THE VINE 231 



to reach the drainage, and as far away from the stems of the vines as is 

 necessary for safety's sake, say 7 or 8 feet. The material taken out of this 

 trench should be carted away, as it must on no account again be used for the 

 vine border. Then with a fork gradually draw away the soil, working towards the 

 vine stem, and taking care of every root met with. This should proceed until 

 one is within 18 inches or 2 feet of the stem of the vine, where a good many 

 roots will be found. All the loose soil that we have removed should be taken 

 away, then make the drainage effective. While this work is proceeding, the 

 exposed roots must be covered over with damp mats or straw. Presuming the 

 drainage to be satisfactory and covered with turf for about 4 feet from the front 

 wall, on the edge of this build a turf wall as high as the border will be when 

 finished. This will leave about 3 feet for a new border in which to lay out 

 the roots. First cut back any long, bare roots, then carefully complete the 

 work as advised in the notes on planting. The best time to do this is towards 

 the end of October, but it may be safely undertaken until the end of January. 

 I would recommend that the vinery be kept cool until the vines start naturally 

 into growth, say the first week in April. Disturbing the roots may cause 

 the young leaves to droop slightly ; if so, shade must be given for a time. 

 As little fire heat should be used as possible. Syringe the vines frequently 

 during the day, and in the evening as well ; this will encourage the buds 

 to burst. A healthy growth will result if the atmosphere is moist and warm 

 and the house carefully ventilated. It often happens that the spurs and fruit 

 buds on the stems of vines out of health have become irregular, weak, and 

 partly withered. When this is the case it is necessary to select a strong growth 

 as near the base of the vine as possible and encourage it to grow into a long 

 cane, so that by repeated pruning back it will in the course of three or four 

 years take the place of the old, worn-out stem. Towards the end of May 

 many new roots will be found making their way into the new soil, then give 

 a top-dressing half an inch thick of fresh horse manure, with a little soil added 

 (one-fourth to three-fourths of manure). This will be of immense advantage 

 to the vine. The following year the outside roots must be treated in exactly 

 the same way. Where there happens to be only one border — whether outside 

 or inside makes no difference — the same treatment must be carried out, only 

 bearing in mind that it is advisable not to draw away the soil quite so near the 

 vine stem as when there are two borders to deal with. These reduced new 

 borders can be added to with fresh soil as soon as the space already provided is 

 filled with roots. I have frequently seen vines brought from a most unsatis- 

 factory condition into perfect health and fertility in a comparatively short time 

 by adopting the method above described. 



PROPAGATION 



By Seeds. — There are various ways in which the vine may be propagated : 

 one is by means of seeds, but this is rarely resorted to except when the object 

 is to raise a new variety. It would take too long to raise vines in this way for 

 ordinary purposes, and, moreover, one could not be sure of the variety being 



