454 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



Mealy bug when once established in a vinery is difficult to eradi- 

 cate. The most effective remedy is to throw a good handful of sulphur 

 upon a few pieces of hot coke placed in a flower-pot, and allow the fumes 

 to fill the vinery. This must only be done in midwinter, when the 

 Vines are perfectly dormant, and no plant in a green state must, of 

 course, be left in the house, or even in an adjoining one, for sulphur 

 fumes are deadly to vegetation. When the Vines are started in the 

 spring, a lookout must be kept for this insect, and a short time spent 

 each day in going over the Vines with a small brush and a little paraffin. 

 This will kill mealy bug instantly, but the buds of the Vine must not 

 be touched, otherwise they will be injured. 



Vine Culture in the Open Air. Excellent Grapes may be grown out 

 of doors, but their growth must not be neglected. East Anglia is one of 

 the parts of England that has always been noted for its open-air Vines, 

 and cottagers sometimes make good sums of money by the sale of Grapes 

 from their walls. The Vines generally cover the roof, as well as the 

 front of the cottage, being supported by a wooden framework, about 

 15 inches from the roof. Vines delight in abundance of sunshine, 

 and should be planted against a wall facing south. A border must 

 be prepared, but this is quite easy, as it need not be more than 2\ 

 feet deep and 3 feet in width. A border of these dimensions, 

 if composed of good holding heavy soil, with a little bone meal and a 

 liberal quantity of old mortar rubble added, will support Vines for many 

 years, provided the roots are well mulched with short manure, and 

 assisted with liquid or artificial manure when the berries are swelling. 



Rich borders encourage a strong sappy growth, which does not 

 ripen properly, and invariably gets crippled in winter. With regard to 

 drainage, if the ground is naturally porous, nothing more than spreading 

 6 or 8 inches of broken bricks or clinkers in the bottom will be 

 necessary, but if the subsoil is at all retentive, a drain-pipe, 3 inches 

 in diameter, must be put down in a slanting direction to carry away 

 superfluous water. Cover the drainage with turf, grass side down- 

 wards, to prevent the soil from blocking it, and this must be made firm 

 by treading or ramming. Obtain moderately strong well-ripened Vines 

 in small pots from a good firm in January. Prune them back to within 

 15 inches of their base, and keep them dry and cool until the end 

 of March, when they may be planted. Turn the Vines out of the pots, 

 remove the crocks from the base of the balls, loosen the roots a little 

 with a pointed stick, and plant, covering the roots with 3 inches of 

 soil, and ram it firmly. When planting against a bare wall, place the 

 Vine in the centre, and train a rod horizontally to the left, and another 

 to the right, some 2 feet or so from the ground these to furnish 

 the main bearing rods to be trained in an upright direction, 3 feet 

 apart, the second and following years, until the wall is furnished. When 

 planting against a dwelling-house, place the Vine in the most con- 

 venient position, and train the main rods over all available spaces, 

 3 feet apart. The Vine must either be nailed to the wall or tied 

 to wires. 



