40 THE GARDENER. [Jan. 



same prize, which in my opinion is tantamount to saying, " If I lose by one dish, 

 I may gain by the other." Such a practice presses heavily upon gardeners of 

 less accommodation than that at Cyfarthfa Castle, where the means are very 

 extensive, and where every appliance for the jiroduction of first-class fruit that 

 ingenuity can suggest has been used. 



I have known Mr Cox personally for many years jiast, and have the highest 

 opinion of his integrity, and believe him to be incapable of attempting to deceive 

 the public by his new Grape, so tbat my strictures have no personal relation ; 

 they are not tares sown by an enemy. Our oi)inions on the quality of this 

 Grape, however much they may differ at present, will some day be more united. 

 It is merely a question of time : the truth or falsity of what I have said will, 

 sooner or later, be recognised. In all our discussions, what we really do want, 

 and should by legitimate means strive to obtain, are facts — positive facts, rather 

 than sjieculative guesses. 



I have, as well as many other gardeners, jiroduced fruit of the Madresfield 

 Grape equal in every respect to the specimen shown at Cardiff, which Mr 

 Hutchinson sets up as an exam]>le, and otherwise lauds so highly. Still withal 

 it will not keep, for so soon as ever it reaches an eatable condition it rots out of 

 existence. No matter how carefully aridity, night and day ventilation, are 

 managed, the infection spreads from berry to berry, till nothing remains but 

 the skeleton, however promptly the diseased ones are removed. If Mr Hutchin- 

 son identifies the dry coriaceous spots sometimes observed on the White Muscat, 

 and very frequently on Lady Downes seedling, he labours under a mistake, as 

 they are in every respect distinct from that on the ISIadresfield Court. These 

 spots arise from various causes, and none are so fertile as an over-heated atmo- 

 sphere and deficiency of foliage. Many of us ventilate too scantily, and that 

 particularly during the early part of the day, and so keep a j)otent .invisible 

 enemy in confinement, while he is of himself making a strong effort to escape. 

 At last, when probably too late, we discover his depredations, and then begin 

 to chant, " Oh dear, what can the matter be ? " 



If true, as Mr Hutchinson has alleged, that the principal cause of failure is an 

 undue amount of water at the time of stoning— a statement that has certainly 

 taken me by surprise — will he then have the kindness to explain how a little 

 more or a little less water at that period exerts an influence over perfect matur- 

 ation ? There is no one, I hope, possessing even the simplest rudiments of Grape- 

 culture, who would administer so large a dose of aqueous food as to ])aralyse 

 vitality — a necessary event if Mr Hutchinson's dictum is correct. Where is our 

 refuge, may I ask, when the roots are growing in an outside border, and more par- 

 ticularly during the past summer, as the rainfall has everywhere been excessive ? 

 In my case the roots were confined to the inside of the house, so that no damage 

 from wet could possibly occur. Alexander Cramb. 



TORTWORTH. 



SAXIFRAGA L ONGIF O L I A. 



I CAN quite confirm D. T.'s remarks on the above plant in your November issue, 

 p. 508, as being the most beautiful and ornamental Saxifrage thai; we have at 

 present. I have some plants of it on a rockery here, and they have been the 

 admiration of every one that has seen them. It will be a grand acquisition to 

 our flower-garden when we can get a good stock of it, either for carpet-beds, 

 long lines, or edgings to beds. What a grand effect it would produce j)lanted 



