THE GRAPE VINE. 59 



the vines are tied too near the glass ; they should be 

 not less than 16 inches from the glass, to allow a free 

 circulation of air between it and the foliage. It is 

 scarcely necessary to point out the evil of having the 

 foliage in close contact with the glass. The wires 

 should be fixed at 1 foot apart. Moisture in the at- 

 mosphere should be provided for in aU vineries. See 

 page 7, where there is described, in connection with 

 pineries, the method I think best. 



DRAINAGE. 



The first thing that should be thought of and most 

 effectively secured in the making of borders is drain- 

 age ; for however great the skill otherwise brought to 

 bear on the after-management of the vine, first-rate 

 results need not be looked for if the roots are subject 

 to stagnant water. One of the most important points 

 in successful grape-growing, is the preservation in win- 

 ter of the young roots made in summer, which is im- 

 possible if the border is subject to stagnant water. Of 

 course the extent and character of the drainage neces- 

 sary have to be determined by the position of the vinery, 

 the nature of the subsoil, and to some extent by the 

 average amount of rain which is peculiar to the district. 

 The amount of drainage necessary on the retentive clay 

 of such as Middlesex, or in the lower ward of Lanark- 

 shire, the Dumfries or Argyle coasts, where so much 

 Tain falls, would be superfluous on the rocks of some 

 parts of Somerset, or on the generally dry soils of East 

 Lothian. By these conditions should also be decided 

 to what extent borders should be elevated above the 

 natural ground-level. 



In preparing, the site and drainage on damp reteur 



