No. 9. Premiums of Agricultural Society. — Dairy Husbandry. 285 



be accurately marked out; after which, the 

 first course of bricks is to be laid Hatwise, so 

 t!iat their inner ends may point to the centre 

 of the circle, and their outer ones form the 

 periphery of it. Half bricks will be suffi- 

 ciently strong, provided tiiat at four equally 

 distant parts of the circle, in every course, 

 a whole brick be laid, which will streno-then 

 the work and make it firm. Half bricks, 

 while the cost of them is much less, will not 

 require so mucli cutting as whole ones, and 

 they will also leave a greater space inside 

 of the column for the reception of the mate- 

 rials. The first circular course being laid, 

 the interior is to remain as it is, hollow. 



3rd. Now mark the exact spot in this course 

 where the shoot of the vine is to go through 

 the brickwork, and this should be opposite 

 the centre of one of the sides of the base, that 

 faces either the south or east or any inter 

 mediate point. This spot being marked, the 

 second course of bricks is to be laid as before, 

 observing that, as the shoot of the vine is to 

 go through here, a semicircular hole is to be 

 made in the upper surface of the brickwork, 

 of an inch and a half in diameter, to form a 

 passage for the shoot. The second course 

 being laid, a sufficient quantity of materials 

 to fill the column, of the description already 

 mentioned,* having been previously provided 

 and properly prepared, the hollow space is 

 now to be filled with them as high as the 



* The best description of materials for the intended 

 purpose can be easily procured, at any time, and al" 

 most in any place. These are, broken bricks, lumps of 

 mortar, charcoal, and bones. The three first should be 

 reduced to the size of a lien's egg, or thereabouts. 

 Larger or smaller fragments will do, but when they 

 are about this size they are better calculated to retain 

 the requisite degree of moisture, in connection with 

 the greatest possible extent of surface. The bricks 

 should not be too hard burnt, because their porosity is 

 thereby lessened. Old mortar should be preferred to 

 new, when it can be procured. The bones may either 

 be broken into fragments, or deposited whole, and the 

 fresher they are the better. Any description of bones 

 will do, provided they are those of animals arrived at 

 maturity, and are, therefore, of a solid and lasting na 

 ture. Such as have marrow in them should be broken 

 asunder, that the interior surface may be available to 

 the roots of the vines ; and the lighter and more porous 

 the charcoal is, the better will it answer tlie intended 

 purpose. The v. hole of these materials should be used 

 in equal proportion, measure for measure, and should 

 be well mixed together. But before this is done, the 

 bricks, mortar, and charcoal should be well soaked in 

 urine, and then used immediately. And as these sub- 

 stances convey to the roots of vines an extraordinary 

 supply of nutriment, in a highly concentrated form, a 

 small quantity in bulk, in proportion to that of com- 

 mon soil, will be amply sufficient to support a single 

 vine for a loug series of years. 



surface of the brickwork. They must be put 

 in by the hand, and placed closely and com- 

 pactly t()getl)er. 



4th. Now plant the vine, observing the di- 

 rections respecting the roots given in p. 175, 

 which are to be strictly followed. The vine 

 should be a strong plant three years old. It 

 is to be laid on its side, with its roots inside 

 of the column, and its shoot passing through 

 the semicircular hole to the outside of it. 

 That part of the shoot that lies in the hole is 

 to have all its buds cut out, leaving as much 

 of the shoot outside of the column as contains 

 three good buds. 



5th. The vine being thus planted, the 

 third course of bricks may be laid, taking care 

 that a brick with a semicircular hole, exactly 

 the same size of the other, is laid over the 

 brick on which the shoot of the vine is rest- 

 ing, and which will then be lying in a circU' 

 lar hole, an inch and a half in diameter. 

 The third course being laid, the internal va- 

 cancy must be again filled up with more 

 materials, taking particular care to place 

 them close round the inner end of the hole 

 containing the shoot of the vine, so as to pre- 

 vent the entrance of mice or any other un- 

 welcome intruders. The hole on the out- 

 side, also, should be filled with moss, which 

 will give it a more sightly appearance than 

 if lefl open, and likewise protect the roots 

 during their first growth. 



6th. The remaining courses of brickwork 

 may now be laid in succession, and the mate- 

 rials filled in as the work proceeds?. When 

 the column is built up within three courses 

 of its intended height, and the materials 

 filled in e.xactly even with the brickwork, a 

 course of whole bricks must be laid over the 

 entire surface, taking care that those which 

 rest on the materials are not to be laid on 

 mortar, but merely jointed with it. This 

 course being finished, the last two are to be 

 formed wjth whole bricks laid flush with the 

 outside, and with their inner ends slightly 

 sloping towards the centre of the column, 

 which will cause all the rain that falls on 

 them to run towards it, and fiill into the 

 sunken hollow space that will be there 

 formed by this circular ring of brickwork. 

 The circular space, which will be about 

 18 inches in diameter, and 6 inches deep, 

 is intended as a receptacle for all the rain 

 that falls on the surface of the top of the co- 

 "umn, which will filter through the single 

 thickness of the bricks, forming the bottom 

 of the hollow space, and thence be distributed 

 by ab.=orption throughout the whole massuaf 

 the enclosed materials, thereby supplying 

 that moderate degree of moisture to the 

 roots of the vine, which contributes so ad- 

 vantageously to its nourishment and support. 



