Robert McPherson was for Southern California what G. G. Briggs and R. B. Blowers were for the Northern part. The McPherson vineyard extended once over 360 acres of land, and one year he shipped over one hundred thousand boxes. Many of the practical devices for irrigating, curing and packing raisins now generally in use in the southern part of the State were invented by him. The McPherson vineyard was situated in Orange county in the southern part of this State. Robert McPherson was certainly the largest and most prominent raisin-grower in Southern California. He is now no longer in the business.
T. C. WHITE.
The “Raisina” vineyard was the first thoroughly conducted raisin vineyard in Fresno. It was planted by T. C. White in 1876, ’77 and ’78, and from that time gradually extended until it contained one hundred and twenty acres, of which sixty-five acres are in Muscatel grapes of the variety known as Gordo Blanco, brought there from the Blowers vineyard at Woodland. The vineyard also contains some Seedless Sultanas and White Corinths. The soil of the vineyard is white ash, the location two miles south of Fresno, in the old Central California Colony. The soil is now partly subirrigated. T. C. White has done a great deal to develop and perfect the packing and curing of raisins, and he has also given much time and study to the other branches of the industry, such as growing, pruning and cultivation. Through the study of the imported Spanish raisins, as well as of those produced by R. B. Blowers, Mr. White succeeded in packing a very superior brand, which has never been surpassed in this State. The brands packed at the Raisina vineyard were as follows: Dehesa Clusters, London Layers, California Layers, Loose Muscatels, and cartoons of two and one-half pounds. The largest pack at one time was thirteen thousand boxes of twenty pounds each. In order to “face” the boxes accurately and rapidly, T. C. White invented the facing-plate elsewhere described in this book. Experiencing considerable difficulty in properly facing his Dehesas, it occurred to him that a block or plate might be made with cavities in which the raisins could be placed quickly and without danger of being disturbed. His idea was entirely original, and the facing device as made by him is a perfect machine which has not been improved upon. This device is now covered by patents.
In packing T. C. White employed the Blowers’ method, or the “face-down” method, which he so improved upon that it has not since been excelled. Many of the fine points in raisin curing and packing were perfected by him, and the raisin industry will always be benefited by the work he has done. Below I give a list of the premiums taken by T. C. White’s raisins at various fairs: 1885, silver medal and special first premium for best raisins at the Mechanics’ Fair in San Francisco; 1886, first premium and gold medal at the Mechanics’ Fair in San Francisco; 1888, first premium and one hundred dollars for best raisins at the State Fair. Same year they received first premium and gold medal at the Fresno District Fair; 1889, first premium at the Fresno District Fair.
MISS M. F. AUSTIN.
The story of Miss M. F. Austin and her success with the Hedge Row Vineyard reads like a beautiful tale. A schoolteacher by occupation, Miss Austin possessed many prominent qualities and elevated ideas, among others that horticulture should become a business for women as well as for men. Acting upon these ideas, Miss Austin removed to Fresno in 1878 in company with a lady friend and teacher, Miss L. H. Hatch, and she began immediately to improve her Hedge Row Vineyard, a part of which had been planted two years before by Bernhard Marks, the founder of the Central California Colony. The vineyard was gradually extended until it contained one hundred acres, nearly all in Gordo Blanco vines. Miss Austin must be given credit for having improved upon many operations in the vineyard and in the packing-house. She first discovered that under proper conditions the sulphuring should be done in the flowers of the grapevines. By this method she one year largely increased her crop of grapes. In packing she showed her womanly taste and refinement, and not only succeeded in producing superior Layer and Dehesa raisins, but made several innovations in packing which to this day are imitated. Among these we may mention the packing in cartoons, and in small ornamented paper bags, which latter were again placed in paper boxes. Miss Austin and T. C. White were the originators of fancy packing in this State.
The largest pack of the Hedge Row Vineyard was seventy-five hundred boxes, while the total of one year’s pack reached sixteen thousand boxes. Miss Austin built the first raisin dryer in Fresno, and demonstrated that machine-dried raisins were a success if not a necessity as regards the last crop. The pluck and intelligence of Miss Austin soon became extensively known, and many were the ladies who, imitating her, engaged in horticulture and in the raisin industry. Fresno county and the State at large owe her a debt of gratitude for what she has done. Those who had the pleasure and honor of her friendship lost in her a dear and faithful friend, a brilliant and intelligent companion, and a person who had few equals in any path of life.
JOSEPH T. GOODMAN.
The owner of the Floreal vineyard arrived in Fresno in 1879, and purchased a then already started plantation, which, however, he soon greatly remodeled, enlarged and improved. Mr. Goodman, formerly one of the brilliant newspaper men and literary writers of this coast, and publisher of the Territorial Enterprise of Virginia City, Nevada, has probably more than any other man studied the characteristics and requirements of the raisin grapes. His vineyard, while not the largest, is in our opinion the best cared for in the State, and newcomers could perhaps not do better than learn from it. It now comprises one hundred and twenty acres, mostly in Gordo Blanco. For the curing of the grapes, thirty thousand trays or more are needed, while a separate packing-house and tray-shed are prominent features of the vineyard. The land was all leveled with great care before planting, and every check can be flooded if necessary. The soil is the very richest, being the chocolate-colored loam, which in Fresno is considered the best and strongest soil for Muscat grapes. The location of the vineyard is the old sink of Red Bank creek, in the same district where Forsyth’s and Butler’s vineyards are situated. As regards planting, pruning, sulphuring, topping and other vineyard operations, Mr. J. T. Goodman is an authority from whose verdict there is no appeal. The Floreal vineyard always bears good crops, which must be exclusively attributed to the care given the vineyard and to the judgment with which all operations there are conducted. Mr. Goodman has invented several appliances for facilitating the vineyard work, most prominent among which I may mention the vineyard truck, by the means of which the expenses of harvesting and some other vineyard labors are greatly reduced. He also suggested the facing-plate independently of T. C. White.