THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



MAKING A VINE BORDER. 

 By C. E. Carman, New York. 



One of the most essential points in connection with 

 the successful culture of grapes is to have the soil in 

 which they are to grow well drained. For that reason 

 the vinery should not be built in a low water-logged 

 spot, especially if the subsoil is of a clayey retentive 

 nature. If the house is to be planted with grapes for 

 very early use the border should be wholly inside, for 

 midseason and late grapes the roots can be allowed to 

 run outside, in that case a border must be made out- 

 side in the same way as the inside border. To allow 

 the roots to get to the outside border, the front of the 

 house should be built on pillars or arches, either of 

 which should extend downwards to the bottom of the 

 border. Pillars are preferable to arches as there is 

 less obstruction to the root run. If the house is built 

 on a well drained subsoil, the draining of the border is 

 comparatively simple, but if of a clayey nature it will 

 be necessary to concrete the bottom, partly to facili- 

 tate drainage, but also to prevent the roots from find- 

 ing the cold, sad, clay. 



If the border is to be whnlly inside it should extend 

 eventually the whole width of the house. The depth 

 of soil should be from 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches at the 

 front to 3 feet to 4 feet 6 inches at the back ; that is, 

 assuming the house is a lean-to. If a span roof house 

 and vines are to be planted both sides, then the deep- 

 est part of the border should be in the center of the 

 house. 



Beneath the soil should be from 6 inches to 1 foot 

 of drainage (according to the depth of border) in the 

 form of brick-bats, broken stones, etc. If concrete is 

 necessary, this should be 3 inches thick, finished off 

 fairly smooth and with a slope towards the main drain. 

 The main drain should have a good fall to ensure the 

 border never being waterlogged. When the concrete 

 has set, the drainage may be put in, 2-inch or 3-inch 

 tile should be laid diagonally, sloping towards the 

 main drain, the tile should of course be laid dry, with 

 one-quarter inch between each and the lines of tile 

 should be about 8 feet apart. Alongside the tile and 

 over the joints should be placed the largest ])ieces of 

 whatever is used for drainage (whatever is used 

 should be quite clean), over this the medium-sized 

 pieces and finished ofif with the small pieces, a layer 

 of crocks is fine for this if one has them. This drain- 

 age should be deepest under the deepest part of the 

 border. To ensure the drainage being kept clean as 

 long as possible it should be covered with sod, which 

 should be cut fairly thin, fibrous, well shook and laid 

 grass side downwards ; place one layer of this all over 

 the drainage, taking care no loose soil falls on the 

 drainage, then place other sods over the joints, to 

 keep the border soil from finding its way between. A 

 border 4 feet wide is sufficient for the first year, add- 

 ing one or 2 feet j'ear by year until the whole border 

 is complete. A wall of sods is best to keep up the 

 soil, but it is advisable to sprinkle a layer of lime rub- 

 ble or similar material between the layers of sod 

 which will help to aerate the border, and also keep the 

 sod wall open and sweet. Socket tiles should be 

 stood upright on the drainage at intervals of 10 or 12 

 feet, with the upper end projecting above the finished 

 border ; these will also aerate the border. 



The soil for the border should consist chiefly of 

 good fibrous loamy turf, chopped up roughly with a 

 liberal addition of crushed bones, lime rubble and 

 charcoal or burnt earth, wood ashes and well-rotted 

 manure. This should all be turned two or three times 



to ensure its being well mixed and made firm as the 

 border making proceeds. If one or two-year-old 

 canes are to be planted, these are best planted when 

 dormant ; turn the plant out of the pot, and wash all 

 the soil ofif the roots, then disentangle them before 

 planting ; lay the roots out evenly and work some 

 fine soil in between them and finish oft' level, with the 

 vine stem about an inch lower than it was in the pot. 

 Water with tepid water just sufficient to settle the 

 soil round the roots. If vines from eyes struck the 

 same year are to be planted, these will not be ready to 

 plant before June, when they should have made 3 or 

 4 feet of growth, and if the border has been made some 

 time before, the soil will be warm and the vines 

 should go away without a check. This latter system 

 is to be preferred, for the roots are not so liable to be 

 damaged, especially if the vines have been grown in 

 sods instead of pots. Muscats like a warm border, 

 therefore the shallower depth as given are more suit- 

 able for them. 



WAR AND POTASSIC MANURES. 

 Bv J. Johnson, New York. 



The eft'ects of the present European conflict are 

 truly numerous and far-reaching. In horticultural 

 circles alone there have been already complaints 

 raised concerning the seed and bulb harvests, as well 

 as much ado about the temporary cutting oft" of the 

 supply of that valuable manure, mine potash. Every 

 gardener readily admits the merit of potash in a well- 

 balanced mixed manure, and most of us know that 

 high-grade fertilizers are of comparatively recent 

 birth. So why worry if the supply of kainit from Ger- 

 many is temporarily suspended? Our forefathers sup- 

 plied potash to the soil before the German mines were 

 discovered, and we now must resort to the same 

 methods as they. Consider the value of farmyard 

 manure. This undoubtedly contains a high percent- 

 age of potash, and on account of the humus it con- 

 tains, produces the double effect of rendering a heavy 

 soil more porous and a light sandy soil more retentive 

 of moisture. It has been estimated that a cow in her 

 droppings alone produces annually 20 pounds of pot- 

 asii equal to about 160 pounds of kainit. The urine of 

 the same animal possesses an even greater fertilizing 

 propensity, potash available being four times greater 

 than that of the dung. Unfortunately much of this 

 valuable liquid is lost in the drainage. 



Then again, at this time of year there is generally 

 much garden refuse that can be turned to account by 

 burning. ]\Iake a "smother" of all weeds, prunings 

 and waste vegetable matter and the result will be a 

 black ash of the most fertilizing nature such as a mere 

 fire will not produce. Burning, it should be remem- 

 bered, is definitely destructive of whatever garden 

 pests may be upon or about the refuse. The amount 

 of potash in such ashes will vary-, but 10 per cent, is 

 regarded as an average which is not nuich less than 

 kainit contains. 



Seaweed also contains potash in variable quantity. 

 A ton of fresh seaweed contains from 20 pounds to 30 

 pounds available, while dried seaweed sometimes con- 

 tains five times the amount of fresh. 



Common salt also reduces the need of potassic ma- 

 nure in some cases, but on account of the chloride it 

 also contains being injurious to some crops, salt 

 should be applied with caution. The effect of salt on 

 weeds when used in excess should be sufficient evi- 

 dence of its destructive character, and this form of 

 potash should never be applied to potato, sugar beet 



