Moy 16, 1867. ] 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



339 



rough plate glasa. There is a row of large trees which over- 

 Bhadow this house very much, so that the light is very much 

 obscured. The house is situated close to a brook which runs' 

 past the Vineyard. Tiie greatest evil which Mr. Meredith has 

 to contend with is the dampness caused by the proximity of 

 the house to the brook ; but after seeing such a housetal of 

 Grapes as this, surrounded by so many disadvantages, no one 

 need hesitate a moment to build a vinery in any aspect. I 

 would defy any one to pick out a situation to all appearance 

 more unsuitable than that which this vinery occupies ; not a 

 gleam of sunshine can by any chance fall on it. There wore 

 several Trebbiano Vines, each bearing three fine bunches, in 

 point of colour, form, and evenness of berry, nearly as good 

 as the splendid bunches exhibited by Mr. Drewett, at the St. 

 James's Hall Show, some years ago. The Alicante and Lady 

 Downe's were also rem irkably well coloured. 



This house was originilly used as a potting-shed, then pot 

 Vines were placed in it, and about four years ago Mr. Meredith 

 introduced three rows of four-inch pipes, and made a border 

 about 5 feet wide and 4.J deep, and this is all these Vines have 

 to grow in at present ; but he contemplates adding another 



5 feet of border on the inside, and a border on the outside as 

 well. This house, though evidently not built with the idea of 

 growing show Grapes in it, yet contained at the time of my 

 visit many splendid bunches that would have graced any ex- 

 hibition. There were several bunches of Barbarossa, weighing 

 from 6 to 12 lbs. ; these were black, and the berries large and 

 even. Child of Hale was also well represented in this house; 

 one bunch measured 15 inches in length and 13 across the 

 shoulders. Bunches of Black Alicante, weighing from 2J to 

 4 lbs. might also be counted by dozens. There is a light 

 about 18 inches deep along the front of the house. This is 

 opened by means of a spindle and lever ; the top lights are 

 opened in a similar manner. I must say I was very reluctant 

 to leave this house ; but time was pressing, and I had several 

 others to look through, and two of these are undoubtedly the 

 finest vineries in Europe. These I shall proceed with after 

 passing through two small houses. One of the?e, a Black 

 Hamburgh house, is very much elevated above the general 

 ground level. Here the borders cannot be much less than 



6 feet deep — inside. This was the first vinery Mr. Meredith 

 ever possessed. It was built on a small place which he at first 

 occupied near his present establishment. The Vines had been 

 planted, previous to their removal with the house, about two 

 years ; they were carefully taken from their original position 

 and planted where they now remain, and from them Mr. Mere- 

 dith has cut some of his best Black Hamburghs for the early 

 London exhibitions. The deep-border system, witli judiSious 

 care and proper management, appears to suit the Vines well. 

 Their present appearance would warrant one in taking a fitty- 

 years lease of their lives, if they were afterwards managed 

 with a similar amount of skill. At the time of my visit (early 

 in October), all the foliage had fallen, and Mr. Meredith was 

 going to prune the Vines soon after I was there. I hear they 

 have started better than ever this spring, and that they give 

 promise of greater results this season than they have afforded 

 in previous years. This house is so situated that extensive 

 outside borders cannot be added to it : hence the necessity of 

 making the border of extra depth. 



Adjoining the Black Hamburgh house Mr. Meredith has biiilt 

 what I consider is the best and most useful house I ever saw 

 for growing a few early Vines. He told me he had built it 

 with the odds and ends left after the completion of the large 

 range which he bu'lt last spring. The house is span-roofed 

 and very substantial. There is a lantern above the ridge of 

 the roof, and the sides are opened by leverage from the centre 

 path ; there are also side lights 2 feet wide, which all open 

 very easily. No outside border can be formed to this house, but 

 ample provision is made for a good deep border inside. The 

 four walls are built about 6 feet fi inches above the general 

 ground level. The whole of the space inside will be occupied 

 with the border up to the wall-plate level. 



After leaving this structure we cross the yard, passing the 

 bothies, stabling, workshops, &c., on our way towards the 

 eastern extremity of Mr. Meredith's establishment. This 

 brings us into a portion of the ground which is at present de- 

 voted principally to fruit trees. On a part of it stand two 

 of the finest vineries ever built. A vast amount of interest 

 will be attached to these houses during the next ten years, for 

 in them Mr. Meredith has planted every known kind of 

 Grape that is worth growing. He has also numerous experi- 

 ments in progress. Various kinds of Grapes are grafted and 



inarched on every conceivable variety of stock, and it may 

 therefore be concluded that his experiments when completed 

 will be of great benefit to Vine-cultivators generally. I believe 

 Mr. Meredith is only waiting to see the result of the.se experi- 

 ments to complete his elaborate treatise on the Vine. This I 

 am sure will be read with great interest by the gardening 

 public, who will expect to find in it a vast amount of informa- 

 tion which no one is better able to give. The two houses 

 above referred to are span-roofed, and each 141 long by 26 feet 

 wide. One of them is devoted to the growth of white Grapes, 

 the other is for cultivating all the best black varietieg. There 

 is a path G feet wide through the centre of eaih house, and 

 provision is made for heating the borders if it be found neceB- 

 sary to do so. The ends of the houses are due east and west, 

 so that one-half of the span faces the south and the other is 

 due north. The Vines are planted on each side of the house, 

 and the border for each set of Vines is 10 feet wide, and about 



5 feet deep. Both houses are built in the same manner, and 

 with materials of the very best description ; some idea of their 

 stability may be formed when I state that they cost little short 

 of £3000. The quantity of material used in their construction 

 must have been enormous. They are fitted together in the 

 strongest possible manner, yet there is nothing heavy-looking 

 about them. The side walls or pillars are built abont 5 feet 



6 inches above the ground level ; on these are placed solid 

 blocks of stone, on which rests the wall-plate. The spaces 

 between the pillars are filled up with loose bricks, which can be 

 easily taken out so as to give the roots free access to the outside 

 borders when the time shall have arrived for making these. 

 The pillars are about 11 inches by 9, and the spaces between 

 the pillars are about 20 inches wide. The side lights are 2 feet 

 6 laches high, and are easily opened and shut by means of a 

 lever and spindle at intervals of about 50 feet. There is a 

 similar contrivance for opening the ventilator in the roof. The 

 perpendicular height from the level of the central path to the 

 ridge is about 13 feet. There are six large tanks in each hon.se 

 for holding a supply of rain water ; they are 10 feet long, 5 feet 

 wide, and about 7 feet deep, and the whole of the water that 

 falls on the roof mi each house is conveyed into these cisterns 

 by means of iron pipes. The borders in both houses have 

 been made with great care, and the Vines are planted 2 feet 

 apart. There are in each house 144 Vines, which have been 

 planted three years ; many of them were at the time of my 

 visit carrying from 8 to 12 lbs. of Grapes, and most of them 

 were bearing three or four bunches each. Had they been my 

 Vines I should have waited till this season before I allowed 

 them to bear such a crop, and Mr. Meredith himself thought 

 he had been too hard on them ; but to look at them one would 

 think they were capable of bearing a much heavier crop. I 

 think, however, that every care ought to be taken not to weaken 

 the constitution of the Vine until it has stored up sufficient 

 food to enable it to bear without injury a heavy crop of fruit. 



In the house devoted to the cultivation of white Grapes, I 

 noticed splendid examples of Foster's White Seedling, Child 

 of Hale, Muscat of Alexandria, and White Tokay. The latter 

 Mr. Meredith considers one of the most valuable white Grapes 

 for late work. Many of these kinds were grafted on Blaok 

 Hamburgh, others on Barbarossa ; some on Lady Downe'g, 

 Black Alicante, and others, whilst many were on their oim 

 roots ; so that Mr. Meredith will have every chance of proving 

 each variety, both on its own roots and on stocks of various 

 kinds. In this house I tasted a splendid seedling white Grape, 

 which was certainly of first-rate quality; the bunch was large, 

 and the berries very similar in appearance to those of the 

 Muscat of Alexandria, whilst the flavour vi-as rather more 

 agreeable than in that variety generally. The berries appear 

 to set very freely. We shall hear more of this fine Grape in 

 due time. Mr. Meredith thinks it will prove a most welcome 

 variety for early forcing. If, as I believe, it prove to have all 

 the good qualities of the Muscat of Alexandria in point of ap- 

 pearance and flavour, with the free-setting qualities of the 

 Black Hamburgh, it will be a most welcome addition to onr 

 early Grapes. I know that one is sometimes liable to be led 

 astray by appearances, and the palate is not always alike ; but I 

 certainly thought at the time I never tasted such a luscioM 

 Grape. 



I think I have enumerated all in this house likely to be ol 

 interest at the present moment. On each side of the path 

 stood a row of splendid pot Vines, with canes from IP to 

 15 feet long. 



On entering the house in which all the best kinds of Black 

 Grapes are planted, splendid examples of Blaok Alicante weie 



