240 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  21,  1901. 
will  not  need  to  return  into  the  straight  line  again,  but  will  easily  bend 
back  to  a  half  circle.  I  may  add  that  I  have  no  intention  of  patenting, 
selling,  or  even  buying  them ;  but  shall  simply  buy  the  wire  and  make 
them. — R  R.  Raillem. 
- - 
Grape  Gros  Colman. 
Ax  page  188  “  W.  S.”  strikes  a  sympathetic  note  when  remarking 
on  the  fickleness  of  the  above  named  Grape  on  some  soils.  With  the 
exception  of  the  two  standard  Grapes — viz.,  Black  Hamburgh  and 
Muscat  of  Alexandria — perhaps  no  other  variety  is  more  generally 
planted  than  Gros  Colman.  When  properly  finished  it  is  a  truly  grand 
Grape,  but  when  not  so — well,  quite  the  opposite.  My  experience  and 
observation  show  that  the  best  fruit  is  produced  by  Vines  growing  in 
an  alluvial  sandy  loam.  One  particular  vinery  I  know  of  in  such  a 
position  has  given  an  immense  amount  of  good  fruit  annually  for  many 
years.  As  the  house  in  question  is  somewhat  original  in  its  construc¬ 
tion,  perhaps  a  fairly  short  description  may  be  worth  printing.  The 
site  was  a  small  close  of  grass  land  of  an  alluvial  nature,  situate  not 
very  far  from  a  Yorkshire  river.  During  winter  floods  the  subsoil  up 
to^within  2Yeet  of  the  surface  is  saturated.  It  was  decided  to  utilise 
time,  but  never  saw  any  more  so  than  in  the  house  in  question.  Gros 
Colman  occupied  fully  two-thirds  of  the  space  after  the  first  few  years. 
I  am  not  wishing  to  infer  that  it  would  be  wise  for  anyone 
intending  to  erect  a  vinery  to  Copy  in  detail  the  above  method  of 
construction.  All  the  same,  it  answered  its  purpose  well  for  many 
years,  though  the  last  time  I  saw  it  it  was  getting  very  rickety.  The 
builder,  who  has  since  died,  said  the  only  drawback  from  a  cultural 
standpoint  was  the  difficulty  in  getting  to  thin  the  bunches  on  the 
lower  part  of  the  Vines.  I  have  seen  holes  dug  in  the  border  for  them 
to  hang  in,  and  standing  at  the  end  it  was  like  looking  down  a  tunnel 
of  Grapes. — H.  J.  C. 
- - - <♦#♦> - 
Pergolas. 
In  nearly  all  gardens  the  addition  of  pergolas  would  form  a  very 
welcome  feature.  When  strongly  built  with  bricks  or  stones  a 
handsome,  substantial  appearance  at  once  refleots  from  them,  whereas  too 
often  a  poor  effect  and  consequent  bad  impression  is  derived  from  the 
flimsy  Spruce-branch  structures  which  are  frequently  designated  with 
VIEW  OF  A  PERGOLA. 
the  field  for  fruit  growing,  under  glass  and  outside.  The  leaseholder 
was  a  gardener  intending  to  make  a  living  thereby.  Cash  not  being 
plentiful,  he  set  his  wits  to  work  to  make  what  he  had  go  as  far  as 
possible,  so  he  decided  to  be  his  own  architect  and  builder.  This  was 
twenty-seven  years  ago ;  before  the  era  of  acres  of  glass  erections  for 
similar  purposes.  After  measuring  out  the  site  for  his  vinery,  which 
was  about  100  feet  in  length  by  18  feet  in  width,  he  gave  the  ground  a 
dressing  of  half-rotten  horse  manure,  and  double  dug  it,  keeping  the 
manure  mostly  betwixt  the  top  and  bottom  layers  of  soil.  I  ought  to 
mention  the  dumping  and  digging  was  carried  out  for  double  the  width 
of  the  intended  vinery  space,  so  as  to  prepare  an  outside  border  on  each 
side  9  feet  in  width.  Down  the  centre  of  the  space  a  4  feet  path  was 
dug  out  a  good  spade  depth,  the  soil  being  equally  spread  on  each  side. 
A  few  rows  of  old  bricks  were  then  laid  on  each  side  of  the  path  to 
keep  up  the  soil.  No  mortar  was  used  to  bind  them,  only  some  adhesive 
clay.  A  line  was  then  strung  on  either  side  of  the  space  to  be  covered, 
and  some  stout  well  charred  piles  driven  in  to  a  depth  of  nearly  3  feet. 
Of  oourse  care  was  taken  to  have  the  tops  of  them  of  one  height, 
though  an  allowance  of  an  inch  or  two  was  given  in  the  fall 
to  carry  off  the  rain  water  from  spouting.  On  the  top  of  each  row 
of  piles  a  stout  pan  was  fixed  by  strong  nails.  To  the  pans  was 
then  nailed  a  bevelled  piece  of  timber  for  the  astragals  that  form 
the  roof  to  be  fixed  to.  The  ridge  pieoe  was  then  erected  and  the  roof 
fixed,  provision  being  made  for  small  ventilators  on  each  side  of  the 
ridge.  The  ends  of  the  house  point  north  and  south,  the  pitch  of  the 
roof  being  at  an  angle  of  about  45°,  hence  the  height  of  the  ridge  is 
equal  to  half  the  width  of  the  space  covered.  The  only  brickwork 
was  a  low  wall  at  the  south  end,  and  the  whole  of  the  angle  at  the  end 
pointing  north.  I  have  seen  many  heavy  crops  of  good  Grapes  in  my 
the  euphonious  title  “  pergola.”  Many  an  exposed,  sunless  walk  could 
be  pleasantly  awned  over  were  such  ereotions  as  our  illustration 
portrays  included  as  a  feature  of  garden  design.  The  illustration, 
however,  only  shows  how  a  newly  finished  pergola  appears.  By  fixing 
beams  overhead  at  right  angles  to,  and  resting  upon  the  horizontal 
beams  between  the  piers,  one  would  have  a  support  for  climbing  plants 
whose  growth  would  in  time  entwine  and  spread  over  the  entire 
structure  ;  and  anyone  who  has  enjoyed  the  beautiful  sight  of  a  properly 
disposed  and  well-clothed  pergola,  can  appreciate  the  value  of  their 
addition  to  the  pleasure  grounds  or  garden. 
Regarding  the  making  of  these  structures  the  author  of  “  Wood  and 
Garden  ”  recommends  that  the  piers  should  stand  in  pairs  aoross  the 
path,  with  8  feet  space  between  them.  Ten  feet  from  pier  to  pier 
along  the  path  is  a  good  proportion,  or  anything  from  8  to  10  feet, 
and  they  should  stand  7  feet  2  inches  out  of  the  ground.  Each  pair 
should  be  tied  across  the  top  with  a  strong  beam  of  Oak,  either  of  the 
natural  shape  or  roughly  adzed  on  the  four  faces  ;  but  in  any  case  the 
ends  of  the  beams,  where  they  rest  on  the  top  of  the  piers,  should  be 
adzed  flat  to  give  them  a  firm  seat.  If  the  beams  are  slightly  curved  or 
cambered,  as  most  trunks  of  Oaks  are,  so  much  the  better,  but  they 
must  always  be  placed  camber  side  up.  The  pieces  that  run  along 
the  top,  with  the  length  of  the  path,  may  be  of  any  branching  tops  of 
Oak,  or  of  Larch  poles.  These  can  be  easily  replaced  as  they  decay. 
The  piers  are  either  round  or  square,  coated  with  plaster,  if  this  is 
thought  desirable,  and  painted  a  stone  colour.  Vines,  Jasmines, 
Aristoloohia,  Virginia  Creeper,  and  Wistaria  are  the  best  subjects  for 
planting,  though  Roses  and  many  other  plants  can  be  employed. — H« 
