224 THE GARDENER. [May 



and for the latter part of the season — that is, November and December — those 

 not ripe about the first week in November are thus ripened; — cut the plants off 

 just above the ground ; take oil' ail the leaves, tie the stems together in bunches, 

 with the fruit on them, and hang them over the flue in the forcing-house, or in 

 any place where there is heat, and they will there ripen their fruits. 



William Plesteu. 

 Elsenham Hall Gardens. 



CROPPING VINE-BORDERS. 



TO TOE EDITOR OF THE ' GARDENER.' 



Sir, — In reply to the practical questions of your correspondent R. M. S. in the 

 last month's number of the ' Gardener,' as to whether I would, under certain cir- 

 cumstances named by him, "commend cropping" vine-borders with vegetables, 

 I beg to say that it would depend upon circumstances. In my former article I 

 advocated the practice of cropping our fruit-tree borders as a necessity, the dis- 

 continuance of which would not be justified by the result — i.e., the extra crops of 

 fruit obtained — and I would be guided by the same considerations with regard 

 to vine-borders. " Suppose," as your corespondent puts it, "I had to make vine- 

 borders, and plant young Vines in a place in which I had just entered on the 

 duties of gardener, and had a reputation to make, would I commend cropping the 

 borders 1 " In answer to this I would say, that if / was so situated, and was short 

 of cropping space, I would crop the vine-borders without hesitation, and not fear 

 the result ; that is, the late vineries, for of course the necessity of protecting the 

 borders of the earlier houses would prevent their being cropped. I did not mean 

 it to be inferred from my former statements, that we cropped all our Vine-bor- 

 ders here, but only the one spoken of. When I came here five years ago, I found 

 as usual that the vine-borders had been protected and mulched regularly, and the 

 roots consequently near the surface. To have dug them, of course, would have 

 been madness, and as the vineries which have been planted since have inside 

 borders, we have not had an opportunity of cropping them : but the border of 

 the vinery in question (a late Hambro' house) had evidently been dug regularly, 

 and we continued the practice. The Vines have improved every year, and I 

 think I may say the crops hitherto have been remarkable both for weight and 

 finish, and the prospects for another year are all that could be desired. This 

 winter we have widened the border, as we found the roots had encroached under 

 the asphalt walk in front, the crust and drainage of which we have removed, and 

 filled up with common garden-soil. As it will, however, be necessary to divide 

 the house, and force one half earlier in future, the border will be protected, and 

 for that reason not cropped till later, but the other half will be cropped as usual ; 

 and if R. M. S. will honour us with a call about the end of July, and again 

 about the end of September, he will be able to judge for himself. Digging vine- 

 borders may be root-pruning under another name, as R. M. S. says, or it may 

 be whatever anybody likes to term it. I state facts ; but, as I stated before, 

 the damage sustained by the roots, when the borders are dug regularly, is ima- 

 ginary — if the trees are planted deep enough at the first. This I have proved 

 to my own satisfaction at least ; and I can assert, that if digging the borders of 

 fruit-trees be only another way of root-pruning, I never in any case knew it to 

 prevent the necessity of root-pruning in the usual way. 



J, Simpson, Wortley. 



