274 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, February 1, 1859. 
soil , even at the back of the house, and which were thriving 
exceedingly. To use his own words, he merely knocked 
out a brick or two, and introduced their stems. 
On the other hand, we have been used to descriptions 
of made borders, composed of manurial matters of the 
most gross description, and which, if duly economised, 
would manure acres of land. 
Such extreme cases, when we look at their results, at 
once prove that this is not a mere question of manures; 
but that, however the Vine, in common with other fruits 
that love a generous soil, may require manurial appli¬ 
cations, there is a question concerning their borders which 
claims priority of consideration. 
I have been long advocating, in the pages of The Cot¬ 
tage Gardener, as to fruit trees, the absolute necessity 
of first considering the texture of soils, before we dwell 
so much on manurial matters ; and I am glad to find that, 
of late, the principle has gained ground. My friend, Mr. 
Hill, gardener to B. Sneyd, Esq., of Kcele Hall, near 
Newcastle, Staffordshire, has been exceedingly successful 
in Vine culture, as, doubtless, most persons are fully 
aware. Perhaps no one in the kingdom has excelled Mr. 
Hill in his general success, by which I mean the finest 
and most regular crops of superior Grapes, season after 
season. When I last saw them, it was, according to an 
old Scottish saying, “A sight for sair een.” 
I have written to Mr. Hill, begging him to inform me 
how his borders were made, and. also, leave to weave it 
into my present subject; and he has, with the utmost 
frankness, granted my favour. I intend to use his 
liberality on this occasion. Before proceeding, let me 
observe, that Mr. Hill has exhibited, at the great metro¬ 
politan exhibitions, thirty dishes of Grapes within the last 
two years, and has gained thirty prizes, fifteen of which 
have been first prizes. I name this as an apology for 
making a free use of his opinion. I will at once copy the 
gist of Mr. Hill’s letter, as to Vine borders, &c., and after¬ 
wards offer a few commonts, where I think them necessary. 
“My borders,” says Mr. Hill, “are two feet and a 
half deep at back, one foot and a half at front, and 
eighteen inches above the ordinary ground level. They 
are composed of strong loam; old mortar rubbish ; charred 
vegetable refuse, such as prunings, &c.—jn fact, all sorts 
of rough stuff thrown in a heap and charred ; a few fresh 
horse droppings, without the litter ; and a little half-inch 
bone. About the following proportions : — Good turf, 
six loads; lime rubbish, four loads ; charred materials, 
two loads ; liorse-droppings, fresh, two loads ; half-inch 
bone, strewed in by hand during the process of filling. 
“ The borders were made in widths of five feet, each 
season, until the whole space was filled. The Hamburgh 
Vines were planted in December, in a dormant state, and 
the Muscats in June, in a growing state, and it is difficult 
to tell which of the two succeeded best, as they have 
proved equally satisfactory.” 
Thus far, Mr. Hill’s own words, as to the borders; 
but he has some other practical scraps, of value, which I 
must present in his own words. Thus— 
“ Our loam being very heavy, or adhesive, we are 
obliged to put a deal of lime rubbish, and the more of 
the latter we use the more fibre we get. Some Vine 
borders, which I removed soon after I came to Keele, 
were composed of turf and leaf mould entirely. The roots 
were very poor, and very brittle. The Vines never 
ripened their wood; in fact, they were almost evergreen. 
As regards fermenting material outside, I have not so 
high an opinion as some. Under the border is the place 
to apply heat. For very early work, the roots ought to 
be inside ; but if outside, cover the surface with two feet 
of good, dry, tree leaves, early in the autumn, and protect 
these with felt or wooden shutters. I use no farmyard 
manure, leaf mould, or carrion ; neither do I make deep 
borders. I think, however, that, in some of the southern 
counties a border might be made, three feet in depth; 
but in this part of the country, where we generally get 
a deal of rain, and the soil and subsoil wet and cold, 
plenty of drainage, and shallow, porous borders, are our 
best reliance.” 
Again, as to the JBarbarossa Grape :—“ I think many 
people condemn this Grape before they give it a fair 
trial. It is a very strong grower, and for the first two 
or three seasons shows extraordinary bunches. Many 
growers leave these big ‘ shows.’ They promise to 
weigh six or seven pounds. Such seldom colour, and, of 
course, their flavour is deficient. My advice is, to give it 
a long season, plenty of heat, and, if the shows are large, 
to reduce them with the scissars, so as to weigh about 
l^lb. each. They will then have colour and flavour.” 
Thus far, Mr. Hill, to whom I express my thanks for 
his candid account. I now beg leave to offer a few re¬ 
marks on the preceding matters, and I do so with the 
confidence of not offending Mr. Hill, with whose general 
ideas I most heartily agree. 
In the first place, the simplicity of Mr. Hill’s borders 
must be apparent. And who is there in these days of 
simplification, that would prefer a border composed of 
half a score of fanciful materials to one simply of turfy 
loam, a little ordinary manure, and as much of the 
opening materials as will ensure porosity for many years ? 
I have before named, in these pages, that, when 1 was a 
lad, a venerable old florist told me, with a knowing shrug, 
that it required forty ingredients to grow an Auricula 
well, at which I grew very inquisitive; but he declared 
the secret should go to the grave with him, and I now 
feel thankfully assured that it has. I, myself, have re¬ 
peatedly urged, by means of the press, during the last 
twenty years, the absolute necessity of first considering 
the texture of the soil, and how to render compounded 
soils porous for many years. 
There is little doubt that a turfy loam, if of the right 
texture, on a dry bottom, is complete in itself to grow 
good Grapes; especially seeing that we can use rich 
surface dressings and liquid manures occasionally. But 
not one loam out of a dozen kinds, perhaps, is of that 
precise texture that a gardener can depend upon, to 
wear for years, and preserve its porosity. Hence the use 
of lime rubbish, sand, charred materials, &c., to divide 
adhesive masses of soil, and to secure porosity. 
Thus, we find that there are but three distinct classes 
of material in most of the best Vine borders—loam (or 
shall we call it natural soil), porous materials, and ma¬ 
nurial matters. Anything beyond these may be employed 
at the whim or discretion of any person; but whatever 
they may be, they are not indispensable. My opinion is, 
that nearly one-half the volume of the compost should be 
loam, be the rest what it may. As to the charred material, 
I can only say, that I have been charring regularly for the 
last dozen years, or more, and have applied it to most 
things, and find, in all cases, the fibres of plants clinging 
most tenaciously to it. To plants in pots, I use clean 
riddled charcoal for almost everything, as drainage, be¬ 
sides mixing it with the compost, and I have found every 
kind partial to it. Well, then there is the half-inch 
bone which Mr. Hill recommends. This has been used 
for j’ears by the best gardeners, and there is nothing 
proved against its use. And how is it likely there should 
be, since it adds to porosity, and contains such a fund of 
manurial virtues, which are given out gradually for years ? 
He who manures soil with unboiled bone, or “ sawings,” 
manures it for fifty years : and boiled half-inch bone will 
wear twenty years, when mixed in the soil. I wonder if 
any one has tried superphosphate in Vine borders. • This 
would act with rapidity. 
With regard to leaf mould, I quite agree with Mr. 
Hill. It is a poor, inert substance, buried deep in soil. 
Besides, good dung can furnish all that leaf can, and 
much more. There are certain cases in which surface 
dressings of leaf mould have been beneficial, as inducing 
fibres ; but it is a different body, exposed to the sun and 
winds, from that buried in the soil. 
