196 THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. [September, 



the buds in place to remain until growth, had well set in, as by removing the ties 

 too soon, there would be a liability of the buds being displaced by the pressure 

 of the sap. It is evident that a judicious discrimination must be exercised as to 

 the most fitting time for budding, both as regards the proper condition of the 

 Vine, and of the bud ; and this condition, as it appears to me, occurs in autumn, 

 when the active growth of the Vine is subsiding, but is still so far active as to 

 insure a vital union. It is also important to select the best matured buds. 



To Mr. Stevens we are indebted for putting the budding of Vines to this 

 practical test, and developing in its favour an unquestionable result. To say that 

 there is novelty in the experiment would be absurd, for there is nothing new 

 under the sun*, but I believe I shall be correct in averring that hitherto all 

 attempts at budding the Vine have failed to produce encouraging results. I 

 should perhaps add, that the buds were inserted in the older portions of the 

 stems, at about a foot from the ground, so that the buds will do equally well on 

 the old wood as on the young. 



Witley Court. George Westland. 



EENDLE'S PATENT PLANT PROTECTORS. 



jN our volume for 1868, we noticed the original form of these Protectors, as 

 containing, in our opinion, the germ of a useful invention. One of their 

 great merits was cheapness, the materials being nothing more than red 

 earthenware tiles, and panes of orchard-house glass. The original form 

 was semicircular, but instead of these somewhat cumbrous articles, Mr. Eendle now 

 gives us, what is no doubt a very great improvement, namely, hollow bricks, 

 which may be set up in any way, and with the panes of glass laid across 

 from brick to brick, furnish a convenient and complete mode of sheltering plants, 

 adapted for general use. The peculiar features of these improved protectors will 

 be best understood from the accompanying figures, which Mr. Eendle has placed 

 at our disposal. 



We have said that cheapness was one chief recommendation of these plant 

 protectors, and so it is, for they consist simply of grooved hollow bricks, 

 into the upper edge of which squares of orchard-house glass are introduced. 

 These panes of glass are not fixed, but slide along with the greatest facility, 

 so that ventilation may be regulated easily ; no paint or putty is required, 

 and broken glass can be replaced without difficulty by an ordinary labourer. 

 The cost is less than that of ordinary hand-glasses. Undoubtedly the protectors 

 afford facilities to persons of limited means to produce most kinds of flowers, 

 plants, and fruits early, and to a degree of perfection which has hitherto been 

 only possible to those who enjoy comparatively extensive means and appliances. 



* Mr. Fleming, formerly of Trentham, strongly recommended the spring budding of Vines in the 

 Gardeners' Magazine of Botany for 1801 (p. (<). The time suggested was when the leaves were commencing to 

 unfcld.— Ed. 



