78 FRUIT CULTURE UNDER GLASS. 



plication of small active roots across the border. Just 

 make up 3 feet of it inside and 3 feet outside the house 

 the first year. In April or May of the second year, 

 fork down 1 or 2 inches of the face of this bank of soil, 

 both inside and outside the house ; and against the 

 roots that will there be found, some of them taking the 

 lead, place a section of sharp river or pit sand, or gravel, 

 at least 4 inches thick. As soon as the roots enter this 

 poor sharp material, they will branch into a thousand 

 small active roots, and enter the layer of new soil that 

 has been subequently laid against this sand or gravel. 

 This may be repeated at every addition to the border, 

 and the result will be that, instead of a few long, 

 straight, naked roots, the whole border will be full of a 

 class of active woody roots, that survive the cold and 

 wet of winter infinitely better than those great snake- 

 like ones formed in rich soil. These perpendicular 

 sections of sand or gravel have the additional advantage 

 of acting as drains to draw off superfluous water." 



TIME AKD MANNER OP PLANTING VINES. 



To fix a given day or week, irrespective of circum- 

 stances, for the performance of gardening operations, is 

 now very much a thing of the past. In the planting of 

 vines this is especially applicable ; they may be planted 

 from February to August, according to circumstances. 

 In order, however, to get the best possible growth the 

 first year, spring and early summer are the best seasons 

 to plant. It is only where vineries and borders cannot 

 be got ready in time, or where a crop has to be cut the 

 same season from the house to be planted, that later 

 planting should be practised. The exact time in the 

 early part of the year should be decided by several con- 



