

Mi FOKEION NOTICES. 



"Were I about to make a vine-border in a Bituation not naturally adapted for the vine, I would 

 proceed as follows: It should be til'tveu feet wide; the soil should l>e removed to tlie di'iilh of 

 eigliteeu iiuhes in front of the hous^e, with a <,'t'ntle S'lope outward until the dopth was thirty 

 inelio* at the outside of the border, wl»cre a drain tlnvo ami a lialf feet deep by two feet wide should 

 run the whole length of the border, the bottom having a gradual fall to a wuU at the lower end 

 four fbet in diameter and three feet deeper than the drain, the upper end to have an opening 

 level with the soil of the border. The drain &]»ould be of brickwork, and covered with loose 

 tiles or oak-slabs, that could be easily removed to furnish means of examining the state of tlie 

 drain when occasion might require. The side of tlie drain next the border should be pigeon- 

 holed to admit the roots when they shall have extended across tlie border. The use of the drain 

 is to supply the roots with liquid manure slowly flowing along the bottom into the well, wliich 

 should be occasionally emptied, and tlje contents again ajiplied at the uj)per end. The liquid 

 should only be applied when the vines were in active, growtii, and if possible at such a temper- 

 ature ns was best conducive to tiieir healthy growth : it should be entirely withheld when the 

 grapes begin to color. To each plant I would allow a separate compartment. If a vine was to 

 be planted under each rafter of the house, then at the center of each light a rough briek-ou-edge 

 wall should be built across the border to the drain. In the bottom of each compartment I Avould 

 have a layer of stones or brickbats, or other rough material, from eight to ten inches deep; on 

 this I would lay the soil two feet deep, which should have been wadl prepared many months before. 



The soil which I recommend as well adapted for tlie growth of the vine is one-fourth part light 

 turfy loam, one-fourth well decomposed rich farm-yard maniu'c, one-fourth leaf mold, one-eighth 

 river sand, and one-eighth old lime mortar — all being well mixed and thorouglily incorporated by 

 means of frecjuent turnings. I prefer propagating the vine from eyes taken from healtliy, fruitful 

 plants. I can then depend upon the sorts I plant, and thus avoid, when they begin to bear, the 

 too frequent annoyance of finding that one sort has been planted for another. Iluvir.g obtained 

 in this way good strong one year old plants, I would plant them about tlie beginning of March ; 

 the eoil should be carefully I'emovedfrora the roots, except such as may adliere to the small fibres; 

 the larger roots should be regularly spread out, and the longest cut back ; the roots should be 

 laid upou and covered with light, rich, sandy soil, to promote the growth of young fibres. And 

 here I would observe that the front wall of the house should be built on arches, through which 

 the plants may be brouglit into the house. The length to which the vine may be cut back will 

 be considered its future stem ; but this will entirely depend upon the construction of the house, 

 as only one eye should be allowed to push to produce the future fruitful rod. 



Suppose we have been enabled to raise our own jdants, and have a greater number than is 

 required for planting, the overplus should be brought into the house, with a view to have good 

 grapes the first season. As vines can be successfully grown in pots, I shall here relate my mode 

 of practice. About the first of January the eye is cut with an inch of wood above and below it, 

 and put in a small pot, commonly called a 60 or 3-ineh pot; the soil most suitable for it is good 

 leaf-mold and sand. When all are prepared, they are placed in a hot-bed or Cucumber frame ; 

 the eyes will soon burst into leaf, after which young roots will be protruded, and tlie lengthening 

 of the shoot will soon follow. To encourage their growth they should be shifted into 8-ineh pots. 

 The soil may now be tiiat previously recommended ; they remain in these pots until they have 

 grown from eighteen inches to two feet in length, and then they should be finally .'shifted into 

 IC-inch pots. When shifted, the jdants should be placed so low in the pot that it may not be 

 more than two-thirds filled with soil. The necessity of ample drainage need not be insisted on; 

 the best place to grow these vines is in a pit sufficiently wide for the extension of the rod, and 

 heated by hot water pipes, over which the pots should be placed witliin a foot of their surface. 

 The mild heat from the pipes will excite the roots, and cause strong and healthy growths, which 

 should be trained not nearer to the glass than two feet. Great care should be taken that, on all 

 favorable occasions, a due circulation of air is kept up, so that strong short-jointed rods, with plump, 

 well developed buds may be produced. They should be duly supplied with water, and once a 

 week with clear liquid manure, at a temperature the same as that in which the roots are placed, 

 sufficient length of wood has ripened, the water may be gradually withheld, and as soon 

 foliage gives indication that maturity is accomplished, the pots may be removed to a south 



