VINERIES. 



301 



We have, however, an exception to this 

 rule in the case of the late Mr Aeon, who 

 superintended the once splendid gardens 

 at Worksop Manor, now a heap of ruins. 

 Fig. 403 exhibits a section of what Mr 



Aeon considered a perfect early vinery. 

 a a, flues; b, trellis with wires 12 inches 

 apart ; c c, places where the vines were 

 planted. " The method usually adopted," 

 says Mr Aeon, (in " Transactions of the 

 Horticultural Society," vol. vii. p. 2,) "for 

 early grapes, is to train the vines under 

 the roof near the glass, or on small 

 frames against flued walls. Both these 

 methods are," in his opinion, "objec- 

 tionable. By the former the house is 

 rendered much too dark, and the young 

 branches are liable to suffer from the 

 currents of cold air that blow through 

 the interstices of the glass in stormy 

 weather; and, by the latter, the plants 

 are frequently scorched from the intense 

 heat of the flue. For early forcing, a 

 great command of heat is essentially ne- 

 cessary, to secure which the house here 

 described was constructed with two flues, 

 which first pass along the middle of 

 the house, and then return in the back 

 wall; the fires are placed at each end 

 behind ; thus the house was equalised to 

 a great nicety. The vines are trained 

 horizontally on the trellis, and on the 

 back wall of the house. Some are also 

 trained on the rafters ; but these last are 

 introduced six weeks after the forcing of 

 the first has commenced, and they yield 

 a succession crop. The form of this 

 house gives it a peculiar advantage over 

 most others, in presenting a greater sur- 

 face for the growth of the vines than 

 could be derived from any other plan. 

 The trellis which covers the flues is equal to 

 the whole roof, without being in the least 

 detrimental to the plants at the back of the 



house. To prove the superiority of this 

 trellis, some branches were brought from 

 the vines growing on the rafters and 

 trained on the trellis ; these ripened their 

 clusters a fortnight sooner than those 

 above, and were exceedingly large and 

 fine. The vines are planted in the earth 

 within the house ; for I consider it," he 

 says, " of the utmost importance to have 

 their roots secure from external expo- 

 sure ; but I do not, by any means, desire 

 to have the mould in which they grow 

 heated by the fire. Few plants will thrive 

 well if the earth in which their roots are 

 placed is warmed by other means than 

 that of the atmosphere." 



The principal objection we have to this 

 vinery is, that the vines are too far from 

 the glass, not that the fruit is more 

 shaded than it would be if they were 

 trained all over the roof, as is so often 

 done. We think, also, that the heat of 

 the flues would be injurious to the tender 

 foliage so close to it. 



Aeon's late vinery — fig. 404 — is more in 

 the manner of the early vineries in ordi- 



nary use. As a late house, it has one advan- 

 tage — namely, a rather steep roof, which 

 will be beneficial for throwing off the rain- 

 water that falls on its surface, a is the 

 flue, on arches 18 inches above the level 

 of the floor ; b the place where the vines 

 are planted. The vines are trained to a 

 trellis under the glass. 



Nicol's late vinery is from 30 to 50 feet 

 in length, 14 feet wide, and 15 or 16 feet 

 high, with or without front glass as may 

 be desired. In the former case, the para- 

 pet and glass should not exceed 5 feet in 

 height, as it is but seldom that any fruit 



