116 FRUIT BOOK. 



wall, fence, or outbuilding, where it can receive the 

 sun's rays nearly the whole day, at least from nine 

 o'clock in the morning to three or four in the after- 

 noon. We recommend this grape, from the circum- 

 stance that we have never, as yet, been able to find 

 any other variety which, upon the whole, is prefera- 

 ble. The " Catawba," considered by Adlum to be 

 worth all others as a wine grape, we have found to 

 be a still later variety, having cultivated it for two 

 years without ripening a single bunch. In the culti- 

 vation of the Isabella we have found the following 

 method, (which we tried a few years since,) to accele- 

 rate the growth of this vine, as well as its flowering, 

 viz. Remove the top earth from around the trunk 

 as far as the roots extend, and then place large 

 stones upon the surface, watering occasionally, par- 

 ticularly in dry weather, with soap suds. These 

 stones retain the heat, which they received from the 

 sun's rays during the day, a great part of the night. 

 We know of no fruit which will, with such certainty, 

 annually produce a crop, as this variety of grape. 

 This vine is so luxuriant in its growth, and the im- 

 mense quantity of wood which it annually produces, 

 requires frequent use of the pruning knife, as it 

 will always set more fruit than it can bring to matu- 

 rity, which but serves to weaken and exhaust the 

 plant. The importance attached to this point of 

 culture, in reference to the capability of the vine for 

 fruiting in foreign countries, as stated by Miller, is 

 " That when gentlemen let out vineyards, there is 

 always a clause inserted in their leases, to direct how 



