aoo 



o r t i c u 1 t H r e . 



Ni:W ENGLAND FARMER, 



city, as liaving becD lijoiiglit from Sordeaux, 



! when investigation has shown it to Jiave been 



From tho Genesee Farmer. brought frotii Pennsylvania. The Troy grape io 



— generally there called the Hamburgh ; and we are 



THE ISABELLA GRAPE. j now told, that Mr Veriiet, a Freiicii gentleman, 



N. GooDSELL, Es(i. — Li your paper of the 31st resident at Norwich, called the Isabella "the lAs- 



oi December, I notice, under the signature of hon grapt" and that it " was supposed to have 



" Ulnuis," somo conmients on the Isabella grape, been brought by Mr V. from France or Cuba, 



connected with a (luotation from the " Treatise on where, he had a plantation." And these claims 



Horticulture," published by my father, Jlr Wm. ' to foreign origin are attached to productions as 



Prince, in 1838. strongly and indelibly marked with the character- 



My father received the scions of this vine in jstic distinctions of natives, as are the indigenous 



1811), from Mrs Isabella Gibbs, lady of George monarchs of our forests or the untutored aborigi- 



Gibbs, Esq. (uot Col. Gibbs,) then residing at i nes of our wilds and prairies. But there is anoth- 



Brooklyu ou this island. That lady stated that i er circumstance that ])laces the native origin of the 



she obtained lit from North Carolina, her native Isabella, &c, beyond the reach of cavil. It is the 



State, and that it was originally brought from Dor- acknowledgment of the fact by foreign nations 



Chester, in South Carolina. It being deemed a ■ themselves. AVheresoever they have been intro- 



highly valuable variety, and no similar one having duced to other climes, they have tailed to be claim- 



been previously noticed as cultivated in the gar- 

 dens of our country, my father gave it the name of 

 " Isabella gra|)e," after the lady from whom he 

 received it. His impression, as well as that of 



ed as natural productions, or even as old acquaint- 

 ances. And the country of their origin has been 

 acknowledged in the ]iublications of their horticul- 

 tural societies, and in all others I have perused. 



every other person who then examined the fruit, save one, which being an amusing exception, I 

 derived from the fact that no such variety had cannot fail from adverting thereto. In a cata- 



been previously described, and the improbability 

 that so valuable a fruit would, if cultivated in other 

 gardens, have remained unnoticed, was, that no 



logue of one of the most extensive collections of 

 grape vines in France, the Isabella is not only 

 enumerated as one of those producing the choicest 



similar vine then existed under culture in any of ' wine, but has an additional note attached, which 

 our ganlenS. That opinion was (in the absence of ■ I translate hterally : " Lsabella, a variety newly 



all proof to the contrary,) entertained by myself, 

 until the autumn of 1830, when a vine was de- 

 scribed to me as identical with the Isabella, which 

 had be«n growing for thirtythree years in a garden 

 at Newport, Rhode Island. Some of the fruit had 

 been presented to me, previously to the statement 

 of the particulai-s relative to the vine that produ- 

 ced it, which I pronounced at once to be the Isa- 

 bella. Being desirous to act cautiously, in every 

 point connected with the nomenclature of our 

 fruits, I declined commenting upon the circum- 

 stance until I should receive proof incontiovcrtihh, 

 not only as to identity, but as to the age of the 

 vine. In consequence, I visited the garden the 

 past season and examined the parent vine, togeth- 

 er with several of its progeny, growing near it. 

 The appearance of the old vine comports with the 

 age awarded to it ; the circumference of the main 

 stem is ten and a half inches. It is located in a 

 spot unpropitious to its de#;lopnient, being shaded 

 by largo trees that appear to correspond with it 

 in age. I made notes of many other particulars, but 

 I cannot at this moment find them ; the investiga- 

 tion, however, convinced me of its identity with 

 the Isabella grape, and I have hitherto deferred 

 publishing the facts, only from the hope of attain- 

 ing some additional light expected ou the subject. 

 The former occupant of the ground, states, that he 

 planted the viue in 1798, and that he received it 

 from New York. I am investigating the latter 

 point, and the result of such investigation, as well 

 as the contents of the notes above referred to, shall 

 be made public hereafter ; it having been the con- 

 stant desire of my father and self, to shed all pos- 

 sible light ou horticidtural subjects. The incon- 

 siderate practice of adopting foreign titles for our 

 native productions, has already caused much 

 inconvenience ; and I hope there is no American 

 so miserable a sycophant, as to suppose that any 

 product of our country, can be enhanced in its val- 

 ue, by the a[>plication of a foreign title^ 



The VVinne jrape of Albany, was announced 

 two years since in one of the publications of tliat 



ntroduced to Europe, and which is said to aflbrd 

 the most excellent oriental wine; it also produces 

 extraordinary crops." 



Your correspondent, Ulmus, states that the does 

 not believe the Isabella " is a native of our coun- 

 try, of original stock, as all the indigenous grapes" 

 that he has " ever yet seen, possesses the same 

 acid, hard pulp, and thick leathery skin, of the or- 

 dinary Fox or Bullet grape," referring, evidently, 

 to the varieties of Vitis labrusca, which are com- 

 mon in this State. In reply, I will simply remark, 

 that the varieties of Vitis astivahs, which are far 

 more rarely met with in our State, but abound in 

 IMaryland and Virginia, have a much thinner skin 

 and far less pulp ; and some of the varieties of this 

 and other species which grow abundantly further 

 to the south, such as the Bland, Beaverdam, iVc. 

 ha\ e as thin a skin as the foreign varieties ; and 

 the Bland, White Scupperuong, Catawba, and 

 many others, are devoid of the acid, hard pulp. 

 In regard to native grapes, there exists, perhaps, 

 in our vineyard, at the present jjcriod, a greater 

 number of varieties, originated tioni seeils we 

 have sown, than have been obtained by a similar 

 process in all the gardens of the Union, and the 

 friendly tributes of our fellow-ehizens, have con- 

 centrated iti the collection thus formed, the natural 

 products of every section of our country. 



It may be well here to remark, that the Troy 

 grajjc appears to me to approach the Isabella, in 

 character, more nearly than any other variety that 

 has met my notice. And in conclnditig these re- 

 marks, I have to state, that I fully agree with 

 those of my fellow citizens who deem pomolot'i- 

 cal investigations, as regards our natural produc- 

 tions, to be yet but in their infancy ; and while in 

 connnon with others, I tender a few crude ideas 

 on such sidjjects, I view and intend them asgern)S 

 of inforination, which by the investigation of more 

 intelligent co-laborers, may attain to an ample de- 

 velopment. Very respectfully, 



WM. ROBERT PRINCE. 



Lin. Bot. Garden, ) 



Flushing, N. Y. Jan. 1832. j 



April 4, 1832. 



llemarks nfihe Editor of the Genesee Farmer. — 

 We are nnich gratified with the communication 

 from Mr Prince, concerning the Isabella grape, as 

 called forth by VImiis. From the fiank and gen- 

 tlemanly manner in which he communicates what- 

 ever relates to Ameiican Pomology, which comes 

 within his knowledge, and from his mitiring zeal 

 in collecting and digesting- such information, the 

 public will receive great benefit. 



As the cultivation of the grape is now becom- 

 ing, not only a matter of private interest, but of 

 national importance, tending to render us more 

 independent of other nations, and also more tem- 

 peiate within ourselves; we believe that whatever 

 relates to their history or cultivation in these Uni- 

 ted States, will be interesting to most of our read- 

 ers. As the Isabella grape ranks with the best of 

 om' indigenous varieties, which, by general con- 

 sent, are allowed to be superior to foreign ones 

 for vineyards, in point of profit, its correct history 

 is desirable, more especially as some have been 

 disposed to consider it an exotic. 



That it may have been brought into notice at 

 some particular place, by being imported from a 

 foreign country, we will not deny ; but that its 

 general characteristics are truly American, we 

 have no doubt. That our native grapes were 

 early taken to JMigland, the following deKcri|)tions, 

 taken from Parkinson, will plainly prove. The 

 author published this work on plants, in 1C40, 

 which has been considered one of the early stand- 

 ard works of England. He arranges grapes under 

 five different heads, viz. 



1st. " t'itis y'inifera. The manured vine," 

 {meaning the cultivated.) Under this head he 

 enumerates many of the European grapes, which 

 are cuhivated at this time, and says, they are so 

 variable that he cannot describe them. 



2d. " litis lacitiiatifolis. The Parsley vine, 

 or grape with thin cut leaves. The grapes of 

 which are white and great, are like unto the 

 White Muscadine grape." 



3d. Labrusca, or Vitis Sylvestris Europea, 

 The wild vine of Europe. " The wilde vine iu 

 regard it is naturall, and therefore neglected, 

 lyeth for the most yarX on the ground, and thereby 

 is made lesse fruitefull, unlesse it meete with some 

 hedge or tree, whereon it may clime, and then 

 spreadeth as the manured, (cultivated,) being both 

 in branches, leaves, and tendrils like unto the ma- 

 nured vine." 



4th. litis Sylvestris I'irginiana. The wild 

 vine of Virginia. " This one sort of vines of 

 Virginia, like all other wild sorts, runneth on the 

 ground and taketh hold of whatsoever it meetcth 

 with, being in all things like the former wild sorts, 

 but that the grapes are small and white, and 

 with little sappe or jnyce in them, and the ker- 

 nell twice as biggo as others. There is another 

 sort that hath bigger blew grapes, and sowrer in 

 taste. A third they call the Fox grape, and hath 

 a regged bark, a very broad Icafe, without any 

 division almost, but dented, and the grape is white, 

 but smelleth and tasteth like unto a foxc." 



5th. Vitis Sylvestris trifolia Canadensis. The 

 wild vine of Canada. " This wilde viue of Cana- 

 da growctli like unto other wilde vines of those 

 parts, with slender reddish branches, cliining 

 where it can get whereon ; but the leaves on them 

 being litth^ more than half so large as the mann^ 

 ed vine, hath only three partitions in every leaf, 

 but each cut is deepe, even to the long smoth stalk 

 whereon they stand, making them seeme as threa 



