198 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ September, 
season. All kinds of fruit should be gathered as they become ripe, handling 
them no more than is absolutely necessary. Pears should be laid singly on 
the shelves of the fruit room, and the best kinds of Apples should not be 
more than two or three deep. Late vineries, wherein Grapes are ripening, 
should have abundance of air during the day-time and some also at night, 
together with a little fire heat should the weather set in wet and cold. 
Young plantations of Strawberries should be made at once if not already 
done; and the old plantations, as they have in some places suffered from 
the drought, should have every attention paid them, so as to encourage 
good healthy growth, and fine crowns. All plants intended for forcing, if 
not already in their fruiting pots, should be put into them at once; they 
should now be set in beds in some open sunny situation, and the plants 
not placed too closely together; all runners should be pinched off as they 
appear. If the weather be dry, they must be well and freely watered, but 
if rainy, they will need care and attention as to the supply of water. 
Stourton. M. Saul. 
ON HEATING VINE BORDERS. 
’HE question of heating Vine borders is one of the greatest importance 
to all interested in the culture of the Vine, more particularly to those 
who may be about erecting houses for Grape culture. In the early 
forcing of Vines the advantages gained by raising the temperature 
of the soil in the border by artificial means, has long been recognised. 
To attain these advantages a diversity of materials has been used for cover¬ 
ing the border, and in some instances heat has been applied by means of 
hot-water pipes placed beneath the borders, which is the best and surest 
way of placing the control of temperature in the hands of the cultivator, 
The difficulty is to decide which to adopt of the many modes which have 
been advocated, and to find that which is most efficient and inexpensive, 
and likely to insure the best results. 
In practice I have found pipes in chambers under the borders to answer 
perfectly; the chambers should be of sufficient size to permit of being 
entered to ascertain the state of the matter underneath ; and by well elevat¬ 
ing the border, the space within the chamber may be utilised and turned 
to good advantage for many practical purposes. The expense involved may 
militate against their coming into general use, but nevertheless I have a 
strong persuasion that when heat is supplied from pipes directly under the 
roots, there are advantages in favour of chambers not secured by any 
other system in use—advantages which should not be ignored on the ground 
of expense. Many gardeners have had to contend with the disadvantages 
arising from the leakage of a pipe supplying bottom heat, and that, too, at a 
time when the necessary clearance for repairs has occasioned a great loss, 
