THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 39 



dung, certainlj robs it of the mucilage and saline particles 

 with which it greatly abounds, when newly made ; and espe- 

 cially such dung as has lain a considerable time in the stable, 

 and imbibed a large portion of the urine of the horses. The 

 saline particles are increased by the fermentation, therefore 

 the first extract obtained from the dung, after it has under- 

 gone its fermentation, may be justly considered as the essence 

 of the manure. 



" Although soils of different qualities admit of improvement 

 by various modes of practice, yet, without the aid of manure, 

 the farmer would find his utmost exertions of but little value. 

 And though some have endeavored to prove that the earth, 

 when duly pulverized by the action of the plough, does not 

 require manure, (Mr, Tull, in his New Husbandry, tells us 

 that, where the ground is properly managed, manure is an 

 useless article : but his opinion is now generally and justly 

 exploded ;) yet experience tells us that it is the very life and 

 soul of husbandry ; and, when judiciously applied on almost 

 every kind of soil, its effects will seldom disappoint the ex- 

 pectation of the farmer." 



By an experienced grape grower. — This person says the 

 border " should be from thirty to forty feet in width, and 

 should be formed of loamy soil, sharp sand, and at least a 

 fourth part of well rotted horse dung." — S. A. 31., Loudon's 

 Magazine, vol. 10th, p. 2G6. 



By A. Forsyth. — " At the back wall of the grapery, the 

 soil is prepared to the depth of six feet ; and at the further 

 extremity of the border, (sixteen feet wide,) there are three 

 and a half feet of soil composed of equal parts of the follow- 

 ing soils : turfy loam, (the top spit of a very old undisturbed 

 piece of pasture, occupied as a rick yard,) two parts ; rotten 

 dung, one part ; lime rubbish, one part ; gritty mud, (the 

 same as road drift,) one part." — Loudon's Magazine, vol. 

 10th, p. 547. 



By Jasper Wallace, gardener to William Forsyth, Esq., of 

 Gayton. — " The situation for the border, if not naturally dry. 



