CHAPTER XXVII 

 THE EARLIEST GRAPE 



The great vines of wild grapes clinging to the trees and 

 swaying in the wind were no doubt enjoyed by the little 

 Indian boys and girls of North America hundreds of years 

 ago with the same pleasure that the white children to-day 

 feel when vacation time brings camping by th'e river's 

 bank and swinging on the hanging grapevines. 



The beauty of the grape has been sung for ages. Even 

 Greek mythology is enriched by stories of the vine. 

 Through cultivation the fruit was improved and devel- 

 oped by the ancients until it early became renowned in 

 the Far East. 



One would think that the grape, being so old, would not 

 need further training, but plant pupils of all kinds are 

 admitted to the school. 



As a child Luther Burbank learned to love the grape, 

 as he did many other plants, not for the fruit alone, but 

 for the grace of vine, delicacy of tendril, and beauty of 

 leaf. 



Clinging close to the south wall of his father's house in 

 Massachusetts was a vine of Isabella grapes. From the 

 time it was planted Luther watched it and studied its 

 growth. He learned that the buds appeared in early 



spring, then the leaves, after them the blossoms, and finally, 



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