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CHAPTER XIX. 



THE GREAT GRAPE CONSERVATORY AT CHISWICK, 



'HIS noble Vinery was originally erected as a Plant Conservatory, 

 I forming the first portion of a grand building in the form of a + 

 with a central dome, projected for erection in the Horticultural 

 Gardens at Chiswick, when Chiswick was at its zenith, and the 

 leader of horticultural progress. It was built by Messrs. Bailey, of 

 London, nearly sixty years ago, and, as we were informed by the late 

 Mr. R. Thompson, the cost was something about four thousand five 

 hundred pounds, a heavy duty then existing on glass. It is a span- 

 roof curvilinear structure of iron and glass, one hundred and eighty 

 feet in length, thirty feet in width and twenty-six feet high, running 

 east and west, and heated by two of Stevenson's patent boilers, fixed 

 by Messrs. Burbidge and Healy. Ventilation is obtained by venti- 

 lators on both sides over the piping, and from a ridge lantern ; this 

 although apparently very limited, is very perfect and quite sufficient. 



In the year 1857, the cultivation of plants having been abandoned, 

 it was proposed by the late Mr. G. McEwen, then superintendent of 

 the Gardens, to plant it with a collection of Vines, and this was 

 accordingly done. Borders on the most limited scale were prepared, 

 both inside and outside ; that on the outside was about five feet in 

 width, bounded by a broad gravel walk on a raised terrace ; and that 

 inside the house was about nine or twelve inches in depth, and formed 

 on the surface of the stone pavement of the conservatory. 



There was much speculation as to whether Grapes would succeed 

 in so large a structure. The pessimists predicted that scorching and 

 burning would prevail, and that under so much glare and light and 

 with so little ventilation, the Vines would never succeed ; and it 

 seemed, for the first year or two, that such would be the' result, for 

 whether from mismanagement, or from some other cause, the Vines 

 did very badly, and in 1858 were nearly destroyed by mildew. 



In the year ] 859 it was our lot to take charge of this Vinery, and 

 under careful management we may truly say that the young Vines 

 rapidly improved, and year by year they have borne excellent crops of 

 fruit, which have been reported on from time to time by the horti- 

 cultural press. 



The Vines were at first planted alternately in the inside and outside 

 borders, and for several years, by means of heavy mulching and top- 



