VINE SOILS AND VINE MANURES. 447 



to every six cubic yards of the turf it will be necessary to add one load 

 of dry horse-dung, two yards of brick or plaster-rubbish the latter 

 being the best two quarters of oyster-shells, and one quarter of each 

 of charcoal and inch bone. These ingredients should be intimately 

 mixed together by turning twice or thrice for a fortnight before the 

 time the vines are to be planted ; but at the same time let it be 

 remembered it is not desirable to break the loam into pieces less than 

 the size of the fist, neither should it be trampled upon during the 

 operation any more than can be avoided. As a rule, the last turning 

 should take place about a week before the vines are to be planted, 

 and then, if it is April or May, and the soil is in proper condition, 

 the mass will heat sufficiently to yield a very nice bottom heat, a 

 circumstance upon which the vigorous growth of the vines when 

 planted is in some measure dependent. 



A border thus prepared would be as good as could be desired, as it 

 would not only be a suitable chemical combination of manures, but 

 also a mechanical arrangement of parts which would secure perfect 

 porosity for any series of years, and at the same time be in a slowly 

 decomposing state. This is the great secret of forming the vine bor- 

 der, and those materials are the best which for the longest period shall 

 maintain a slow process of decomposition. So long as decomposition 

 is going on, so long will the elements necessary for vegetable nutrition 

 be formed, and so long will the vines prosper ; but directly decompo- 

 sition ceases, the feeding properties of the soil are exhausted, and to 

 the plant the natural consequences follow. 



To the component parts of the border which we have indicated, 

 there is only one addition that we should like to make, and that is, 

 after the soil has been charred, lay it six or nine inches thick in a 

 covered shed, and let sheep be folded upon it for a fortnight or three 

 weeks. This is going back to the days of Speechley, for he recom- 

 mended that sheep should be folded upon the turf for some time before 

 it was taken from the pasture, and he was not wrong in the recom- 

 mendation. So far we have spoken of a vine border, such as we 

 should prefer, and fortunately, all the parts except the turfy loam can 

 be easily procured ; and if that cannot, why then the best that can be 

 met with must be made use of. The sides of roads and old commons, 

 building sites, and similar places, yield fair turfy loam, but rarely such 

 as will come up to the quality we should select. If, however, the best 

 that can bf procured is taken and prepared as we have directed, adding 

 more lime-rubbish and charcoal if the soil is heavy, or less if it is 

 light, a good approximation to our standard may be ensured. Of all 

 things avoid a light sandy soil without fibres and rich stimulating 

 manures. With such a border you may grow strong rampant vines 

 for a few years, but their vigour will be of short duration, and the 

 grapes of inferior quality. To produce grapes of really superior quality, 

 a sound loam is indispensable, securing its porosity and mechanical 

 action by such ingredients as we have recommended to be mixed 

 with it. 



Propagating and Planting. Having prepared the border, our next 



