442 THE GRAPE VINE. 



Other vines, where the necessity for bottom heat is ignored, may be 

 similarly situated that is, with the roots deep in the earth and hence 

 beyond injury ; but make one of the modern fashionable borders eighteen 

 inches to two feet deep, leave that unprotected through the winter 

 or early forcing season, and blind and spindled bunches will probably 

 be the result. However, the vine is a generous plant that will endure 

 almost any amount of ill-treatment and yet produce fruit ; but if the 

 best fruit is desired, why, then the best means to secure it the means 

 which deserve success must be carried out. Now ground heat, in its 

 application to the production of early grapes, is not a modern dis- 

 covery. Perhaps the man who first thought of growing early grapes 

 from plants established in pots was the first to give it practical applica- 

 tion. He could not introduce the plant into a warmed atmosphere 

 without something approaching the natural conditions being realized, 

 and those who were the most successful growers of pot grapes soon 

 ascertained that bottom heat, carefully applied, was the main hinge of 

 success in their cultivation. Thus we progressed, until with thinking 

 and advanced grape-growers the most economical means of applying 

 bottom heat became the feat to be accomplished. 



The first step in this direction was the husbanding of the heat stored 

 in the earth by the summer sun, by covering the vine border early in 

 the autumn, so as to prevent its escape ; the second, by forcing the 

 heat of the leaves, dung, and other fermenting material placed upon 

 the border to travel contrary to its natural bent viz., downwards ; 

 and the third, by instituting artificial means, such as inside and covered 

 borders, and sub-heated borders, to secure the means of obtaining the 

 desired ground temperature. Here it is not necessary to detail the 

 various ways which were resorted to. The Dutch gardeners, with 

 their dung-heated pits, were not the least successful of which ex- 

 amples might be seen at Highlands, near Chelmsford, at Lord Hill's in 

 Shropshire, and at Wolverstone Park, near Ipswich. 



Means to secure bottom heat, but of a rather secondary nature, were 

 devised in connexion with Mr. Mearn's chambered borders at Wei- 

 beck, nearly forty years ago. The first really grand scheme for sub- 

 heating a vine border was that of Sylvester, as carried out for Edward 

 Strutt, Esq., now Lord Belper, at Kingston Hall, in Nottinghamshire. 

 Here the borders are formed entirely upon brick arches, heated by 

 hot-w^ater pipes, the spaces underneath them being sufficient for a 

 man to walk upright. The cost of this arrangement was something 

 enormous, many thousands of pounds being expended ; but the results, 

 though enormous crops of grapes have been produced, have not been 

 so satisfactory as to the quality of the crop as could be desired. So 

 convinced was Mr. George Westland, who had the charge of these 

 vineries for about eight years, that the isolating of vine borders was 

 not the best plan that could be adopted, that he has propounded a 

 counter-scheme, which will be mentioned hereafter, and which appears 

 to possess many elements of success. Then we have the plan adopted 

 by Mr. William Thomson, and recommended in his ' Practical Treatise 

 on the Grape Vine.' This consists of a vault some eighteen inches 



