November , 1858 . 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
837 
this can be gathered from the size of the persons 
^standing and lying near, and from the numerous 
■other trees in the back ground. Who does not 
dove'to contemplate and study the scene as here 
jportrayei "by the artist 1 
As before stated vve have on hand a large num¬ 
ber of sketches of beautiful objects and many new 
;Ones arc accumulating, which we shall have en¬ 
graved from time to time for the pages of the 
Agriculturist, believing, as we do, that these ar¬ 
tistic pictures not only please, but develop a cor¬ 
rect taste and a love of the beautiful. 
THE “ FOX OAK ” 
This venerable old tree, which stands near our 
dwelling, is an object of no little interest to a con¬ 
siderable class of Friends among our readers We 
have therefore made an original, accurate sketch 
of it as it now appears, which is in the hands of 
the engraver, and will be printed in these pages 
a month or two hence. 
Isabella, Catawba, Hartford Prolific, Concord, and 
Diana, can now be obtained in almost every sec¬ 
tion, at moderate prices. 
Experiments with Twelve Grape Vines. 
At our residence on Long Island, 12 miles east 
of this city, we set 12 Grape Vines May 1 st, 1857, 
with a view of making observations upon them 
for a number of years. We will give the results 
thus far. Three of the more hardy in-door 
grapes, viz : Early White Malvasia, Black Ham¬ 
burg and Black Muscadine, were planted, to see 
what could be done with them in the open ground, 
unprotected. The twelve vines were all treated 
alike. The roots were similar in size and form, 
with the exception of the Catawba, which were of 
a poorer quality, as we were not able to get bet¬ 
ter roots at that time. The ground was trenched 
three feet deep, and a moderate supply of bone 
sawings, say 2 to 3 quarts to a vine, was mixed 
with the soil. They were arranged as follows : 
What Grapes to Plant 
A grape vine is so easily grown and quickly 
produces such an abundance of good fruit, that 
everybody ought to have one, two, three, or more 
vines growing. The villager or citizen who may 
be unfortunate enough to have only a yard square 
of soil by the door-way, may plant there a giape 
vine and train it up by the side of his house, and 
thus literally “sit under his own vine.” 
What kind to get is a question often asked. If 
in the colder climate, say North of 42°. a Con¬ 
cord, or Hartford Prolific may be the safest; the 
Isabella, or the Catawba, are good for any place 
South of 42°, and often further North. If but one 
or two kinds could be set out we jtould take, 1 st, 
the Hartford Prolific, 2nd, ihe Isabella, 3d, the 
Concord, 4th the Catawba. 
If more than two kinds are planted, we would 
add, if they could be got, the Delaware, the Re¬ 
becca, and the Diana. The fruit of the Rebecca 
we like better than any other out-door grape, 
but it is apparently a little less prolific than the 
others named above. The Delaware is greatly 
admired by a large number of persons ; and the 
same may be said of the Rebecca, though it is 
as yet less widely diffused over the country, 
being of recent origin. 
For 12 vines the following is, perhaps, as good 
an assortment as could be selected for family 
use. 
For places North of latitude 42°. 
3 Hartford Prolific. 
2 Rebecca. 
3 Concord. 
2 Delaware. 
2 Diana. 
For the Middle States, and States West of them. 
3 Isabella. 
2 Rebecca. 
3 Catawba. 
- Delaware. 
2 Diana. 
4 Isabella. 
OR 
1 Delaware. 
3 Catawba. 
1 Rebecca. 
3 Diana. 
For South 
atid South-west. 
3 Isabella. 
2 Rebecca. 
3 Catawba. 
1 Diana. 
2 Scuppernong. 
1 Delaware. 
2 Isabella. 
OR 
2 Rebecca, 
2 Catawba. 
2 Delaware. 
2 Scuppernong. 
2 Diana. 
A selection like any one of the above classes, 
will give an assortment of well tried grapes, 
with a variety of quality, flavor, and time of 
ripening. The greater the variety, the less the 
liability of entire failure in any one year. The 
Rebecca and Delaware plants are not yet acces¬ 
sible to all, and where they can not he obtained, 
the ptljers may be proportionally increased. The 
White Malvasia 
Isabella. 
Catawba. 
Isabella. 
Rebecca.. 
Catawba. 
] 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
North. 
7 Diana. 
8 Black Hamburg. 
9 Diana. 
10 Black Muscadine. 
11 Concord. 
12 Hartford Prolific. 
No. 1 —White Malvasia. Has made a fair growth 
of vini', about 12 feet in all, hut the wood is 
green, and will probably be killed this winter, 
in which ca?e a new variety will be substi¬ 
tuted. No fruit yet. 
No. 2 —Isabella. Vine large and thrifty, but no 
fruit ye'. 
N i. 3—Catawba. Feeble growth and no fruit. 
No. 4—Isabella. Moderate growth of vine, but 
no fruit. 
No. 5— Rebecca. Two feet growth of vine last 
year, and about 4 feet of slender wood this 
year. One small hunch of beautiful white 
grapes this year. 
No. 6 —Catawba. Poor root at first. A few shoots 
the first season, but killed out, root and 
branch, last winter. 
No 7—Diana Grew about 5 feet last year, and 
8 feet this year. Bore the past season fifteen 
bunches of fair grapes, color very light red, 
or lilac , small pulp and good flavor. 
No. 8 —Black Hamburg. Growth in two seasons 
about 8 feet, but sickly appearance now. No 
fruit. 
No. 9—Diana. About 6 feet growth first season, 
and 10 feet this year. Bore 17 bunches this 
year; quality same as No. 7. 
No. 10 —Black Muscadine. Vigorous growth of 
vine, say 13 feet in two seasons No fruit. 
No. 11—Concord. Vigorous growth of wood. 
Three branches layered last year but not re¬ 
moved. Produced small clusters the first 
season, and about 100 fair bunches this year, 
which ripened about the middle of Septem¬ 
ber. Estimated by the weight of a few av¬ 
erage bunches, the total produce of the vine 
the present year was 30 lbs. Grapes of good 
size, and fair flavor, somewhat foxy, and 
more pulpy than the Isabellas. 
No. 12—Hartford Prolific. Vines very similar to 
No. 11, but somewhat longer and stronger. 
There was no appreciable difference in the 
amount and size of the fruit on the Concord 
and Hartford Prolific. The Hartford Prolific 
matured five or six days earlier than the 
Concord, and was a little less pulpy and foxy. 
The Concord was brought from Concord, Mass., 
and the Hartford Prolific from a nursery near bv 
so that the larger growth of vine on the latter 
may be accounted for by its less exposure before 
planting, though the Concord was a trifle largei 
and had more fibrous roots when set out. Every¬ 
thing considered, the two kinds, Hartford Prolific 
and Concord, are about equal as respects growth 
and vigor of vine. The earlier maturity of the 
Hartford Prolific fruit with us is in its favor, and 
there is also a small difference in ils favm 
as respects the quality of the fruit. We consider 
both of these varieties valuable and worthy of 
general culture, especially in the Northern and 
Middle States ; and if to-day planting out a large 
plot of only the Hartford Prolific, Concord, Isabel¬ 
la and Catawba, for domestic use and for market, 
we should take them in about the ratio of 
4 Hartford Prolific, 3 Concord, 2 Isabellas and 
1 Catawba. We should, however, if practicable, 
add a considerable supply of Delaware, Rebecca 
and Diana. The latter two are beautiful light 
colored grapes of sweet flavor, and the Diana is 
certainly a good grower, while the Rebecca 
promises fair. The Delaware, a small reddish 
grape of excellent flavor, is universally well 
spoken of. We shall give it a place next Spring, 
and should have done so before but from the 
former high price of the vines and the difficulty of 
getting good ones. They are now more accessi 
ble, and the price is being lowered. 
For the American Agriculturist . 
Tr.e Isabella Grape—Its History. 
This renowned fruit, the main household and 
garden grape of the Northern States, south of 
latitude 42°, is so well established in its various 
excellencies of hardihood, prolific bearing, and 
excellence in flavor, as well as for wine making, 
and Winter keeping, that whatever relates to its 
origin is worthy of record. It has been claimed 
as a native American, and South Carolina, its ori¬ 
ginal soil. It was so written by the elder Prince, 
in 1828, in a small octavo which he compiled 
and published on fruits. The grape was brought 
from South Carolina, about the year 1816, by 
Col. Gibbs, and planted in his grounds at what is 
now Ravenswood, Long Island, and called by 
Gen. Joseph G. Swift, who afterwards occupied 
the place, “ Isabella,” in honor ofMrs Gibbs, who 
took much interest in its cultivation. So much 
in regard to the history of that Isabella vine from 
which a numberless multitude have sprung, aside 
from the authority of the elder Prince, was coi- 
roborated to us by Gen. Swift, himself, many 
years ago, and there can be no doubt of the facts. 
But a grape, without a name, identical with the 
Isabella, was growing in the garden of a Mr. Ver- 
net.. in Norwich, Connecticut, as early as 1810, six 
years prior to its being planted on Long Island. 
This grape is said, by those who well knew Mr. 
Vernet, to have been brought by him from Ali¬ 
cante, in Spain, on the borders of the Mediterra¬ 
nean. He was a French shipping merchant, a 
resident of Norwich, and on his arrival home from 
one of his foreign voyages, was planted by him in 
his own garden The original vine we have 
often seen, and eaten fruit from it many years 
afterwards ; and from that same original stock, 
thousands of vines have been grown, and more 
than thirty years ago hundreds of them were 
growing in different gardens in Norwich. The 
two have been so often compared by experienced 
pomologists, and pronounced identical in vine 
and fruit, that there can be no doubt on the sub¬ 
ject. The only question of the original country of 
the grape which can exist, is as to the fact, 
whether Mr. Vernet, actually brought his vine 
from Alicante, or obtained it from Charleston. 
S. C., where, as ne was often abroad with his 
ships, he may have found it, on a return voyage 
