Exhibiting New and Advantageous Methods of Propagating, Cultivating, and Training That Plant, so as to Render it Abundantly Fruitful. Together with New Hints on the Formation of Vineyards in England.
A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine Exhibiting New and Advantageous Methods of Propagating, Cultivating, and Training That Plant, so as to Render it Abundantly Fruitful. Together with New Hints on the Formation of Vineyards in England.
G. Peacock, 1790.
First edition. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, rebacked with recent calf spine and corners. Five steel engraved plates, three of them folding. A very good copy indeed, well margined and clean with just a little foxing to the preliminaries. Light wear to the boards.
A fascinating work in which Speechly describes fifty species of grapes, and discusses in depth hothouse culture, the construction and management of vineyards in the open air, pruning, irrigation, grafting, insect and blight control.
William Speechly trained as a gardener at Milton Abbey in Dorset, and went on to work at Castle Howard and for the Duke of Portland, at his estate Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. It was whilst in the Duke's employment he started writing down and publishing his experience in gardening, and in 1776 contributed to Alexander Hunter's edition of Evelyn's "Silva".
"The best of them all is that of Speechly
a model of the sound, practical, well-written and beautifully printed manual" - Edward Hyams (Grapes Under Cloches)
PROVENANCE: Richard Arkwright (1755-1843), bookplate to front pastedown; mill-owner, described at the time as "probably the richest commoner in England." (DNB) He was also the recipient of the Horticultural Society medal for a new method of cultivating grapes.
Simon 1410
Stock ID: 33062
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