V I N 



V I N 



their origin, where wc fee them, to the egg? of parent flies, 

 too fmall for our fight. Reaumur, Hill. Inf. vol. iv. 



If vinegar be impregnated with crab's-eyes, or any other 

 alkaline fubftance, which blunts, and in a great mcafure de- 

 ftroys its acidity, thefe doubU'-poinled figures are no longer 

 found in it, on a microfcopieal infpeftion ; but in their 

 places we find others with an oblong quadrangular bafe, 

 from which they fhoot up into pyramids, and appear like 

 polidied diamonds. Thefe are alfo fo very' minute, that fix 

 thoufand of them are computed to be contained in a drop of 

 the liquor, no larger than two corns of barley ; and thefe 

 will be ufually found all of the fame fize, or very nearly fo, 

 which is by no means the cafe with the other forts of vinegar 

 in its natunJ flatc. See Microfcopic Eels. 



Vinegar-/^///, in Geography, an eminence near the town 

 of Ennilcorthy, famous for being a ftation of the rebels in 

 1798. 



VINER's Island, a fmall ifland in the fouth-weft part 

 of James Bay, Hudfon's Bay. 



VINERY, in Gardening, a fort of garden ereftion, con- 

 fiding of a wall twelve or fourteen feet in height, extending 

 from eaft to weft, furniflied with lloves, and proper flues, 

 with roof and lights of glafs, covering a border of fome 

 extent ; as ten feet or more in width. When vines are to 

 be forced at an early feafon, upright glafles, two and a half 

 or three feet in height, are often employed in front, to fup- 

 port the roof, and to admit fun and light to the border, 

 which is frequently occupied with low-growing vegetables : 

 but when th'-y are not wanted early, a low wall will anlwer 

 equally well. In forcing vines, the following dimenfions 

 are fuppofed to form an improved vinery, or houfe of this 

 kind, and one that has been found to anfwer well in 

 a6liial praftice. In houfes of this fort, if the wall be 

 twelve feet high, the breadth ten feet, and tlie height of the 

 upright wall in front three feet, the roof will form an angle 

 of about forty-three degrees ; which experience has (hewn 

 to be a fuitable pitch for forcing vines with advantage. 



Thefe forts of buildings may likewife be conftrudted on a 

 plan fomewhat fimilar to that of a fingle-pitted pine-ftove, 

 having the back wall fourteen feet high ; the roof flanting, 

 and covering an extent of about fixteen feet ; with a flue 

 running from eafl; to weft near the front wall. This is well 

 fuited, not only for grapes, but early crops of melons, ftraw- 

 berries, and other fimilar kinds of fruit. 



To fave the expence of glafs ; where there are peach- 

 houfes, tlie glafs frames may alfo be employed for the 

 vinery, when conftrufted with this intention, and good 

 grapes may be obtained from vines trained againft walls 

 about fix feet high, by means of melon-frame glaftijs, where 

 a fmall flanting roof is made proper to receive them. But 

 a fmall degree of fire-heat is of great advantage, and might 

 be applied either by a flued wall, the flue running through 

 the houfe, or by caft-iron pipes for the pnrpofe. 



Thefe forts of houfes, Mr. Nicol remarks, vary exceed- 

 mgly in their conftruftion ; and although fome lay great 

 llrefs on this article, (and there are extremes which ought 

 not to be followed,) he is convinced the failure of fucccfs 

 in the produftion of the grape, is much Icfs a confequence 

 of irtJ conllruftion in the houfe, than in the preparation of 

 the border, the clioice of the kinds, and the general manage- 

 ment. It has fallen to his lot to have the conftruftion and 

 management of three feveral and diff'erently conftrufted 

 grapc-honfes in the fame garden, under his care for years, 

 which have equally and uniformly produced excellent crops. 

 This, in his opinion, is a proof of the neceflity of a greater 

 nicenefs in the formation of the border being obferved, 

 than in the conftruiftioa of the houfe ; tin fire-place and 



flues excepted, which ftiould always be particularly at- 

 tended to. 



He alfo thinks that the fcite of a vinery is an objeft of 

 fuch confequence to the welfare of the plant, and fucccfsful 

 cultivation and produftion of well-flavoured fruit, that the 

 greatefl: care fttould be taken in the choice of it. A gentle 

 hill, having a fouth afpeft, and confiderable declivity that 

 way, the foil a ftrong brown loam of two feet, over a bot- 

 tom of dry fand, gravel, or foft clay, is, he thinks, the moit 

 defirable, and would be the leaft expenfive of all fituations. 

 In this cafe the border requires no paving or draining ; and 

 admits of a proper mixture of fandy loam, vegetable mould, 

 marie, and dung, by the removal of two feet of the natural 

 bottom, with the natural foil, to form a border, perfeftly 

 adapted to the growth of the vine, in the follovring propor- 

 tion ; viz. one half ftrong brown loam, a quarter light fandy 

 loam, an eighth vegetable mould of decayed tree -leaves, and 

 an eighth ftable-dung ; to which add about a fiftieth part 

 of ftiell-marlc. This is the compofition of the vine-borders 

 at Wemyfs Caftle, none of which are lefs than four feet 

 deep, and one (owing to the accidental fituatlon of the 

 houfe) is fix. See Forcing, ¥LoT-Houfi, and Stove. 

 Sec alfo Vjtis. ■ 



In order to form borders againft thefe hot-walls in other 

 cafes, they ftiould have the earth taken out two feet deep 

 where the ground is dry, but in other cales one foot will be 

 fiifficient, as in wet foils the borders ftiould be raifed at leaft 

 two feet above the level of the ground, to prevent the roots 

 of the vines from being injured by the wet. The bottom of 

 this trench fliould be filled with ftones, lime-rubbilh, Sec. a 

 foot and a half or two feet in thickncfs, which fliould be 

 levelled and beaten down pretty hard, to prevent the roots 

 from running downward. The trenches fliould be made five 

 feet wide at leaft, otherwife the roots will, in a few years, 

 extend theinfelves beyond the rubbifti, and, finding an eafy 

 pafl'age downwards, run into the nioift ground, and be 

 thereby much injured, or dcftroyed ; but before the rubbifli 

 is filled into the trench, it is a better method to raifc a nine- 

 incli wall at that diftance from the hot-wall, which will 

 keep the rubbifli from intermixing with the neighbouring 

 eartii, and alfo confine the roots to the border in which they 

 are planted. This wall ftiould be raifed to the height of the 

 intended border, and may be nfcful to lay the plate of tim- 

 ber of the frames upon, which will be ncceflary to cover the 

 vines with when they are forced ; and where the borders are 

 raifed to any confiderable height above the level of the 

 ground, thefe walls may preferve the earth of the borders 

 from faUing down into the walks ; but in carrying them up, 

 it will be proper to leave little openings, about eight or ten 

 feet diftant, to let the water pafs oft" by. As foon as the 

 walls are finiftied and thoroughly dry, the rubbifli flunild be 

 filled in, as direfted above, when there ftiould be frefli light 

 earth laid upon it two feet thick, which will be a fufficitiit 

 depth of mould for the vines to root in. The borders fliould 

 be prepared in this manner at leall a month or fix weeks be- 

 fore the vines are planted, in order that they piay have time 

 to fettle. See Vrris. 



Improved and more economical modes of heating and 

 fteaming the plants in vineries have lately been had rccourfe 

 to by Mr. Loudon and others, as by the ordinary fires, and 

 the ufe of caft-iron plates, &c. Vineries have fometimes 

 fteam-vaults under the ground, for fupplving occafional 

 warmth to the roots of the vine plants. Houfes of thefe 

 kind.H are fometimes called graperies, and grape-hou/et. See 

 Stovi;. 



VI NET, Eli AS, in Biography, .i learned man of the fix- 



tccnth century, was born at Vincts, a village of Saiiitongc, 



J I and 



