1879.] FRUIT-CULTURE. 355 



have their stock potted and growing. His objections to potting even 

 his earliest plants before the middle or end of July are that the plants 

 get too much pot-bound ! In all our experience we never heard of a 

 gardener complaining on this head. To have the roots in a matted 

 condition that one could almost play at football with them, we thought, 

 was the aim of every one who understood their culture — but we live 

 and learn, or rather unlearn ! 



As regards Vine-leaves and their size in relation to fruitfulness, Mr 

 Hinds is just as unfortunate as he is about Strawberries. He "can 

 prove," he states, " that the roots are in the worst possible condition (!), 

 and the Grapes far from being what would be expected," when they 

 produce fine leaves ; but his statement simply proves that he is without 

 experience as to all the conditions under which large and fine foliage 

 may be produced for many years in conjunction with unfailing and 

 heavy crops of fruit of the first quality. Our own motto is, " Get good 

 foliage — the larger the better if matured — and the fruit will take care 

 of itself/' and that motto I have never had occasion to alter, as I 

 could show your correspondent at the present moment, and could 

 have done for years back; but I can furnish him with evidence that 

 he will perhaps be more disposed to credit. 



The first lesson I received on this head was at Dalkeith about 1856 

 or '57. At that period there was a house of pot- Vines there bearing 

 one of the finest crops of Grapes I ever saw. This house is alluded to 

 in Mr Thomson's book on the Vine. The plants were the admira- 

 tion of all who saw them, and the leaves were as remarkable as the 

 fruit — some of them, if I remember correctly, measuring 14 inches or 

 more in diameter, and samples, I think, were sent by Mr Thomson to 

 Dr Lindley, then editor of the ' Gardeners' Chronicle.' The next 

 example was at Floors Castle, during the late Mr Rose's time. I 

 did not see them myself, but I remember well Mr Thomson saying 

 of them that a finer crop or finer berries in all respects he never saw, 

 and that the Vine-canes and the foliage were equally remarkable for 

 their size and vigour. In either of these cases will Mr Hinds venture 

 to say that the Vines were in the u worst possible condition " 1 and will 

 he tell us why, if a pot-Vine may have large leaves with advantage, 

 a planted-out Vine may not 1 There are conditions in which big leaves 

 may not indicate good crops, as Mr Hinds's experience seems to confirm ; 

 but when leaves and wood are well ripened, as they can be, the stronger 

 they are the better, and all practice and theory corroborate this view : 

 and I ask Mr Hinds to point to one single example, if he can, of a 

 fine crop of large bunches, well finished, that were not accompanied by 

 good foliage of proportionally large size. All the large-bunching vari- 

 eties of the Vine like the Barbarossa and Syrian, or large-berried like 

 the Gros Colman, Golden Champion, and Duke, produce extra large 

 leaves, as is well known ; and the first sign of a good crop on any 

 variety, other things being right, is large leaves and good wood. I 



