36 MARKET NURSERY WORK 



to admit of wide outside borders such as are to be seen in private 

 establishments. Neither, under the commercial system, is a 

 wide border needed. The private grower makes provision 

 for a run of forty or even fifty years as against the market 

 grower's fifteen or twenty years, a difference which enables the 

 latter to plant his vines more closely together, and by restricting 

 each to a single rod makes it possible for him to adopt intensive 

 methods and take heavier crops. 



The border should not be less than 6 feet wide on either side 

 of a centre path ; or, what is better still, the path might be dis- 

 pensed with and the whole floor of the house be made into a 

 continuous border with open wood- work footways to walk on. 

 Take away the soil to a depth of 2| feet or thereabout, filling in 

 6 inches of broken brickbats as drainage. We take it for granted 

 that the subsoil has a fair natural drainage, otherwise it would 

 be necessary to create it. Cover these brickbats with flags of 

 good meadow turf cut 2 inches thick, and on this a layer of 

 coarse crushed bones. This leaves practically 2 feet to be filled 

 up with a prepared compost, which must be made of absolutely 

 fresh material of highest quality. Computed on a basis of ten 

 parts, the proportions may be as follows : fibrous pasture loam, 

 6 parts ; well-matured cow manure, 2 parts ; old leaf mould, 

 I part ; burnt garden refuse, J part ; and the other J part 

 compounded of bone meal, mortar rubble, crushed bone, and 

 charcoal. These several ingredients should be thrown in a 

 heap together, broken up, but not finely, turned over three 

 times so that the various elements may be thoroughly incor- 

 porated before filling in the bed, and then evenly distributed 

 until the border is made up. It will need firming 

 down by moderate treading, but must not be rendered too 

 solid let that come by the gradual settling-down process. 



The wise grower will give minute attention to this necessary 

 preparatory work, for he knows it is the foundation upon which 

 the future of his vines, and consequently his own, must largely 

 depend. The health, longevity, and productivity of the vines 

 are at stake, to say nothing of the quality of the fruit produced, 

 and any necessary provision neglected now cannot satisfactorily 

 be dealt with at any later stage. 



