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VINE -ROOTS. 



The roots of vines, like those of most other trees, 

 have a tendency to descend into the earth, and when 

 they reach certain subsoils they become unhealthy, 

 besides which they are then far from the genial in- 

 fluences of sun and air. To prevent this, remove a few 

 inches of the surface of the border every summer dur- 

 ing dry weather, which will most probably expose some 

 of the roots, at any rate descend till they are reached, 

 then on, under, and amongst these young roots lay a 

 few inches of nice fresh loam, horse-dropping, and old 

 lime-rubbish in equal parts, with a few handfuls of 

 ground bones. Into this mixture the vines v/ill send 

 a mass of fine feeding fibry roots, that with similar 

 annual attention may be kept there, where they should 

 be mulched as already directed, and during very hot 

 dry weather fed with liquid manure, either from the 

 farmyard or cesspool. When neither of these is avail- 

 able, mix guano at the rate of one ounce to the gallon 

 of water. If this process is persevered in, it reduces the 

 importance of concreting the bottoms of vine-borders, 

 as the vines seldom suffer from any roots formed at too 

 great a depth. An amateur close to this place has for 

 many years grown splendid crops of grapes, chiefly 

 Muscats. The vines are planted in an outside border, 

 only 6 feet of which was made soil, and the roots are 

 all right through it into the general soil of his garden, 

 which is poor, shallow, and gravelly ; but he annually 

 covers more than 30 feet in width of the soil on each 

 side of his span-roofed house with 6 inches of nearly 

 solid cow-manure, which during the year washes into 



