in the Greenhouse or Conservatory. 295 



trouble — we were more solicitous about the welfare of the 

 plants — but merely for the above object. Consequently, the 

 border was made only fourteen feet wide, and two and a half 

 deep, and as the conservatory was set well up with a view to 

 have a fine gravelled terrace, the border was eighteen inches 

 above the level of the lawn. The border was formed by 

 carting in sods and good loam from an old pasture, and mixing 

 wiih them about one quarter of well decomposed manure from 

 the stable yard, and from old hotbeds. This was done in 

 July and August at leisure time. In the fall, the whole was 

 trenched over in a rough manner, and about thirty bushels of 

 ground bones added. In this way the soil lay till the next 

 spring, when it was again trenched over and ready for plant- 

 ing. We are not thus particular in order to show how a bor- 

 der should be made, but merely that it may be seen that a 

 Jine crop of grapes can be obtained without all the quackery 

 so often recommended in their formation, such as a bed of 

 oyster shells or boiled bones, dead horses, cattle, and dogs, 

 slaughter-house manure, blood, soot, &c. All that is neces- 

 sary, in our opinion, to produce the very best grapes, is a 

 good, rich, loamy soil, well top-dressed, every year, with old 

 stable manure and guano, in order to bring the roots to the 

 surface, rather than that they should go to the bottom after the 

 dead carcases. 



PLANTING THE VINES. 



Owing to the delay in trenching the border, it had not be- 

 come sufficiently settled to plant the vines before July. They 

 were young plants one year old, and had been prepared by 

 heading them down early in the spring, and training up 

 one shoot which had now attained the height of six or eight 

 feet. Holes were opened about four inches deep, and two feet 

 broad, and the roots, after the tops had been drawn very care- 

 fully through the holes in the sill, so as not to injure the 

 leaves, well spread out, shaking the ball completely free from 

 soil. A good watering was then given to settle the earth, 

 and the shoots tied up. If the work is well done, though 

 as late as July, the vines will not receive the l.^ast injury. 

 We do not advise late planting when it can be done earlier in 

 the season, but even August is much belter than to lose a 



