AND ON COTTAGES. 473 



next the road, an angle of the building, by which the views across the 

 road will be oblique, instead of being direct; as the former, in every 

 case, exhibits a longer perspective, which must consequently contain a 

 greater number of objects." The walls and roofs of cottages so placed, 

 north of London, may be covered with the apple, pear, cherry, plum, 

 and, in some cases, the apricot ; and those south of London may be 

 covered with the grape vine. 



Light, rich, sandy loam, not more than eighteen inches in depth, on 

 a dry bottom of gravel, stone, or rock, forms the most desirable soil 

 and subsoil for the vine. Mr. Hoare truly observes, that " one of the 

 principal causes of grapes not ripening well on the open wall in this 

 country is the great depth of mould in which the roots of vines are 

 suffered to run, which, enticing them to penetrate in search of food 

 below the influence of the sun's rays, supplies them with too great a 

 quantity of moisture ; vegetation is thereby carried on until late in 

 summer, in consequence of which the ripening process does not com- 

 mence till the declination of the sun becomes too rapid to aiford a 

 sufficiency of solar heat to perfect the fruit." It is hardly possible to 

 form the vine border of materials too dry or porous. Stones, brickbats 

 broken moderately small, lumps of old mortar, broken pottery, oyster- 

 shells, and other materials which retain air and heat, and permit heavy 

 rains to pass quickly through, should be mixed up with two-thirds of 

 light rich soil, such as the sweepings of roads, or the top spit of a field of 

 good arable land. The border should never be cropped or digged, and 

 only stirred occasionally with a fork to the depth of two inches, to 

 admit the sun and air. Where borders cannot be prepared for vines, 

 they may be planted in pits eighteen inches square, and eighteen inches 

 deep, filled up with suitable soil ; and if the situation is dry, the roots 

 will soon push themselves into some suitable place ; for, as Mr. Hoare 

 observes, the roots of the vine possess an extraordinary power of 

 adapting themselves to any situation in which they may be planted, 

 provided it be a dry one. 



As the vine border once properly made ought never to be disturbed, 

 it follows that the manure incorporated with the soil at making should 

 be of a permanent nature, decomposing from time to time to supply 

 the nutriment extracted by the plants. Top-dressings and liquid ma- 

 nure may also be added when the border is made, or at any subsequent 

 period. Some of the best permanent manures are bones, horns and 

 hoofs of cattle, bone-dust, cuttings of leather, woollen rags, feathers, 

 and hair. Bones Mr. Hoare considers by far the most valuable manure 

 that can be deposited in a vine border, and he recommends their being 

 buried in the soil whole, and as fresh as possible, and of every size 

 from the smallest bone of a fowl to the largest bone of an ox. Excess 

 of manure deteriorates the flavour of grapes, and produces an excessive 

 and unnatural growth of long-jointed wood, with nothing but leaf-buds. 



Walls. In an unsheltered situation, exposed to W. and S.W. winds, 

 Mr. Hoare has never seen prime grapes produced much higher than 

 eight feet from the ground ; but in sheltered situations, and in S. and 

 S.E. aspects, grapes may be matured at any height from the ground. 



