February  5,  1903. 
JOURNAL  GF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
121 
Muscats:  Planting  Young  Vines. 
On  page  567  (December  18)  I  advanced  a  few  remarks 
about  grafting  and  inarching  Muscats  on  established  Vines 
of  other  varieties.  I  will  now  deal  with  the  construction  of 
a  Vine  border  and  the  planting  of  young  Vines  to  form  an 
entire  house  of  this  increasingly •  popular  Grape.  I  have 
long  held  the  opinion  that  Vine  borders  are  generally  made 
much  wider  and  deeper  than  they  should  be,  especially  in  the 
case  of  Muscats.  The  great  point  is  to  have  the  whole  of 
the  soil  forming  the  border  thickly  permeated  with  active 
rootlets,  and  that  is  a  condition  which  seldom  prevails  in  a 
wide,  deep  border.  When  renovating  old  borders  I  have 
wai’ds,  will  secure  ample  and  perfect  drainage.  With  some 
cultivators  a  border  partially  inside  and  partially  out  finds 
great  favour,  but  for  Muscats  I  emphatically  pin  my  faith  on 
the  wholly  inside  one,  and  that  after  having  had  considerable 
experience  with  borders  of  both  types. 
The  important  question  of  soil  for  forming  the  compost 
now  arises,  and  although  cultivators  cannot  always  obtain 
exactly  the  kind  of  soil  they  prefer,  it  is  well  for  them  to 
have  a  definite  idea  as  to  the  kind  most  suitable,  and  then 
to  obtain  a  sample  which  approaches  it  as  nearly  as  possible. 
A  nut-brown  loam,  thoroughly  packed  with  fibre  slightly 
“  clingy  ”  rather  than  light,  with  suitable  additions,  will  grow 
Muscats  grandly.  Chop  the  squares  of  turves  into  four  or 
five  pieces,  and  to  every  eight  bushels  add  28lb  of  bonemeal. 
AQAPETES  MACRANTHA 
often  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Vines  would  have  suc¬ 
ceeded  better  had  the  soil  at  their  disposal  been  curtailed 
by  one-half,  and  by  acting  on  that  principle  have  had  the 
satisfaction  of  improving  many  Vines.  I  would  never  have  a 
Muscat  border  more  than  9ft  in  width  where  the  length  of 
rafter  is  16ft  or  18ft,  and  for  houses  with  shorter  rafters  a 
border  6ft  in  width  is  ample. 
A  suitable  depth  is  2ft  6in  at  one  side  and  2ft  at  the^ 
other,  allowing  the  bottom  to  slope  either  to  the  front  or 
middle  of  the  house,  according  to  convenience.  Three  inches 
of  concrete  should  then  be  placed  on  the  bottom,  a  circular 
drain-pipe  arranged  on  the  lowest  side  running  parallel  with 
the  house,  this  being  connected  with  cross  pipes  arranged 
4ft  apart.  Six  inches  of  broken  brickbats  placed  over  the 
pipes  and  covered  Avith  squares  of  turves,  grass  side  doAvn- 
(flowcrs  3ins.  Icng,  ratiual  size). 
6lb  of  sulphate  of  potash,  one  bushel  of  old  mortar,  and  a 
little  soot.  Turn  the  mixture  a  few  times,  and,  if  possible, 
place  it  in  the  Vine  border  a  feiv  Aveeks  before  planting  is 
done,  so  as  to  allow  time  for  settling,  Avhich  Avill  lessen  the 
necessity  for  treading  very  firmly,  Avhicli  often  does  more 
harni  than  good  if  the  soil  is  in  the  least  sticky.  A  strip  of 
border  4ft  in  Avidth  will  be  enough  for  the  first  year  or  two, 
and  a  wall  of  turves  arranged  so  as  to  interlace  e?mh  other 
Avill  form  a  good  boundary  for  this  first  section,  hebruary 
or  early  in  March  are  suitable  times  for  planting. 
After  incurring  a  considerable  amount  of  expense  in 
making  borders,  the  cultivator  naturally  likes  to  get  some 
return  in  the  shape  of  fruit  as  eaily  as  is  consistent  with 
the  permanent  welfare  of  the  Vines.  M  ith  that  object  in 
view  I  strongly  advise  the  purchase  of  extra  strong,  Avelh 
