THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 175 



or a span roof; its length and width are of very little consequence, 

 but to afford the vines sufficient space to produce a good crop, the 

 rafters or sash bars should be not less than six feet in length. And 

 it may also be said that if more than eight or nine feet, there will 

 be a little wasts of roof space. To enable me to describe the system 

 as clearly as possible, we will for the moment consider the case of 

 an amateur who has a lean-to house, five or six feet in width, and 

 with a roof six or eight feet in length. "We will also suppose that 

 along the front of the house there is a stage, table, or platform, upon 

 which the plants in pots are stood, or on which a bed is made up 

 for cucumbers or melons. If the stage is formed with open lattice- 

 work, it will be needful to cover it with boards, slates, or flag- 

 stones, for it is intended to form a bed of soil upon the platform, 

 and unless this precaution is taken the soil will, it need hardly be 

 said, fall through. When this has been done, fix a rather stout 

 board about twelve inches wide on edge, and thirty inches from the 

 front wall if there are hot-water pipes ; and not more than twelve 

 inches above the platform, a similar board must be fixed along the 

 front also, to keep the soil away from the pipes. The outer side of 

 the last mentioned board should be fixed an inch or so from the hot- 

 water pipes. When these have been properly fixed, cover the plat- 

 form with a thin layer of crocks or pieces of brick, broken up to 

 the size of a small hen's egg, and over these put a thin layer of 

 partly decayed manure, or of strips of turf, to keep the soil in its 

 place. This needful preparation completed, proceed to form the bed 

 with good turfy loam and manure. The best course is to break the 

 turfy loam up and then incorporate with it thoroughly decayed hot- 

 bed manure, or partly decayed horse droppings, in the proportion of 

 one part of manure to three parts of loam. Bone dust or crushed 

 bones may be added, but the cost is too great to justify their being 

 used in a border of a temporary character, such as the one we are 

 now considering. But all bones that may have been saved from the 

 kitchen should be broken up with a big hammer, and added to the 

 compost. The proportion of manure is larger than would be desir- 

 able for a permanent border, but as the vines will have to remain 

 one year only, more manure may be employed with advantage than 

 would be desirable in borders of a permanent character. 



The most suitable vines for planting are those which were struck 

 from eyes rather late last spring, and that were cut back to within 

 one or two buds of the base at the winter pruning, and these if 

 planted out at once, and receive careful management, will commence 

 to grow rapidly, and by the end of the summer will have strong 

 rods capable of bearing a heavy crop of fruit the following season. 

 The vines should be put two feet apart, and receive a liberal appli- 

 cation of tepid water to well settle the soil about the roots. They 

 will also receive material assistance by the house being kept rather 

 close for the first ten days or 30 after they are planted ; and to pre- 

 rent the temperature rising too high, and the foliage from being 

 scorched, a strip of canvas or a mat should be laid over the glass 

 during the hottest part of the day. After the period above men- 

 tioned, no shading must be employed, for it will then be possible to 



June. 



