162 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ November, 
old pasture or field. It is “ fibry,” from con¬ 
taining all the fibrous roots of the herbage or 
grass growing on it. It is “ yellow,” by reason 
of its not having been in cultivation for some 
considerable time, so that it contains little or 
no organic matter. Soils under cultivation, by 
having organic matter introduced, soon lose 
this yellow or fresh appearance. The term 
“ virgin ” loam is sometimes used. Indeed, the 
word “ loam ” itself is one of wide meaning, 
since soils that are termed “ loam ” or “ loamy ” 
range from sand to clay ; thus we have what 
is termed “ sandy loam,” and also “ clayey 
loam.” It is the intermediate order or quality 
of the soil that is best suited for the vine,—a 
fibry yellow loam, of a calcareous nature, 
neither too light and sandy nor too heavy, but 
yet with some substance in it. 
Where this soil can be procured, it should be 
cut from an open pasture, not from a wood or near 
the roots of trees, lest pieces of the roots remain, 
to cause fungus. Out it also while it is dry. 
Many soils are spoilt by being handled whilst 
they are wet. Chop the turves with the grass 
and all to pieces roughly, and to five or six 
cubic yards of this add one yard of old lime 
rubbish or broken bricks, a portion of charcoal, 
wood-ashes, or burnt soil, and from two to 
three hundredweight of half-inch dried ground 
bones. This, well mixed together, will consti¬ 
tute the main body of soil to be used, but is 
subject, of course, to considerable modification 
as to proportions, according to the quality of 
the loam that is made of use. 
In many cases where the soil used is very 
poor, more manure of some sort will have to 
be added. We do not approve of the admix¬ 
ture of much stable manure in the composition 
of the soil, but strongly recommend the use of 
horn shavings—Wills’s “ Elixir,” as it is now 
termed. There is no better or more enriching 
material for Vines than this manure. About 
one bushel of Elixir to every jmrd of soil will 
prove a good mixture in the formation of the 
border. If the loam used is of a sandy nature, 
less of the lime rubbish must be used, as the 
object in using this is mainly to give porosity 
to the soil. If, on the other hand, it is of a 
clayey nature, a far greater proportion of lime 
rubbish will be required. 
In many places it may be very difficult to 
obtain soil at all approaching that which is 
here recommended, but let no one despair of 
cultivating Grapes on that account. Vines 
will grow, and grow well, in soils of a much 
inferior nature, under careful management. 
We recommend that which we consider the 
best, and it is for the cultivator to get as near 
that as possible. We ourselves, in our own 
experience, have had often to use soils of a 
very inferior quality—old and exhausted 
garden soil, without a vestige of fibre—in the 
formation of vine borders, trusting to the 
after-management, to top-dressings, and so forth, 
to make up for the deficiencies. In short, in 
choosing soil for growing vines, choose the 
freshest and newest that may be obtainable, 
although perchance it be or may not appear so 
rich as some other that has been in cultivation. 
It will be found more enduring and better 
suited, in every respect, when the other in¬ 
gredients mentioned are added in their proper 
proportion, for the production of Grapes and 
the general constitution of the vine. The 
soil thus prepared is ready to go to form the 
border. 
Size of Border .—The Vine may be grown 
in a very small space, and in very little soil, as 
is evidenced by the splendid results obtained by 
its cultivation in pots. This may be termed 
“ high pressure ” cultivation. Such vines are 
soon exhausted and worn out; one crop for 
one season, and they are done. In larger tubs 
or boxes they may last a little, but not much 
longer ; and so on, in regular proportions, no 
doubt (although somewhat difficult to estimate 
correctly), according to the quantity of soil 
and the nourishment supplied, is the vigour 
of the Vine maintained. If permanent 
vines are desired—vines that will continue in 
full vigour for, say, 20 years—a border of a 
considerable size must be provided. In small 
narrow borders, with a restricted quantity of 
soil, success for a time may be very great, but 
even that can only be maintained by the appli¬ 
cation of much nourishment in the way of top- 
dressings, renewal of soil, &c., which becomes 
expensive. A very good rule to go by, and 
one which gives a very fair proportion, is that 
of making the width of border equal to the width 
of the house itself. Thus for a house 10 ft. 
wide, a border 10 ft. wide would be required ; 
and for a 16-ft. vinery a 16-ft. border; and so on. 
The vine borders should in all cases be from 
