THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 207 



dead carcasses appear to be a great bugbear in our friend's 

 path, and one would suppose, by the dread in which he stands 

 of them, that the bunches of fruit, instead of having their 

 usual bloom, would be ornamented with hogs' bristles, horses' 

 hair, dogs' teeth, and other curiosities. How long does he 

 suppose this carcass retains anj appearance of what it was 

 when placed in the border ? In Massachusetts, and south of 

 this, if placed there during any time but the winter months, 

 in sixty days every vestige of the body will have disappeared, 

 excepting the bones, horns, hoofs, and hair, and will have 

 become incorporated with the soil and enriched it to a great 

 degree. The bones, being at the bottom, will remain accord- 

 ing to their size and age, from one to fifty years, continually 

 and very slowly decomposing. Mr. Hovey wishes to keep 

 the roots at the surface, and this he will do by the top-dress- 

 ing. 



In the directions for the winter treatment of the vine, it 

 Avas recommended to cover the border with coarse manure 

 and leaves, so that all the advantage the vine would derive 

 from this application would be reaped by following my plan ; 

 and, when fire-heat was used in the spring, it is urged, as 

 proper, to add to the litter, etc., already on, enough of new 

 manure to cover the border twelve or eighteen inches thick, 

 which would ferment and heat, and certainly encourage the 

 roots to keep to the surface. But does any one suppose that 

 all the roots of the vine, — a plant that will live for centu- 

 ries, — are to be kept within such a hmit ? This bugbear of 

 the carcasses, (I am not so particular about the flesh being 

 on them, it is the bones and hoofs I depend upon chiefly,) 

 which trouble Mr. Hovey so much, and which are to draw the 

 roots of the vine down to them, (it is admitted then that 

 there is such nourishment,) I place there, at the bottom of 

 the border, the lower part of them three feet and the upper 

 part, perhaps, not more than two under the surface, to give 

 durability to the border, presuming that the vine will not 

 reach them before the second, third, or fourth year, and 



