BORDERS FOR THE TREES. 219 



ation, both for the growth of the vines and the 

 ripening and flavour of the fruit. If the natural 

 soil is of a deep, light, mellow, loamy nature, 

 little is required beyond trenching the border 

 two or three feet deep, mixing with it a tolerable 

 good dressing of compost, such as rotten dung, 

 brick rubbish, scrapings of turnpike roads, &c. 

 By this practice vines will generally succeed 

 better than by removing the natural soil two or 

 three feet deep, which is often the practice, and 

 bringing in a different soil, which the vine is fond 

 of ; for although the plants may grow very freely 

 for the first few years, yet when the roots get 

 down to the soil of quite a different nature and 

 which they may not be so fond of, they are very 

 apt, just as they are coming into bearing, to lose 

 part of their vigour, which will render them not 

 so well able to stand a crop of fruit, or at least, 

 produce such fine bunches and large berries, as 

 if they had not been too nicely fed at first. 



Where it should so happen that the land is of 

 that nature, either a bed of gravel, strata of clay, 

 or otherwise so unkind that it may be deemed 

 necessary to remove the natural soil, and bring 



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