THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 75 



a nine-inch wall, with a neat coping, set in cement, should be erected 

 to keep the soil in its place. A wooden trellis, laid on the surface 

 of the border is, perhaps, the most desirable path for houses exclu- 

 sively devoted to grape-growing. The surface of outside borders 

 should have a slope of two inches to the foot to carry off beavy rains 

 quickly. The whole of the inside border, and three feet of the out- 

 side portion, should be made wben the house is erected, and then it 

 can be increased in width by the addition of three feet every second 

 or third year ; but the borders of houses, twelve feet wide, will not 

 require the first addition until about the fourth year. 



Concrete for the bottom of the border, to prevent the roots 

 striking down into the subsoil, should be prepared by mixing gravel 

 and hot-slaked lime together until it is of the consistency of mortar. 

 It should be spread over the surface, about three or four inches in 

 thickness, and sufficient time allowed for it to become hardened 

 before the drainage is put upon it. Before the rubble, which should 

 be about nine inches in thickness, is put in, a drain formed of ordi- 

 nary tiles must be laid down in the lowest position to carry off all 

 tbe water that collects in the bottom, and it must of course be con- 

 nected with one of the main drains of the garden, unless the subsoil 

 is of a gravelly nature, and then a dry well, at a distance of about 

 twenty yards from the border, will suffice for receiving the surplus 

 water. 



In the preparation of the compost for forming the borders, it 

 must be borne in mind that vines require a soil that will not run 

 together in a close unctuous mass, but remain open and pervious to 

 moisture at all times. Hence, the loam selected, should be taken 

 from the surface, say to a depth of about four inches, of common or 

 pasture land, so that it has a fair proportion of fibrous matter in its 

 composition. To secure a thoroughly open compost, and one most 

 suited to the production of good crops of grapes, add to every eight 

 loads of loam, two loads of brick-rubbish, one of horse-droppings, 

 and 250 lb. of inch bones. If the soil is of a rather tenacious 

 nature, two loads of burnt clay should be added, and only one load 

 of brick-rubbish used. Bones, besides being of immense service in 

 furnishing the vines with food for several years after they are put in 

 the border, materially assist in keeping it open. They are rather 

 expensive, costing at the present time about £7 a ton, but they will 

 more than repay their cost. Chop the loam up roughly, and well 

 mix the other ingredients with it, and in filling in to a depth of 

 three feet, tread the soil rather firm. Before filling the border, 

 cover the drainage with a thinly cut turf, to prevent the fine soil 

 running down between the stones and brickbats. The planting 

 must be left until next month, as these notes have extended to too 

 great a length to admit of that part of the subject having justice 

 done to it without taking up more space than can be well afforded. 



(In my last chapter, read in the eleventh line from the top of page 

 52, " to hand," instead of " too hard.") 



