September 29, 1863. 



JOUENAL OF HOKTICULTUKE AKD COTTAGE GAUDENEK. 



253 



put over them, and they are set in a shady part of a warm 

 greenhouse ; no suji is allowed to shine on them, and the 

 inside of the glass is wiped evei-y day. F. Chittt. 



THE GEAPEEIES OF ME. MEEEDITH. 



I AM far from finding fault with yom- intelligent corre- 

 spondent " Epsilon " (see p. 209), for calling me to account 

 for what I said about the Grape-houses of Mr. Meredith at 

 Garston. All vague and undefined assertions ought to be 

 called in question, and not accepted as valid until some 

 feasible proof, or at least explanation of them, can be given. 

 Certainly now and then a loose erpression may be allowed 

 to pass uncriticised if the meaning be understood ; but as 

 the quotation your correspondent makes from my former 

 article may leave an impression that I may have said too 

 much, I deem it right to explain the matter more fully, and 

 thint I can do so without withdra-ning in the least from the 

 statement I first made. 



The remark quoted by "Epsilon" fr'om my article on 

 the Garston graperies is that " I believed Mr. Meredith's 

 knowledge will enable h im to pronounce whether a certain 

 soil will suit the Grape Vine or not, apart from those out- 

 ward appearances which are the only guide to a less prac- 

 tised hand." Now, on reading this short paragi-aph once, 

 and calling to memory what I saw and heard as well fr-oni 

 others as from Mr. Meredith himself, I do not think there 

 is anything to retract. Perhaps if the two words " upon 

 examination " had been added after the word " pronounce," 

 the sentence might have been more explicit, but I do not 

 see in which way it would have altered the sense, the more 

 especially when the general reader is informed that the 

 opinion I gave was not formed alone upon the Grape Vines 

 I saw at Mr. Meredith's, but what I saw had been done by 

 him at another place many miles distant from his own 

 establishment. I was told other places fonued by him pre- 

 sented like features of good Grape-growing. But I will 

 content myself with describing what I actually saw, and the 

 reader will excuse my mentioning names for reasons which 

 it is needless to explain ; but I may say that the Grape 

 Vines in a garden of high repute falling into a bad condition, 

 the Grapes not coloujriug weU, otherwise shanking, while 

 the bunches and berries were below second-class size, and 

 yearly becoming worse, it became necessary to restore them, 

 and Mr. Meredith was caEed in. What alterations he ad- 

 vised in the houses I need not enter iipon, as that is a mere 

 mechanical affair. The evil lay in the border, and its re- 

 constniotion was put into Mr. Meredith's hands, and I 

 understand he had the privilege of selecting the soil best 

 suited for the purpose that the estate, and that a large one, 

 possessed. 



Now, though my visit to the place was a short one, I could 

 easily see by the character of the agricultural and other 

 crops that there was plenty of what is usually called good 

 land; some in the park might be pronounced excellent, 

 from the vigour of the herbage and the appearance of the 

 trees, and many parties with a caHe blanche, as I believe Mi-. 

 Meredith had, would have been for skinning a large portion 

 of the best of it ; but no, Mr. Meredith went further a-field, 

 and I believe the bulk, if not all, of the material he recom- 

 mended the border to be composed of was brought fr'om an 

 unpromising waste. 



I am not certain whether a mere glance at the various 

 soils or a more careful examination of them enabled Mr. 

 Meredith to select the one he did for the formation of the 

 Vine-border, neither does it matter to the general reader. 

 Certain it is that the one he did select, with the other treat- 

 ment the Vines received, produced as good Grapes as I ever 

 saw in my life, equalliug those at Mi-. Meredith's ovm. place, 

 and if anything heavier crops. My informant of what was 

 done by Mr. Meredith was the gardener on the spot, a 

 worthy and weU-informed man ; the Grapes I saw myself, and 

 I never saw finer. The alteration in the border taking place 

 some three or four years ago, I was told the crop of the 

 present year, heavy as it was, was not more so than that of 

 last year, the gardener naively saying that an unusually 

 heavy crop seemed necessary to ciu-b the luxuriance of the 

 Vines. I must here again repeat what I before afSrmed of 

 Mr. Meredith's Vines — the leaves were not so large as I 



have seen some elsewhere, nor the wood so long in the 

 joints. I believe this to be owing to the absence of those 

 emic'ning substances which so many are apt to put in such 

 abundance into their borders. 



Although it is quite excusable, nay, highly reoommend- 

 able, for an inquirer like our worthy correspondent " Ep- 

 silon " to question Blr. Meredith's ability to give a just 

 opinion at once of the merits of a soil suited to the wants of 

 the Vine, -with no further proof than was given at the para- 

 graph quoted, I think the above case fully confirms all that 

 was stated, and I know other examples could be cited. It 

 matters little to the general public whether Mr. Meredith in 

 giving his opinion on the merits of a soil does so at once or 

 takes time to do it, the judgment eventually is a correct 

 one, as the sequel pi-oved. And as Mi-. Meredith is pro- 

 fessionally employed in the building and ftimishing of Grape 

 and other houses, it is only fair that those who want to have 

 foi-ther particulars should communicate with him direct. 

 Those who require further confirmation of what I have ad- 

 vanced might go and see for themselves. — J. Eobson. 



EOTAIi HOETICULTIIRAL SOCIETY'S 

 COMMITTEES.— Sept. 23, 1863. 



Floeal Committee. — On this occasion special certificates 

 were awarded to Messrs. Veitch, and to Messrs. Downie and 

 Co. ; to the former for the beautiful v/hite-flowered Lapa- 

 geria rosea albiflora, a plant the white beUs of which con- 

 trast well with those of the better known rose-coloured kind, 

 and which will unquestionably prove a most important 

 acquisition for the decoration of our greenhouses and con- 

 servatories, as well as for exhibition purposes. What a 

 brilliant effect a paii" of Lapagerias, the one with rose- 

 coloured the other with white flowers, would have in a mixed 

 collection, especially if they were as large and handsome as the 

 specimen which Mr. TJzzeU exhibited at the Crystal Palace. 

 In the same collection with the Lapageria were shown the 

 new LUium auratum, a fine variety of speciosum rubrum, 

 and two Eranthemums. Both of these received second-class 

 certificates. That named tuberculatum, fi-om New Caledonia, 

 formed a compact bushy little plant and had a profusion of 

 pure white flowers ; the other, which was of taller growth, 

 had white flowers dotted on the under seg-ments with purple. 

 Messrs. Downie's award was for a collection of thu-ty-six 

 Hollyhocks, of which Neatness, a deep ciimson, had a first- 

 class certificate ; and Lord Clifden, a crimson shaded with 

 carmine, a second-class one. Among Dahlias WiUie Austin, 

 fi'om Ml-. Keynes, of Salisbury, a rich golden yellow shaded 

 ivith red, had a first-class certificate ; and Miss Herbert, a 

 variety somewhat resembling the preceding- in its colours, 

 a second-class one. Mr. Legge, of Edmonton, had like- 

 wise first-class certificates for Nonsuch and Enchantress, 

 the latter a yellowish-white, heavily tipped with cerise. 

 Fairy Queen, a rosy-lilac on a creamy-yellow ground came 

 from Ml-. Alexander, of Leyton, and had a similar distinction 

 coufen-ed upon it. Mr. Turner, of Slough, had second-class 

 oei-tificates for Favourite and Countess (FeUowes), the 

 former a good purple, the latter a large white variety. 

 Erebus, nearly black, was shown by Mr. KawUngs, and was 

 commended. 



Messrs. E. G. Henderson & Son sent Anemone vitifoha 

 and Honorine Jobei-t, which was commended at the pi-evious 

 Meeting ; also Pelargonium Beauty, for which a first-class 

 certificate was awarded. This was one of the Zonale class, 

 having white flowers, the base of the petals edged -with 

 sabnon pink, and was altogether a very attractive kind. 

 Cheiranthus MarshaUi variegatus from the same firm was 

 commended, and three semi-double varieties of Dianthus 

 hybridus, white, crimson, and striped, had second-class cer- 

 tHicates. 



Mr. Gordon, of the Crystal Palace, sent several bedding 

 Lobelias ; and Mr. WiUs, of Oidton Park, Tai-porley, two 

 Pelargoniums — Princess of Wales, a horseshoe with pint 

 flowers, deep salmon at the centre ;» and Volcano, bright 

 scarlet. The former received a second-class certificate, the 

 latter a commendation. 



Fruit Committee. — Mi-. Edmonds in the chair. Mr. 

 Carr, gardener to P. L. Hinds, Esq., Byfleet Lodge, Cob- 

 ham, sent a Queen Pine weighing 7 lbs. 3 ozs., which was 



