VI lis. 



coMiinDii wallb, which has been defcribed above, being, 

 liowever, encouraged as much as poffiblc, and the (hoots not 

 left too long, or too many in number on each root, that 

 they may be duly ripened and prepared for bearing the 

 fourth year, which is the foonell they fhould be forced ; 

 when any forts of fruit-trees are forced by fire too young, 

 they feldom continue long in health ; fo that what fruit they 

 produce is fmall, and not well-flavoured. By the middle of 

 June the grapes will be almoft full grown, therefore the 

 glaflfes may be kept off continually in the day-time, unlefs 

 the feafon be very cold and wet, in which cafe they muft be 

 kept on, and only opened when the weather is favourable ; 

 for as the racy vinous flavour of thefe fruits is increafed 

 by a free air, fo during the time of their ripening they fliould 

 have as large a fhare as the feafon will admit to be given 

 them. Mr. Nicol advifes in the firft and fecond feafons, to 

 keep the border in a moderately moifl ftate while the plants 

 are growing ; but, after their growth begins to abate, par- 

 ticularly the fecond feafon, to withhold the waterings by de- 

 grees till it is quite flopped, in order to make them harden 

 and ripen their fhoots for the produAion of a crop the third 

 year. Water frequently with the drainings of a dunghill. 

 And wafh with the hand-engine twice or thrice a week 

 in the evening, in order to refrefli and keep the plants clean. 

 Steaming is, he thinks, unneceflary. 



And in the third feafon, keep the border alfo in a mode- 

 rately moift itate, till the fruit begin their lall fwelling. 

 Then give large quantities till they begin to colour ; after 

 which, entirely withhold it till the crop is gathered ; and 

 then give two or three hearty waterings, to recover the ftate 

 the border ought to remain in for the winter. 



He likcwife advifes to wafli twice or thrice a week till 

 the flowers begin to open, then to withhold till tlie fruit 

 is fairly fet ; wafhing again till they begin to colour, and 

 then withhold entirely for the feafon. And in the interim 

 ot wafliing, to fteam every night when the fire is at the 

 ftrongeft, by pouring water on the flues till you cannot fee 

 an objeft at the diftance of two or three yards : and repeat 

 this early in the morning, if the temperature of the houfe 

 require the making of fires, or if there is a iufiicient heat 

 in the flues to produce it, even in a middling degree. 



The infefts which infeft the grape-houfe are chiefly the 

 green fly, thrips, red fpider, and wafp. The two firll are, 

 Mr. Nicol conceives, eafily deftroyed by a fumigation of to- 

 bacco ; the third is kept under by the engine in fumnier ; 

 and the laft, by the dellruftioii of their iicfts, phials filled 

 with honey and water, or fugar and fmall beer, and bird- 

 lime. All thefe methods arc, however, lometimes ineffec- 

 tual for the deftruftion of wafps, where they abound in great 

 number ; and their fondnefb for grapes renders it fometimes 

 necelfary to inclofe the bunches in bags of gauze, or filken 

 paper, which is a misfortune ; as the grapes, by being fo 

 much excluded from the aftion of tlie fun and air, fall 

 off" very much in flavour. Birds muft alfo be guarded againft 

 by fome means or other. 



All lorts of grapes fliould continue on the trees till fully 

 ripe. It is advifed by fome, that thefe vines fliould not be 

 forced every year, but under good management every other 

 year, or every third year. Of courfe, in order to have a 

 fupply of fruit ainiuaily, there fliould be a fnfficient extent 

 of walling to contain as many vines as are necefl"ary for two 

 or three years ; and by having tlie frames in front moveable, 

 they may be fliifted from one part of the wall to anotlier, as 

 the vines are alternately forced. Thefe hot-walls are com- 

 monly planted with early kinds of grapes, in order to have 

 them forward in the feafon ; though fome think it hardly 

 worth the trouble, in order to have a few grapes earlier by 



a month or fix weeks, than thofe againft common wallt. 

 The forts of vines moft ufeful in this mode of culture have 

 been mentioned above. 



After thefe vines are grown to full bearing, they muft 

 be pruned and managed after the iame manner as has been 

 directed for thofe againft common wall?, with this difference 

 only, that in thofe feafons when they are not forced, they 

 ihould be carefully managed in the fummer for a fupply of 

 good wood, againft the time of their being forced, divelt- 

 ing them of their fruit for the purpofe. 



But when the vines are forced, the only care is to en- 

 courage the fruit, without having much regard to the wood, 

 fo that every flioot fliould be pruned for fruit, and none of 

 them fliortened for a fupply of young wood ; as they may 

 be fo managed by pruning in the years of their refting, as to 

 replenifli tiie vines with new wood. Thofe which are 

 defigned for forcing in the fpring, fliould be pruned early 

 in the autumn before, that the buds which are left on the 

 flioots may receive all poffible nourifliment from the root, 

 and at the fame time the fhoots fliould be fattened to the 

 treillis in the order they are to lie ; but the glaffes fliould 

 not be placed before the vines till about the middle or end 

 of January, at which time alfo the fires muft be lighted ; 

 for if they are forced too early in the year, they will begin 

 to ftioot before the weather is warm enough to admit air to 

 the vines, which caufes the young flioots to draw out weak, 

 and their joints too far afunder to afford a good and full 

 fupply of fruit. 



When the fires are made at the above period, the vines 

 begin to flioot the middle or latter end of February, which 

 is fix weeks earlier than they ufually come out againft the 

 common walls ; fo that by the time that other vines are 

 fliooting, thefe will be in flower, which is early enough to 

 ripen them. The fires fliould not be made very ftrong in 

 thefe walls ; as, if the air is heated about ten degrees above 

 the temperate point of the gardener's thermometer, it will 

 be fufficiently warm to force out the flioots leifurely, which 

 is much better than to force them violently. Thefe fires 

 fliould not be continued all the day-time, unlefs the weather 

 be very cold, and the fun does not fliine to warm the air, at 

 which lime it will be proper to have fmall fires continued 

 all the day ; for where the walls are rightly contrived, 

 a moderate fire made every evening, and continued till ten or 

 eleven o'clock at night, will heat the wall, and warm the 

 inclofed air to a proper temperature ; and as thefe fires 

 need not be continued longer than about the end of April, 

 (unlefs the fpring fliould prove very cold,) the expence of 

 fuel will not be very great, becaufe they may be contrived 

 to burn coal, wood, turf, or almoft any other lort of fuel : 

 though where coal is to be had reafonable, it makes the 

 evened and beft fires, and will not require fo niucii attendance. 

 When the vines begin to flioot, they muft be frequently 

 looked over, to fallen the new flioots to the treillis, and rub 

 off all dangling flioots ; in doing of which great care muft 

 be taken ; for the flioots of thefe forced vines are very 

 tender, and very fubjeft to break when any violence is 

 offered. The flioots fliould alfo be trained very regular, 

 fo as to lie as near as poflible to the efpalicr, and at equal 

 diftances, that they may equally enjoy the benefit of the air 

 and fun, which are abfoliitely neceffary for the improve- 

 ment of the fruit. Wlieii the grapes are formed, the Ihoots 

 fliould be flopped at the fecond joint beyond the fruit, that 

 the nourifliment may not be drawn away from the fruit in 

 ufelefs flioots, which muft be avoided as much as poflible in 

 thefe cafes, no ufelefs wood being left to fliadc the fruit, 

 and exclude tlie air from it by the leaves. 



In fpeaking of the temperature of the vinery, Mr. 



