THE GRAPE VINE. 



625 



of the trough a layer of pieces of turf of about 

 3 inches square, to prevent the fine mould from 

 being washed down ; next, put a layer of 2 or 3 

 inches deep of the following compost — viz., 

 equal quantities of rich turfy loam and rotted 

 manure from the farmyard, with the addition 

 of a little sand. Proceed to remove the vines 

 from the pots by turning the ball upside down 

 on the palm of the hand, having a convenient 

 bench on which to rest the hand and ball while 

 cautiously removing the crocks, and any objec- 

 tionable soil, or worms, and taking the utmost 

 care in doing so not to injure the roots. When 

 so prepared, place the ball on the surface of the 

 soil in the bottom of the trough. Proceed in 

 like manner till the whole are done, leaving a 

 space of about 3 inches between the balls of 

 each, to be filled up with the same compost as 

 used under them." The roots are covered from 

 1 to 2 inches deep with soil previously brought 

 to the temperature of the house; they are then 

 tied to their proper places, well syringed, but 

 no water given to the roots for a few days un- 

 less absolutely necessary, and then it is to be 

 done by pouring it immediately on the balls, 

 and not over the whole soil in the troughs. 

 The plants will soon show the benefit they 

 derive from the change. "When sufficiently 

 advanced, stop each shoot one joint beyond the 

 fruit, and leave only one bunch to each, and 

 from eight to twelve to every vine, according to 

 their strength. A heavier crop would deteri- 

 orate both from the size and colour of the 

 berries. A plentiful supply of water will now 

 be necessary, which can be given abundantly 

 without fear of injury from stagnation, pro- 

 vided the directions given for the formation of 

 the trough have been strictly attended to." Mr 

 Saunders produces two crops annually in this 

 way. Indeed, he says, in his " Treatise on the 

 Vine," p. 31, "the trough system might justly be 

 said to possess all the requisites of a vine border 

 — viz., drained, heated, and covered with glass. 

 With these advantages the grower is enabled to 

 produce Muscats with as great success as any 

 other kind; and by commencing forcing them in 

 the beginning of December, ripe fruit of this 

 much-esteemed variety can be had by the first 

 week in May. Another most material point is 

 gained by producing the Muscat in troughs : you 

 are thus enabled to keep a constant supply of fruit 

 for the table without forcing the permanently- 

 planted vines, which is an object of great im- 

 portance, as it enables us to give them a longer 

 season of rest, and by so doing the vines will 

 become stronger and better every year, and con- 

 sequently the fruit will be of a superior quality, 

 and can be well ripened in time to succeed the 

 early forced ones. In this way it is quite pos- 

 sible to have ripe Muscat grapes throughout 

 the year, a desideratum which many have pro- 

 nounced unattainable." 



When the vines thus grown at Tedworth 

 have ripened their fruit, and when it is cut for 

 use, the vines are carefully removed from the 

 troughs and placed out of doors against a wall, 

 protecting the roots from the sun, &c. Vines 

 thus treated will yield a fair crop very early the 

 following season, but not equal to what they do 



the first year. They ought to be removed when 

 the fruit is gathered, to make way for another 

 successional set of vines. 



Mr Saunders' great forte is in the cultivation 

 of the Muscat of Alexandria ; yet he grows other 

 varieties also with equal success. 



Both pot and trough culture must be admitted 

 to have advantages in early, or rather winter 

 forcing, over forcing vines where the roots are 

 in external borders, subject to the extremes of 

 cold and wet, and where the roots are so little 

 under our control. Next to this, as respects 

 insuring success, must be regarded the system 

 of planting within the house, or in vaulted 

 borders without, heated by hot- water pipes, and 

 protected above either by concreting or such 

 other means as will exclude both frost and an 

 excess of humidity. Pot and trough culture 

 entail a considerable amount of labour and ex- 

 pense; but again, under such management as 

 has been year after year exemplified by the 

 authorities we have quoted, there is no doubt 

 that the return is equal to the trouble and 

 expense incurred. 



Retarding crops of ripe grapes. — Late crops of 

 grapes demand the utmost vigilance to secure a 

 supply till February. The grape has the property 

 of remaining on the tree after it is ripe for a 

 longer period than any other of our cultivated 

 fruits. Much of this depends, however, on the 

 kinds grown. Of these, West's St Peter's, Black 

 Barbarossa, Hamburg, White Nice, Syrian, 

 Charlesworth Tokay, Muscat of Alexandria, 

 and its varieties, are best adapted for long 

 keeping. For this purpose a house, or houses, 

 should be set apart, and in such houses no 

 other plant should be allowed to enter ; for it is 

 impossible to keep greenhouse plants in a 

 healthy state, and preserve the grapes at the 

 same time. The conditions next to these essen- 

 tial to the long keeping of the grape are, that 

 they are fully ripened before the growing season 

 closes, that the atmosphere of the house after 

 that period be kept low but not cold, uniform 

 and dry, a free amount of ventilation at times, 

 and, so far as can be without injury to the vines, 

 a very limited amount of light : indeed, when 

 the grapes and wood are fully ripened, light 

 should be entirely excluded. These conditions 

 are, however, unfavourable to the vine, and 

 hence the great advantage of growing late 

 grapes in pots, as they may, when the fruit is 

 fully ripened, be removed to a dry dark apart- 

 ment : as the plants, according to some of our 

 most eminent growers, produce only one crop 

 of fruit, the preservation of the plants afterwards 

 is a matter of no consideration. Grapes are 

 often kept a long time when removed altogether 

 from the vine, and this is effected by taking 

 with each bunch a piece of the shoot on which 

 it was produced; and the larger this piece of 

 wood is the better, so long as its removal does 

 not interfere with the regular pruning of the 

 vine. Both ends of such shoots are sealed over, 

 and they are then suspended in a dry, dark, 

 cool room. They, however, require repeated 

 examination, so that all decaying berries may be 

 removed as soon as they show symptoms of 

 decay. Under ordinary circumstances, grapes 



