THE VINE AND ITS FRUIT. 



173. 



almost every kind of soil, from strong clay to sandy 

 loam, in a thin stratum of light soil on the oolite or 

 gravel, and deep alluvial deposits in our river valleys, 

 it does not follow that all alike supply the materials 

 necessary to its continuous fruit-producing power 

 and longevity. If the question were put ti, twenty 

 successful grape-growers, all would admit that good 

 drainage is of the first importance, and all would 

 agree that fresh virgin loam, which may include any 

 kind of old turf from the side of a road to a stiff 

 calcareous sheep-pasture, is necessary for the forma- 

 tion of the staple of the border. Beyond this, it is 

 probable that every man would diverge, more or less, 

 from the line which is to lead to the production of 

 first-rate grapes. But with the numerous facts now 

 before us there can be but little doubt that some 

 fresh materials, pervious to the passage of solar heat, 

 air, and water, be they calcareous or sandy, will 

 form a suitable compost for a free-living plant like 

 the vine. Often in the neighbourhood of towns, 

 where new turf cannot be obtained, many people 

 make a virtue of necessity, by using old garden soil, 

 often heavily charged with organic matter, but quite 

 destitute of fibre. This is made up and corrected 

 with short horse-manure, chopped straw, road- 

 scrapings, bone-dust, and charred wood and garden 

 refuse, or a liberal admixture of old lime rubble. 

 In a compost of this kind grapes generally colour 

 and finish well, and where the outside borders are 

 well mulched and watered in dry weather they do not 

 often shank ; but, as may be supposed, the vines do 

 not last so long as they v/ould do in the open coun- 

 trj', where the grower has the run of an old sheep- 

 pasture, or sloping hill. 



Having shown that the vine is by no means fasti- 

 dious, provided it can have a regular supply of fresh 

 food, little and often, and that some kinds are better 

 than others, the reader will now wish to be made 

 acquainted with the details of the management of 

 the materials, and the preparation of the compost. 

 This should consist of two-thirds of good friable 

 turfy loam, the fibre of which will not readily decay, 

 and which will at aU times be pervious to the free 

 passage of water, of which the vine requires copious 

 supplies. But lest this should in course of time 

 become close, heavy, and inert, a liberal admixture 

 of the remaining third should consist of lime rubble, 

 charcoal, and burnt earth, with twelve per cent, of 

 crushed half -inch bones added to insure a vigorous, 

 short- jointed growth. If wire- worm is present, add 

 a little soot. Chop the turf into rough squares with 

 spades, mix well, and throw the compost into a heap 

 to fei-ment, when it will be ready for use. No 

 animal manure need be added, as young vines always 

 grow freely enough in almost any fresh well-drained 

 soil ; but it may be used as a mulching to keep the 



roots near the surface, and so prevent them from 

 striking downwards into the moist drainage, which is 

 too often the first step towards shanking. 



As success or failure very often depends upon the 

 condition and preparation of the compost, it may be 

 well to observe that the turf, be it rich or poor, 

 should always be used freshly, cut from the pasture, 

 and on no account should it be cut or handled when 

 in a wet condition. It is much better to defer all 

 border operations than to persevere with the work 

 when the elements are unpropitious. 



Although the vine may be planted in an internal 

 border at almost any season of the year, the best 

 time for the operation is early spring ; and as a little 

 bottom heat is a powerful agent, it is important that 

 the turf be newly cut and chopped some time before 

 the vines are ready, when fermentation will set in 

 and most likely raise the whole mass to a temperature 

 of 90°. Before the compost is wheeled in, thin sods 

 of turf, grass-side downwards, must be laid over the 

 drainage, and similar sods may be used for building 

 up the retaining walls of the border as the work 

 proceeds. When the border is finished, the external 

 turf wall, which will be exposed to the fuH force of 

 the sun and drying winds, should be protected by 

 means of thatch, or a lining of oak-leaves. 



Exceptional Borders. — Hungry Soils.^ 



As grapes are now gi'own in almost every parish in 

 the ITnited Kingdom, it is hardly necessary to re- 

 mind the reader that there are many places, notably 

 on the sandstones, the granite, or the oolite, so 

 completely favourable to the free passage of water, 

 as to render the precautions which have been laid 

 down for unfavourable neighbourhoods unnecessaiy. 

 On the gravel and sand many people think drainage 

 or concrete quite superfluous ; but this is a mistake, 

 as all hot, hungry substances beneath a border, do 

 positive harm to the vines when the roots get deeply 

 imbedded in them. It is, therefore, well to guard 

 against all hidden dangers at the outset, by laying 

 thin layers of concrete and drainage, and making the 

 borders a little deeper, in preference to having to 

 encounter the expense and annoyance of doing im- 

 perfect work a second time over. 



Cold Soils Subject to Plooding — So likewise 

 in cold, calcareous valleys, subiect to flooding, the 

 preceding directions may not be sufficient to meet 

 isolated cases. In many places, where destructive 

 floods pour down from the surrounding hills, or back- 

 water from tidal rivers is a possibility, it is prudent 

 to raise the borders above the ground-line, by means 

 of two feet or more of drainage, and confine the roots 

 to narrow, shallow borders, composed of extra-porous 

 materials. In such situations, the concrete should 



