1868. ] 
HEATING VINE BORDERS. 
199 
if not the utter destruction of the plants. These facts are sufficiently con¬ 
demnatory of the system of laying the pipes in rubble under the roots of 
Vines, or in drains covered with flagstones, both methods being equally 
objectionable in practice. 
I will now describe what I consider to be a very simple, efficient, and 
comparatively inexpensive method of applying heat to Vine borders. The 
Vines being planted inside, an outer border 12 to 15 feet wide will be suffi¬ 
cient. The roots in each compartment should be separated by a brick 
wall, and under each should be formed a chamber 2 feet wide, continued 
along the front of the border. In this chamber should be placed the pipes 
for the supply of heat; the border should slope towards the south, and 
should have the bottom well concreted; on this the tiles—6-inch socket- 
drain tiles—should be laid in parallel rows, 3 feet apart, to conduct the 
heat from the chamber in front under the roots, and should be brought 
to the surface immediately under the front line of pipes in the interior of 
the house. The joints of the pipes should be carefully cemented to prevent 
the roots from entering them, and they should be covered with rubble. 
The circulation of heated air through the pipes is to be facilitated by means 
of ventilators in the front chamber, and thus perfect ventilation, that great 
difficulty in early forcing, is provided for during the severest weather. 
Having thus made provision to secure a proper temperature for the roots, 
the next point is to afford due protection to those near the surface. The 
genial circumstances under which the growth of the Vine is promoted in a 
state of Nature, are not fully recognised in our early artificial forcing of the 
plant. Sun, light, and air, those life-invigorating agencies, the essentials 
to a healthy development, are to a great extent shut out by the materials 
placed on the surface of the border. I would therefore strongly recommend 
that the outside border should be partly covered with glass: I say partly, 
believing the ridge-and-furrow system to answer the purpose better than a 
flat covering. These ridge sashes should be made conveniently light to 
be easily moved: 3 feet in width, with the furrows between the ridges, also 
3 feet, would answer well; thus the distance from ridge to ridge would be 
6 feet. The furrows may be of wood or other materials, but I give prefer¬ 
ence to sheets of corrugated galvanised iron turned at the edges to fit to 
the sashes, as these carry the water clear off the border. The upright frame¬ 
work for the sides should be of wood, 2 feet high in front, rising to 3 feet 
next the house. The ridge sashes should be so constructed as to be readily 
fixed or removed by the garden workmen. These glass protectors might 
be put to a variety of other uses, besides securing to the roots of the Vines 
as near a proximity to a state of nature as can well be obtained under an 
artificial state of culture. Heat may be admitted to the surface of the 
border from the chamber surrounding it. 
