THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
April 4.] 
in order that, should such a contingency occur, a greater 
extent and volume of root may he a compensation. 
For out-door borders we do not advise a depth of more 
than two feet, and, had we to make an out-door border in 
such a humid northern county as Lancashire, we would 
by no means have it deeper than half a yard. This may 
alarm some folks, but we have experienced the benefit 
from such, and very frequently dining the last iO years 
had an opportunity of witnessing the difference between 
the deep and the shallow border. 
For an in-doors border, then, we would advise -MO 
inches, or, if the proprietor is well assured of the tex¬ 
ture of the soil, and of the certainty of a clever course 
of culture subsequently, he might allow a yard of 
depth, beyond which we should certainly consider the 
roots as too far removed from control. 
We come now to consider the question of drainage, 
which is a paramount consideration, so much so that it 
will little signify what character the compost of the 
border may be of if this great point be neglected, or 
improperly performed. We are aware that there are 
some situations which would do entirely without drain¬ 
age, nevertheless there is none but would be benefited 
by some provision for the escape of water; for it must 
be considered that the manures and other organic 
matters which are considered necessary in making a 
border, must, by decay, form a dark and unctuous kind 
of humus, and that this will be carried downwards in time 
until it forms a retentive kind of deposit, which without 
drainage is well known to be too retentive of moisture. 
One foot in depth of imperishable materials—such 
as broken bricks, stones, the scoria from iron or other 
works, &c.—will suffice; but the character of the subsoil 
surface must be taken into consideration. This under¬ 
ground surface must slope to some one given point, in 
order to carry the drainage clear away. The best mode 
of making borders of this character is to build the front 
wall of the house on arches, as open as possible, and to 
make a provision outside as well, for the vine roots to 
pasture in, and this they will do readily—need we add, 
that such will increase their strength, and promote their 
permanency. 
It is sometimes possible to form the inside and out¬ 
side borders on a uniform pitch or inclination ; that is 
to say, as to the forming of the surface of the subsoil 
previously to setting the drains; and thus there will be 
a uniform incline from the extent of the border inside 
to its extent outside, through the arches. This is a safe 
and systematic plan; but it so happens, as in other 
cases, that the levels within and without cannot be 
reconciled, and of course the borders inside and out will 
not bo on precisely the same level; be that as it may, an 
escape for the drainage must he provided. 
The subsoil surface then being formed, and a main 
drain carried the whole length of the house, a loot of 
the materials in a coarse and open state may bo placed 
on the surface, taking care that the main drain is some¬ 
what below this surface level. The next thing is to 
provide something to fill up the inequalities of the 
rubbly material, otherwise the soil and sedimentary 
matter might eventually choke the drainage; and we 
are not aware that anything better can be used than 
cinders riddled clean; at least such is what we have 
been in the habit of using for years to fruit-tree bottoms 
in general. These may be spread*atleast two inches thick 
over the surface of the rubble, and be trod or rammed down 
firmly. Next, we would place a layer of small turfs, 
fresh cut from some sandy-soiled pasture; these need 
not be pressed close together ; small interstices may be 
left between them, and a slight sprinkling of small cin¬ 
ders or charcoal may be scattered over the whole, and 
swept in the crevices. 
The border is now ready for the compost, and as this 
is a point on which much difference of opinion exists, 
we must indulge in a few remarks. Some first-rate cul¬ 
tivators insist on considering the vine as the most glut¬ 
tonous of trees; and they provide not only ordinary 
manure in abundance, but the carcases of dead animals, 
bone manure, &c., ike. Now, for our own parts, we sub¬ 
scribe to no such opinion; these ore, as we think, works 
of supererogation, if we may apply such a term. There 
can be little doubt that some of these expensive borders 
contain enriching materials sufficient for a score such ; 
and why a thing of this kind is to be esteemed in pro¬ 
portion to the amount of prodigality evinced in its con¬ 
struction, we cannot imagine. We much fear that the 
importance attached to the circumstance of winning a 
medal at an exhibition has led to a most lavish expen- j 
diture ; for mere size in these things is too often consi- 1 
dered a superior test to quality. We are ready to admit 
tliat monstrosities may be produced for a year or two, 
whilst the trees are young and the border new. During 
such a period the freshness and porosity of the turf, or 
other inorganic matters in the borders, will counteract 
the evil tendencies of the enriching materials. But let a 
few seasons pass over such borders, and it will be seen 
that whilst other vines, on more simply constituted bor¬ 
ders, are advancing and progressing annually, the others 
will be retrograding in a corresponding degree. Indeed, 
it could not be otherwise. Every good gardener knows 
the effect of using even too much dung in vine borders; 
how it eventually wars against the durability of the bor¬ 
der. We have known old borders when broken up pre¬ 
sent a mass of black material below, which, in point of 
texture, might be taken for putty. 
We consider that a mellow and sandy turfy loam from 
an old pasture is competent in itself to produce first-rate 
grapes, provided a proper system of top-dressing be re¬ 
sorted to. By proper system we do not mean heaping 
manure over their roots during the months of spring 
and early summer, to prevent the soil from borrowing ; 
heat from the atmosphere; but we will say more about 
top-dressings and mulchings on another occasion. 
The following, then, is the compost we would recom¬ 
mend for an inside border: — Turfy loam, chopped 
roughly, six parts; mixed manures, half rotten tree 
leaves, &c., two parts; horse droppings (fresh), such as 
used for musliroom-beds, with litter amongst them, one 
part; charred materials, one part; lime rubbish, two 
parts. These materials to be thoroughly blended, re¬ 
membering that both the chopping and the turning must 
be done when the materials are dry; and that the sooner 
it is housed after the last turning the better. We would 
also advise that a coating of littery droppings be strewed 
over the surface of the turfs in the bottom, before 
filling in the soil. 
We have made use of the term loam as usual; and 
many of our readers have complained of the indefinite j 
character attached to what the gardener terms “ loam." I 
It would appear, however, that there is some misconcep- ' 
tion about this affair. What gardeners, in their vague i 
way of writing, in general mean by loam, is merely ; 
maiden soil containing much organic matter. This 
may contain five, ten, twenty, or fifty per cent, of the | 
clayey principle; and in proportion as this prevails, in j 
a like degree is the soil adhesive ; and this adhesiveness 
is generally expressed in gardening technicalities by the 
terms sound loam, strong loam, stiff' loam, &c. Still, the 
broadest signification has a reference to maiden soil, or 
soil that has rested for years, in contradistinction to old 
garden soil, which possesses less organic matter. 
W r e would, however, have the amateur of limited 
means understand, that ordinary garden soil may be : 
used in lieu of the loam, provided it is of a good staple. ] 
We would, in such case, advise that a little strawy, or j 
littery manure, fresh from the stable-door, be mixed 
through the whole mass during the process of filling the 
border. R. Errixgtox 
