320 ON SOIL. 



slaughter-house offal, and other over-rich manures, espe- 

 cially if the vines are to be planted the same or even the 

 following season. Soils glutted with instant enriching 

 manures are destructive to the vine. The surface of the 

 border should have a gentle descent from the wall or fence : 

 never crop your vine borders, and be careful of treading 

 much upon them ; a board trellis should be laid for walk- 

 ing upon when the operation of pruning, tying, &c., takes 

 place, which is almost daily during summer. The border, 

 after it has been once made, ought never to be stirred, 

 except at intervals, to keep it from becoming hard and 

 impervious to heat or moisture ; and, when necessary, it 

 should only be forked up about two inches deep, at all 

 times taking care not to injure the roots. 



In dry sandy soils all that is wanted for the full perfec- 

 tion of the grape is, to take out about one foot of the poorest 

 of the ground, and replace it by turf from a meadow, adding 

 thereto a portion of well-decomposed manure. Sweepings 

 from turnpike roads, where there is much travel, is an ex- 

 cellent article for incorporating with such soils ; it is of an 

 enriching quality, its component parts consisting chiefly of 

 sand, pulverized stones, dung, and urine, which is of a 

 more lasting nature than can be found in almost any other 

 compost ; it ought to be thoroughly incorporated with the 

 other soil soon after it has been collected from the road, as 

 all its valuable qualities will then be entirely preserved. 

 The foregoing remarks in the preparation of soil, if fol- 

 lowed, will ensure the luxuriant growth of vines and the 

 yearly production of fine crops of grapes, and, when cir- 

 cumstances will permit, should be practically adopted at 

 all times. But it must not be supposed that vines will not 

 grow and mature fine crops unless thus encouraged in 

 extra prepared soils. Such is not the fact, for vines will 

 do well in any soil that is not adhesive, and has a dry- 

 bottom ; but they grow finer and bear greater crops of fruit 

 within a given space of time, when planted in ground that 

 has been properly prepared for their reception. For in- 

 stance, if two cuttings be planted, the one in a soil fully- 

 prepared, and the other in that of the latter description, it 

 will be found at the end of three years that the vine in the 

 former soil is double the size of the latter ; consequently, 

 the strong vine will produce two-thirds more fruit, and of 



