September 29, 1863. ] 



JOXTENAL OF HOETICTJLTTJEE XtiD COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



245 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



SEPT. 20-OCT. 5, 1863. 



MlCHAELlTAS DaT, 



Ivy flowers. 



Pheasant shooting begins, 



■W. Speechly died, 1819. G. 



Marvel of Peru flowere. 



18 Sdnday AFTER Trinity. [1848. 



Cottage Gardener commenced, 



From observations taken near London during the last thirty-six years, the average day temperature of the -week is 64.1°, aud its nicht 

 temperature 43.8*. The greatest beat was 80^, on the 4lh, 18j9 ; and the lowest cold, V, on the 2nd, 1853, The greatest fall of rain 

 WHS 1.06 inch. 



PLANTING AND SELECTING GEAPE VINES. 



S tlie questions 

 asked by " A 

 Young Garden- 

 er " are of veiT' 

 general interest, 

 it lias been con- 

 sidered desirable 

 to reply to them 

 in a somewhat de- 

 tailed form ; for 

 certainly there 

 never was a time 

 in the history of 

 gardening when 

 so many of limit- 

 ed knowledge and 

 experience were 

 so very com- 

 mendably invest- 

 ing their funds and their time in the cultivation of the 

 Grape Vine. 



There are excellent works now in print on the subject, 

 and much information has appeared in a periodical form ; 

 yet there will always be special cases where sound in- 

 formation connected with Vines and Vine-borders cannot 

 fail to be interesting and useful, as in the case of our 

 young correspondent. 



Taking the questions which he has presented in their 

 most natural order, the site on which the border is to 

 rest comes first. The slope, or fall, of 13 inches and the 

 concrete make an excellent beginning, and are indispens- 

 able if the subsoil is cold and ungenial to prevent the 

 descent of the roots into a medium, in consequence of 

 which the Vines would soon suffer in one way or the 

 other. But besides the precaution of makin:' an im- 

 penetrable bottom, a drain should run parallel with the 

 extreme front of the concreted site and about a foot below 

 its level, and communicating with this main-drain there 

 should be cross ones up to the very back of the vinery if 

 the border extends inside the house. These cross drains 

 may be laid at 5 or G feet apart. Then broken bricks or 

 stones should be laid aU over the concrete and drains to 

 the depth of, say, 9 inches, finishing ofl" with a stratum of 

 finer material, .such as coarse gravel with the sand sifted 

 out of it, so that the soil can never be mixed up with 

 the rubble in the bottom; and if over all' a thin turf 

 •with the grassy side downwards be laid, so much the 

 better. With these cross drains and open stonework, 

 and a good outlet to the main drain in front, there will 

 never be any fear of stagnant water, against which the 

 simply concreting and sloping the border would not be 

 sufficient precaution. 



There is a decided objection to laying a border on a 



hard concreted surface without any intervening stratum 



of open material to quickly and thoroughly drain it from 



all the water which passes through it from the surface. 



^o. 131.— Vi I. v., Xkw Secies. 



However turfy and excellent in all respects the soil may 

 be when placed on an impervious surface, the portion of 

 it which rests immediately on the concrete becomes 

 soured and unhealthy in the course of time. ^Vhen the 

 fibiy organic matter has decayed, and the border is 

 reduced to a more solid condition, the water which passes 

 through it to the bottom can never drain away from 

 the latter sufficiently not to be mischievous, even if 

 the slope or fall is much more than that which has 

 been named. In consequence of this the bottom stratum 

 of the border, into which a great portion of the roots will 

 find their way, becomes a soured paste, in which all the 

 young roots wiU as surely perish as if they were cut off' 

 altogether ; and by such an accumulation of water the 

 temperatiu'e of the border is kept low. 



Sufficient, we trust, has been said on this point to 

 warn our correspondent from placing his soil on a hard 

 surface through which water cannot find its way with 

 ease. The amount of draining material which has been 

 recommended will have the additional beneficial result of 

 raising the border more above the surrounding level, 

 which, if the natural soil be cold and clayey, is a matter 

 of considerable importance. It is a great mistake to dig 

 out deep pits for borders, especially if the ground is 

 naturadly wet, and much better is it to keep the body of 

 the l}order well up above the level ; and where, from the 

 construction of the vinery, this cannot be done, no pains 

 should be spared in completely cutting off" from the 

 border all the water which falls into the ground around 

 it. A good way of doing this is to cut a deep drain all 

 round the border and fill it up to the surface of the 

 ground with open rubble such as brickbats or stones. 

 Unless some such means as this be resorted to, the opener 

 material of which Vine-borders are generally constructed 

 acts as a drain to the ground which .surrounds it, and, 

 consequently, it becomes a receiving place for the water 

 that falls around it. 



If our correspondent has his border fiepared and filled- 

 in during the course of the winter, care should bo taken 

 in doing so never to move or interfere with the soil and 

 other ingredients which are to be -lixed with it while 

 they are in a wet condition. The moving and mixing of 

 soil, however o^jen and free it may be, while in a wet 

 condition is sure to make it sour and unhealthy : there- 

 fore, unless it can be done in a dry and comfortable con- 

 dition, it is best to defer the operation till spring whcn^ 

 there are more chances of dry weather. Of course, if 

 the soU can be laid and mixed under cover of a shed, 

 mixing it c.in be proceeded with at any time. 



Altljough "A YouKG Gardener " does not ask for in- 

 formation as to the sort of material of which his border 

 should consist, it may be well to make a few remarks on 

 this point. 



What we consider to be most :n harmony with the 

 constitution of the Wnc is an open, fibry, calcareous 

 loam taken from a park or common which has not been 

 under cidtivation for a length of time, the older and 

 fresher the better. It should be talicn about o or 6 inches 

 in depth, including the turf or grass which grcvs on it. 

 No. 783. — Vol. liXX., Old Series. 



