58 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and I give the preference to those from the best quality of 

 bones over those from dissolved coprolites. Care is necessary in 

 using either in a dissolved state, for at times the acid solvent is 

 in excess of what is safe ; and seeing that bones are more costly 

 than the acid, this is very likely to take place, and when it does, 

 injury to the roots is very certain. 



Potash is an element without which the Vine cannot bear 

 fruit. It is present to some extent in most soils, but to make 

 sure of its presence in the border a percentage should be added 

 to all Vine manures, either of nitrate or muriate of potash. 



Sulphate of ammonia should be represented, but not neces- 

 sarily in large proportion, as the Vine is not so dependent on 

 ammonia as many other plants. 



Sulphate of lime should be represented, as it has not only a 

 directly beneficial action, but a reflex one, making some of the 

 other ingredients more active than they would be without it. 



These are the four elements most essential in the composition 

 of a good safe manure, and I have found it of great importance 

 that especially the phosphates should be in forms that will 

 come into action one after the other, and go on doing so for 

 years. Such is the composition of the manure we have used with 

 good results for a dozen years, and our Vines are more fruitful 

 now than they were at any date during the last twenty 

 years. 



If I had to make up a new border I would add half a 

 hundredweight of such manure as I have indicated to the 

 cartload of soil, and follow that up by forking a portion of it 

 into the surface of the border annually, so as to keep the roots 

 near the surface, where they can be easily fed, and where they 

 will be in wholesome, well-aerated soil, instead of diving down to 

 the bottom of the border, as we but too frequently find them 

 doing, with very bad results to the fruit. 



I know of no treatment likely to do Vines greater harm than 

 pouring quantities of muddy liquid manure on the borders, and 

 especially if soot is mixed with it, as I have sometimes seen 

 recommended. This seals up the pores of the surface of the 

 border, and prevents the salutary influence of the air on the 

 soil. At the same time, liquid manure from cow-sheds and 

 stables may be used with very great advantage, if necessary 

 precautions are adopted. It should be mixed with an equivalent 



