162 PLANTING AND MANAGING 



together with well-tempered mortar, taking care that 

 the johits be struck neatly, and in a workmanlike 

 manner. The bricks are, of course, to be laid length- 

 wise, with their sides parallel to the back of the 

 house, and their ends will then rest on the cross- 

 walls, for which purpose they are expressly built. 



Now it must be particularly observed that that row 

 or course of bricks that runs from the front of the 

 house to the back, which is the centre row of each 

 compartment, and under which course a vine is to 

 have its roots planted, is not, when put down, to be 

 cemented with mortar or anything else, but laid edge 

 to edge, and fitted in closely, without any joints being 

 made, other than those which the bricks themselves 

 make, so that they can easily be taken up, and laid 

 down again, at any time when it may be thought 

 necessary, for the purpose of increasing the moisture 

 of the bed of materials, by adding water or liquid 

 manure. The whole llocr might, indeed, be laid in 

 this manner, without any of the joints of the bricks 

 being cemented, but this plan would be very injurious 

 to the roots, for the following reason : — soon after 

 the roots begin to traverse the bed of materials, a 

 great number of them will ramble upwards until they 

 reach the under surface of the brick flooring, being 

 attracted thereto by the warmth of the atmosphere of 

 the house, and also by solar influence. When the 

 roots once get there, they will quickly- multiply by 

 thousands, and feed on the under surface of the bricks 

 of the floor, because it will be warmer and moister 

 than any other part of their bed. The increased 

 moisture of the flooring bricks will be caused by 

 those copious sprinklings on the floor of the house, 

 which are so advantageously given to vines under 

 glass, from the time of the setting of the fruit, imtil 

 the berries are about to swell ofl', and which, by 

 creating a moist atmosphere at night, enable the 

 fruit and foliage to absorb that additional nourish- 

 ment, which they stand so much in need of at this 

 particular period of their growth. A considerable 



