THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 11 



each, and the young growth must be secured to the wall by means 

 of nails and shreds to prevent them being injured by rough winds. 

 They should also be taken up and replanted annually, until they are 

 put in their permanent quarters to encourage the production of 

 short fibry roots. When left in the same position for several years 

 they suffer severely when transplanted, and very seldom make much 

 growth during the first season. 



To ensure the most successful results in propagating vines from 

 eyes, the aid of a nice genial hot-bed is requisite. The eyes will 

 strike without bottom heat, yet they strike much quicker when the 

 pots are partly plunged in a hot-bed, and a considerable saving of 

 time is the result. Many grape-growers strongly recommend the 

 eyes to be put in some time in January, and some advise their being 

 put in in December, but from many years' close observation I am 

 convinced that eyes inserted early in March will produce better 

 canes by the end of the season than those inserted in either of the 

 foregoing months. "When propagation is commenced too early, the 

 soil becomes rather sour by the time the roots are formed, and 

 they do not take kindly to it, and the growth also is weak, because 

 of the insufficiency of light for the elaboration of the sap. March 

 eyes start into growth at once, and grow away freely. They have 

 the assistance of an abundance of light, and require less artificial 

 heat. 



Moderately stout and well matured wood should be selected 

 from which the eyes are to be taken ; but size is of secondary 

 consideration, provided it is well ripened. Prepare the eyes by 

 cutting them with about three-quarters of an inch of wood above and 

 also below the bud, then shave off, in a slanting direction, a small 

 portion of the wood at each end on the under side, and they will be 

 ready for inserting in the soil. Each eye should he potted sepa- 

 rately in three-inch pots, filled with a compost consisting of sandy 

 loam, leaf-mould, and a small proportion of well decayed manure. 

 Partly plunge the pots in a hot-bed, and maintain the soil in a 

 moderately moist condition. A cucumber or melon-frame suits 

 them admirable, as the atmospheric moisture usually maintained in 

 these structures is eminently favourable to the production of roots 

 and a vigorous growth. The pots can either be partly plunged in 

 the bed round the mounds of soil, or they can be placed upon the 

 surface, as may be the most convenient. Where there is no frame or 

 hot-house in which to place them, put them in the warmest part of 

 the greenhouse, and where the sun can shine upon the pots and 

 warm the soil. Even in a greenhouse, by giving them the full 

 advantage of the warmth from the sun, and sprinkling the surface 

 of the soil with rather warm water occasionally, there will not be any 

 difficulty in striking them. 



The young vines must be shifted into larger pots before they 

 become pot-bound, or they will experience a decided check. They 

 should be put in six-inch pots, and soil of the same temperature as 

 that of the structure in which they are grown, employed. What 

 has to be done with them when they arrive at this stage must be 

 deferred until another occasion. 



