334 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[November, 



ieties suffer less from the phylloxera than the 

 French ones, and, if not so valuable for their 

 fruit, they are at least of great use as stocks. 



Influence of the Stock on Peaes. — One of 

 the richest of Christmas Pears is Josephine de 

 Malines, and it is also one of the hardiest, ripen- 

 ing here — a very exposed situation in Norfolk, 

 not far from the coast — on bushes in the open 

 ground. It seems, however, to be a Pear pecu- 

 liarly susceptible of influence from the stock on 

 which it is worked. It is here on the Quince, 

 grafted on the common Pear stock, on the Haw- 

 thorn, and on its own roots, a pendent bough, 

 which touched the earth, having become layered 

 and thrown out roots. In the first form (on the 

 Quince) it bears early; but the fruit, luscious, is 

 somewhat under-sized. The wasps attack it first 

 of all. On the ordinary Pear stock at ten years 

 old it has not fruited. On the Hawthorn the 

 shoots are thinner than on either of the preced- 

 ing; it has had fruit twice, but they did not be- 

 come soft ; so far it is not a success. On its own 

 roots it has fruited three times (same age as 

 others) and the fruit is very unlike that of the 

 parents from which the bough rooted. The fruit 

 is somewhat larger, less covered with russet, 

 greener in hue, more vinous, and le.ss honey- 

 sweet. It is also later in ripening. This day 

 (March 2) I have been examining the trees; on 

 the ordinary Pear stock, if there be blossom buds, 

 they are so backward that they cannot be easily 

 discerned; on the Hawthorn, ditto; on the 

 Quince the knots of bloom are very perceptible — 

 as forward as Doyenne d'Ete, the earliest Pear 

 on its own roots ; but the blossoms are almost 

 ready to expand — tlie forwardest in a collection 

 of about thirty kinds — very abundant too, which 

 is the first time they have been so. In the pre- 

 vious nine years of its sejtarate existence, the 

 blossoms have been sparse, but have set fairly. 

 Our trial goes to show Josephine de Malines is 

 best left to itself — i. e., on its own roots — but is a 

 good Pear on the Quince. — G. G., in Garden. 



Carter's Round-leaved Batavian endive. 

 Earth-blanching. — This is a Avinter-salad vege- 

 table of great excellence. Sown in July it has 

 afforded a su])ply for winter use which is espe- 

 cially esteemed. In growth it is particularly 

 compact, less leafy than manj' other Batavian 

 Endives, and consequently more edible in heart 

 and midrib. Dug-np in November when perfect- 

 ly dry and the outer leaves carefully folded, it 

 was buried, root uppermost, in the south slopes 



of Celery ridges, and a month afterwards, and 

 onwards, it turned out in fine condition, white as 

 milk, crisp as anything could be, sweet as a nnt, 

 and with no decay saving in the very outside 

 leaves. By this simple mode of blanching, any 

 one having a garden may have a salad at Christ- 

 mas that will add to the appearance of any fes- 

 tive table, and be as good as it looks. Of course, 

 it is equally good under Mushi-oom-house and 

 other modes of blanching, but the main object of 

 this note is to recommend a plan, far from new, 

 but easy and effective. — W., in Gardener's Maga- 

 zine. 



The ESKF.ANK Bunch of Grapes. — In answer 

 to enquiries made of Mr. Curror respecting tlie 

 treatment of the vines at Eskbank that produced 

 the 26 lbs. bunch of grapes, recently shown by 

 him at Edinburgh, he has kindly furnished us 

 with the following: — The vinery in which the 

 large bunch of Raisin de Calabre grew that I 

 staged at the international fruit and flower show 

 at Edinburgh is a small lean-to house with a 

 southern aspect. It measures 20 feet in length 

 by H in breadth, and 11 feet in height at the 

 back, and is heated by four rows of 4-inch hot- 

 water pipes. The vines were planted in 1868, 

 and produced four bunches eacli, the third year 

 after planting. They are planted 3 feet apart 

 in the inside of the house, with an outside 

 border 13 feet wide and 4 feet deep, the soil of 

 the border being composed of one-half yellowish 

 clayey loam and one-half light gravellj' soil 

 strongly impregnated with iron. With this soil 

 are mixed a few half-inch bones and a small 

 quantity of manure. The border is top-dressed 

 every year, inside and out, with 3 inches of cow 

 or horse manure, and gets no protection from 

 rain during winter. There are five vines in the 

 house besides the Raisin de Calabre, viz., two 

 Black Alicantes, one Lady Downes, one Bowood 

 Muscat, and one Mrs. Pince, all of which carry 

 bunches above the average size. The Raisin de Cal- 

 abre which bore the 26 lbs. bunch produced three 

 other clusters, one of which weighed 6 lbs., another 

 lOllis., and one thnt still hangs on the vine is cal- 

 culated to weigh about 18 lbs. This gives just 60 

 lbs. of grapes for one rod al)0ut 14 feet long. The 

 vines are usually started about the l-'ith of Feb- 

 runry, when the house is shut up for two weeks 

 without fire-heat. The third week they are 

 assisted by a little fire-heat, and are also syringed 

 several times each day until they break into leaf, 

 after which the syringe is never used. I leave 



