56 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



joined to each other by wide plank-gutters sufficiently 

 strong to bear a heavy weight of snow, and also to form 

 a passage by which it may be thrown out. From houses 

 sixty feet in length, the difficulty of removing snow does 

 not prove to be serious; at least not on the seacoast, 

 where the fall is less than in the interior. The advan- 

 tages of this system are manifold and manifest, such as 

 diminished cost of construction ; diminished exposure of 

 sides to the cold, the low stature of the houses making 

 them better for the plants, and less difficult to heat ; also 

 compactness, and economy of space, thereby saving thou- 

 sands of unnecessary steps in moving plants and work- 

 ing the houses. For the strict purpose of grape-culture, it 

 is the opinion of some that such houses are desirable as 

 reception-houses for the young plants when rooted, and 

 ready to be potted off, or planted in borders under glass. 

 These houses may be constructed of movable sashes, 

 which can be used to advantage later in the season, in 

 the vineyard, as we shall see hereafter. With this, or a 

 similar end in ^view, i.e. a double use of the sashes, I 

 would recommend, as a general rule, a uniform size of 

 sashes, three feet wide and six feet long. This will 

 give inside borders, or tables, four feet wide on each side 

 of the walk; a width not difficult to manage. Fig. 10 



