350 



JOUKNAL OF HOKTICULTTJEE ASD COTTAGE GASDENEE. 



[ November 3, 1863. 



crop may be Lad from the latter for a couple of yeare or so, 

 when the Cherry trees will be removed either to another 

 house or a wall, and the Vines be allowed to occupy the 

 whole house. One great lesson to be le;u-ned at Trentham 

 is, that nothing is done and no change etfected without the 

 matter having previously been looked at in all its bearings, 

 and especially those having reference to economical and 

 pi-udential considerations. The fourth house was a Peach- 

 house, also empty, and having only this peculiarity — that 

 the back wall was studded instead of treUised; and the 

 trees at the back, instead of going merely to the top of the 

 wall, were bent over at the top, so as to form a curve of 

 2 feet or so under the span roof 



We now step out, and find the west side of the east wall 

 covered with Pears, and fi-onted also with these upright 

 ■cases, but without any heat as far as we recollect. Here 

 the crop was exceUeut, and the collection of Pears very fine, 

 there being frequently many sorts on one tree and beai-ing 

 profusely, as shoots with fruit-buds had been used fi-equently 

 for grafting, and the scions were chiefly inserted on the 

 sides of the main branches — a good plan, too, for rendering 

 unfertile trees fertile. The only difficulty was in keeping 

 the sorts distinct in the gathering. The fruit was much 

 larger than usual, and some of thern attain an extraordinary 

 size vmder glass ; but as a rule Mr. Henderson does not 

 consider them qvrite equal in flavour- to those grown on the 

 open wall. 



The north aspect of the south wall is appropriated to 

 Cherries, Plums, &c., and the south side is covered with 

 these upright cases from end to end, the length being from 

 630 to 640 feet. These are devoted to Peaches and Kec- 

 taiines, and I think in part to Apricots, and at the end of 

 August contained a great mimber of most excellent fruit, 

 among which the Barrington and Walburton Admii-able 

 Peaches, and the Eh-uge and Pitmaston Orange Nectai-ine, 

 were the most conspicuous for their size. Many splendid 

 ones had been gathered for the Crystal Palace Show, on the 

 1st of September, where they stood in the first ranis of ' 

 honour-. Many fi-uit trees in pots are gi-own in fr-ont of these 

 houses, where there is not a treUis. 



In front of this fine wall is a large space of ground, even 

 now called the " long nursery," but having nothing of the 

 nursery about it, except the tact that thousands upon thou- 

 sands of nursery bedding plants are turned out here every 

 year- to contend with the weather, and, if possible, thrive 

 and show off all then- perfections to the very best. The 

 post of honom- amongst these is assigned to two ribbon- 

 borders about the same length as the wall — the one next the 

 houses, and the other on the opposite side of a fine gravel 

 walk between them. Beginning at the Box edging the back 

 border, is thus filled— 3 inches from the Box is kept clear-, 

 then a foot -wide of Cerastium, followed by Golden Chain, 

 Scarlet Geranium, Feverfev,', Trentham Rose Geranium, tall 

 brown Calceolai-ias and Pentstemons, mixed ; Glatliolus, in 

 full bloom at the crest, the plants having been forwarded in 

 pots; and then mixed Stocks, Cineraria, and an edging of 

 Thr-ift. The opposite bed was in span-roofed shape, "and 

 thus the rows run fi-om the Box :--Cerastium, LobeUa 

 speciosa, Manglesii and BriUiant Geranium, mixed ; Prince 

 of Orange Calceolaria, and Purple Nosegay Geraniums, 

 mised, or alternate plants of each ; tail brown Calceolaria, 

 a,nd Shnibland Kose Petunia, mixed, which made the centre 

 row ; the other side, sku-ted by giass, being just a counter- 

 part of the above. The rains had lashed these borders very 

 much, and the Calceolarias had been greatly injured ; in- 

 deed, Mr. Hendej-son said they had not been quite up to the 

 mark this autumn, but, nevertheless, the borders looked 

 well, greatly enhanced by the beautifid walk, and the artistic 

 manner in which the Cerastium was managed, regular and 

 flat throughout, and yet nothing stiff about it, and greatly 

 reHeved by the three-inch space of dark e;u-th between it 

 and the gi-een Box edging. If we had not seen these borders 

 we might have left the Cerastium to come to the Box edging, 

 but now we are convinced that the open space of 3 inches 

 left, gives to the whole an ai-tistic charm. Beyond, to the 

 south of this front border, is a grass avenue, on which are 

 placed oblong beds filled with flowering plants, the beds 

 lieiug edged alternately with Holly, Yew, Berberis aqui- 

 folium, and Cotoneaster microphylla. These beds are 

 ii.acked with groups of HoUyhooks, and these again by 



massive shrubberies, through openings in which peeps are 

 obtained of the pleasure gi-ound scenery. — K. F. 

 (To be continued.) 



GLADIOLUS. 



I HAD not intended to add another word to this contro- 

 versy, but as your correspondent somewhat appeals to me 

 I must perforce answer. 



I. I did not say that derivatives followed the rule of the 

 words from whence derived, but that diminutives did. 



II. I did not intend to say in one place that the first 

 syllable was glad and in another glade ; but that as it was 

 derived from, gladius, I should throw the accent, whatever 

 there was, on the first syllable. 



III. I did not say it was a, barbarism to say Gladiolus, 

 but to make it Gladilus, as if no " o " was in the woi-d, which 

 is Mr. Beaton's pronunciation. — D., Deal. 



PEOPAGATING VINES FKOM EYES. 



Having a wish to propagate Vines from eyes in the spring, 

 would you favour me with your advice as to the best method 

 of doing so ^ I have a vinery which I intend to start at the 

 end of January, and a circular flue of fireclay runs up through 

 the house. Would a pit made on the top of the iurnace 

 with or 8 inches of sand or rubble stones at the bottom, 

 with about 2 or 2i feet of tan above the stones be a suitable 

 place for the purpose ? — D. P. B. 



[The plan which you propose for striking your Vine-eyes 

 would answer very well. There are, however, two or thi-ee 

 evils which are likely to reqim-e being guai-ded against in. 

 forming a pit immediately over yoiu- furnace, by which it is 

 presumed that the pit is proposed to be made over the part 

 of the liue next the fu-eplace where the gi-eatest heat is in- 

 vai-iably to be found. In the fir-st place, you must guard 

 against too great an amount of heat, which woidd cause the 

 buds to break weakly. The bottom heat, should not exceed 

 80". A thermometer plunged in the tan will, therefore, be 

 necessary. It is also to be feared that the jjositiou of the 

 pit which you propose forming will be too far fr-om the glass, 

 which in conjimction with a high bottom heat would be the 

 very worst position possible for Vine-eyes after they had 

 broken into growth. But if you can raise your pit so as to 

 be within a couple of feet or so of the glass and not under 

 the shade of other Vines, your- plan with ordinary attention 

 wUl do very well. 



We do not, however, consider bottom heat an indispens- 

 able requisite in raising young Vines fi-om eyes, and never 

 practise it ourselves unless when very early ripened Vines 

 are the object, and which, of cour-se, requh-es that they be 

 pushed on rapidly early in the season. In ordinai-y cases 

 the method we adopt with success is, to put the eyes to the 

 number of about thirty into an eight-inch jjot well di-ained 

 and filled with equal parts of loam, leaf mould, and sand. 

 The pots are then placed on a shelf near the glass in a 

 vinery, which is to be started in February. Here they just 

 get the temperatm-e which is usual in starting established 

 Vines, and they always break strongly and do well. As soon 

 as they have made roots about 2 inches in length they are 

 130tted-of}' into four-inch pots, using a compost composed of 

 half loam and half leaf moidd. We prefer jjotting them off 

 thus early, as there is less danger of then- receiving a check 

 by the roots being broken in potting-ofT _; and they are put 

 into eight-inch pots at first to save trouble in watering, 

 crocking pots, &c., which when they are put singly into small 

 pots is requu-ed to a greater extent. 



If convenient we put them into a little bottom heat after 

 potting them off, but are not very pai-ticulai- on this point if 

 ■ne can place them near the glass iu any light structiu-e 

 where the night temperature ranges fi-om 65° to 70°. In a 

 bottom heat of 80° they will, however, come into gi-owth sooner 

 than otherwise; but Vines should not under any ch-cum- 

 stances be left longer in strong bottom heat than is just 

 necessary to give them a start after being potted-ofi'. From 

 this it wiU be inferred that the pit proposed is not necessary, 

 and if far from the glass, would, therefore, be objectionable, 

 and that, if a shelf in the warm end of the vinery near the 



