CULTURE OF THE FOREIGN GRAPE. 55 



desirable than the afternoon, a southeastern aspect would be pref- 

 erable. The cost of a house will be considerably less if placed 

 upon the south side of some building which may form the back 

 wall of the vinery. In the front wall there should be a row of 

 glass, in sashes from one to two feet in width, depending upon the 

 size of the house, hung upon hinges to give circulation of air when 

 the fruit begins to color. The roof should incline at an angle of 

 forty-five degrees and should be of fixed glass, except a row of 

 sashes at the top, the width to be in the proportion of one foot to 

 every six feet of fixed glass. 



Having secured the necessary protection for the top of the vine, 

 in order to get the best results it will be necessary to prepare the 

 border so as not only to furnish all the nutriment the roots can 

 receive, but so that the soil and temperature shall be congenial and 

 excite the healthy and vigorous action of the roots. The width of 

 the border should equal the height of the front wall together with 

 the length of the rafter inside the house, which will allow the same 

 space to the roots that the tops are intended to occupy. The whole 

 border need not be prepared when the vines are put out, as eight 

 feet will be sufficient for the first two years, when more can be added 

 as required. The whole should be thoroughly drained so that there 

 will be no stagnant water either on the surface or in the soil. The 

 border should be two feet deep above the drainage and should be 

 composed of two-thirds partially decayed pasture turf and one- 

 third stable manure, with which may be mixed, as a more lasting 

 manure, broken bones and the hoof parings and filings from the 

 blacksmith's shop. Unless artificial heat is to be used to force the 

 vines the border should be entirely outside the front wall of the 

 house, and the vines taken through directly under the sill. 



With a house and border thus arranged, a full average quantity of 

 Hamburg grapes, of superior quality, can be grown every year with 

 almost unfailing certainty, without using water either inside or out- 

 side of the house. The use of water inside the vinery under careful 

 direction in bright, sunny days, causing a warm, humid atmosphere, 

 will produce more vigorous action and larger bunches of fruit ; but 

 in proportion as the size of the bunches is increased, is the fruit 

 less evenly distributed over the vine, and, although by the use of 

 water it may be stimulated as long as the fruit continues to grow, 

 when it begins to take on color the water must be withheld, and 

 the lower ventilators opened, giving a free circulation of air. The 



