CULTURE OF FOREIGN GRAPES tN POTS. 



213 



^difficulty in the original article, and then, 

 for sake of brevity, proceed without further 

 notice of it. Every experienced gardener 

 is aware of the extreme difficulty of main- 

 taining a bottom heat of 90^ in February, 

 with the common materials in use ; and 

 few have not had repeated bitter experien- 

 ces of the treachery of those fermenting 

 materials, by the blasting of all his hopes, 

 when his expectations have been high. It 

 would not do, then, to risk the peculiarly 

 delicate foliage of the young vine to the 

 tender mercies of such agents. 



We will commence, then, by placing a 

 single eye or bud in a quart pot, an inch 

 below the surface, in a compost of two- 

 thirds half decayed leaves and one-third 

 turfy loam ; this can be done any time 

 after the permanent vines are pruned in 

 the fall, being careful to select good plump 

 eyes from perfectly ripened wood, when 

 they may be placed under the green-house 

 stage, there to remain until about the first 

 of March, when a hot-bed should be ready 

 for their reception. 



The manure for the hot-bed should be 

 well prepared by frequent turnings, and a 

 plentiful admixture of oak leaves, so as to 

 ensure a steady and lasting heat ; three feet 

 in depth of these materials would be suffi- 

 cient, though it would be well to apply a 

 lining at once to prevent the winds from 

 penetrating and thereby causing the heat to 

 fluctuate ; after the bed has settled and the 

 violent heat subsided, it may be earthed 

 over with leaf mould or old tan, in which 

 to plunge the pots to the rim, taking care 

 to keep them about a foot from the glass. 

 The beds must be carefully covered with 

 double mats every night, so long as there 

 is any danger from frost. They will re- 

 quire very little water; indeed, you must 

 perseveringly guard against too much damp, 

 by freely ventilating at the back of the 



frame when the weather will permit. As 

 the young shoots advance, let the frame be 

 raised, but always keeping them within a 

 foot of the glass ; and as the season ad- 

 vances, and the sun's rays become power- 

 ful, a slight coat of whitewash on the out- 

 side of the glass may prevent accidents, 

 and save much time in attendance upon 

 them. As their roots fill the pots, they will 

 require more water, and shifting into two 

 quart pots, and some of the stronger ones 

 into still larger. The compost for this shift- 

 ing should be two-thirds turfy loam and 

 one-third leaf mould. Where there is a 

 vinery they may now be removed into it, 

 and plunged between the permanent vines, 

 and carefully trained to the wires under 

 the centre of the sash, — the laterals being 

 stopped as they appear. They will now 

 require a more liberal supply of water, and 

 liquid manure may be given them twice or 

 three times per week. Drainings from the 

 manure heap, is the safest to apply. Where 

 tanks are placed to collect the urine of ani- 

 mals, it should be used before becoming 

 putrid ; lime should be thrown into it, and 

 it should be diluted with rain water. Al- 

 ways be careful to have the water of the 

 same temperature for your plants as the 

 atmosphere they are growing in. 



Where there is no vinery, the plants 

 may be placed on the green-house stage ; 

 as, by this time, there will be plenty of 

 room for them ; but the temperature of the 

 house must be kept up to not less than 65° 

 by night. 



By the last of August, most of the vines 

 will again require shifting. They should 

 now be shifted into their fruiting pots, — 

 gallon sizes, — and require a more generous 

 compost, prepared as follows: — two-thirds 

 turfy loam, and one-third well decom'posed 

 night-soil; or, if you have not this material 

 in a fit state, the deficiency may be sup- 



