276 



The Isabella Grape. 



Vol. Vin. 



which was added a wheel-barrow full of 

 wood-yard manure and old lime mortar. 

 The old stem was cut off within two eyes 

 of the ground. The plant itself cost twenty- 

 five cents. The labour of planting probably 

 occupied half an hour. As soon as the two 

 eyes had growita few inches, one of them, 

 the smallest and weakest of course, was 

 rubbed off. The other was trained perpen- 

 dicularly; for it was designed to reach and 

 pass horizontally along the upper part of a 

 balcony that fronted to the east. It was 

 trained accordingly, and the first year it 

 reached to the top of the balcony, about six- 

 teen feet. The second year, two buds were 

 allowed to grow from the top of the perpen- 

 dicular stem, and these were trained hori- 

 zontally along a strong wire attached to the 

 posts. During the season all lateral buds 

 were rubbed off, both from the upright stem 

 and the branches, allowing no wood to be 

 made except the main shoots. In the spring 

 of the third year, every bud along the hori- 

 zontal vine was allowed to grow and set 

 fruit; but as soon as the bud was well set, 

 the end of each branch was nipped oft" to 

 stop its growth, and thus all the power of 

 the plant was forced into the fruit. The re- 

 sult of this first season of bearing was three 

 hundred and fifteen bunches of most delici- 

 ous grapes. The second year of bearing 

 nearly doubled the first, and the third nearly 

 doubled the second. It is now loaded with 

 fruit for the fifth time. Thus a couple of 

 hours' labour — and that is the most that this 

 vine has required during the whole of its 

 existence — has secured as much of this ex- 

 cellent fruit as the whole family can con- 

 sume, besides many a basket to neighbours, 

 and many a rich treat to visiters. Shame 

 on every farmer, nay on every man, who 

 enjoys in his own right the smallest space 

 of ground, and is yet destitute of this most 

 wholesome and agreeable frilit for his family ! 

 The ground that this vine occupies on the 

 premises, is not more than one foot square; 

 so that no one need excuse himself from 

 enjoying this luxury with the plea that he 

 has no room for a grape vine. It serves 

 also as a most excellent shade, curtaining 

 the whole eastern front of the balcony. 



But I must descend to particulars. It is 

 not sufficient that you purchase a vine. It 

 is necessary that it should be planted! Nei- 

 ther is it sufficient that you plant a vinfe ; it 

 must be planted properly, and cared for afler 

 it is planted. Of what use is it even to 

 plant a vine well, if it be allowed to run 

 wild with its branches and to be smothered 

 with weeds] After the vine is once planted 

 all further care and trouble are very trifling. 

 You will of course, during the season of its 



growth, every morning or every evening, 

 take a walk in your garden. You v.'ill of 

 course look at it, because you take pleasure 

 in observing the progress of your grape vine. 

 You see a bud just starting in a place where 

 you do not want a branch to grow; you rub 

 it off, and that is the end of it. You find 

 this branch to have grown as long as you 

 want it, and you nip oft' its end with your 

 finger nail. You see a caterpillar on one of 

 the leaves, and of course it is immediately 

 placed under your foot. All this is done 

 while you are making your morning obser- 

 vation, and while you would probably be 

 doing nothing else; but, trifling as this little 

 attention appears to be, it is essential to com- 

 plete success in obtaining a fine crop of fruit. 

 The principles involved appear to be — 1st. 

 The selection of a good kind of grape; 2nd. 

 To have it well planted ; 3rd. To take care 

 that neither weeds nor insects injure it; 

 and 4th. To allow no more wood to grow 

 than just enough to support and perfect the 

 fiuit. 



There are very few good kinds of grape 

 vines ; that is, few that are sure and abun- 

 dant bearers, as well as bearers of fruit of 

 good quality. I had much doubted whether 

 there was a single foreign grape vine that 

 can be called good, according to this defini- 

 tion of the term, adapted to open culture in 

 the ordinary way, unprotected by glass or 

 otherwise, until I saw on Friday last, in 

 Mrs. Law's various and splendid collection 

 of fruits, flowers and shrubbery, at Balti- 

 more, a very fine bearing vine, imported ex- 

 pressly for her from Madeira. It resembles 

 the Catawba,, and has every appearance of 

 hardiness. The fruit is beautiful to the eye, 

 and, with a better exposure, I doubt not will 

 ripen in perfection. There are some dozens 

 of kinds of native grapes that are very good, 

 but my acquaintance embraces only those 

 that I would ^cultivate, and I name them in 

 the order of preference, viz. : the Isabella, 

 the Catawba, and Bland's. The first is my 

 favourite. It never fails, when properly 

 cared for, of producing a full crop of fruit 

 that is good enough for me. The other two 

 are very good ; and when those vines are 

 desired should have a place in the garden. 

 There are several other kinds that are so 

 highly spoken of by those acquainted with 

 them, that it would be well to try them if 

 you have room for them ; but if you have 

 room but for one kind, I most heartily re- 

 commend that that one be the Isabella. 



Yeast produces fomentation in conse- 

 quence of the progressive fermentation which 

 it suffers from the action of air and water. 

 — Liebig, 



