118 FRUIT-GARDENING. 



a house by a single stem, and afterwards trained to a great 

 height according to the taste of the proprietor. 



INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE. 



Dr. R. T. Underbill, of New York, has a vineyard at Croton 

 Point, near Sing Sing, where, after having sunk thousands of 

 dollars in attempting to raise the most celebrated foreign 

 varieties, he abandoned the project as visionary, and com- 

 menced planting the Isabella Grape in 1832, and the Catawba 

 in 1835. Mr. Underbill has now upwards of twenty acres of 

 these grapes, chiefly of the former, under the most successful 

 cultivation. He says that the Isabella Grape ripens two or 

 three weeks earlier than the Catawba, and that these two 

 varieties are, in his estimation, the best adapted for general 

 purposes ; the former yielding with him a more valuable crop 

 than any other with which he is acquainted. He says that the 

 quality of this fruit has improved very much within a few 

 years, the clusters and berries being much larger and sweeter ; 

 and that they are capable of still greater improvement by high 

 cultivation. 



" In this latitude (south of the highlands of the Hudson), 

 I find that the Isabella Grape ripens quite as well when 

 planted in a level field, protected from the north and west 

 winds by woods or hedges, as on declivities. Several of my 

 vineyards are thus located, and, as far as I can perceive, the 

 fruit ripens at about the same time, and is of the same 

 quality as those planted on steep side-hills. I think, however, 

 that north of the highlands, side-hills would be preferable. To 

 prepare the ground for a vineyard, the best way is to turn over 

 the whole of the surface soil from fifteen to eighteen inches in 

 depth, early in the spring, by ploughing twice in the same fur- 

 row. This will place the richest part of the soil in a position, 

 where it will give the greatest supply of nourishment to the vines. 

 Few vineyards in this country have been prepared in this way. 

 But the cost is so small and the advantages so great, that it 



