Book I. 



CULTURE OF THE VINERY, 



541 



February, while yet remaining on the mother plant. But whenever this happens, the sucker should be 

 broken off immediately upon being perceived, and planted in a pot so as to form a root of its own, to 

 maintain its fruit." {Hort. Trans, iv. 392.) 



2939. This experiment shows what can be done ; though it must be obvious that a considerable part of the 

 saving in time is lost by the small size of the fruit. Baldwin, in our opinion, has hit on the proper use of 

 this mode, the principle of which, as already observed, consists in the employment of the otherwise lost 

 vigor of the old stock. He contrives to produce tolerably sized fruit, and to have such a degree of vigor 

 in his suckers, as that they are able, in their turn, to throw out other vigorous suckers to succeed them. 

 In aid of this, he often earths up the old stock, so as to cover the lower end of the sucker ; and partially 

 wrenching it off, he, by these means, obtains for it a good stock of roots before he renders it an in- 

 dependent plant. 



Sect. II. Of the CuUure of the Vinery. 



2940. On the culture of so important a fruit as the grape, it is not surprising that there 

 should be a great variety of opinions. Without quoting those of the earlier, and of 

 foreign authors, neither of which are of much value as to the hot-house culture of this 

 plant, we shall give those of the best modern British gardeners ; on the general modes 

 of culture adopted in ordinary vineries ; in regard to particular modes of culture ; as to 

 gathering and preserving the fruit ; and as to insects and diseases. 



SuBSECT. 1 . Of the General Culture of the Grape in Fineries. 



2941. The culture of the grape in ordinary vineries embraces the subject of soil, sort of 

 grapes, sort of plants, pruning, training, bleeding of the shoot, culture of the borders, 

 time of beginning to force, temperature, air, water, ripening and resting of the wood. 



2942. Soil. The kind of compost Speechly made use of for the vine border of the hot- 

 he use a Welbeck, was as follows, viz. " One fourth part of garden mould (a strong 

 lo. m) ; one fourth of the swarth or turf, from a pasture where the soil is a sandy loam ; 

 o; e fourth of the sweepings and scrapings of pavements and hard roads ; one eighth of 

 rotten cow and stable-yard dung, mixed ; and one eighth of vegetable mould from 

 reduced and decayed oak-leaves. The swarth or sward should be laid on a heap, till the 

 grass roots are in a state of decay, and then turned over and broken with a spade ; then 

 put it to the other materials, and work the whole well together." (Tr. on Vine, p. 25.) 

 Speechly covers his vine border with a coat of gravel two inches thick. 



2943. Abercrombie says, " materials and proportions of a good compost are of top-spit sandy loam from an 

 upland pasture, one third part ; unexhausted brown loam from a garden, one fourth part ; scrapings of 

 ro:;ds, free fi'om clay, and repaired with gravel or slate, one sixth part ; vegetable mould, or old tan 

 reduced to earth, or rotten stable-dung, one eighth part ; shell-marl or mild lime, one twelfth part." 

 The borders he recommends to be from three to five feet in depth, and, where practicable, not less than 

 four feet wide in surface within the house, communicating with a border outside the building, of not less 

 than ten feet wide. 



2944. M'Phail directs as follows : " To make a suitable border where it is required for the grape-vine, 

 provide a large quantity of earth of a loamy nature; that from arable land, or from a ridge in which a 

 hedge-row of hazel, maple, elm, &c. have grown many years, and have been grubbed, is good ; or a spit 

 deep from the surface of a common, long pastured ; or from the head or end lands of a corn-field ; either 

 of these will do very well." For forcing early, he adds, " vines do best in a strong deep loam, 

 not destitute of a mixture of sand, and well manured with rotten dung, on a dry bottom of hard 

 clay." 



2945. Nicol, after premising that the bottom of the border is to be made perfectly dry by draining and 

 paving, says, " the average depth of the border should not be less than a yard. If four feet, so much the 

 better. It is not easy to say how broad it should be ; but it should not be narrower, outside and inside of 

 the house taken together, than thirty feet. The soil should be thus composed : one half strong hazelly 

 loam, one fourth light sandy earth, an eighth part vegetable mould of decayed tree-leaves, and an eighth 

 part rotten dung; to which may very properly be added, a moderate quantity of lime, or of shell-marl. These 

 articles should be perfectly decomposed, and intimately mixed, before planting." 



2946. G?-fffin, who has received the medal of the Horticultural Society for his skill in cultivating grapes at 

 Woodhall, in Hertfordshire, forms his vine borders as follows : After being completely drained, the 

 whole bottom is covered with brick, stone, or lime rubbish, about six inches thick, and on this is laid a 

 compost of " half good loamy soil with its turf, one quarter of rich solid old dung, and one quarter of 

 brick and lime rubbish ; the turf weU rotted, and the whole well incorporated." {Ho7-t. Trans, vol. iv. 

 p. 100.) 



2947. Judd uses half of rich gritty loam from a common ; a quarter of rich old dung ; and a quarter of 

 lime rubbish, tan, and leaf mould, mixed together. These materials were kept separate, and frequently 

 turned during winter, and when afterwards well mixed were not sifted, but laid on a prepared bottom to 

 the depth of three feet. He says he does not use so much dung as is usually done, because, though the 

 vine will bear an extraordinary quantity of manure, yet its growth is thereby retarded, especially when 

 young. He recommends the addition of old tan, from having experienced (with Speechly, Mitchell, 

 and others) that the vine will root in that more freely than in any other substance. {Horf. Trans. 

 vol. iv. p. 4.) 



2948. Sort of grapes. In the horticultural catalogue will be found a description of the 

 best sorts of grapes for forcing, or the open wall, from which a selection may be made, 

 according to the taste of the party. 



2949. For a mere glass case, in which the fruit is to be ripened by the heat of the sun, 

 the following, which are the hardiest sorts, will succeed best, viz. white muscadine, white 

 Sweetwater, black sweetwater, black Hamburgh, large black cluster, black July, miller 

 grape, and black St. Peter's. 



29.50. For a small house to be forced, or to which fire-heat is to be applied in spring and autumn, the 

 following sorts are what experienced gardeners recommend, as sure bearers and high.flavored grapes : 

 black and red Hamburgh, black and grizzly Frontignac, black prince, white muscat of Alexandria, 

 Sitwcl's white sweetwater, and early white Tencriffe. 



2951. M'Phail, for general forcing, recommends, as " the best sorts of grape-vines for forcing, the blaclc 



