266 THE GARDENER. [June 



as an "infringement of the laws of nature." So long as we are able 

 to supply the dessert with good Grapes, no matter how large the 

 bunches are, neither employers nor gardeners are likely to trouble their 

 heads hugely as to how the laws of nature have been violated in their 

 production. We must be careful how we apply general principles. 

 Nature is only intent on perpetuating its species, but the farmer and 

 horticulturalist conduct their operations with a different object. Now, 

 however, that " J. H." has broken the ice, and condemned large bunches 

 of Grapes as an infringement of the laws of nature, we are quite pre- 

 pared to see others following in his wake, and on the same reasonable 

 grounds condemning big Pines, big Peaches, big Turnips, and big 

 Potatoes. We wonder in what light "J. H." regards Paterson's ''Bovinia" 

 or " Cattle-feeder" — would he be disposed to hand the raiser over to the 

 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 1 Does he cultivate 

 such abortions as Cauliflower, and would he prefer a crab to a Resuick 

 Codlin for culinarypurposes 1 If he is consistent, as I doubt not he is, he 

 never indulges, we suppose, in a succulent steak from a stall-fed ox, 

 or a chop from a plump Southdown. What horrid practices we horti- 

 culturalists are up to in trying to bend Nature out of her track ! Con- 

 template a Carrot, for instance, or a Drumhead Cabbage ! and fancy 

 poor Nature's struggle before she was subdued into such obese types of 

 race. I daresay " J. H." will tell us he never intended to go this 

 length, and we may believe him, but he might have done so on equally 

 good grounds. With much that he says in his suggestive paper no 

 one can disagree. Carrion borders have been condemmed pretty 

 generally ever since the subject was ventilated so much over the Raby 

 Castle Vine-borders many years ago ; but large bunches of Grapes are 

 not necessarly connected with carrion or otherwise too rich borders — 

 this we can testify from our own observation. Your correspondent 

 "J. H." doubts if large bunches are an evidence of cultural skill, but 

 would prefer " medium-sized, large-berried " bunches. Now the con- 

 nection between large berries and large bunches is so intimate, and 

 the conditions that produce both are so much alike, that we doubt very 

 much if any one could point out the distinction. We could refer to 

 instances where the size of the bunch was entirely due to the size of 

 the berries — increasing the height by nearly a half. There may be a 

 limit to size, beyond which perfect finish cannot be attained ; but 

 hitherto this has not been proved. Spongy growths are induced by 

 spongy borders without doubt, and such growths no amount of fire- 

 heat will properly ripen, and such always produce miserable samples ; 

 but strong growths that carry their solidity along with them are a 

 different thing, and it is these that produce the large, well-finished 

 bunches we sometimes see ; and I cannot see any reason to doubt that 



