156 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
February 21, 1895. 
better than to be let alone. Closely grazed turf, therefore, signifies 
few vegetable and animal parasites, as the treading and browsing 
of the animals diminishes their number proportionately. An 
abundance of herbage, on the other band, implies numerous pests, 
as these correspond to the herbage and the harbour, or the amount 
of matter unchanged from the organic state—their food—into 
inorganic, the essential and sole food of most useful plants, always 
excepting the Mushroom and other edible fungi, which live like 
animals—that is, require organic matter for the maintenance of 
their existence. 
Without bothering over these insignificant visible and micro¬ 
organisms, which are seldom recognised until housefuls of 
Cucumbers and Tomatoes succumb to eelworm or similar bodies, 
and till Vines will not grow satisfactorily, or only flourish for a 
time to later afford roots for grubs to feed on and foliage to fatten 
Otiorhynchus beetles, we may pass on to suitable soils or compost 
for Vines. The turf of an old pasture may or may not contain 
all the inorganic and organic substances Vines require for their 
growth and the perfection of profitable crops. Such staple has 
proved pre-eminent in practice. What about the failures ? Well, 
we hear nothing about them only under the cover of initials, and 
there are numbers of these recorded in the correspondents’ column 
of the Joiirnal of HoriicuUure. The turf, therefore, is not satis¬ 
factory, nor is it likely, as some turf contains little beyond decayed 
or decaying vegetable matter, and such decomposes still further 
into a close mass, impermeable to air, and holding water to 
soddenness. Then the growths of the Vines become sappy, long- 
jointed, and large-pithed ; the foliage thm, large and flabby, the 
should-be bunches twirl, twist—do anything but become clusters 
of Grrapes, or if they reach that stage are loose, uneven in berry, 
swell indifferently, colour anything but black or amber, and many 
shank. Of course such turf is not made use of by experts, but 
the majority of Grape growers are not prepared to distinguish at 
sight between a suitable and an unsuitable turf. They go in for 
the “ fatted calf,” the top 3 inches at most of the pasture that is 
famous for fattening oxen. It grows first-rate beef, and it is 
thought will grow high-class Grapes. So it will, but it is necessary 
to adhere to the conditions. The roots of the Vines must have 
the same substratum, or a similar, as the grass—that is, below 
the rich surface soil an intermingling with the soil of mineral 
matter, an abundance of stony particles that contain such elements 
of plant food as potash, lime, iron, and other essentials, and serve 
the purpose of keeping the soil open and sweet, while slowly but 
surely affording supplies of nutrient matter. 
Loams from the old and new red sandstones grow the best 
Grapes. They are red by virtue of the iron they once contained 
in large per-centages, and they now contain 6 to 10 or more 
per cent., but a vast proportion of this is locked up in the 
ferruginous pebbles, and is only given off slowly. The “ corn- 
stones ” of the “ old red ” give of their stores of lime and potash 
abundant food over long, in fact untold periods, and once the 
substratum is secured them it is only a question of feeding at the 
surface the turf of the pasture—the nitrogenous matter for 
washing into the soil, and the conversion there into nitrates of the 
mineral constituents. 
Calcareous loams also grow high-quality Grapes, such as the 
Ffontignans and Muscats ; but the coarser kinds, such as Alicante 
and Gros Colman, prefer the alluvial deposits, an admixture of 
earths, deep and free, with an abundance of both mineral and 
organic matter. Perhaps the site of sites and a soil of soils for the 
coarser Grapes is that of an old water-course, which is a mixture 
of almost everything, and contains the detritus of ages. 
Frontignans and even Muscats go out of cultivation under such 
conditions, for they grow too rankly, and the fruit shanks so 
decisively as to be unprofitable. The Sweetwater Grapes also like 
these alluvial soils, providing always that the substratum be loose, 
gravelly, rocky, or sandy, and water does not lodge within 6 feet 
of the surface. 
The Vine, however, is not fastidious about soil, for any good 
garden soil will grow Grapes, and in many cases better than 
costly turf, which in most cases has to be “ doctored ” before 
even experts dare use it. Any soil, therefore, over a well-drained 
substratum, and in itself containing at least 75 per cent, of gritty 
matter, will produce as fine Grapes as need be. The question of 
crop is a matter of nutrition, and the quality a question of manage¬ 
ment. It is sheer folly to imagine that Vines require soil different 
to other fruit trees. A soil that will grow Nuts will grow Grapes. 
The point is to insure the sweetness of the soil by drainage and 
enough opening material for aeration. All the other ingredients 
can be supplied at the surface, such as potassic, phosphatic, and 
nitrogenic manures. Humus, even, can be imparted by dressings 
of organic matter. Nature does not bury manure 3 or 4 feet deep 
in order to attract the roots downwards, and the deep borders of 
turf and “ muck ” and rubbish are often mere pits for producing 
shanked Grapes. Gravelly subsoils, mixed with a moderate amount 
of fresh stable manure, are far better for Vines to grow in than 
rich turfy loam devoid of stony matter. 
Where the subsoil is unsuitable and the soil itself unsatisfactory 
there is an excuse for making artificial Vine borders, not otherwise. 
It is money thrown away in most cases, and the value of the 
Grapes forestalled for years. But things that cost most are 
generally valued most, therefore it is useless saying anything about 
economy and the indulgence in expensive borders. The staple of 
these is turfy loam—the top 2 or 3 inches of a pasture, rich and 
friable, and in nature neither very light nor very heavy. It, 
however, is better rather strong than light. As that is not always 
procurable, light soil may have a sixth of clay marl, dried and 
pounded, added to it, and heavy loam, a similar proportion of old 
mortar rubbish. If the loam is obtained where it thinly overlies 
limestone, is of medium texture, and contains a large proportion of 
calcareous gravel, it could not be improved on by any admixture 
whatever for Frontignan and Muscat Grapes—the finest of all for 
quality. 
An orthodox mixture consists of the following cartloads :— 
Twelve of good friable turfy loam, two of old mortar rubbish, 
one of charcoal “ nuts,” one of wood ashes, half of calcined oyster- 
shells, 2 cwt. of horn and hoof shavings, and 4 cwt. of crushed 
bones, thoroughly incorporated. Such mixture will, as it ought, 
grow anything in the way of Grapes. There are other mixtures 
equally costly and some far more nasty, such as those containing 
fish refuse, which, however, make Vine “jump” in their early 
years, and others contain about a fifth of horse droppings. 
In preparing the border, which may be proceeded with as the 
weather permits, bear in mind that the Vine naturally is a hill¬ 
side plant, therefore is impatient of stagnant water. Hence 
thorough drainage must be provided, and in low sites it is better 
to elevate the border than waste money in concreting a pit-like 
excavation. Employ 3 or 4-inch drains, with proper fall and 
outlet to carry off the superfluous water. Provide a foot of 
drainage, placing the roughest at the bottom and the finest on the 
top, preferably finishing with old mortar rubbish to a depth of 
3 inches. A width of 6 feet will be sufficient border space in 
the first instance, and it need not be more than 30 inches deep for 
the strong growing Vines. Put the materials together compactly, 
and not when in an unworkable condition. Where the Vine roots 
are to have the run of both inside and outside borders first confine 
them to the inside, not making ithe outside until the Vines are 
thoroughly established. This, and the additions of border from 
time to time, will secure to the Vines the full benefit of the loam 
and its nitrogenous and other readily available food elements in 
the freshest and best form. It entails a little more labour, but is 
better in the case of employing rich material, as the Vines are 
more under control and the food appropriated as it is required. 
The proper time for planting Vines is when they are starting 
into growth, after having been pruned to the required length when 
at rest and early in the resting season, so as to allow time for the 
