1 1 8 Grccn-house Grapes under Horizontal Glass Screens. 



It must, however, be noticed, that, during a considerable number of 

 years, little change has taken place in the average time of the ripening of 

 grapes, and that we are not sustained by any recent experience when we 

 complain that they ripen later than formerly. We may have become 

 more exacting; and, having brought fruit-trees to such perfection, find 

 ourselves unable to be satisfied with the ordinary- sour grapes of vines 

 cultivated out of doors. It is with the vine as with ever}' thing else : we 

 always imagine that what we used to have was better; and so we very often 

 erroneously invoke " those good old times," which have, however, remained 

 the same, while we ourselves have changed. 



Certainly, after the satisfactory results of our first attempts at cultivation 

 under glass, by which superb, well-ripened grapes of the magnificent late 

 varieties have been obtained, grapes produced in the ordinary way must 

 seem more insignificant and sour than ever. 



Indeed, we cannot help becoming thoroughly disgusted with the system 

 of cultivating green-house grapes in the open air, since they are far from 

 paying for either the pains or the valuable space we are obliged to devote 

 to them. In short, as we said at the beginning of these remarks, the 

 necessity of a glass shelter for tender grape-vines has long been felt. Thus, 

 ornamental hot-houses lined with grape-vines — hot-houses reserved es- 

 pecially for this purpose — are now frequently met with here. What still 

 remains to be accomplished is to reduce this method to its most simple 

 foiTn, an inexpensive grapery, so as to render this culture ever}-Avhere easy, 

 pleasant, and lucrative. The mode of culture I am about to describe does 



this fully. The little hot-house or forcing-frame, a design of which we give 

 above, is composed of little sashes, adjusted by means of screws, and 



