VINES. 



538 



VINKS. 



foliage as for their handsome circular 

 flowers. Plants raised from seed which has 

 been sown early in spring will be found 

 useful for the ornamentation of flower beds 

 and borders in warm situations. V. major 

 and V. minor, otherwise known as the 

 Band Plant, have blossoms of purplish blue, 

 and are indigenous to this country. The 

 tiower of V. minor is smaller than that of 

 V. major, and more than this, there is a 

 white variety of it, and double blue and 

 double while varieties as well. V. rosea, 

 with blossoms that are white, white with 

 pink eye, or rose coloured, is also known as 

 Old Maid or the Madagascar Periwinkle. 

 All the hardy sorts flourish in ordinary soil, 

 and are propagated by division of the 

 roots. 



Vines. 



Difficulty of Culture in the Open Air. 

 It is certain that our moist and cloudy 

 climate is not favourable to the ripening of 

 the grape ; its cultivation in the open air, 

 therefore, requires great care ; and in many 

 seasons the most skilful management will 

 fail to bring it to perfection. Nevertheless, 

 the graceful trailing habit and beautiful 

 foliage of the vine render it highly orna- 

 mental on the walls of a house ; and for 

 this it is worth cultivating, with the pros- 

 pect of some fruit in favourable summers. 



Propagation by Cuttings. -The vine is 

 propagated by cuttings and by layering. 

 Cuttings, made early in March or the latter 

 end of February, may be planted about the 

 middle of March. The cuttings must be 

 shoots of last year, shortened to about 12 

 inches, or three joints each ; and if they 

 have an inch or so of last year's wood at 

 the bottom, it will be an advantage. They 

 may be planted either in nursery rows until 

 rooted, or planted at once where they are 

 to remain, observing in the latter case to 

 plant them in a slanting direction, and so 



deep that only one eye or joint is above 

 ground, and that close to the surface. 



Propagation by Layers. Vines are propa 

 gated by layering shoots of the preceding 

 year, or of a part of the branch, laying them 

 about 4 or 5 inches deep and covering 

 them with soil, leaving about three eyes 

 above the ground ; they are also layered in 

 large pots, either by drawing the brand? 

 through the drainage hole and filling tht 

 pot with soil, or by bending the branch and 

 sinking it 4 or 5 inches in the soil and peg- 

 ging it down there ; it may then either be 

 grown as a potted vine or, when fully rooted, 

 transferred to its permanent place on the 

 wall or vine border. 



Vine Borders. To make a good vine 

 border the soil of the border should be 

 dug out for 3 or 4 feet, a solid concrete 

 bottom formed, with thorough drainage to 

 carry off the water, and the border filled in 

 again, first with bones and other animal 

 remains, then witn iime rubbish where that 

 is available, and the surface with good 

 loamy soil. In this soil the vine should be 

 planted, the roots being previously trimmed 

 and spread out horizontally, so as to radiate 

 in a half-circle from the crown of the stem. 

 Under such an arrangement as this the vine 

 comes rapidly into bearing. 



General Pruning and Training. When 

 the vine is approaching a bearing state, and 

 the leaves have fallen, a general regulation 

 of the shoots becomes necessary. In every 

 part of the tree a proper supply of last year's 

 shoots, both lateral and terminal, should be 

 encouraged, these being the principal 

 bearers to produce next year's fruit. All 

 irregular and superabundant shoots should 

 be cut out, and with them all of the former 

 year's bearers, which are either too close to 

 each other or which are too long for their 

 respective places. Where it is not desir- 

 able to cut out the branch entirely, prune 

 it back to some eligible lateral shoot, to 

 form a terminal or leading branch. Cut 



