Grapes 181 



built separately or in blocks, ridge and furrow, with no party walls. 

 Here, again, the two great grape-growing districts differ: the Worthing 

 men building separate houses to a large extent, and the North London 

 men building huge blocks of thirty or forty houses enclosed by four 

 walls, all the gutters resting on piers. If the writer may state an 

 opinion, no house should ever be built without at least a thin partition 

 dividing it from the next house, and full control over Oie hot-water 

 pipes for each house. Some expense may be saved in the building, but 

 the want of economy in the working of a block of houses all communi- 

 cating soon outbalances the initial gain. For a grower in a very large 

 way the system may have its advantages, but for the beginner in a small 

 way it must be absolute folly. 



Another great disadvantage in the working of these ridge-and-furrow 

 houses is the increased cost of fumigating, for if one house starts a pest 

 the whole block must be treated unless the house is temporarily divided. 

 Again, the spread of insect and fungoid pests is greatly facilitated by 

 the absence of division walls; and, last but not least, the very important 

 matter of bottom ventilation crops up. There can be no question that 

 the bottom ventilators in a detached vinery are more suitably placed 

 than in the ridge-and-furrow system, where the bottom ventilation, if 

 any, is in the gutters, or on or above that level. Taking everything 

 into account, then, the best all-round house is one about 150 ft. to 200 ft. 

 long and 25 ft. wide, built detached. 



With regard to the heating of vineries, a house 15 ft. wide would 

 want four rows of pipes; one 25 ft. wide, six rows; and one 30 ft. wide, 

 eight rows 4-in. pipe in all cases. The boiler chosen should have power 

 enough to be capable of working 25 per cent more pipe than the house 

 or houses contain. 



Although single houses are advised, this does not mean that each 

 house must have its own boiler. It should be possible to cut out any 

 of the houses without affecting the others heated from the same boiler; 

 and there is no reason why several houses should not be heated from 

 the same source. A favourite arrangement is to build houses in fives 

 four long ones and one short one in the middle. The space so left is 

 occupied by the stokehole, containing two boilers for heating the whole. 

 The boilers can be worked together, or, if it is only required to keep 

 the damp out of the houses, one at a time; and, of course, one or two 

 houses can be started before the others. Where each house has a con- 

 siderable amount of piping, it is advisable to have larger mains from 

 the boiler to ensure a free circulation. 



The question of the cost of building glasshouses for grape growing 

 is not particularly easy. So much depends on the style of house, and 

 the situation, and the boiler chosen for the work. Without advocating 

 the expensive style of building in vogue in Worthing, and considering 

 the construction of houses in blocks, the following figures may be inter- 

 esting. Houses 30 ft. wide, suitable for growing " Colmars " and built 



