Small quantities of wine have been made in California for over half a century, by the Spanish residents, not, however, as a commercial commodity, but for home-consumption, and there are wines now in the cellars of some of the wealthy Spanish families which money could not purchase.  But it remained for American enterprise, aided by European experience, to develop the wonderful capacity which had so long slumbered in the bosom of this most favored land.

The following statistics exhibit the total number of vines in 1862, and the great increase in the last five or six years will show the opinion entertained as to the success of the business.

“The number of grape-vines set out in vineyards in the State, according to the Report of the County Assessors, as compiled in the Surveyor-General’s Report for 1862, is 10,592,688, of which number Los Angeles has 2,570,000, and Sonoma 1,701,661.

“The rate of increase in the number and size of vineyards is large.  All the vines of the State did not number 1,000,000 seven years ago.  Los Angeles, which had three times as many vines surviving from the time of the Mexican domain as all the other counties together, had 592,000 bearing vines and 134,000 young vines in 1856.  The annual increase in the State has been about 1,500,000 since then; and though less hereafter, it will still be large.

“The wine made in 1861 is reported, very incorrectly, by the County Assessors, as amounting to 343,000 gallons.  The amount made in 1862 was about 700,000 gallons.  The total amount made in all other States of the Union in 1859, according to the United States census, was 1,350,000 gallons; and the same authority puts down California’s wine-yield for that year at 494,000 gallons, which is very nearly correct.  In Los Angeles County most of the vineyards have 1,000 vines to the acre.  In Sonoma the number varies from 680 to 1,000.  The average number may be estimated at 900; and the 10,000,000 vines of the State cover about 11,500 acres.  An acre of California vineyard in full bearing produces at least 500 gallons annually, and at that rate the produce of the 11,500 acres would be 5,750,000 gallons.  Strike off, however, one-third for grapes lost, wasted, and gathered for the table, and we have an annual produce of 3,800,000 gallons.  The reason why the present product is so far below this amount is that most of the vines are still very young, and will not be in full bearing for several years yet.”

The cost of planting a vineyard will of course vary with the situation, price of labor, quality of soil, etc., but may be estimated at not far from fifty dollars an acre.  This includes everything except the cost of the land, and brings the vines up to the third year, when they are in fair bearing condition.  There are thousands of acres of land scattered over the State, admirably adapted to vine-culture, which may be purchased at from one to two dollars per acre.  No enterprise holds out more encouragement for the