144 



GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



CHAPTER XLYI. 



THE COLD GRAPERY. 



I know of no addition to a country home from which 

 such a large amount of satisfaction can be obtained at so 

 small an outlay as from a grapery for growing the differ- 

 ent varieties of foreign grapes. It has been proved that 

 none of these fine varieties can be cultivated with any sat- 

 isfaction in any part of the northern or even middle 

 states, except under glass. In California and some other 

 states and territories west of the Mississippi the varie- 

 ties of the European grape have been extensively grown 

 in the open air. There the conditions of climate are 

 such as to make their culture a success equal to that at- 

 tained any where in Europe. Besides the luxury of the 

 grape as a table fruit, no finer sight can be seen, and there 

 is nothing of which an amateur gardener may be more 

 proud than a grapery in which the vines are loaded with 

 ripe fruit. And as this can be obtained at a trifling 

 original outlay, and with but little attention in the culti- 

 vation afterwards, I will briefly describe how to do it. 



Our climate is particularly well adapted to the cultiva- 

 tion of vines under glass without fire heat, and the won- 

 der is that cold graperies are not in more general use 

 even by people of moderate means than they at pres- 

 ent are. We built one for our own use on the plan shown 

 on page 92 ; it answering for a greenhouse as well as 

 for a grapery. The dimensions are 50 feet long by 

 25 wide. It is finished in very good style, and cost but 

 little more than $1,000. It was planted in June, and 

 the third year from planting we cut upwards of 300 lbs. 

 of fruit from it ; the next season it yielded nearly double 

 that quantity. The building was begun by setting locust 

 posts four feet apart ; on these was framed the sill, on 



