»
i.
ui.ith ( d o 819,). The inclination of th e face of the hill must be as th e line <16 is to th e level line c d
Begin to take off the earth from tho top of the hill till you have worked downwards 13 ft. or H t t . ; wheel
N
it away, and lay it in a ridge a t the foot of th e hill ; then remove the chalk or stone to any place where
i t will not be in th e way, till you have reduced the upper part of th e hill to the angle fonned by e f g .
This will give you th e inclined plane e f , 6 ft. broad, on which th e sun at noon will shine vertically aboa t
the third week in August, and a flat te rr a c e ,/^ , of th e same breadth. F r o m /to h , which i» 4 ft,, dig a
trench 24 ft. deep ; the side of a trench below / should be ra th e r inclined towards the bottom of the trench
below h, to prevent th e wall, which will be mentioned presently, from sliding down. From_ A tq g is a
footpath ; from g to t is th e second wall. If the bottom of th e trench is composed of materials through
which water will easily filter, it may be made perfectly level ; if otherwise, make i t a iittie sloping towards
the back, and likewise to either end, or from th e centre to both extremeties, ju st as it may be found
convenient, and place a t th e back a row of draining tiles, k , to convey th e water through th e boundary
wall entirely out of the vineyard. T h e dotted line from th e draining tiles shows the bottom of tbe trench,
in case th e substance of the hill retains water. At the angle close t o / let in a row of bricks endwise ;
from this row, of what masons would term “ headers,” face up the slope with bricks laid flat in a bed qi
mortar, till you get within 24 in. o of f e e ; th e 2 2^iin in . are to be occupied by a second row of
of “ headers, and
thus ........................ the whole will be kept firm and V compact. The bricks, which are laid fi
flat, together with the m ortar,
will require about 3 in . ; this space will be „0 gained by th e masons while in th the --------- act of levelling .
the rough
« T. . . . . ’ to , O_______ J __ . . u __AVrt ISrtrtrt V,,Ort Kû TrtlQ/lia
work of the labourers. The wall should be neatly pointed with good m o rta r; th e lime may be _
near tbe spot with the chalk dry from the hill. Havmgproceeded thus far, cast the tu rf from / to tw into
the trench f k , and then th e earth which was under the tu rf upon it, till the trench is filled up to th e
level o f th e path h g . T h e lirst wall and terrace are now finished. Make similar inclined planes,
trenches, and paths all down th e face of the hill, constantly throwing the earth from that part of th e hill
you are going to work upon to the trench you have ju st dug out above; and the earth in the first place
carried to the foot of the hill will be ready for the last trench. On these inclined walls the sun bemg
vertical about the 20tb o f August, the greater portion of heat will be enjoyed by th e vines at the time it
is most necessary for them ; as it must be recollected the grapes will be as forward by the third week m
August, as they are on the common wall by th e same time in September. They will be so, not merely
from the greater effect of the solar rays, but from the confinement of th e roots, and from the moderate
supply of sap the plants will receive in consequence; for, in a damp season, they will not have more water
th an is useful, and, in a dry one, th e supply may of course be regulated according as it appears to be
requisite. As no foundation is wanted for the inclined walls, and as th e bricks, except the first and last
courses, are to be laid flat, th e expense will be consequently small, compared with th e number of square
feet covered with vines.
47-59. S o rts o f g ra p e s p ro p e r f o r a v in e ya rd . On the Continent the vines reckoned best for making wine
are by no means the most agreeable to e a t ; and th ere is always a clear distinction made between fruits^q
rCLli, Ul UXailK,lLlÿj « » ...VrtJ V», uu - rt.. V. » .. ...rt „rt....
the clusters, sweetwaters, esperione, &c. T h e sorts planted in the vineyard a t Painshill
were the Burgundy, or large black cluster, and th e Miller grape, or small black cluster. T h e vines for
making wine in France, Germany, and Italy, and, we are informed, in Spain, Portugal, and every other
wine country, may be considerea as varieties or subvarieties of the black cluster ; and the vines which
are grown to produce sweet wines, as the Constantia and Malmsey Madeira, are variations of the chasselas
or muscadine. ' , ,
4760. M a k in g o f w in e f r o m g ra p e s . The making of wine is a p a rt of domestic economy that can hardly
be considered as included under gardening. We shall, therefore, merely suggest, th a t, where grapes
are to be pressed in any quantity, th e management of the liquor should not, if possible, be left to mere
empirical practitioners. Some knowledge of th e general principles of fermentation will help to guard
against accidents, and direct in doubtful cases. An excellent paper “ On the Processes of W ine-making,”
will be found in the second volume of th e M em o irs o f the Caledonian H o r ticu ltu ra l S ociety, by D r. Macculloch,
o f Woolwich. Matthews (in the H o r t. T r a n s ., vol. ii.) has given a receipt for making a very
tolerable sort of red wine from th e leaves of the claret grape ; these leaves, it is suggested, m i ^ t be
employed to give colour to wine produced from certain sorts of white grapes, green gooseberries, or
other fruits producing a colourless fermented liquor.
4761. In s e c ts which in fe s t tk e v in e . T h e red spider, of which th e re are many sorts, attacks the leaves
in spring, or early in summer ; increases prodigiously in dry weather, and soon damages and destroys
the foliage. Speechly says, red spiders “ generally reside and breed on th e under side of the leaves, and
th e infested leaves are very distinguishable as soon as they are attacked by them ; for the insect wounds
the fine capillary vessels with its proboscis, and this causes th e upper surface of th e leaf to appear full
of very small dots, or spots of a light colour. When th e acari are very numerous, they work a fine web
over the whole under side of the leaf, as also round th e edges thereof ; and it is curious enough to observe.
that they commonly carry this web in a straight line, from one angular point of th e leaf to another,,
on which boundary line, in a warm day, they pass and repass in very great nurabfers. Watering is the
only effectual means of destroying this insect.” ' (T r . o n the Vine, p. 162.) The thrips (JTirips L . , L a i r .,
and Leach) is more injurious to vines in the forcing
department than to those in the open a ir. However,
if young shoots chance to receive any injury from
late spring frosts, the tender part of the leaf will immediately
curl up, and change to a dark-brown colour
; and in this state, the thrips generally attacks
them with groat greediness, especially the white
sweetwater and white muscadine kinds. The green
fly sometimes attacks vines ; but seldom so as materially
to injure them. Smoking destroys both insects.
There are two or three kinds of cocci or
tu rtle insect which attack th e vine (Coccus hesperidum
and adónidum), but they rarely do much injury
in th e open air.
4762. Grapes a r e attac k ed hy b irds, w a sp s, a n d flie s .
To protect them from the first, netting or bunting
should be used ; or, when th e fru it is nearly ripe,
bagging may be adopted. Some use black crape, and
others gauze ; but it is found th a t the berries do not
attain so large a size in the latter material as in the
former. (Gm'd. il/ag-., vol.iv. p. 486.) Wasps, flies,
and other insects may be collected by bottles, filled
with some sweet water, suspended on nails near th e principal bunches. In some places the hornet
(Féspa Cràbro L . , f g . 820.) joins in the same devastation.
S u b s e c t . 3. F ig .—Fzcws C a ric a L. (T re w . F h re t. t. 73, 4.) ; P olyg àm ia D ic J c ia L.
and Tjrticece j. F ig u ie r, Fi’. ; Feigcnhaum, Ger. ; Viggenboom, Dvr. ; F ic o , Ital. ;
and H ig u e ra , Span.
4763. T h e fig tree is a low tree, a native of Asia and Barbary ; naturalised in Italy
and the south of France, and enduring the open air in the mildest parts of Britain.
The iig tree in France and Italy grows as large as our apple trees ; but in this country,
except in the southern parts of England, it seldom exceeds 2 yards in height. The
fruit is a hciTy, turbinate and hollow within ; produced cliiefly on the upper pait of the
shoots of the former year, in the axils of the leaves on small round peduncles. The
flower is produced within the fruit ; what is considered as the fruit being a common calyx
or receptacle : the male flowers are few, and inserted near the opening in the extremity
of the receptacle, or fruit ; the female flowers are very numerous, and fill the rest of the
hollow space within. The greater part prove abortive, both with and without the
pi’ocess of caprification. The fig forms an important article of culture in the islands
and on the shores of the Meditcn-ancan sea, and especially in Greece, Italy, and Spain.
It is also much cuitivatcd for drying in the soutli of France ; and for the table, at
Argentcuil, near Paris. The earliest notice ive have of its culture in England is by
Turner in 1562. The first trees were brought over from Italy by Cardinal Pole, in
1525, during the reign of Henry VIII, and yet exist in the gardens of the archbishop
at Lambeth. They are of the white Marseilles kind, and still bear delicious fruit.
They cover a space of 50 ft. in height, and 40 ft. in breadth ; the circumference of
the trunk of two of the trees is 28 in., and of another 21 in. In the severe winter
of 1813-14, these trees were gi-eatly injured, and in consequence thcir principal stems
were cut over near to the ground ; but this wc believe has happened sevcrai times
with many very old fig trees, ivithout destroying them. Some of the largest standard
fig trees in England are in the castle garden at Arundel, where they boar abundantly
every year ; the highest trees there are upwiu'ds of 30 ft. There are also orchai-ds
of standard figs at Tarring and other places on the coast of Sussex. Gerard says, “ the
fig requfres a hot wall and Parkinson, that fig trees ai-e planted in great square tubs,
to be removed into the sun in the siiinmer time, and into the house in winter. The
culture of the fig was little known here till the time of Miller, who introduced above a
dozen new sorts from Italy. He observes, that the generality of Englishmen are not
lovers of this fmit, and that, therefore, few trouble themselves with the culture of it.
Since Miller’s time, the fig has been introduced to the forcing department, and tliere
cultivated to a much higher degree of perfection than before on open walls ; and thougli
it be still true, that a taste for the fig in its gi-een or fresh state is less prevalent in
England than elsewhere, yet, by those who have been some time abroad, it is generally
much esteemed. We have remarked that it is either much liked or disliked,
4764. Monde believes th e fig tree to be, of all th e fruit trees which we cultivate in our gardens, the
least understood ; but, to those who may have acquired a knowledge of its habits, the most tractable.
No tree is propagated more easily. “ I sent from London, in April last, to Kelsay in Northumberland,
two cuttings of figs,” he says, “ which were so small as to travel by the post in a common letter-cover.
I have gathered this autumn from one of them three ripe figs, and two from the other. The fig tree
may be checked in its useless habit of luxuriant growth by ringing, so as to become fruitful a t a very
small size. It may be forced by heat and liquid manure, with copious irrigation, so as to support an
abundant crop of fruit, and bring them to perfection, to a greater extent than any other tree. Spare
branches of a large fig tree growing out of doors may be ringed, and surroimded by a small pot of earth,
into which they will speedily strike roots, so as to bear being separated in autumn from the tree ; and
they may be used to furnish any glass houses with trees to bear fruit through the next summer. I believe,
too, tb at the fig tree may be easily propagated by inoculation, if that should be desired.” (H o r t.
T ra n s ., vol. v. p. 173.)
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