146 THE CULTITKE OF THE GKAPE. 



venient. These materials should be mixed together a 

 few weeks before using, and in these proportions : sods, 

 three parts ; leaf mould, two parts ; cow-dung, two 

 parts ; rubbish, or leached ashes and charcoal, one part. 

 There should be one or two inches of broken pots, stones, 

 or shells, at the bottom, for drainage. A vine in a 

 twelve-inch pot may mature from five to ten bunches. 

 I prefer a wooden box, or the half of a large keg, as the 

 soil is less liable to dry and form into a lump ; when this 

 is the case, the water is very apt to run away by the 

 sides of the pot, between these and the soil, leaving the 

 middle of the soil perfectly dry. In the autumn, after a 

 vine has fruited, it should be taken out of the pot and 

 the soil shaken from the roots ; with a sharp knife, prune 

 back the longest of these, and repot in fresh compost. 

 During the winter, they must be kept from the frost, and 

 the only care necessary will be to see that the soil has 

 just enough moisture to prevent the roots from drying 

 up. The nest summer they must not be fruited, but 

 proper care must be bestowed upon them that they may 

 produce good bearing wood for the year after. 



Yines grown by single eyes, or such as would be used 

 for ' the border, are suitable for planting in pots. You 

 may force these vines to advantage as early as Novem- 

 ber, if you have a proper temperature. 



Liquid manure may be given when the grapes com- 

 mence swelling off. This may be made as detailed in 

 the experiments on the roots of the vine in bottles, and 

 any of those may be selected for use, as is most conve- 

 nient, or as may be thought best. If guano is used, four 

 pounds to thirty-three gallons of water is luite strong 



