GRAPE VINE 



396 



GRAPE VINE 



much more economical, stations, are made, we would 

 first thoroughly drain the site, and then place some 

 imperishable material, as stone, brick, or clinkers rammed 

 close beneath them, leaving only half a yard of soil in 

 depth, unless the roots are securely limited in width. 

 This done, the natural soil must be examined with prac- 

 tical accuracy, and accordingly, as sand or clay pre- 

 dominates, so must be the amount and character of the 

 correcting material. If destitute of organic matter or 

 turfy fibre, something must be introduced to enrich it, 

 such as fresh manure, and abundance of rotten weeds, 

 leaves, &c., indeed anything of a decaying vegetable 

 kind ; remembering that a good portion must be such 

 as will endure long, and slowly give out its enriching 

 qualities. Some coarse bone-manure and rubbly char- 

 coal will be a capital addition ; and a good deal of charcoal 

 rubbish or brush-wood. If the situation is cool and 

 damp, place half the volume of this material above the 

 ordinary ground level. 



Planting. The end of March is the most eligible time ; 

 and strong plants being at hand, if in pots, let the soil 

 be shaken away gently, and every root be carefully 

 uncoiled, and spread out, like a tree fan-trained, and 

 place a little superior compost about the roots, covering 

 the surface with three inches of coarse charred material. 

 This will absorb a great amount of heat from the sun, 

 and admit water freely when necessary. As the plants 

 grow, they must be carefully trained, and no stopping 

 practised the first season. In the autumn, however, 

 they must be pruned back to three or four eyes ; and in 

 the next season the shoots from these eyes must be 

 trained to the desired form, which will be regulated by 

 the character of the space they are to occupy, whether 

 on a building or a wall. 



Out-door Culture during the Rest Period. Pruning is a 

 first consideration, and this is done soon after the fall 

 of the leaf. Many conflicting practices as to out-door 

 culture have competed for the palm of victory here, 

 even as with indoor vines ; but it is probably best not 

 to attempt to tie the hands of those who try their culture 

 by too severe rules. One safe maxim is, that no two of 

 the principal leaves should so overlap each other as to 

 obstruct the solar light. From about eight to ten inches, 

 therefore, at least, may be given between each of the 

 growing shoots. This, then, will be a guide as to the 

 distance at which the shoots should be trained. As for 

 root culture at this period, nothing will be needed but 

 to preserve the surface fibres from the spade, which is 

 but too apt to approach too close to those on kitchen- 

 garden walls. When vines become somewhat exhausted 

 with much bearing, top-dressings of good soil and manure 

 become necessary. 



Out-door Culture during Growth. We must here be 

 brief, for the main principles will be found somewhat 

 identical with those connected with indoor culture. All 

 superfluous young spray must be thinned away, and the 

 bearing shoots stopped an eye or two beyond the bunch. 

 Where, however, there is walling to be filled, the dresser 

 may leave several eyes or buds beyond the bunch. In 

 due time the bunches must be thinned ; one to a square 

 foot of wall will, in general, suffice. The berries, too, 

 must be thinned out at the proper period, and a frequent 

 stopping of the lateral shoots practised, never suffering 

 them to shade the principal leaves. Towards the begin- 

 ning of September, all the stopped laterals may be 

 entirely removed, in order to permit a free circulation of 

 air, and allow the sun to heat the wall ; protection, also, 

 must be afforded to the bunches against wasps, flies, &c. 



Greenhouse Culture. Having attended to the character 

 of the soil requisite for the vine, we have little to report 

 on the subject of border-making, which must, however, 

 be at all times considered the most important point in 

 the whole of the proceedings. A more generous soil is 

 necessary for indoor vines, inasmuch as a greater demand 

 exists at times on their vital powers through the powerful 

 effects of solar light beneath glass ; as also owing to a 

 greater amount of dryness at times in the atmosphere. 

 The first point is to elevate the border above the ground 

 level in proportion to the lowness, coldness, or dampness 

 of the situation. Thorough drainage we have before 

 pointed to ; it is not possible to drain too much if the 

 soil be of proper texture. As to soil, turfy loam, inclining 

 to sand, should form nearly one-half the volume of soil. 

 To this may be added one quarter part of coarse manure, 

 leaf-mould, &c., rather raw than otherwise ; and the 



other quarter, part of rubbly and imperishable materials, 

 such as lumpy charcoal, old plaster, and the rubbish of old 

 buildings, coarse bone-manure, &c. All these well blended, 

 and filled in when dry, will produce a first-rate compost, 

 taking care to place a layer of turf at the bottom. 



Course of Culture. Whatever combination exists as 

 to a greenhouse vinery, whether it be for vines alone or 

 used in conjunction for pot-plants, an uniform system 

 should be pursued as to the vines, both during the grow- 

 ing season and the rest period. This system consists in 

 the regular pruning, dressing of the wood, in order to 

 the extirpation of all insects, and the usual vine-dressing, 

 during the growing period, the latter being, disbudding, 

 stopping, thinning the berry, and training principles 

 applicable to the vine in all its positions. 



Stove Culture. Vines in stoves are generally combined 

 with pine culture, and the excitement by heat is there- 

 fore at times considerable. In former days it was sup- 

 posed that vines must be turned outside the house and 

 frozen, in order to restore their energies ; but abundant 

 proofs exist that from 50* to 55 may be submitted to, 

 in extreme cases, during the rest season. Whatever 

 culture is combined with that of the vines, it is best to 

 confine these to the rafters on the spurring system. For 

 early forcing, and where the house is specially devoted 

 to vines, it is another affair : here either the long-rod 

 system or the spurring may be used. We need not 

 repeat advice as to border-making, and the usual routine 

 of disbudding, stopping, thinning the berry, and the 

 frequent pinching of the laterals. One remark may be 

 permitted as to borders ; let them be inside the house if 

 the interior arrangement will permit, and the front wall 

 on arches. When at rest, we would not allow the ther- 

 mometer to sink below 35. 



Vines in Pots is a mode of culture only to be recom- 

 mended as an adjunct to late vineries, and where the 

 possessor, not desk ing to build a house for early forcing, 

 yet desires to have a few early grapes. The plants should 

 be reared from eyes, and receive very high culture ; and 

 at the end of the second summer they should be strong 

 canes, and in high perfection for forcing. They must 

 receive liberal shifts when they need re-potting, and their 

 shoots be constantly trained in a very light situation. 

 The young plants, at the end of the first season's growth, 

 will require pruning back to two buds, from which one 

 may, during their progress, be carefully trained, and the 

 other removed. When the cane has grown about five 

 feet in length, during the second season, it is well to 

 stop it, in order to strengthen the lower leaves, on the 

 healthy action of which the future crop depends. The 

 leader, however, which succeeds, may be laid in full 

 length, well exposed to the light ; but the laterals which 

 push from the sides must be pinched back, leaving one 

 bud only, and this pinching must be continued all through 

 the season, when necessary. In the second autumn they 

 will be strong canes, with remarkably plump buds ; and 

 they may now, when the leaves are decayed, be pruned 

 back to some five or six eyes, according to the wish of 

 the cultivator. Having received their final shift into 

 pots of about fifteen inches in diameter in the preceding 

 June, they will require nothing but a rich top-dressing. 

 They enjoy a bottom-heat of 70 to 80 ; but they may 

 be made to succeed on the kerb-stones or back shelves 

 of the stove, away from cold draughts, and near the 

 flues or piping. Liquid manure must be liberally sup- 

 plied, and the same course of culture as to disbudding, 

 stopping, thinning the berry, and training, pursued as 

 with the rafter vines. A rich, turfy loam must be used 

 as compost ; three parts of this to one of rich, half- 

 decomposed manure, will be found excellent, adding 

 some charcoal and a little lime-rubbish. The turfy loam 

 should be nearly a year old, and must be well chopped 

 with the spade, not sifted. The pots must be most 

 carefully drained nearly one-fifth of their depth : any 

 stagnation whatever will surely prove fatal. If the pots 

 were unplunged, some screen, such as moss or old matting, 

 should be interposed between them and the sand, or 

 they may have double pots. 



Diseases. Shrivelling of the berries of the grape in 

 stoves appears to arise from the roots of the vine not 

 supplying a sufficiency of sap, as well as from its not 

 being duly elaborated in the leaves. This occurs if the 

 roots are in a cold soil, or are vegetating in an outside 

 border, the temperature of which is too low compared 

 with that of the stove. In the first case, thorough 



