80 



JOUENAL OF HOKTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 25, 187'2. 



insertion of purely technical terms in the dictionaries of com- 

 mon use — a principle adhered to in the main by the best com- 

 pilers. It is not profitable, therefore, to be searching for words 

 where they are not to be found, especially in what the Ajch- 

 bishop terms " that absurdest of all books, a pronoimciug 

 dictionary," whether of Walker or of anyone else. — A. H. Kexi. 



BELTON GRAPE BOOM. 



[The followhif; is the report on the system of keepiug Grapes 

 pursued by Mr. Moore at Beltou, referred to at page 51' . 



The Grapes were cut on November 9th, 1871, and the stems 

 put into bottles of rain water with a little charcoal m each 

 bottle. Soda-water bottles were used, and filled a little more 

 than half full of water ; when placed iu the rack the water stood 



the 2-lb. bunch was found to have taken up 1 oz., and the 

 smaller one thr-ee-quarters of an ounce. The room was kept 

 cool with closed shutters in consequence of the changeable but 

 for the most part severe weather, the heating power being only 

 used to keep out frost. In this way a very steady temperature 

 of about 38' was maintained in the room, and only on two 

 occasions did it fall below that point — namely, on the 19th of 

 November, when the thermometer stood at 37°, and on the 8th 

 of December, when it tell to 36'. The temperature never rose 

 above 43' at any tune. The Grapes appeared to be keeping 

 perfectly up to December 19th, when a few mouldy berries 

 were obser\-ed and cut out ; on the 20th they were again closely 

 examined, when it was foiind that many of the berries were 

 cracked ; these were at once taken out. The 21st being a drier 

 day the windows and door were opened, and the heat turned 



Bottle Rack. 



rt. Ledge fixed to wall. 1 d, Iron bracket 1 inch by { inch. 



6, Tonfjued and beaded board lining e, Top bar. 



to Tvall. /, Anyle block 8 inches long 



r. Clear spa-^c. 1 fT, Bottom bar. 



Bottles 3 feet 6 inches apai-t in the horizontal line, the rows 1^ inches apart 



Section 

 a, a. Boarded floor. 



b, Air-grating over hot-water pipes. 

 c, c, Air-gi-ating below board floor 



at an angle, which it was thought would prevent its evapora- „„....,, 



tion. Two bunches were weighed when placed in.the room, and I verticaUy. 



were ticketed 2 lbs. and IJ lb. respectively, in order to test if j ^^ . ^t this time a large number of the berries had burst ; the 



' stems were then di'awn out of the water, with the view of 

 checking the bm'stmg of the berries. On the 22nd and 28rd, the 

 weather being very wet, the room was kept closed except the 

 top ventilator ; still more berries kept cracking. The 24th being 

 a dry day the room was again fully opened ; the berries were 

 rapidly bui'sting. On the 2Cth and 27th 11.5 lbs. of berries had 

 to be cut out, and the stems were inserted into Mangold Wurt- 

 zel, and all the best bunches removed into the vinery. The 

 remainder were inserted in Mangolds and kept in the room. 

 On the 28th 4^ lbs. of hemes had to be cut out. On the 29th 

 and 30th the cracking was to a great extent checked, as on those 

 two days sixty-three berries only had to be taken out, and these 

 chiefly iu the room. 



The above remarks apply to the Black Ahcante Grape. The 

 Muscat of Alexandria did not crack, but the berries discoloured, 

 commencing at the footstalks. 



The Grapes when cut in November were all perfectly ripe 

 and highly coloui'ed. 



It is desired to know what is the tnie cause of the failure. 

 The accompanying are a plan and section of the Grape room. 

 — W. MOOBE. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



Mk. M.iETiN SrTTOX, the head of the weU-kno^Ti firm of 

 Sutton & Sons, Beading, to whom was lately granted the 

 special warrant of seedsmen to H.E.H. the Prince of Wales, 

 invited the numerous hands emi)loyed in the warehouses and 

 offices to his residence, Cintra Lodge, where the convalescence 

 of the Prince was celebrated by a display of fireworks and 

 illuminations. A military band was in attendance, and re- 

 freshments were pro'sided, of which about 300 partook. 



the berries had the power of taking up the water in the absence 

 of leaves. On December 21st these bunches were agiun weighed ; 



