PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 231 



September 11, 18 GO. 



Present — Sixty members. Mr. Andrew S. Fuller, of Brooklyn, 

 in the chair. 



Judge Meigs, the Secretary, read the following article upon 

 the Isabella grape. It is an extract from the Cincinnatus, pub- 

 lished at Cincinnati : 



" Nearly forty years ago, William Prince the elder, of the 

 Flushing garden, gave to Mrs. Isabella Gibbs, of Dorchester, S. 

 C, the credit of introducing that fine native grape at the North; 

 in consequeuce of which it has ever since been known by the 

 name of the * Isabella grape.' I then knew that the claim was 

 groundless — for in the Southern States it then had perhaps fifty 

 local n*mes. I felt willing that Mrs. Gibbs should become its 

 godmother, but I could have proved at the time by every octo- 

 genarian at the South, that it was the very first grape he recol- 

 lected to have seen in his childhood, skirting the paternal yard 

 under the name of the ' English grape.' In 1802 it was the first 

 to gladden my boyish eyes. As my travels extended in the 

 Southern States, I met it in all sections, even among the Chero- 

 kees, where the vines seemed to be of great antiquity. 



" The Isabella grape is, in fact, a sprout or freak from the Vitis 

 Labrusa or Fox Grape, and has been perpetuated by its cuttings; 

 which branch of horticulture the Cherokees well knew, but not 

 engrafting. I have written this because one of William Prince's 

 successors at Flushing has professed to have made the discovery 

 that the Isabella was of Northern origin. 



"(Signed) SILAS McDOWELL." 



The Chairman stated that this statement was undoubtedly 

 wholly true. 



Judge Meigs also read several other extracts from papers, one 

 of which upon " planting grape cuttings," says that short cut- 

 tings are preferable to long ones, it appeared too that shallow 

 planting is preferable too deep planting. 



The Chairman corroborated this statement. He prefers to use 

 but one eye, and even half an eye will grow. 



Wm. Lawton also corroborated the fact in relation to short 

 cuttings, from his own experience. The bud, he said, of a grape 

 vine is in itself a perfect plant, the bud containing leaves,, fruit, 

 Ac, in embryo. 



