67 



while planting the cuttings. The whole of the catting is pushed into 

 the soil, so that the upper bud or end (the cutting being closely cut 

 above a bud) is level with the surface. 



The bed is afterwards covered over with a layer an inch in depth, 

 consisting of a light friable soil ; pure sand may be used if nothing 

 better can be procured ; a mixture made of ou'e part of sand and one- 

 half rotten tan bark is preferable to the pure sand ; swamp muck, dried 

 and pulverized, so that the finer portions of it can be secured by sifting, 

 forms the very best material for this purpose. In the garden of the 

 Department the sweepings of the streets are sifted and used with good 

 results. 



When the buds of the cuttings commence to swell an additional half 

 inch or more of the covering is evenly distributed over the surface. The 

 young shoots push vigorously through the surface dressing, and it 

 serves as a mulch to retain moisture during summer. Although the 

 cuttings are rather closely set, owing to the limited area of the grounds, 

 yet the largest portion of the plants are sufficiently strong for perma- 

 nent planting when 1 year old. 



FOREIGN GRAPES IN GLASS STRUCTURES. 



The simplicity and certainty with which the foreign grape can be 

 produced in glazed houses is not generally known. Many amateurs, 

 whose success with other fruits is quite satisfactory, feel doubtful of 

 their ability to manage the exotic grapery. 



To those whose only acquaintance with the subject is derived' from 

 perusing publications on the growth of the fruit the supposition of in- 

 ability is pardonable, for there is certainly much to appal the beginner 

 in perusing the various ideas of soil and border making, the conflicting 

 opinions relative to watering, and the multitudinous, fussy details of 

 management which he will find in print. 



So much has been written of late years on this subject that it would 

 not now be referred to were it not with a hope that information might 

 be imparted that would tend to dispel the i'lea of difficulty or mystery 

 in connection with the culture of this, without exception, most economi- 

 cal of fruit productions. It is well known that in favorable locations 

 the Ohasselas, Black Hamburg, and many other of the varieties of the 

 foreign grape will occasionally produce perfectly ripened fruit with no 

 further care than that usually given to the Isabellas, or any other 

 native variety. But although the result may occasionally be reached, 

 it is well known that all attempts to cultivate the foreign grape in the 

 open air east of the Rocky Mountains have sooner or later proved abor- 

 tive. 



That these failures are attributable either to a deficiency of sunlight 

 or to a deficiency of summer heat are questions easily answered j for 







