Grapes 



(383) 



Grapes 



until April the supply is -kept up by long-keeping 

 late varieties, for which see lists. The fruit is kept 

 in bottles of water in a dark room, with an even 

 temperature of about 45. No attention is needed 

 beyond occasionally airing the room, cutting out 

 bad berries, and keeping the bottles replenished 

 with water. Soft water only should be used, and 

 a small piece of charcoal should be placed in each 

 bottle. 



Vineries. Houses of almost any shape and 

 structure will grow Grapes successfully, but special 

 conditions apply to houses from which early crops 

 are expected. It will be well to make three 

 sections with regard to time of ripening, viz. early, 

 main, and late crops, and houses suitable to bear 

 the one will not always produce the other. For an 

 early crop a lean-to structure is the best, with a 

 south or south-eastern aspect, and a roof which 

 makes an angle of not less than 45 with its sup- 

 porting walls. A greater angle is frequently seen, 

 but the temperature of such houses is apt to rise 

 rapidly under sun heat, and scorching of the 

 foliage often follows. Hip-roofed or three-quarter 

 span-roofed houses are also suitable. The borders 

 of an early house should always be inside. For 

 main crops, almost any style of house will do. 

 Span-roofed Vineries are frequently seen, and the 

 curvilinear form occasionally. Such houses are 

 spacious, give the maximum of light and air, 

 and Vines can be trained up both sides, if they 

 run north and south. The fruit usually colours 

 well, but in cold weather it is sometimes difficult 

 to avoid draughts and mildew. The border may 

 be inside or outside, according to circumstances ; 

 good results may be obtained in either case. For 

 Muscats, and late varieties generally, the span and 

 three-quarter span are best, and the border should 

 be inside if possible. Muscats not only need more 

 heat to develop their peculiar flavour, biit they need 

 a long season of growth, and sometimes autumn is 

 well advanced before ripening is completed. The 

 wires, which should be of stout galvanised iron, 

 may run parallel with the direction of the house, 

 or at right angles to it. They must be not less 

 than W from the glass. 



Heating. All vineries should be efficiently heated 

 with hot water. The amount of piping will, of 

 course, depend upon whether it is an early, mid- 

 season, or late house. Fairly good Grapes can be 

 grown in unheated houses, but the quality is not to 

 be compared to that of fruit from heated struc- 

 tures, and in cold, damp seasons mildew and damp 

 are very troublesome. 



Ground vineries are miniature houses that 

 usually do well, although unheated, if placed in a 

 sunny position. They may have a height of about 

 2' (>" to 3' from the ground line, may be about 3' 

 wide, .and of any length, according to the number 

 of Vines that have to be accommodated. One rod 

 only must be trained along, about 1' from the , 

 ground level, and in the centre of the frame, for 

 such it really is. The pruning and subsequent i 

 management of the Vines in ground vineries does, 

 not differ from that accorded to those in larger 

 houses. 



Borders fall naturally into two sections inside ' 

 and outside. A compromise between the two 

 systems is frequently seen, part of the border 

 being outside and part inside. In these cases the 

 house is built upon arches, which allow the passage 1 

 of the roots to the outer border. For early crops. 

 the borders should be inside, as it is manifest 



that it is not conducive to success to have the stems 

 and leaves of the Vines in heat, and the roots 

 working in cold, often very wet, soil. In winter 

 time outside borders should be protected by a 

 covering of boards, or galvanised iron sheets, from 

 heavy rain- or snow-fall. The Vine is naturally 

 a free-rooting plant, and the roots will, if not 

 prevented, travel long distances in search of food 

 and water They thus often run into cold and 

 uncongenial subsoils, and shanking, mildew, and 

 other evils result. It is well, therefore, that the 

 area of the border should be circumscribed, and 

 the roots kept within the control of the cultivator. 

 It is desirable in clayey soils that the bottom 

 of the bed or border should be paved or concreted. 

 It should have a gentle slope downwards and out- 

 wards, and drains should be attached at the lowest 

 point to carry off surplus water. The actual width 

 of the border may vary according to the desire of 

 the owner, but it should not be less than the width 

 of the house. Thus a house Iti' wide should have 

 a border 16' wide, and so on. A good medium 

 depth is 3', of which 9" is composed of drainage, 

 and the remainder of soil. Shallow borders are 

 too hot and dry, if not kept constantly watered, 

 and deep borders are apt to be cold after the soil 

 has in a measure become exhausted. 



Soil. In making np a new border the soil should 

 be full of food, but no rank dung should be 

 included. The bulk should be sound, fibrous loam, 

 the top spit from a mellow pasture. This should 

 be chopped up roughly with the spade. To 

 5 cubic yards of this add 1 yard of old lime 

 rubble, 2 cvvt. of " bones, and about 5 bushel of 

 charcoal. The whole should be mixed some months 

 prior to use, and stored under cover until it is 

 wanted. In making up the border, place a layer of 

 freshly cut turves grass side downwards over the 

 !)" of brickbats which constitute the drainage, and 

 rill up with the soil. Instead of making up the 

 whole of the border at once, it is a capital plan, 

 where young Vines are concerned, to do it in 

 several stages. Thus, if the bed is 12' wide, G' may 

 be made up to plant the Vines in, and 2' may be 

 added each year afterwards until the whole is com- 

 pleted. The virtue of this method is that the soil 

 does not lie long unoccupied with roots, and thus 

 has no chance to become sour. Most cultivators 

 know from experience how quickly a border in 

 whose soil crushed bones are present becomes 

 sour under repeated waterings, unless it be occupied 

 with feeding roots. Four-inch diameter drain pipes 

 communicating with the drainage, and their open 

 mouths standing a few inches above the level of 

 the bed. help to keep the drainage and soil sweet 

 and well aerated. 



Propagation. By eyes, cuttings, layers, budding, 

 grafting, and seeds. The first-named method is 

 the one generally adopted. Eyes are the plump 

 ,buds borne by the ripened growth of the previous 

 season. To prepare them for insertion they are 

 cut off with about 1" of wood attached, generally 

 towards the end of January or the beginning of 

 February. Shallow pots or pans are drained 

 well, and filled with soil. One eye is placed in 

 a 3" pot r a number in the pans, and buried so 

 that the bud just peeps .above the surface of tho 

 soil, and points upwards. The pots and pans should 

 be plunged in a bed of Cocoanut fibre refuse or 

 fermenting material having a temperature of not 

 less than 80, and the temperature of the house 

 should be from (>5 to 70. Watering must be care- 



