of the Vine under Glass. 245 



tance from the rafters, I would have it fastened to the lower 

 edge of them, in order to keep the young wood and fruit as near 

 the glass as possible. Where there is only one house to be 

 erected, it would certainly be much better to make it circular in 

 front, as it would be more exposed to the sun's rays. With re- 

 gard to the construction of the flues, if the house is to be warmed 

 by fire heat, I would recommend them to be made lower and 

 much wider than they commonly are, as the greatest heat always 

 proceeds from the top of them. I would have the furnace or fire- 

 place made much larger than usual ; as, by having plenty of room 

 to make up a large slow-burning fire, the operator has it more 

 in his power to keep a steady heat in the house, than when the 

 fireplace is small, and he has to stir it often to keep up the re- 

 quired heat in cold weather. 



I now come to the preparation of the border. The situation, if 

 not naturally dry, must, of course, be rendered so by draining. 

 The best bottom, in my opinion, is one formed of large flat stones, 

 got from the top of a lime rock, which is of a nature that would 

 assist the growth of the vines when they reached it. The border 

 ought not to be deeper than from 2 ft. to 3 ft. ; as, if it is more, the 

 roots of the vines will get away from the action of the summer 

 weather, and the good of the manure that may be put on the 

 surface. Instead of having the border almost composed of a 

 stiff* clay, as is often the case, I would have it formed of decom- 

 posed turf and good black earth, with a sufficient quantity of 

 decomposed cow-dung, vegetable mould, and cold [slaked] lime, 

 well mixed by frequently turning it, and which should be allowed 

 to lie for two years if convenient. Having the border filled in 

 and subsided, I would plant the vines in rather poor soil, as the 

 roots will run farther in such soil, the first year, than in a strono- 

 rich soil. I would have good strong plants planted close to the 

 wall on the outside, and introduced through holes made in the 

 building, from 4 in. to 6 in. in diameter, projecting upwards to- 

 wards the inside, and proceeding from a few inches above the 

 surface of the border on the outside. 



I would not plant more than one plant for every two sashes 

 in the house, as the less the roots are interwoven with one an- 

 other the better; and there is no difficulty in filling any house 

 in this way. I would train up only two shoots the first year, 

 keeping the sashes of the house on all the first season, until all 

 the leaves have fallen off"; at which time I would cut down both 

 shoots to three buds. The second season, I would put on the 

 sashes on the first of March, giving plenty of air through the 

 day, and shutting up at night. It will be observed, that I have 

 allowed three buds to remain on each shoot of last year's growth, 

 which will produce three for every sash this year, which I would 

 train up to their full length. There should be a little fire put on 



