Wo. 151.] 545 



Dr. Underbill. — Isabella can be grown on hill-sides in Vermont, 

 where the rocks gather the heat of the sun by day and retain it 

 through the night; thus keeping off frost. And perhaps this method 

 might answer in parts of Canada. 



Mr. Samuel Allen. — What would be the effect of putting pulver- 

 ized charcoal on the surface of the ground about the vines? 



Dr. Underbill, — ^Increased heat; black always has that effect 

 The ammonia from the rain and snows may be absorbed, and perhaps 

 the carbon might sink into the soil in form of carbonic acid, and do 

 good. But the heat of our summers would generally cause too great 

 dryness. 



We are now in the season of grape vine pruning; all this month 

 will do. Spur pruning is generally done in this city, but this will 

 not do for the open vineyard; there we must cut away the old wood 

 and bring in the new. The less fruit we obtain by close pruning, 

 the more sugar and more sure ripening of the fruit. Our Isabella is 

 constantly improving by culture, and will for fifty years to come go 

 on to improve by careful management, which is not lost upon this 

 grape. In France, the bleeding of the vine by pruning is bad; their 

 vines are more feeble; but it is not so in Germany or here. When 

 the vines have put out leaves, in May, they will not bleed, if 

 pruned, 



Mr. Pell read the following: 



There is probably no plant more numerous in all countries, than 

 the grape vine. From the remotest antiquity in all ages it has been 

 considered the symbol of happiness and type of alundance. It be- 

 longs to Linnseus's first order, and fifth class. Pentandria Mono- 

 gynia, the varieties are almost innumerable, and differ not only in 

 size, but taste, shape, color and aroma; soil and climate change at 

 once its nature and the relative proportion of ingredients composing 

 it, which is proved by the fact that no kind of grape succeeds the 

 same in all climates. If, for instance, you were to bring a vine 

 from the Cape of Good Hope, and plant it in our latitude, it might 

 possibly, if it did not die the first year, bear a crop; but it would be 

 very inferior as I have proved. On the other hand, if one of our 

 vines were removed to the Cape, the fruit would be much improved; 

 fo|; the reason that no plant is benefitted by, or enjoys more the solar 

 influence, than the grapevine; and in proportion as it receives that 

 heat, the saccharine matter predominates. On this, saccharine you 



[Assembly, No. 151.] 35 



