302 THE FLORIST. 



dinning, of Chiswick, Grapes have been produced this season which at 

 the last Park Show beat the entire field of Grape growers in open com- 

 petition, and carried away the premier medal from such men as Fleming, 

 Tillyard, Henderson, Turnbull, Davis, &c. ; and no small victory, sure, 

 when we consider that the Vines producing such wonderful results are 

 growing in the natural soil of Mr. Glendinning's nursery, which forms 

 the floor of the shed (house), the Vines having been planted against 

 the back wall against which they are trained, and for a short distance 

 down each rafter. The only object in planting them at all appears 

 merely to furnish eyes for propagating from : the house, we may apprise 

 our readers, is devoted to growing Vines for sale. We are next intro- 

 duced, at page 547, to another Vinery (also near London), or what 

 must be, from the description given of it, a very sorry substitute for 

 one — the roof supported by fir poles to prevent it^ tumbling down alto- 

 gether. In fact, the gardener, we are told, has some trouble to keep 

 this crazy edifice together ; while the chinks and fissures in the roof, 

 one would suppose, are sufficient to prevent his feeling any great 

 anxiety about ventilation, even during such weather as we have lately 

 experienced. As a kind of set-off to the roof, we are informed the 

 heating apparatus was good, and I should suppose there is plenty for it 

 to do in frosty weather — but how about rain ? During a shower the 

 scene inside would remind us of Shelley's lines, where he says : — 



" Then the rain came down, and the broken stalks 

 Were beut and tangled across the walks ; 

 And the leafless net-work of parasite bowers 

 Massed into ruin, and all sweet flowers," 



did not the editor inform us to the contrary, for he gives us a glowing 

 description of the plants he found — Scitaminse, Orchids, Ferns, and 

 Mosses, luxuriant with health and verdure in the damp atmosphere 

 inside. Well, what will your readers say to the above as suitable 

 quarters for the Vine ? Why, to sum up, instead of bunches with half 

 their berries shanked or shrivelled, and the remainder (supposing them 

 Hamburghs), representing the genuine red variety of that good old 

 Grape (which, somehow or other, always seems as if it had the misfortune 

 to be planted in dark damp houses), we are informed they were even 

 better than Glendinning's, and would have beaten them if exhibited at 

 the same time ; we must therefore conclude they were as near perfection 

 as could be wished ! These, too, are growing inside the house ; 

 but whether in a prepared border or not we forget. The talented 

 editor of the Gardeners' Chronicle sums up with an aphorism 

 which all must admit to be true, that " He is the best cultivator who 

 can produce the most with the smallest means." But as in the 

 cases alluded to it has a doubtful bearing, inasmuch as casual success 

 cannot be placed against favourable results extending over a number 

 of years, even if obtained, as in the instances alluded to, with little 

 trouble and small means. I am no advocate for trusting to chance in 

 these matters, nor yet for allowing good Grapes to be spoiled through 

 neglecting common repairs ; and, as an illustration of Grape growing 

 carried out on directly opposite principles, I beg to introduce the readers 



