rOEEIGN NOTICES. 



wall to be laid on their sides, and the rods nailed to the wall, the pots being kept dry by cover- 

 ing them with any suitable material. About a month before they are taken in to force, the early 

 formed buds on the rods are removed to the length of five or six feet from the pot ; the rod is 

 then coiled down upon the soil in the pot, and secured with strong pegs. The length of the rods 

 on which the bearing buds are left may be from six to eight feet, but I would not advise more 

 than five or six bunches to be grown on one vine. The pot will now be filled up with the com- 

 post. It is a good practice to paint the rods annually before forcing, with a composition of clay, 

 lime, and soot, to which may be added a large portion of sulphur, the efliuvium of which tends 

 greatly to prevent the attacks of red spider and thrips. 



Having now planted the yines in the border, and brought the pots into the house to be placed 

 in the most suitable situations according to the structure, I will proceed to take a review of the 

 Interior management. And here I would observe that to grow the grape in perfection, vines 

 alone should occupy the house ; we thus get rid of mealy bug and other pests, and the consequent 

 remedies so injurious in their application. I am well aware that the requirements of a large 

 establishment are such that every available space must be occupied. The gardener, ambitious to 

 excel in early produce, is stimulated to grow many things in vineries which ought never to enter 

 them. It is true, many things may be cultivated there with impunity, but the chances are that 

 the vines will suffer. The grapes will not be presented at table in that perfection to which they 

 are capable of attaining, and the gardener will be deprived of at least self-approval. It would 

 be well if employers of gardeners would act on the maxim — a "place for everything, and every- 

 thing in its place," — and let the vine flourish alone in the vinery. 



As before observed, the rods should be trained two feet from the glass. This will give room 

 for the foot-stalk and full development of the leaf, and in future seasons will give freedom to the 

 fruit-bearing shoots, and prevent their separation from the older wood, an evil to which they are 

 so liable while in a young and tender state. As leaves are so important in the economy of the 

 vine, every care should be taken that they maintain their natural position. There should be no 

 crowding; let every one of them have full exposure to the light. It is delightful to a gardener 

 to survey the full developed foliage like a green velvet sheet, within one foot of the glass, and 

 noble bunches of grapes below, progressing toward maturity. When the young wood has grown 

 from two to three feet in length, it is well to see it thickly studded with small transparent globules, 

 indicating a healthy action of the roots. They show that the latter are absorbing food from the 

 soil and transmitting it to the young stem to undergo the changes necessary for the formation of 

 wood, &c., the leaves as yet not being sufficiently large for this purpose. 



It is essentially necessary that a circulation of fresh air be kept up both by night and by day ; 

 to this end I would strongly recommend that holes about nine inches square should be made along 

 the front and ends of the house, as near the ground as may be convenient, in which wooden 

 frames should be placed ; the inside of the opening to be covered with fine wire netting, or per- 

 forated zinc, the outside being furnished with a trap-door to regulate the admission of air ; similar 

 provision should also be made along the top of the back wall, in order that the temperature may 

 be regulated with perfect safety to the health of the plants. My experience teaches me that vines 

 receive more injury from neglect of proper ventilation than is generally suspected; the injurious 

 effects of want of air are frequently attributed to other causes. 



I am no advocate for the application of water with the syringe to the vine. I have for many 

 years discontinued its use, unless plants subject to insects are growing beneath them ; then it is 

 freely applied to the plants, but never to the foliage and fruit of the vine. A sufficiently moist 

 atmosphere can easily be maintained by the use of evaporating pans, and sprinkling the paths 

 and bottom of the house with water. 



Suppose the vines to have grown satisfactorily the first season, and to have produced well- 

 ripened wood, when pruned, the rods should be left from four to six feet long. The house may 

 be shut up about the first of the following February; two or tiiree bunches may be left on each 

 vine this season, but the primary object should be to have the jdants well established, abundantly 

 rooted, and wood thoroughly ripened, before a crop is taken from it. The third season the rods 

 should he left as long as tiie width of tlie house will allow. Tliey will show abundance of fruit, 

 but here lies the danger; the vines are yet young — an over crop would injure them — therefore 



