v r v r in&-m&.King
but can be profitable
(Continued from page 1.)
said, is the climate. “The best climate needed to
produce high quality wine grapes, is one with low
night temperatures during the growing season.”
Lubbock, El Paso, and the higher elevations of the
Hill Country have this type of climate.
Another reason Texas is “ripe” for the wine in
dustry, Perry said, is “we have so many lawyers and
doctors and oilmen, who are looking for a tax shelter
and the romanticism that grapes offer.
“These people are from urban areas,” he said.
“They buy a weekend ranch and hire someone to
grow grapes for them.”
Perry said a great deal of money is needed to get
started in grape growing. “Your initial investment is
high and it may take you five years to realize a
profit.”
“It will cost you $l,500 to $2,000 an acre to estab
lish a vineyard,” he said. “But if you are someone
like a doctor or an oilman, with the necessary oper
ating funds and the right people to care for your
grapes, you can make money.”
Perry said a large wine industry within the state
wouldn’t necessarily mean lower prices for Texas
wine drinkers.
“The benefit would be more employment oppor
tunities.”
Perry explained that there are only four wineries
in the state, and they process all the wine grapes
grown here. If grape production increases, more
wineries will have to be built, he said.
Perry said, as noting another benefit, the wine
industry would offer an alternative to farmers.
Grapes are a high cash value crop he said. “You
can probably grow 10 acres of grapes and make the
same amount of money as somebody growing 200
acres of cotton.”
Perry said even with the high initial investment
“you can still net $800 to $1,000 an acre.”
With an opportunity for such a profit, it may seem
strange that only 350 acres of Texas land would be
in grape production.
“We have lots of people who come to us and want
to grow 100 acres of grapes,” he said. “But when
they see how much labor is required they lose their
enthusiasm and plant a couple of acres.
“Growing grapes is a skill you have to learn,” he
said. “There are about 400 vines on every acre, and
you have to train each one to grow the right way.”
Perry said he knows an expanded wine industry
in the state would not be totally acceptd, because of
the “conservative religious attitudes of many Tex
ans.”
However, attitudes are becoming more liberal, he
said.
“More and more counties are becoming ‘wet’.”
Perry said a new law, called the Texas Farm
Wine Law has been passed, that allows grapes to
be grown and wine to be made in a dry county.
“We just can’t sell it there,” he said.
Perry predicted that 5,000 acres of Texas land
will be planted in wine grapes in the next 20 years.
Perry said with the help of private funds, he will
continue research in evaluating which varieties of
grapes grow the best and produce the highest qual
ity wine.
Photos by Doyle Gougler
Ron Perry presses French Columbard grapes to make
his wine. On the cover, Perry crushes the Texas-grown
grapes in the Pomology Lab on campus.
Beware of running; it can be addicting
By MARCY BOYCE
Battalion Reporter
To onlookers, those gazing out of
windows or air-conditioned cars,
running seems almost unnatural, a
kind of self-inflicted pain, a physical
torture to which its victims refuse to
surrender.
But, of the 25 million Americans
who are out there daily putting one
foot in front of the other, many say
it’s neither torture nor pain, rather
pleasure, satisfaction and a time to
tally for one’s self.
Runners are no longer only track
stars and athletes. Today all don
their running shoes and head forthe
track, sidewalk or just about any
where two feet can travel.
With this heightened interest
over the past years, participants in
marathons reached first the hun
dreds and then the thousands. Re
cently, for example, 650 partici
pated in the Texas A&M University
Marathon while 10,000 competed in
the Boston Marathon a few weeks
later.
In addition, according to Dr.
George Jessup, the resident
aerobics expert at Texas A&M, the
physical education department had
opened new sections in advanced
aerobics to compensate for the in
creasing number of runners.
Industry, too, did its part in de
veloping the craze by producing
shoes and advertizing, presenting
running as “something the beautiful
people do,” said Jessup. They
created a brand new fashion, he
said.
Both the manager at Athletic Attic
and at Wyatt’s Sporting Goods said
that 75 to 80 percent of their cus
tomers seek merchandise related
to running. They also said a runner
will pay anywhere from $19.95 to
$50 for a pair of shoes.
Jessup said this heightened
interest in running originated back
in the 1950s when the United States
was pressing to keep up with the
Russians, who at that time were
much better fit.
However, Jessup said, people’s
reasons for improving their physical
condition were wrong.
“People were doing it because
they felt they had to,” he said. “But
then in the ’70s a population gradu
ally developed of people that just
enjoyed running and it even be
came a type of social affair.”
Craig Corder, a senior in veteri
nary medicine who runs about 50
miles a week, said he started run
ning in high school because, “I
wasn’t big enough to play football, I
wanted to do something I was good
at.” Others said they weren’t getting
satisfaction from other sports.
Some of the most common reasons
given for taking up running, how
ever, were to get in shape, excer-
cise and lose weight.
Most of the runners found that as
they continued their program they
reaped some unexpected benefits
as well. “Surprisingly, running ap
pears to have helped me handle
more diverse situations,” said Don
Kirby, a doctoral candidate in range
science who completed a 50-mile
run in 1975. “I can do three to four
things at one time because I’m
more relaxed,” he said.
Scott Myers, a sophomore ani
mal science major who recently
competed in the Boston Marathon,
said he feels better in general since
he started running. “I have more
energy and I like knowing I’m in
shape,” he said.
focus—
THE BATTALION
Focus is published every Thursday as an
entertainment section of The Battalion.
Policy: Focus will accept any stories, drawings or
photographs that are submitted for publication, al
though the decision to publish lies solely with the
editor. Pieces submitted, printed or not, will be re
turned upon request. Deadline is 5 p.m. the Friday
before publication.
Contributing to this issue were: Lee Roy Les-
chper Jr., Lynn Blanco, Mark Herron, Colin Crom-
bie, Doyle Gougler, Larry Chandler, Marcy Boyce,
Lyle Lovett
Editor: Beth Calhoun
Assistant Editor: Doug Graham