AMERICAN INSTITUTE. i 285 



ready to' receive stimulants whenever applied, wliicli they do 

 more easily in the warmer portions of the soil. 



As to the management of the house, Mr. Galbraith stated that 

 when the vines were growing freely in hot weather, he gave all 

 the air possible, from six o'clock in the morning until six in the 

 evening, syringing the vines twice or thrice in the day with 

 tepid water; and not only the vines, but the walls, thus render- 

 ing the amosphere moist, and preventing mildew. Equal care is 

 required to keep the roots in balance of moisture ; for excess of 

 moisture in the house, as compared with the roots, or excess of 

 water at the roots as compared with the dryness of the house, 

 will produce mildew, while plenty of air and moisture, both at 

 roots and leaves, will prevent mildew. 



MILDEW. 



Mildew always occurs in the absence of moisture. It will also 

 occur with excess of moistui^e without a proper amount of air, 

 but will never occur when both air and moisture are freely used, 

 provided the roots are similarly treated. A judicious amount of 

 air secures continued evaporation, and no moisture in a state of 

 activity, when excess of heat is acting on the vines, will prove 

 hurtful in our climate. In England the practice is somewhat 

 different ; the climate is more moist, and hence, instead of grape 

 houses being open from six to six, they are only open from eight 

 o'clock until four. Such practice would not be judicious in this 

 climate. Syringing or watering inside the house should not oc- 

 cur late in the day, but the foliage should be permitted to dry 

 off before closing the house. If the waterings have been suffi- 

 cient during the day, in its early and middle part, it will be 

 shown by a slight deposit of moisture on the inside of the glass 

 after the sashes are closed; for when the sun has passed off, tlie 

 cold atmosphere on the outside will secure such inside deposit. 



If the dew has not been sufficient on the glass at night, the 

 watering should be heavier the next day, being sure to give an 

 equivalent portion of water to the roots. It should be remem- 

 bered that the grape vines have leaves which perform functions 

 in some respects analagous to the roots, such as the receipt of 

 gases from the atmosphere, including ammonia and carbonic acid, 

 and these will not be arrested if the leaves be not kept soft (sup- 

 ple) by the application of water, lubricating the parts, and thus 

 permitting them to perform their proper functions. Even the 

 use of a strong magnifying glass will show us that when tlie at- 

 mosphere is dry and the leaf dry, it compacts its fibres most sen- 



