2 



A TREATISE ON THE 



wet, a very considerable excavation must necessarily be made, or 

 the border can never be properly drained. 



Having said thus much relative to the situation, I now proceed 

 to the erection of the grape-house ; and as every grape-grower is 

 fully aware of the difficulty in protecting the stems of vines, 

 planted in outside borders, from the frost during the progress of 

 early forcing (and even at a later period of the spring they often 

 receive injury from the same cause), I have presented a plan for 

 a vinery, which I feel assured will not only remedy that evil, but 

 will also possess other advantages, which will be better explained 

 as I proceed. 



The house should be placed on arches, with a double wall upon 

 them, extending along the front of the building (as shown in the 

 Plate), and a space or cavity of five inches to be allowed between 

 the walls, with a plating along the top of each, and a groove to 

 receive the upright lights, thus making them to slide, instead of 

 opening with hinges. It may be argued, that this plan of erection 

 would not only be more expensive, but that the double walls would 

 present a heavy, unsightly appearance. In reply to this, I hope 

 to prove that the great convenience and utility secured thereby 

 will more than counterbalance any little disadvantages, more parti- 

 cularly as, I think, the heavy appearance would be much less 

 increased by the plan than may on first view of the subject be 

 imagined ; as, for instance, a single wall would of necessity require 

 to be nine inches thick, whereas in this case each one would be 

 four inches, thus the increase of width would only be the five 

 inches of space left between the two walls, and any deficiency of 

 strength could be amply suppHed by wood or brick ties. It may, 

 perhaps, be unnecessary to say more, as all other particulars are 

 fully pointed out in the building plan. I will, therefore, proceed 

 with my next subject, viz., the border. This should be at least 

 sixteen feet in width, three-and-a-half in depth, including drain- 

 age, &c. And, first, the higher side of it which abuts the vinery 

 should, when the border is entirely finished, be exactly on a level 

 with the interior flooring ; and that being the criterion as to the 



