of the Vine under Glass. 247 



heat, and I am convinced they never should have less, from the 

 flowering s^eason until the fruit is at maturity. With regard to 

 watering, I commence, as soon as the fires are begun, with syring- 

 ing the vines with water which has been kept in the house for a 

 night, and continue so to do every night until the vines show 

 flower ; at which time I give all the steam possible by pouring 

 water on the flues when the fire is made up for the night; a 

 practice which cannot be overdone except when air is required, 

 if there is no frosty weather to be apprehended. I consider the 

 middle of the day by far the best time for watering, giving 

 plenty of air at the time ; as the flues require to be warmed too 

 hurriedly to keep up the heat if the watering is done at night, as 

 is the usual practice. As to giving air, I consider there should 

 be a little admitted as soon as the thermometer rises a very few 

 degrees above the medium heat of the fire ; and that it should 

 never be allowed to rise much more than 5° above it ; at which 

 heat the house should be shut, when the sun gets low, and the 

 fire stirred up ; but the heat should not be raised too hastily. The 

 thining of the grapes, in my opinion, should be done very care- 

 fully, as soon as they are fairly set, too much should not be done 

 at once ; and they should be gone over a second time shortly after 

 the first. 



With regard to the surface manuring of the border, as soon 

 as the wood of the vines is fully ripe, it should be forked over 

 about 2 in. deep, with a blunt dung-fork, and 6 in. of the best 

 cow-dung should be put on. To supply liquid manure for the 

 border of one house, get one bushel of common salt, as much 

 black soap, and a quantity of the drainings of stable-yard dung, 

 all put into a large cask, and allow it to stand for a week ; after 

 which, mix it with a large quantity of rain water, and put it re- 

 gularly over the border ; then put on as much common earth 

 as will completely cover the dung, but no more. In this state 

 the border should remain until the month of April, when there 

 should be none of this covering taken off; instead of nearly taking 

 off the whole, as is the general custom, and often digging the 

 border nearly a full spade deep, and cropping it with potatoes or 

 cauliflowers, which is, certainly, a very wrong practice. All that 

 should be done to the border in the spring is, to break the sur- 

 face well with a rake, and sow the whole with dwarf annual flower 

 seeds. It will be allowed by every one, the least conversant with 

 the nature of vegetation, that the nearer to the action of the sum- 

 mer weather the roots of any plant are the better ; and, as the 

 vine is a plant which requires a great deal of food, its roots run 

 in search of it wherever it can be found : so this very rich surface 

 which I have directed to be made will be found, on examination, 

 to be full of the roots of the vines, and it is the very life of them, 

 to have sufficient nourishment so near to the surface. 



September, 1835. 



