378 Description of the Graperies 



cultivation of the grape, without heat, in our sunny dimate. 

 The curve of the roof is much less than that generally adopt- 

 ed in England, which was nearly the quarter of a circle ; 

 but this has been found advisable in order to construct the 

 rafters or ribs of one piece of timber, thus saving much ex- 

 pense. The double or span roof is also an improvement when 

 the object is grape cultivation, as the quantity of light ad- 

 mitted on the north side is ample for the growth and matu- 

 rity of the fruit, equally as well as when only one side is ex- 

 posed, with a back wall. 



The great benefit of the curvilinear plan is the cheapness of 

 construction, though there are other advantages which might be 

 named. - A grapery of moderate extent, sufficient to supply 

 any family with an abundance of the choicest grapes, may be 

 erected for about half the cost of a house constructed in the 

 ordinary way with movable sashes. This is the main object, 

 where, in a climate like ours, the foreign grape cannot be cul- 

 tivated in the open air with any hope of success, except in the 

 enclosed gardens of cities ; and if gentlemen can be assured 

 that this delicious fruit can be so cheaply and easily produced, 

 they will be induced to commence its cultivation at once. Mr. 

 Gray deserves much praise for the zeal which has urged him 

 through with experiments which have produced such good 

 results, for we can point tc^at least a dozen graperies, mod- 

 elled after his structures, which have all been erected within 

 a year or two, and some of which we hope hereafter to give 

 a good account of. 



Having thus stated the advantages of the curvilinear prin- 

 ciple of building, we shall proceed to an illustration of the de- 

 tails of construction, with a view to render them so plain that 

 any person, with the aid of a carpenter, may erect a house which 

 shall answer all the purposes of cultivating the grape to per- 

 fection. Having done this, we shall conclude with Mr. Rus- 

 sel's elaborate article, giving the entire routine of cultivation 

 of the grape without fire heat from the formation of the border 

 during a period of five years, up to the present date, when the 

 vines are maturing nearly as good a crop as they will here- 

 after do. 



There are two graperies of the same size, one erected in 

 1840 and the other in 1845. 



