(J. D., Warren, R. I)

Vines can be obtained at any of the nurseries, at fifty to seventy-five cents each. Any nurseryman will send yon a priced list We nev,er recommend. The border may be partly inside and partly outside, or all outside if more convenient The water should be pumped into a barrel or tank a few hours before it is used in watering the inside border; but we do not think it would do any serious harm to pump directly from the cistern upon the border. A good border may be made by putting a layer of broken bones, shells, Ac, six inches deep in the bottom, and filling with a compost of about three parts of turfy loom from an old pasture, and one of well decomposed stable manure.

Chorlton's Treatise can be had of Saxton, in New York.

Grapery #1

The house should be well aired, never entirely closed, unless in rain, snow, or severe frosts. The soil or borders should be kept as dry as possible, both outside and in the house. The outside portion may be protected by a thick coating of leaves or littered manure. But they are most thoroughly protected by wooden or glazed sashes fitted closely to the lower ends of the roof-rafters of the house. If glazed sashes are used, many useful articles may be forwarded under their shelter. The best British Queen strawberries that we ever saw were produced in this manner, and were ripe three weeks before those in the open air. We have never seen this fruit worth looking at under out of door culture here; treated as above they are very superior. Other kinds, of course, are equally improved by this slight protection.

The vines will now be laid down in a horizontal position, and, where necessary, covered with straw. Ropes made of straw wound closely round the vines form the neatest method of protection. Raspberries will, of course, be under protection; laying down the vines and covering them over with soil is at once the simplest and best mode of bringing them through the winter; indeed, we have never seen them satisfactorily protected in any other way. Figs and tender grape-vines are also protected as above. Strawberries should be covered over slightly with manure, short hay, or leaves. This protection should not be confined to what is termed cold latitudes, as its advantages are equally observable whether the climate produces a cold of 50 degrees or 5.

Grapery #2

No subject in fruit culture has called forth so much discussion as the formation of grape borders; volumes have been produced on the subject; the essence of the whole may be comprehended in a single sentence, viz: That ordinary soil, heavily treated with good stable manure, well trenched, aerated, and drained, will produce better crops, and maintain the vines in a healthy, fruitful condition for a longer series of years, than any other composition that has ever been applied for this purpose. The border should be made on the surface, thus saving the expense of excavation, and facilitating the escape of water and drainage. There is plenty of room above, a circumstance that does not seem to have suggested itself to those who spend more in digging out pits, and then getting them laid dry, than all the fruit they will ever produce, will repay.

The border should be made on a porous bottom at least six inches deep, of broken stone, brickbats, charcoal, or any other article that will remain as permanent. It should be surrounded on all sides by a drain; cross-drains should be made every ten feet; at one end of each of these drains an upright shaft should be constructed for the admission of air; similar uprights should be attached to each where it crosses inside the house, so that a perfect system of ventilation may be completely under control of the cultivator. This is the great secret in grape growing; the chemical constitution of the soil is a minor consideration.

Grapery #3

In cold graperies, the vines will be starting to grow towards the end of the month. It is well to retard them as long as possible. The worst feature in cold houses is the liability to injury from late frosts after growth has commenced. It is therefore advisable to put in a hot-air flue in all graperies. The expense of a furnace is not worth mentioning, and it is, after all, as simple and efficient a system of heating as any, and decidedly the cheapest. Admit air freely when the weather is favorable; cold, dry winds are to be especially avoided. Keep the vines tied down in a horizontal position; this will retard them somewhat, and cause the lowermost buds to break equally with those situated nearer the top. The border may receive a top dressing of manure, forked carefully over. Keep it as dry as possible until a healthy root action has commenced. Young plants may be raised from eyes; a single bud is sufficient; one in a small pot, which is the best way; or insert them thickly in a large one, or a box. In either case, they require to be set on bottom heat to root freely. They will root without heat, but will be late.

Do not over-water them; keep the soil moist, but not wet, until roots form; and take especial care not to cover the bud or eye with soil when putting them down.