The Lady's Country Companion; Or, How to Enjoy a Country Life RationallyLoudon, Mrs. (Jane)
General
The Lady's Country Companion; Or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally
Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
Cooking; Country life; Home economics
When the plants are put into the ground there should be one vine to
each hole; and, as every hole is made opposite a rafter, there is thus
one vine allotted to every sash or light. A shallow pit is made in the
ground for each vine, and, the pot being either broken with the spade
or the plant carefully turned out of it, the ball of earth containing
the roots is placed in the pit, in such a manner as to leave the cane
as nearly as possible in the same position as it occupied when the
plant was in the pot. The ball of earth is then covered with light
rich mould about two inches thick, and the stem of the vine is brought
through the hole in the wall into the house. This is an operation of
some difficulty, particularly if the cane be long, and it is carefully
wrapped up in matting or in hay-bands, to prevent it from receiving any
injury. While the vines are in pots they are pruned, so as to leave
only the main shoot, or at most two shoots, in case one should be
broken off; and in the latter case, as soon as the main shoot has been
safely introduced and attached to the rafter, the other is removed. The
side shoots are also taken off as they appear till the main shoot has
reached nearly to the end of the rafter, when its point is pinched off,
and the strongest of the side shoots are allowed to develop themselves.
If the vine was planted in May or June the same year the cutting was
struck, and nothing else is in the vinery, it should be allowed to
remain all summer with the glasses off, and without fire heat; in
September, however, the glasses should be put on, and enough heat
applied to keep the temperature of the house at 55° or 60°, but always
giving air in the middle of the day, in order to ripen the wood. In
December, when the leaves begin to fall, the vines should be pruned,
and they should then have a season of rest, till the leaf-buds begin to
swell in spring. When only vines, or vines and peaches, are grown in a
vinery, it is easy to give this season of rest by leaving off all fire
heat, except what is necessary to keep out the frost, till the middle
of February; but, when pines are grown in the same house, the stems of
the vines are generally drawn out of the house during part of December,
January, and February, and kept on the outside carefully wrapped up
in mats and hay-bands, or laid along the ground and covered thickly
with dead leaves and straw. The vine border should always be covered
in the same manner during frosty weather, as neither stems nor roots
should ever be exposed to a greater degree of cold than 40°. When the
vines are planted out in June, they should not be suffered to bear any
fruit that year; but, when they are not planted out till the February
following, they may be allowed to bear one or two bunches each the
following summer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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