110 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



closing, I may remark that all annuals sown in the open ground 

 should be sown in fine weather, and not when the soil is very wet. 

 They should be sown in round rings, half an inch deep, and a foot 

 over, placing a stick in the centre of each clump to mark its position. 



SELECTIONS OE GKAPES. 



BY WILLIAM COLE, 



Head Gardener, Ealing Park, Middlesex. 



SHALL not indulge in any controversial remarks upon 

 the question of the proper time for planting vineries ; 

 whether autumn or spring is the most suitable, it is 

 equally true that many people are anxiously inquiring 

 just now about the best varieties amongst the many that 

 are offered. Vines planted in the spring, after they are started, 

 grow vigorously with careful attention, and if the borders are made 

 with suitable materials, and the vines strong and healthy when 

 planted, the young growtn ought to reach the top of a fifteen feet 

 rafter. In some respects autumn planting has its advantages, more 

 particularly with people who are not well up in gardening affairs, for 

 it can be done in a rougher kind of manner than when the vines are 

 in full leaf. Though I have no intention to enter into the details of 

 vine culture at this moment, I will just mention for the good of my 

 amateur friends that it is highly important to carefully disengage the 

 roots when matted together, and spread them out regularly, for it is 

 seldom that plants of any kind do much good if turned out with a 

 hard, solid ball of soil, because the water can percolate more freely 

 through the new stuff, frequently leaving the old ball and roots high 

 and dry. 



I have not the slightest desire to depreciate any of the new 

 grapes, but I cannot too strongly advise those who have but one or 

 two vineries to be very shy of discarding any of the good old grapes 

 to make way for newer sorts when first brought into notice, or until 

 they have been thoroughly tested by those with more room. It may 

 happen, as in fact it has happened with some sorts, that they have 

 certain peculiarities or failings that totally unfit them for general 

 cultivation. It is not so much the few pounds the vines have cost 

 as the time and space wasted, both of which can be ill-afforded. 



It is well-nigh impossible to finish off grapes over a houseful of 

 plants, but good grapes and decent plants can be grown in the same 

 house, provided a proper selection of grapes are planted. For this 

 purpose I shall select the Frankenthal, which I consider, when true, 

 to be one of the best of the Hamburghs, and Standish's Royal Ascot 

 for black grapes. The latter produces medium bunches and large 

 berries of a fine deep black colour, and fine flavour. It is just the 

 grape for an amateur, as it is a tremendous bearer, almost every 

 lateral produced during the summer bearing a bunch. The white 

 grapes should not be planted more extensively than one to every 

 three black ones, unless there is a special liking for white grapes, as 



