2 A TREATISE ON THE 



to secure a proper declivity to carry off all superfluous wet, 

 a very considerable excavation must necessarily be made, or 

 the border can never be properly drained. 



Having said thus much relative to the situation, I now pro- 

 ceed to the erection of the grape-house ; and as every grape- 

 grower is fully aware of the difficulty in protecting the stems 

 of vines, planted in outside borders, from the frost during the 

 progress of early forcing (and even at a later period of the 

 spring they often receive injury from the same cause), I have 

 presented a plan for a vinery, which I feel assured will not 

 only remedy that evil, but will also possess other advantages, 

 which will be better explained as I proceed. 



The house should be placed on arches, with a double wall 

 upon them, extending along the front of the building (as shown 

 in the Plate), and a space or cavity of five inches to be allowed 

 between the walls, with a plating along the top of each, and a 

 groove to receive the upright lights, thus making them to slide, 

 instead of opening with hinges. It may be argued, that this 

 plan of erection would not only be more expensive, but that the 

 double walls would present a heavy, unsightly appearance. In 

 reply to this, I hope to prove that the great convenience and 

 utility secured thereby will more than counterbalance any 

 little disadvantages, more particularly as, I think, the heavy 

 appearance would be much less increased by the plan than 

 may on first view of the subject be imagined ; as, for instance, 

 a single wall would of necessity require to be nine inches thick, 

 whereas in this case each one would be four inches, thus the 

 increase of width would only be the five inches of space left 

 between the two walls, and any deficiency of strength could 

 be amply supplied by wood or brick ties. It may, perhaps, 

 be unnecessary to say more, as all other particulars are fully 

 pointed out in the building plan. I will, therefore, proceed 

 with my next subject, viz., the border. This should be at least 

 sixteen feet in width, three-and-a-half in depth, including 

 drainage, &c. And, first, the higher side of it which abuts the 



