THE CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 231 



putrid effluvia not less dangerous to man and plants than it is 

 offensive and disgusting. These early products of animal de- 

 cay, be they what they may, are g'ven off in such abundance 

 for a certain time, varying with temperature and other cir- 

 cumstances, that they cannot be too cautiously guarded 

 against ; and therefore carrion, in the sense in which we 

 understand the word, is wholly unfit for gardening purposes. 

 But, by degrees, the horrible emanations from putrid flesh 

 are decomposed, or absorbed by the surrounding soil, or are 

 lost in the open air, and then their dangerous quality disap- 

 pears. In fact, decayed carrion, that is to say, carrion which 

 has lost its offensiveness, is not carrion at all ; it consists of 

 little more than bones, saline matter, and the black earth 

 which is called humus, — a very valuable substance, partly on 

 account of its own action, and partly on account of the gase- 

 ous matters which it detains among its pores, and parts with 

 gradually and beneficially. It is old crumbling manure. It 

 is not to this that we, or any one, would object. Quite the 

 contrary ; and we readily admit that, after a time, the dead 

 horses in the vine borders at Eshton, ceasing to be danger- 

 ous, will become a potent and harmless manure. But the 

 mischief is done before that time ; the first stage in the 

 growth of the vines has been injurious, and we doubt whether 

 any amount of care will quite repair the damage. At all 

 events, admitting that it may be repaired, we are still forced 

 to arrive at the conclusion that the use of so offensive a 

 material as carrion does no good, and therefore ought to be 

 abandoned." — G-ardeners' Chro7iicle, 1848, p. 83. 



By J. W. Roberts, Crardener, Wakefield, YorhsMre. — 

 " Three years ago, I gardened not two miles from Wakefield, 

 where I had two vineries, which had produced little for years. 

 The vines in them were nearly sixty years old. By permis- 

 sion of my employer, I remade the borders. In the first 

 place, I took the vines carefully up, and the border being in 

 a very bad state, I drained it well, refilling it with compost, 

 consisting of a portion of carrion, leaf mould, turf from a 



