards and orange orchards may be and
actually are grown side by side in every part of San Bernardino county,
and this is a distinct characteristic of the district, which, however,
it shares with Orange and San Diego counties. The warmest months are
August and September, and October is generally fine for drying. So is
November, and only twice (in 1885 and 1889) has there been any serious
difficulty in drying the grapes. In two other years the crop has
suffered slightly, but during the majority of seasons in the months of
November there has not been any rain on the mesa lands, and it is this
absence of fall rains which makes it possible for the raisin-grower to
dry his crop without any other appliances than raisin-trays. Dew and
fogs are very rare, and occur only very seldom during the summer months.
When they do occur at this time, they are of but short duration, and
last perhaps only from five to seven o’clock in the morning. In the fall
of the year, in October and November, the desert wind blows warm and
dry, and hastens the drying of the raisins. It may blow three or four
times during the season, but has also been known to be entirely absent.
The rain in the winter season is light, in Riverside twelve inches being
an exceptionally wet season. From six to eight inches are the usual
rainfall, while again the actual average for Riverside is six and
one-fourth inches. In Ontario the rainfall in 1887 was 8.21 inches, and
in 1888 9.23 inches.
_Irrigation._--In Riverside grapes cannot be grown without irrigation on
the mesa lands, with the exception of one or two localities in the
arroyo. In the Ontario district, raisin grapes may be grown without
irrigation in the center of the valley, but on the mesas, higher on the
sides, they must be irrigated, and even in localities where they could
be grown without artificial irrigation the same is always practiced
whenever it can be obtained. Less water is, however, needed than in the
San Joaquin valley, but more than would suffice in El Cajon. Through the
nature of the gravelly subsoil, the raisin land cannot fill up with
water. Seepage is only possible to a limited degree; summer irrigation
is always required. The vines are irrigated three times a year, in
April, June and August. The system of furrows is used, and a ten-inch
flow is considered enough to irrigate one acre of grapes during one day
and night each time. In Ontario the raisin grapes are irrigated every
five weeks, not, however, while they are in bloom, as it is considered
best to wait until the berries are well set. In Redlands, one irrigation
after the winter rain ceases is considered enough, even on soil with
thirty feet to water.
_Soils._--The soil in San Bernardino county varies considerably. In
Riverside and Redlands the best soil is a reddish loam, with some sand
and gravel. But in Riverside we also find sandy soil of lighter color
and strength, which, however, is less suited to grapes. In Ontario the
soil varies from a heavy clayey _adobe_ to a lighter but very rich sandy
loam of a grayish color. The very sandy soil in some river bottoms,
especially around Lugonia, has, through experience, been found to be
entirely unsuited to the raisin grapes.
_The Vineyards._--The variety used for raisins is nearly entirely the
Muscat of Alexandria, although several vineyardists call these grapes
incorrectly the Gordo Blanco. I saw nowhere this variety, but I suppose
some must have been imported there. In planting, cuttings have been
preferred, probably because they are the cheapest, and because the value
of rooted vines has not been properly understood. The vines are set,
almost everywhere, eight by eight, only in a few vineyards nine by nine
feet. There is, however, a growing belief that eight by ten feet or
eight by twelve feet is better than the old accepted eight by eight
feet. But I believe that this tendency to give the vines greater room
will, in course of time, be followed by the opposite tendency to plant
them closer, at least one way, and give more room the other way. The
Muscat of Alexandria begins to bear in three years, and in four years
will pay fifty dollars per acre. The practice of plowing is, in
Riverside, to first plow towards the vines in the fall, and then, when
the vegetation has begun in the spring, the soil is turned back towards
the center of the space between the rows, or from the vines. Then the
soil is cultivated with chisel-tooth cultivators, both crosswise and
lengthwise, also similarly after every irrigation. But this practice is
not entirely the same everywhere, and the different vineyardists have
here as elsewhere different ideas, even in regard to the most common
farm or vineyard practices. Pruning was formerly done much closer than
now, but it was found that by close pruning the vines bore less. To-day
from fifteen to twenty spurs are left on the strongest vines, and on
every spur about two eyes. From twenty to twenty-five spurs were found
to be too much; with such quantity of spurs the vines produce smaller
and inferior grapes. Some vines which were pruned with twenty-five spurs
last year have this year been given nine or ten spurs only, so as to
enable them again to recover and grow strong, when the quantity of spurs
will again be increased to fifteen. Summer pruning is used by some, but
not by others. It does not, according to observation, injure the vine,
but produces always a second crop, which is difficult to cure.
Sulphuring the vines is practiced by some, but not by all, growers. A
great many cannot see the use and value of sulphur. No one sulphurs for
colure or the dropping of the grape, which is quite a common occurrence.
The vines, however, never suffered from the leaf-hopper nor the grape
caterpillars, but sunscald is not uncommon, nor is black-knot.
_The Crop._--The Muscat grapes begin to ripen in Riverside later than in
the San Joaquin valley, and picking commences between the 10th and the
30th of September. Highlands is said to be two weeks later than
Riverside. The first crop is ready to turn in two weeks, and is ready
for the sweatbox in three weeks’ time. For drying, trays are used, and
about twenty pounds are placed on each tray. These trays are all made of
pine or fir. Redwood has been found unsuitable, as imparting both a
color and a taste to the raisins if accidentally wet by early showers
in the fall. Size of trays, two by three feet, with a cleat nailed at
the short ends, but none at the long ends of the trays. Sweatboxes
receive the raisins when they leave the trays. Formerly the sweatboxes
were much larger and deeper than now, eight or even twelve inches in
depth not being unknown. Of late sweatboxes are made two by three feet,
or of the exact size of the trays, and not over six inches in depth. A
greater depth makes the boxes too heavy to handle, and also causes the
bunches to break. The packing of the raisins in Riverside and in the
Southern California raisin districts generally is done by the method
known as “top up.” That is, the first raisins are placed in the bottom
of the box and successive layers are placed on top, until finally the
top layer is put on the last. The lever press for the compression of the
layers is a Riverside invention. A modification of this press is now in
use in nearly all districts where the “top-up” method of packing is
practiced. The brands packed are as follows: Three Crown London Layers,
Two Crown London Layers, Three Crown Loose Muscatels, Two Crown Loose
Muscatels, and Muscatels in sixty-pound sacks; also Seedless Muscatels
in sacks of sixty and thirty pounds respectively. Cotton sacks are
commonly used for the two latter brands. The brands are apt to vary from
year to year, according to the fancy or ideas of the packers, new ones
of which are in the field every year. Only those who both produce and
pack have anything like established brands. The prices paid for raisins
in sweatboxes have varied in different years. In 1887 and 1888, the
price was from four and one-half to five cents per pound. In 1889, the
price rose to five and five and three-fourths cents, and in one or two
instances six cents were paid.
_The Profits and Other Items._--The profit varies, of course, greatly,
but an average profit may be considered to be from about $125 to $150
per acre. The yield of an acre is variable, but from eight to ten tons
of fresh grapes is said not to have been uncommon. In some cases the
yield has been much higher and the profit larger. I have from
trustworthy source the statement that one vineyardist who owns only a
few acres, I believe only five, and who has given all his time and
attention to these vines, has realized as much as $430 per acre. This I
quote only as an instance of what might be done with care and expense in
an exceptionally favored locality. Some few growers have realized $250
profit on each of a few acres, which also is to be considered
exceptional. I believe my former statement of $150 per acre as being
reliable and attainable by all San Bernardino county raisin-growers who
have good land, and who give their vines sufficient care. As another
instance of a high yield, I copy below an account of the vintage of C.
Newton Ross of Etiwanda, San Bernardino county, California. The article
appeared in the _Press and Horticulturist_ of Riverside, September 27th,
and I have every reason to consider it trustworthy. The writer adds that
the yield is extraordinary. “Mr. Ross has seventeen acres of 8,000 vines
five years old from which he picked 8,648 trays of grapes that average
twenty-five pounds to the tray, or a total of 108 tons of grapes, which
will make thirty-six tons of raisins,--equal to 3,600 boxes,--over 200
boxes to the acre. This is the first picking only, and it is estimated
that the second crop will be half as large as the first, which will give
a total yield of 318 boxes to the acre. Mr. Ross has sold his first crop
at five and one-half cents per pound in the sweatbox, which will give
him an income of $242 an acre on the first crop, and half as much more
on the second crop if he succeeds in saving it in good shape, or a total
income of $363 per acre on his crop. Mr. Ross estimates that $50 an acre
will cover the entire cost of taking care of the vineyard and putting
the crop in the sweatbox, and this would leave him a net income of $313
an acre for his vineyard, which is ten per cent on $3,130 per acre.”
But, I may add, it is not likely that such a profit can be realized year
after year.
As regards care of the vineyard and expenses of running the same, they
vary, of course, and are estimated at from twenty dollars upwards. But
the best vineyardists spend from thirty to forty dollars per acre in the
care of an acre, but in this do not include interest, trays bought,
etc., nothing in fact but “care.”
Vines were first planted in Riverside by Judge John Wesley North in
1873. Vacant land that is suitable for raisins may be had with water for
$250 per acre. Some land with choice locations is held at higher prices.
The highest yield of raisins in San Bernardino has been 290,000 boxes in
1888. Of this Riverside produced 150,000 boxes, Etiwanda 30,000 boxes,
and Ontario 15,000 boxes. The raisin shipments from Riverside during the
fall of 1889, up to December 12th, amounted, according to the _Daily
Press_, to 216,000 boxes. There was a balance on hand of 7,000 boxes,
making the total production 223,000 boxes. It is estimated that the
value of this crop was $3,500,000 at wholesale. Later advices give to
the county 265,000 boxes as last season’s crop. The San Bernardino
raisins are superior both as regards quality and size, and raisin
growing and curing is a profitable business, eminently suited to the
settler with small means, who cannot invest large capital, nor can
afford to wait long for a return. No dipped or sulphured raisins have
ever been produced in the district, although dipped raisins would prove
profitable. Especially does this refer to the second crop, which ripens
enough to make good raisins, but which cannot be cured when the early
rains set in.