106 RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



VINES. 



VINEYARDS were once common in England, and there 

 still are several in the western counties; but our climate 

 is so uncertain that, when vines are now planted in 

 the open air, they are trained against south walls, and even 

 in this position, it is only in a warm summer that the hardiest 

 varieties are able to ripen a crop. In this chapter, therefore, 

 it is assumed that they are cultivated under glass, though not 

 necessarily with artificial heat, for several excellent varieties, 

 notably Black Hamburgh, the best for an amateur, can be 

 grown quite well in a cold greenhouse which gets plenty of 

 sunshine — preferably a " lean-to " against a south wall. 



PREPARATION OF A VIxNE BORDER. 



The border may be either inside or outside the house. 

 Unless forcing is to be carried on, an outside border is the 

 better, because there is less risk of its getting excessively dry, 

 and also because it is fully exposed to air and the sunlight. 

 The usual method of preparing it is to excavate to the depth 

 of about twp feet; to put in a layer of broken bricks as drain- 

 age; to place turf upside down on the bricks, so as to prevent 

 the spaces from being filled, and, when the turf decays, to 

 provide additional food; and, finally, to return the soil mixed 

 with decomposed manure, ash from the rubbish bonfire, 

 crushed bones, and, if it is inclined (o be clayey, road scraping? 

 (but not from tarred roads). In order to run off heavy rain, 

 the border should slope gently downwards from the green- 

 house wall to a palh. Its width should be about twelve feet. 



