550 How to raise Isabella Grapes. 



the root was three fourths of an inch. It was every way a 

 thrifty, hearty, well-rooted vine, and worth the dollar. 



After looking about sometime for a suitable place to set it, 

 I concluded to plant it against the south end of my house 

 and train it upright. The house is 38 by 20 feet and fronts 

 the east. The L joins the west side of the main house at 

 the westerly corner, jutting out southerly by the main build- 

 ing about six feet. The kilchen and wood-house juts out 

 southerly by this L in the same way, thus forming in the 

 space of sixty feet, two right angles or L's. My vines are 

 planted along on this southerly side of the buildings, the great 

 vine being against the centre of the end of the main house, 

 and one foot distant therefrom. The border made for this 

 vine is fifteen feet long by three feet wide and three feet deep. 

 All the old soil (heavy clay) was taken out, and the trench 

 filled with three cart-loads of pasture loam and turf, one load 

 of old cow manure, three barrels of unleached ashes, one bar- 

 rel of bones, broken up, and one load of very old spent tan, 

 which was spread over the top of all, after they were well 

 mingled together. In the bottom of the trench was placed 

 a layer of broken brick and small stones, eight inches thick. 

 The top of the border is about six inches above the level of 

 the adjacent ground. The vine was carefully set out on the 

 10th of November, every fibre properly extended ; the root 

 was well covered with coarse litter, and the three arms tied 

 together with woolen list, and sheathed lightly with long 

 straw, and then bound firmly to a strong stake. 



The vine got through the winter well. It was uncovered 

 about the tenth of April, and the arms, which were three 

 feet each in length, were tied to separate stakes. The left 

 hand arm started well with two strong shoots from the top 

 end ; the middle arm the same, while the remaining arm 

 started rather feebly, with but one shoot. All these five 

 shoots grew until September, when they were all stopped by 

 pinching off the ends about six feet from the ground. In 

 November, (say the 10th,) the shoots were pruned of tendrils 

 and laterals, leaving nothing but the bare canes ; these were 

 soon tied together as before, laid horizontally about a foot 



