THE VINEIIT.J 



PKArriCE OF IIOKTlcn/rURR 



[the VlNEllT. 



M'l'ti'd with the maiiit(Minnco of vegetable 

 lifulth. It ia a beaut ilul compensation for 

 tlieir want of locomoLion ; aa planta cannot 

 move to tlio atnioaphere, the atmosphere ia 

 fVtT nioviii},' towarJa them. It ia therefore 

 certain, without imiuiring into the exact 

 philosophy of the matter, that free aceesa of 

 abundant air must bo secured if the hi-allh of 

 phuita in ghiss-houses ia to equal that in the 

 opi'U air." To remedy the defecta felt to 

 exist iu the former modea of ventilation, wliat 

 is termed aeration, or subterranean ventilation, 

 liua now been adopted. The mode in which 

 tiiis is efifected is by introducing supplies ot 

 fresh air tiirough tubea or drains, placed at a 

 distance of several feet uuder the surface of 

 the borders, and having one end opening into 

 the open air, while tlie other opens through 

 various parts of the floor or border, and often, 

 very properly, under the hot-water pipes. By 

 this means fresh air is admitted, at almost the 

 same temperature as that of the air close to 

 the front of the house, and also charged with 

 the moisture which it receives iu passing 

 through the damp pipes or drains. As plants, 

 like animals, cannot long exist without their 

 necessary supply of air, whether by night or 

 by day, when it is admitted iu this manner, it 

 may often be allowed to act beneficially during 

 the hours of natural darkness, as well as those 

 of natural light. 



THE VINERY. 



The vinery admits of almost every variety 

 of structural form ; for, of all the fruit trees 

 cultivated under glass, the vine is the one 

 which entails the least trouble upon its 

 growers. If the design be to bring the crop 

 to maturity chiefly by the natural heat of the 

 sun, or by this alone, then the vinery may 

 have any form, provided the trees are trained 

 near the glass. If the crop is designed to 

 ripen in July, it is recommended by Knight 

 that the roof be at an angle of 35°; but both 

 Miller and "Wilkinson recommend an angle of 

 45°, which is the slope most generally adopted 

 for both grapes and peaches. The angle of 

 inclination in glass-work is not, however, of 

 the very highest importance. Abercrombie 

 says that the diagonal side of a glass case, de- 

 signed for a short periodical course of forcing, 

 beginning on the 21st of December, may be 

 G H 



55°; 22nd of January, 50" ; 2lBt o( February, 

 4(3°; 21»t of Mnrch, Vi". If the front and 

 back wall of a vinery iiavo ehuttera for venti- 

 lation, ita roof may bo fixed. The comraon 

 trellia ia a.s good as any for training vines. 



In reference to the pruning and training of 

 the vine, every h()rticultMri.>'t of eminence 

 entertains an opinion of hia own. It would, 

 therefore, bo tlie next thing to an impossibility 

 for ua to reca[)itulato even the half of what 

 haa been written upon this subject. MePhail, 

 however, saya, that " to liavo good crops of 

 grapes, much more depends on the soil they 

 are planted in, and the climate in which they 

 are kept, than on any methoda of pruning 

 and training that have been, or ever can bo 

 adopted." Mr. Loudon coincides with this 

 remark ; but, according to a high authority, 

 the great object ia "the reproduction of bear- 

 ing ; that is, annual wood over every portion 

 of tiie house. When this ia accomplished, 

 the next matter to be determined ia the 

 number of eyes or buds to be left on each 

 shoot ; that is, whether we shall adopt the 

 sJiort or the lojig system of pruning. Tbe 

 former is most allied to the practice of foreign 

 vineyards, and has been most successfully em- 

 ployed in this country. According to this 

 system all the lateral shoots are cut down to 

 single eyes. The other it is unnecessary to 

 describe." In estimating the merits of the 

 diflerent modes, however, Mr. Lindley says — 

 "As the ultimate object of every metliod of 

 pruning and trainiiig must be supposed to be 

 the obtaining a large crop of good fruit, it is 

 material to consider how and by what means 

 this is to be ellected ; and whether it ia de- 

 sirable to grow a large number of bunches or 

 a number of large bunches ; the weight of the 

 whole of each being the same. 1 have myself 

 ever been an advocate for large fruit, or the 

 largest size to which any particular fruit 

 usually attains ; being fully satisfied that the 

 value of fruit is more to be estimated by its 

 individual bulk or weight, than by the number 

 of individuals composing that weight. I mav 

 illustrate this by taking, for exainjde, any 

 variety of either the grape or of any other 

 fruit. For example, let the Muscat of Alex- 

 andria, the Black Uamburgh, or, indeed, any 

 other sort, be selected, and compare fifty 

 single berries, of the largest size, with a bun- 



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