COMPOSTS SUITABLE FOE VINES. 15 



necessary is to lay some dry leaves, dry fern, or other 

 litter, on tlie surface of the border to prevent radiation, 

 and to cover it over with such as tarpaulins, oiled calico, 

 wooden shutters, old hothouse lights, or straw thatch — 

 any material that will throw off the greater portion of 

 the winter rains will answer the purpose. Where vines 

 are not started till March, any advantage they might 

 derive from a permanent covering would be more than 

 counterbalanced by the loss of the sun's rays on the 

 border during the day. In such a case, a covering of 

 coarse cloth of some sort thrown over the border in the 

 evening and removed in the morning would be benefi- 

 cial till the warm nights of June set in. Grapes that 

 ripen in autumn and have to be kept till spring are 

 supposed to keep better by having the border the 

 roots of the vines are in kept dry during the winter. I 

 have, however, kept Lady Downes Grrape hanging on 

 the vine till May without a covering of any sort on the 

 border. 



COMPOSTS SUITABLE FOR VINES. 



As previously remarked, the soil the vine thrives best 

 in is a fibry calcareous loam, taken, not more than 3 

 inches deep, from an old sheep or deer pasture. Such 

 soil should consist of about 65 per cent sand, 39 per cent 

 clay, and 5 per cent of chalk, with an abundance of 

 vegetable fibre, giving it the character of what gardeners 

 know as friable turfy loam. When the sand is in excess 

 of what I have indicated, it may be termed sandy loam ; 

 when the clay is in excess, clayey loam. The prepara- 

 tion it should receive, and the ingredients that should 

 be added to it, depend on its qualities in these respects. 

 I will give an example of how it should be prepared, 



