Hempen Lines for supporting twining Plants. 211 



rod. A ladder of this kind is in use in Melbury Gardens, 

 Dorsetshire, for pruning the vines, and thinning the grapes, on 

 a roof trelHs, over a stage of greenhouse plants. 



Art V. Description of a Mode of arranging Hempen Lines for 

 supporting Scarlet Rwitiers, Convolvuluses, or other twining Plants. 



By C. MOBERLEY. 



Take ^-inch thick and 2-inch wide rods or laths, join them 

 at top as in fg. 31. a, so as to leave the ends a few inches 

 beyond the junction ; stick the lovver ends into the ground, just 

 within the lines of the plants. Connect these triangles by simi- 

 lar rods at the bottom, as at b, about 3 inches above the soil. 

 Take a cord, fix it firmly to the lower bar ; carry it over the 

 upper bar, which is placed in the cross formed by the long ends 

 left, as shown in the figure. Make a loop a yard long, carry 

 the cord again over the plank (that is, round it), and fix the 

 other end to the lower rod on the other side. In like manner go 

 on through the whole length, taking care to make the loops all 



Fig. 31. Prop for climbing Plants. 



Fig. 3-2. 



Section of the Prop for 

 climbing Plants. 



of the same length. Through these loops suspend a long rod 

 or bar, the section of which is shown in^o-. 32. ; hang to this 

 bar bags of sand, one of which is shown in fig. 3 1., as many as 

 may be wanted. Train the plants up the strings, and when they 

 are well grown the whole will be covered, and when in flower 

 the appearance will be very ornamental. By this method, the 

 cords being fixed to the lower bars will not pull the plants out 

 of the earth, the tension and contraction of the cords being 

 counteracted by the bar suspended in the loops, which is raised 

 or lowered by every change of atmospheric moisture ; so much 

 so indeed, that, in any garden in the neighbourhood of St. 

 Petersburg, it serves as a hygrometer. 

 Petersburg, August, 1840. 



p 3 



