45 



subject, in his excellent work on " The Vine under 

 Glass." 



The width of the borders outside the house ou«;ht 

 to be 24 feet, cleared out to the depth of three feet 

 six inches, upon a bottom of retentive clay, well pre- 

 pared, with one foot of fall from back to front. A 

 main drain ought to run along the extremity of the 

 border, one foot six inches deep, with cross-drains in 

 an oblique direction, leading into it, so as to have 

 perfect command in draining off superfluous water, in 

 order to keep them dry. Place upon the bottom thus 

 formed, broken stones and lime rubbish to the depth 

 of one foot, leaving a depth for compost of two feet 

 six inches. Upon the broken stones, every six or 

 eight feet square, place limestones, of the same nature 

 as the far-famed Skipton rock, which contributes to 

 retain moisture in a dry season, and facilitates the 

 drainage in a wet one. In autumn, when all is 

 ready and the weather favourable, proceed at one end 

 of your border, wheeling in and mixing the materials 

 in proportion as they stand to each other, on no 

 account breaking the materials in mixing, but turn 

 them in as rough as possible, adding one good-sized 

 horse or cow carcase to every ten or twelve square 

 yards ; using caution, and not bringing to the surface 

 of the border within one foot, as its assistance is 

 not wanted the first year. (Roberts's Vine under 

 Glass, 6.) 



