THE GRAPE VINE. 



603 



situations and wet soils, rising upwards and 

 rendering the borders too wet, particularly those 

 in which the vine is to be grown. Vaulting 

 answers the same ends, but with greater advan- 

 tages — namely, rendering the border not only 

 drier, but also warmer, which is of so much impor- 

 tance, by the ascent of atmospheric air, which, 

 warmed by the sun, is admitted to the vaulting 

 below, and from it, passing upwards through 

 the soil, carries with it a considerable amount of 

 solar heat, which becomes, during its ascent, 

 absorbed by the soil. Another advantage arises 

 from this process, perhaps of as great importance 

 to the roots as the warmth — namely, air, upon 

 which, says a great physiological writer, " the 

 roots feed as much as the leaves." Vaulting 

 admits of copious application of liquid manure 

 during the growing season of the trees, and that 

 without rendering the border in any part or at 

 any time too damp. In vaulting hothouse 

 borders— and we hold that all should be so— it 

 is important that they be amply constructed, so 

 that a free circulation of air may pass under 

 them; and to this end a sufficient number of 

 apertures should be left, with the means of 

 regulating them by convenient stoppers, that 

 air may be either admitted from within the 

 house or from the external atmosphere. Be- 

 sides, they admit of hot-water pipes being car- 

 ried under them, if deemed necessary. Next in 

 importance to actual vaulting must be forming 

 the border upon a mass of stones laid in as open 

 a manner as possible 18 inches or 2 feet in depth, 

 thickly interspersed from front to back with 

 large drain-tiles, having a communication capable 

 of being opened and shut both with the external 

 air and also with the air of the house, or with 

 the vicinity of the furnace, for the admission of 

 heated or cold air, as may be deemed expedient. 

 This, where pavement is expensive, will be an 

 excellent substitute for vaulting, and constructed 

 at much less cost. 



Concreting the surface of borders, whether 

 those in front of vineries or those of the open 

 wall, is of far more recent introduction. We 

 have already, in vol. i., stated some of the 

 advantages. The objections stated are princi- 

 pally the exclusion of air and solar heat, in con- 

 sequence of the impenetrable covering of con- 

 crete on the surface, the exclusion of rain, their 

 liability to become too hot during summer, and 

 too dry in winter. At first sight these objec- 

 tions seem to be strengthened by the generally 

 received opinion that the surface of all culti- 

 vated soils cannot be kept too open and pervi- 

 ous to genial rains, air, and solar heat, and hence 

 the admitted utility of frequently stirring the 

 surface between the crops in the open garden. 

 Under the latter circumstances the openness of 

 the surface is the only means by which air, 

 solar heat, and sufficient moisture can by any 

 possibility reach the roots; and when the soil is 

 not thoroughly drained, or resting on a dry 

 pervious subsoil, evil may arise from too great a 

 quantity of the latter being admitted, which, 

 being prevented from escaping downwards, satu- 

 rates the soil and induces sterility, or serious 

 injury to the roots, and also, by lowering the 

 temperature, retards the crops from arriving at 



maturity. Concreting unvaulted borders may 

 be subject to some of those charges, but cer- 

 tainly not when the proper precaution of vault- 

 ing is attended to. The evidence of Messrs 

 Spencer, Fleming, Beaton, Hutchinson, and in- 

 deed most of the best gardeners in England, 

 is to our mind most conclusive as to the advan- 

 tages of these combined processes. They say, 

 and say truly, that concreting has the effect of 

 detaining moisture in the soil when most wanted 

 — namely, during summer — and excluding it, 

 when least required, during winter; it causes 

 heat to be absorbed abundantly and progres- 

 sively, as it is required during spring, summer, 

 and autumn, and excludes cold as well as re- 

 tains heat during winter, which, without such a 

 covering, would, in the first case, be abstracted 

 by the penetration of frost, and in the second 

 would allow the heat accumulated during sum- 

 mer to escape by radiation from the surface. 

 It not only maintains a degree of temperature 

 and humidity exceedingly congenial to the roots 

 of plants, but secures them from mutilation by 

 digging on the surface, as well as prevents 

 the soil from becoming too compact in conse- 

 quence of treading upon the borders. 



Vaulting is of great importance whether the 

 ground is concreted or not, and this will be 

 found to be the more apparent in the coldest 

 and dampest localities. There are many favour- 

 able situations, where all sorts of fruit trees 

 prosper to the maximum of perfection, where 

 such precautions are not absolutely necessary, 

 but these are few in proportion. 



For further details on concreting, vaulting, 

 heating, and aerating borders, vide vol. i. pp. 

 322 to 330, and figs. 435 to 447; also pp. 27 to 

 31, fig. 11. 



Cropping vine borders. — Not only should vine 

 borders be left entirely un cropped, but digging 

 and forking should also be avoided. Hand- 

 weeding and shallow -hoeing are all that is 

 required. 



Renovating vine borders. — However well they 

 may be formed in the first instance, in the 

 generality of cases they will require amendment 

 in some shape or other. Those that have been 

 made too deep and too rich in the first instance 

 will be the first to require assistance. Every 

 artificially-formed border sinks more or less 

 according to its depth, and the proportion of de- 

 composable matter put into it. The first evil 

 arising from its sinking is taking the roots down 

 with it, unless they are unfortunate enough to 

 have become suspended in consequence of the 

 main stem and branches being secured to the 

 house or trellis within. When such sinking 

 takes place, it is too much the practice to top- 

 dress the surface of the border to keep it up to 

 its original level; by this means the roots be- 

 come buried too deep to derive much benefit 

 from the sun, or whatever covering may be 

 placed over them to excite them into action, as 

 already referred to. The second evil arising is 

 consolidation, and consequently stagnation, by 

 the derangement of the texture of the soil; than 

 this a greater misfortune can hardly occur. The 

 third evil may be traced to a stoppage of the 

 drainage, in consequence of the drains becom- 



