112 THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



should be mixed together a few weeks before using, and in 

 these proportions : sods, three parts ; leaf mould, two parts ; 

 cow-dung, two parts ; rubbish and charcoal, one part. There 

 should be one or two inches of broken pots, stones, or shells, 

 at the bottom, for drainage. A vine in a twelve-inch pot may 

 mature from five to ten bunches. I prefer a wooden box, or 

 the half of a large keg, as the soil is less Hable to dry and 

 form into a lump ; when this is the case, the water is very apt 

 to run away by the sides of the pot, between these and the 

 soil, leaving the middle of the soil perfectly dry. In the au- 

 tumn, after a vine has fruited, it should be taken out of the 

 pot and the soil shaken from the roots ; with a sharp knife, 

 prune back the longest of these, and repot in fresh compost. 

 During the winter, they must be kept from the frost, and the 

 only care necessary will be to see that the soil has just enough 

 moisture to prevent the roots from drying up. The next 

 summer they must not be fruited, but proper care must be 

 bestowed upon them that they may produce good bearing 

 wood for the year after. 



Vines grown by single eyes, or such as would be used for 

 the border, are suitable for planting in pots. You may force 

 these vines to advantage as early as November, if you have a 

 proper temperature. 



Liquid manure may be given when the grapes commence 

 swelling off. This may be made as detailed in the experi- 

 ments on the roots of the vine in bottles, and any of those 

 may be selected for use, as is most convenient, or as may be 

 thought best. If guano is used, four pounds to thirty-three 

 gallons of water is quite strong enough. A writer in the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle says, four pounds to twelve gallons ; 

 another, one pound to one gallon. 



You may train and prune the vines by any of the plans 

 given for the house. 



