242 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 18 1890..- 
We have no freer rooting plant than the Vine, but like most 
other plants it has a partiality for some soils over others, and my 
experience is that the limestone formation is the most natural soil 
for the Vine. I have for years past noted the Grapes that have 
been exhibited at our largest shows, and have found that the man 
who holds his own best and longest is situated on the limestone ; 
in fact, a man who could not produce the finest samples of Grapes 
on such soils ought to make way for a better man. Very well, if a 
man is about to embark on a large scale in Grape growing he cannot 
do better than fix himself on the limestone, and if there is a colliery 
and railway station near then he has the principal conditions 
necessary to ensure success. This limestone soil is not an absolute 
necessity, as we see Yines growing and thriving in the most diverse 
soils. The question is, how to improve and render what appear 
unsuitable into suitable soils. Wherever there is found 2 feet or 
so of decent soil, not too heavy nor too light, we may hope by 
bringing our knowledge of the laws that govern free root action to 
bring it from a sterile condition into one abounding in fertility. 
Many years ago I remember the question asked in the Journal of 
Horticulture , What makes roots grow ? and the answer was air. 
Shortly afterwards a gentleman asked how that could be possible 
when he had a Yine growing in a solid MacAdam road, and this 
Yine he described as being in the most robust health. It did not 
strike him that in such a mixture as MacAdam there could not 
possibly be any great cohesion, and it was just such a mass as the 
air would pass through freely, and every stone would be a pasture 
ground for every fibry root. I have as a cultivator tried to get at 
the bottom of things, and if I hold one principle more strongly 
than any other it is that aeration is an absolute necessity to healthy 
underground growth or root action. It generally takes a few years 
to get thoroughly exhausted land into a state of fertility, but in 
the case of a piece of ground intended to be covered with a vinery 
we must try and do the thing thoroughly at one dressing. First, if 
I could borrow a dozen or two sheep I would willingly keep them 
free of cost to have the privilege of folding them for two or three 
weeks on the piece of ground intended for the Yines. I should 
then have in readiness sufficient horse manure, fresh and full of 
vitality—not your spent hotbed manure, which is of no value for 
this purpose—to make a covering over the whole border 18 inches 
deep. The next process is to trench the whole ground, breaking it 
up thoroughly, and as the work proceeds I should procure a supply 
of soot, and also shoddy or rag manure, the latter to be soaked in 
strong liquid manure, to which has been added some sulphate of 
ammonia. This shoddy is the finest substitute for turf I know, 
and is really more lasting. After the whole has been trenched I 
should make the surface somewhat fine, as the object now is to get 
the ground to absorb the ammonia and other fertilisers introduced. 
Where expense is not feared I would add with the above some horn 
shavings, but I really cannot recommend artificial manures at £20 a 
ton, when good horse manure can be had at 4s. After the trenching 
is finished the whole should be allowed to gradually subside before 
planting. 
Starting the Yines. 
I have already described the structure I approve for growing 
Grapes for the million, and also the planting. I will now give a 
few ideas on points I think essential to success. We must start 
with correct notions on the nature of the Yine. In my practice I 
have always treated it as a temperate rather than a tropical plant. 
Heat, light, and moisture are synonymous with motion in the 
vegetable kingdom, and these are the points to regulate to get a 
good start. If we apply too great heat we shall get too rapid 
motion, and if we apply too much moisture we shall get growth 
without solidity. The temperature I like for starting Yines is 50° 
night and day. As soon as growth appears 55° is sufficient during 
the day, and at night 50°. The houses should be freely ventilated from 
the expansion of the Yine’s first leaf, as much of our success depends 
on the quality and texture of the main leaves. If these are made in 
an atmosphere overloaded with moisture we need not be surprised 
if the first scorching day curls them up and red spider finishes 
them. In the early stages of growth my whole object is devoted 
to getting all the main leaves up to three or so beyond the bunch 
of the finest possible substance, and capable of standing sunshine, 
or volumes of fresh air without injury. This can only be accom¬ 
plished by very steady forcing, and I am never satisfied if the root 
action of the Yines has not commenced when they have made 
about four inches of young growth. Up to this stage the stored 
up food in the rods is sufficient to supply the wants of the young 
growths, but if quick root action does not take place you may 
expect shanking and other evils to follow. When the bunches are 
visible I remove all secondary growths below the bunch, and this 
has a great effect in giving additional substance to the permanent 
leaves, prevents overcrowding of useless growth, and saves much 
labour in stopping during the growing season. Good colour and 
every other point, including flavour, depends on the sturdy forma¬ 
tion of the earliest leaves and their preservation intact until the 
crop is removed from the Yines. 
Many people treat Vines as though they were stove plants-— 
never satisfied except they are dosing them with pent-up mois¬ 
ture. The very nature of the tendrils of the Yine tells you 
that Nature has endowed it with the power to stand storms and 
tempests of wind with impunity. Many growers are very fond 
of producing what they call an ammoniacal atmosphere in the 
vinery. In the early stages of growth I have no objection to 
this, but the moment the Yines have set it should never be after¬ 
wards applied, otherwise you are sure to lose the bloom on your 
Grapes. Nothing equals the free air of heaven in keeping up the 
vigour of vegetation, whether it is in the open or under glass. We 
can assist Nature indoors by adding additional moisture, but I 
always leave out the ammonia, unless the ventilators are wide open. 
I have seen many exhibits of good Grapes that were knocked clean 
out through the polished surface of the berries, tilling plainly that 
too much ammonia had been applied to the atmosphere directly 
after the setting period. 
In training the young growths they should, as far as possible, be 
brought in a direct horizontal position from the main stem ; by 
doing so you secure a much greater surface of foliage exposed to the 
light than when they are carried in an oblique direction. 
Setting. 
This is the critical stage in the culture of Muscat of Alexandria,, 
and though the flowers of the Yine are insignificant in appearance, 
there is every reason to suppose that the mass of pollen produced' 
during the flowering period is exhausting to the Yine. All the 
kinds I have recommended for market culture are very 
prolific in showing bunches, and the Muscat especially so, 
often showing as many as five bunches on a single lateral. 
The first operation is to remove all small and ill-shaped 
bunches, leaving but one, and that the most shapely, on each 
lateral. This should be done a week or so before the flowers 
commence to open, so that the bunches left may get the full 
benefit of the extra strength that will be thrown into them through 
the removal of unnecessary bunches. With Muscats a night tem¬ 
perature of 70° is necessary, and during the day the temperature 
should be from 75° to 80°. In the case of Hamburghs and 
Alicante a night temperature of 65° will suffice, and the 
day temperature may rise 10° higher. I ventilate freely early in 
the morning to get the pollen dry and ripe, and about half-past ten' 
or eleven o’clock, before the stigmas have had time to dry up from, 
the heat of the day, I go carefully over the whole house, and give 
each bunch a gentle tap to set free the pollen. This operation is 
repeated every morning for about eight or ten days, and I have 
never failed to secure a satisfactory “ set ” by this means. After 
this operation the house may be damped without injury to the 
setting process, but all superfluous moisture should be expelled 
before nightfall. 
Thinning. 
Thinning is an operation that requires doing with a bold 
hand. I do not approve of doing a job twice, so I thin the first 
time to stand the season. It is necessary to have an idea what 
your Yines are capable of doing, but if you are sure tley are in 
good root action then thin them freely, as the reward will be extra 
fine berries and much less exhaustion of the Yines than if you 
allowed them to get near the stoning period before the second 
thinning took place. There is one point in thinning Grapes in¬ 
tended for market, and that is leave the shoulders of the bunches* 
pretty full, so as to hide the footstalks as much as possible. The 
advantage of this will be found when you come to send them to 
market, as a fine even surface of berries will be the result. My 
favourite liquid manure is composed of blood manure and soot, 
with a change occasionally out of the farmyard tank. The blood 
manure is very quick in its action, and will swell up the berries 
to a great size. A couple of waterings of weak doses of sulphate 
of ammonia may be applied during the growing season, but the 
house must on no account be closed for several hours after the 
watering, otherwise not only the bloom on your berries but the 
foliage may get damaged. 
Pruning. 
This is a simple operation, and if your Vines are young and in 
good condition they may safely be cut in to one eye from the 
stem; but if Yines are old and enfeebled with many years’ crop¬ 
ping, then it will be advisable to leave an extra eye to ensure a good 
show of fruit. Before the final pruning a partial pruning should 
take place a month or two after the fruit has been cut from the Yines. 
This partial pruning is of much value in concentrating the forces 
into and filling up the eyes required for the next year’s crop. When 
I was an exhibitor of Grapes I was often struck from year to year 
how I invariably went to some particular lateral for my exhibit. 
These laterals had been cut off early in the previous season, and the 
