ON SOILS. 47 



soil. Vines may be seen in all parts of the country, 

 the fruit on which looks well during the early part of 

 the season, but when the ripening period arrives, the 

 berries remain green and hard, or otherwise shrivel 

 and decay. The results are sure to be produced 

 when the roots grow in a soil that is too wet and ad- 

 hesive, and into which the sun and air cannot freely 

 penetrate. 



All borders, therefore, made expressly for the recep- 

 tion of vines, ought to be composed of a sufficient 

 quantity of dry materials, such as stones ; brickbats, 

 broken moderately small ; lumps of old mortar ; broken 

 pottery ; oyster shells, <fyc. <$fc., to enable the roots to 

 extend themselves freely in their search after food and 

 nourishment ; to keep them dry and warm by the free 

 admission of air and solar heat ; and to admit of heavy 

 rains passing quickly through, without being retained 

 sufficiently long to saturate the roots, and thereby in- 

 jure their tender extremities. 



In preparing the border, then, the first thing is to 

 secure a dry bottom. If the soil and subsoil be natu- 

 rally such as is described above, as the most congenial 

 to the growth of the vine, nothing more is required 

 than to trench the ground two spit deep, to clean it 

 well from all weeds and roots, and to make it as fine 

 as possible, and it will then be in a proper state to re- 

 ceive the vines. 



But if the sub-soil be not naturally dry, it must be 

 made so by the usual process of draining, which is the 

 basis of every improvement that can be made in the 

 soil. The bottom of the drains ought, if possible, to be 

 four feet from the surface, and the drains a foot deep ; 

 the clear depth of the border will then be three feet. 

 If the soil of this is heavy, and of a retentive nature, 

 two-thirds of it ought to be taken entirely away, and 

 the remaining portion, which should be the top spit, 



