_General Remarks._--No one certain variety of soil can be said to be the best for raisin purposes, and both in different countries, as well as in the same district, various varieties of soils are valued equally. Every raisin district has, however, its favorite soil, which is supposed to have some peculiar advantages for the raisin grapes, but upon closer investigation we generally find other varieties of soils which are not inferior. Growers who have succeeded with raisin grapes on one variety of soil are only too apt to consider this kind preferable to any other. This is especially the case in California, where soils vary so much and where in some districts it is difficult to find forty acres with a uniform soil. Whether the soil is black, red or gray, it makes but very little difference, as long as it is rich and susceptible of the highest state of cultivation and has the faculty of retaining moisture. The deeper and richer the soil the better the Muscatel grape will thrive and produce, and as such soils are most generally found along the banks of creeks and rivers, or in their bottoms and sinks, we might conclude that in such localities the best soils for the Muscat grape may be found. Other varieties of raisin grapes, such as the Malaga (California) and the Sultana, do well in less rich soil; indeed, they bear profitably in places where the Muscat would be a failure. It is therefore important for every vineyardist to carefully select his soil and then plant on it the proper variety of vine. _Malaga._--The soils of Malaga are of various kinds. The best is a reddish loam containing much gravel, both coarse and fine. This soil is very stiff and hard, and when dry is as solid as a brick. The red color is derived from oxide of iron or other iron compounds, which many of the best vineyardists consider a most desirable element in any raisin soil. The upland vineyards, or those on the slope of the hills, contain soils of decomposed clay and slate mixed with more or less gravel and sand. The Dehesa lands contain alluvial deposits of a black or gray color. _Valencia and Denia._--In this district we find soils of many different grades and colors. The sandy and gravelly soils are considered as producing the finest flavored raisins, and those having the best keeping qualities, while the rich, loamy soils of the valleys produce raisins of inferior flavor and keeping qualities, but of larger size and more per acre. For economical reasons, the latter soils are preferred, as they alone can be irrigated and made to produce large crops. Some of the best vineyards in this district contain a gray, ashy soil, quite similar to the white ash of the Kings river lands, while others are growing on a red clayey loam similar to the California red soil.