THE HOTHOUSE OR FORCING GRAPERY. 253 



by ground mice, which gnaw the bark, sometimes so as 

 to completely destroy them. As a precaution, it is well 

 to wrap the vines with hay, straw, or cotton batting, over 

 which sprinkle a mixture of twenty parts flour to one of 

 Paris green. This will poison the mice if they cut 

 through the covering to get at the bark. Be careful not 

 to use any greater proportion of Paris green than advised, 

 as too much of it might injure the vines ; or the labor of 

 wrapping the vines may be dispensed with by poisoning 

 the vermin in the ordinary way. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

 THE HOTHOUSE OR FORCING GRAPERY. 



WHEN grapes are forced by artificial heat, probably 

 the best plan is that of the " lean-to " structure shown by 

 the illustrations, figures 80, 81, and 82. Figure 80 gives 

 the plan, which, as in some former engravings, it is not 

 practicable to show on the page at full length ; and it is 

 accordingly "broken," a portion, as shown by the irregular 

 lines, being taken out of each compartment. The figures 

 give the proper proportions. Figure 8t is a part of the 

 front elevation, and figure 82 a section at the division 

 between the two houses. The house is one hundred feet 

 long by sixteen feet wide, divided into two compartments 

 for early and late forcing, each fifty by sixteen feet, and 

 both heated by one boiler, with valves in the furnace pit 

 to shut off and taps to draAv the water from the pipes 

 not in use, a matter to be looked to when vineries are 

 not in use ; for if the water is not drawn out of the pipes 

 it may freeze and break them. When grapes are to be 

 forced, it is essential that a sufficient covering of manure 

 or leaves be placed on the border to prevent frost from 



