22 THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. [January, 



sub-tropical plant, attaining in this character during the summer season a height 

 and diameter of about a couple of feet. 



The accompanying figure, which the Messrs. Veitch have kindly placed at 

 our disposal, shows the general aspect of the plant and its variegation, the 

 markings, it must be remembered, consisting of patches of creamy white, of 

 pale yellow, and of clear bright green, in abrupt contiguity and grotesque 

 dissimilarity. 



The plant should be wintered in an intermediate house, and, as an ornamental 

 pot plant, is best adapted for a warm greenhouse during the summer. It 

 requires abundance of light, and a rich soil to bring out its gay and grotesque 

 colouring to advantage. • T. M. 



SHALL WE PLANT ONE VINE TO A HOUSE? 



OME persons believe that a house occupied by one vine only will be more 

 productive that if planted with several in the usual way ; but though 

 there may be good grounds for such an opinion, it may be safer to pursue 

 the old plan. I pass by the famous Vine at Hampton Court, to notice 

 another which better illustrates the subject. Like that, it was a Black Ham- 

 burgh, and was planted along with other kinds in the centre of the house. 

 Afterwards, two shoots were led from it right and left along the front, and from 

 these other shoots were trained upwards, one to each light, these gradually taking 

 the places of the other Vines. It was pruned on the short-spur plan, and was 

 very productive until the stem was injured by the severe frost of 1860-1, when 

 the vigorous Vine came to an end, and the house had to be replenished by young 

 ones, by which two years' crops were lost. If the house had been filled with 

 several Vines, there would have been less risk of the smaller stems being injured 

 by the expansion of the frozen winter store of sap. In opposition to this, it may 

 be argued that such a result would not have happened if the stem had been pro- 

 tected by straw bands. True, but it is hardly possible to guard against accidents 

 at all times. 



Barring accidents, a house filled with a single thriving Vine, properly managed, 

 will certainly be more productive than if filled with several crowded too closely 

 together. Some, however, consider that the border for only one Vine should be 

 larger, but surely the space required for the roots of several ought to be enough 

 for one ! Certainly the more room for the roots the better ; but the chief advan- 

 tage arises from the top or branches of the one Vine having more room for 

 extension. The importance of this matter in the growth of fruit trees and other 

 plants is often overlooked. To be convinced of this one has only to look at a 

 shorn or clipped fence, say of thorn, in which some of the plants, from being 

 allowed their freedom, soon become large and fruitful trees or bushes, with thick 

 stems, while the others, which are shorn and crowded, remain thin, diminutive, 

 and fruitless. This proves the great influence of the tops of trees on the growth 



