286 THE FLORAL WORLD AND aARDEN GUIDE. 



cannot deny, however, that the prolonged drought and the extraordinary heat have 

 caused some danger in certain quarters. In sandy and gravelly soils, many of the 

 grapes have been roasted by the sun. The vineyards of the Mont d'Or have par- 

 ticularly suffered in this respect, and rain is ardently longed for. In the south the 

 oidium has caused serious loss." 



TO COREESPONDENTS. 



Vine Pruning in Ground Vinery. — T. — In pruning your vines in the winter, 

 cut hack the side-branches to within one or two eyes of the main rod. When these 

 break in the spring, select the strongest, as soon as you can see which will bear 

 fruit, and remove the others. Most likely several young shoots will push from the 

 base of the old ones. All the old branches which you will remove will probably 

 not produce bearing wood, but you must train a young one in the place of every 

 one that you remove, to keep up the supply of wood for bearing in succeeding 

 years. It is of no consequence their not producing bearing wood throughout the 

 whole length of the vine. To leave a bunch on each shoot would be too much for 

 the vine, and the whole crop would consequently be poor. Every amateur culti- 

 vator of the Vine should read the papers on " Grapes for the Million," published in 

 the Floral World in the year 1866 ; and, as they extend pretty nearly through 

 the year, it would be advisable to purchase the volume to obtain them. In the 

 number for January, 1865, appeared a paper explaining every minute detail of 

 vine-pruning. 



Hardy Fern House. — J. jff"., Tipperary. — If the house which your friend is 

 erecting is to be devoted entirely to the culture of hardy ferns, we should have 

 preferred a roof of glass, or it would have done very well without any roof what- 

 ever. A very charming dell, for the culture of these lovely plants, might be 

 formed by fixing two or three skylights in the roof, according to the size of the 

 house, for the purpose of affording the plants plenty of light. Ferns would do no 

 good whatever planted in the moss, which you propose to fill the spaces between 

 the uprights which form the sides of the structure. They must have something 

 substantial to grow in, A mixture of soil consisting of equal parts of turfy loam, 

 peat, and decayed leaf-mould, would be the best for this purpose, and would grow 

 nearly the whole of the Britishers to perfection. The soil should be placed round 

 the sides of the house, in a sloping bank, with a few rough pieces of stone or wood 

 to keep it up in its place. If the house is large enough, a pile of rockwork in the 

 middle, the centre of which should be filled with soil as above, and spaces left to 

 plant the ferns in. This will add greatly to the general effect. The plants must 

 have an abundance of water at the roots during the summer when in full growth, 

 and it will be well to syringe them overhead once a day ; evening is the best time 

 for doing this. In the winter months, Avhen the plants are at rest, very little 

 watering will be required ; just sufficient to keep the soil from getting dust-dry 

 will be all that is necessary for that season ; syringing overhead must be withheld 

 altogether. If the ferns are growing in pots, they can be planted at any time ; but 

 for those taken up out of ihe open ground, any time from October to March will be 

 suitable. 



Zonal Pelargoniums for Specimens. — Agnes. — There are two ways of deal- 

 ing with the plants that you are desirous of taking up — one right, and the other 

 wrong. The wrong way, which we shall advise you not to follow, is to let them 

 grow away, t^ike thetn up in the autumn, and, after cutting them back, pot in 

 whatever sized pot may be most suitable. When plants are dealt with in this way, 

 it is very seldom they make good specimens. Some of the branches die off, or fail 

 to produce shoots the next seasen, and frequently one side of the plant is lost. 

 When they are grown in beds, they cannot well be dealt with in any other way 

 without spoiling the general effect of the plants. As it fortunately happens that 

 yours are growing in a border which is not of much consequence, you will have no 

 difficulty in following the right way. The first thing to be done is to cut the plants 

 back at once, and, in doing this, use the knife in such a way as to make nice com- 



