36& 



JOtJENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AlfD COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ November 10, 1863. 



and made canes something resembling a gentleman's slender 

 wallcing-stick. 



Duiing the autumn the remaining Vines were moved into 

 pots of about 12 inches in diameter, and 12 inches deep. 

 This size I consider quite adequate for all ordinary pm-poses, 

 and Vines grown in 12-inch pots with ordiaai-y caie may be 

 expected to produce from 5 lbs. to 8 lbs. of tt'uit each. The 

 compost in which they were potted consisted of two-thirds 

 good hazel loam chopped up and left in lumps about the size 

 of an egg, with some rotten dung and pounded bones to form 

 the other part. The pots were well draiHed with broken 

 crocks, and over the crooks was placed a layer of boiled bones 

 about the size of a walnut. The soil was well thumped into 

 the pots, and a sufficient space left to hold water. They 

 were pruned to or 7 feet in length, according to their 

 strength, and being placed in the position they had to 

 occupy, about Christmas the eai'ly house was again started. 



I prefer bending down the Vines to a horizontal or recum- 

 bent position until they begin growing ; this causes an 

 equal circulation of sap, and makes the buds break more 

 regularly. By this means I succeeded in breaking every 

 eye in the pot Vines, with the exception of one or two 

 nearest the pot, and almost every branch showed fruit — 

 some shoots two, three, four, and even five bunches each. The 

 usual routine of disbudding, stopping the laterals as they 

 advanced, thinning the bunches, also the thinning of the 

 berries, and the syringing, were duly attended to. 



One very important point requiiing special attention is 

 the watering. This must be varied to insure success. Plants, 

 like human beings, prefer a change of diet. I obtain my 

 supplies of liquid manure from a well which receives the 

 drainage fi'om adjacent stables. This, when weak through 

 heavy falls of rain, I strengthen with guano at the rate of 

 about two ounces to the gallon. I also employ the soap- 

 suds from the laundi-y, mixed with cowdung and guano as a 

 change. 



Those Vines started in the earliest house ripened a few 

 ■bunches in the eai-ly part of May, while those started in the 

 orchard-house, and brought into the late vinei'y as accommo- 

 dation could be found thorn, are stiU in fruit, and may be 

 np to Chi'istmas. Thus with pot Vines alone, independent of 

 what has been taken fi-om the rafters, we may have a supply 

 from May tOl December. 



Now, let us look at the produce of these pot Vines. Lady 

 I>ownes' appeal's to be a shy bearer in a pot ; at least with 

 us, the produce was but small, and it was the only one that 

 could be considered a failure. It was not forced much, being 

 only stai'ted in a late house towards the end of Februai-y. 

 Trentham Black appears to be not very fi'ee in a pot, but the 

 fruit was lai-ge and exquisite. Perhaps some of your readers 

 may have succeeded better with it in a pot. Muscat St. 

 Laurent and Chasselas Eose Eoyale I consider useless ; the 

 latter produced eight or nine bunches to a pot, but the 

 bei-ries were small, and the flavour indifferent. Chasselas 

 Musque may be considered good for pot-culture, and also 

 for forcing, as it is a free bearer and an early variety. 

 Black Frontignans produced fi'om nine to eleven bimches 

 on a Vine ; White Frontignans, from ten to seventeen 

 bunches; and Grizzly Frontignans carried seventeen 

 bunches ; and one Grizzly showed upwards of thirty bunches 

 on a rod about 6 feet long. Many of the bunches were sis 

 good as may be ordinai-ily seen on rafters. Black Ham- 

 burghs produced three, four, and up to foui-teen bunches. 

 One Black Hamburgh I only allowed to can-y foui- bunches, 

 and weighed the produce. The th-st bunch weighed 2J lbs., 

 the second and thu-d were 15 lb. each, and the fourth 1 lb. 

 Thus one Vine with only four bunches produced Gi lbs. of 

 ii'uit fit for any table. 1 should like to kuovr what variety 

 of Hambm-gh the latter is. The bunch is large and he.avdy 

 shouldered, and tapering at the point ; the skin deep black 

 piu-ple ; beiTies roundish, and of good flavoiu- ; and the foliage 

 when changing colour assumes a beautiful pink tinge very 

 different from any other variety I know. [Probably Black 

 Champion. — Eds. J. or H.] 



I am certain any one possessing only a small pit, with 

 artificial heat at command, may succeed in growing fine 

 Grapes from pot Vines. The minutia; of propagation and 

 the after-management of pot Vines have been so frequently 

 detailed by Mi-. Fish, that I might refrain ti-om saying any- 

 thing on the subject. But, as we seem almost in the height 



of a Grape-growing mania, and having given the cultivation 

 of Vines in pots special attention, I may be excused in 

 saying a little for the benefit of beginners. 



The plants are, without doubt, the best raised from single 

 eyes obtained from strong, healthy Vines, and should be 

 procured as early afterChiistmas as possible. There are many 

 difterent ways of making the cuttings ; perhaps as simple 

 as any is to make them about 1 J inch in length, and to place 

 them horizontallj' mth the bud uppermost in small GO-sized 

 pots, fiUed with light, rich soil, and well drained. These 

 pots should, if ijossible, be placed in a bottom heat of from 

 70° to 75". As soon as the small pots are filled with roots 

 they must be transplanted into larger pots — say large 48's. 

 The compost used for this shilt, and for every successive 

 potting, shoidd consist of two parts turfy loam, and one part 

 very rotten dung ; to this add, if the loam is inclined to be 

 stiff, a little shai-p river sand. A good sprinkling of sifted 

 bones, with a little chai'coal and a little lime rubbish, will 

 do no harm. Let these be well mixed and incorporated 

 together. The soil should be well warmed in a stove before 

 using it, or the plants will sustain a serious check, and when 

 water is applied it must be in a tepid state. They will soon 

 require another shift, which should be into eight-inch pots, 

 and filially into 12-iuch pots. Some people recommend 

 larger pots, but then they are much more inconvenient to 

 move about. 



I invariably allow the canes to become about 8 feet long 

 before stopping them, and then pinch off the laterals above 

 the first leaf, when they have made five or six leaves. When 

 they have perfected their growth they may be i^laced out of 

 doors during then- season of rest. In the autumn they will 

 require some of the old soil to be removed from the surface of 

 the pots, and about one-thii'd down the sides between the 

 pot and tjie ball, and replaced with rich compost as above. 

 When they are pruned they must be reduced in length 

 according to the size of the house in which they are to be 

 fruited, but ought not to exceed 7 feet in length. If they 

 have been well grown they will beai' a respectable crop of 

 fruit the following yea.!' ; but Vines one year old, cut down 

 to one bud, and grown a second year, may be expected to do 

 much better. 



As regai'ds varieties suited for pot-culture, none can 

 surpass the Black Hamburgh. The Frontignans also succeed 

 well, and so does Chasselas Musque, though it requires a 

 dry atmosphere when rii^ening, or else it is liable to crack. 

 I have also seen the Muscat of Alexandria do well, but I 

 have not grown it myself. I would avoid the Golden Ham- 

 burgh, as under the best treatment I have never seen it 

 succeed in a pot. Any one with but a very small amount of 

 glass, when they can command attention, may grow good 

 Grapes from pot Vines, and derive much enjoyment fr'om 

 theu- cultivation. — Quintin Read, Biddulph. 



A WOED ABOFT STKAWBEEEIES. 



In reference to the communication in The Joubnal op 

 Horticulture respecting the successful mode of growing 

 Strawberries, by " Quintin Eead," Biddulph, I beg to make 

 the following observations. Although I fuUy agree with 

 him in many points, I differ widely in others. 



We gi'ow a great many Strawberries here with great 

 success. We devote about tlu-ee-quarters of an acre to 

 Strawben-y plantations. Our kinds are as follow : — Keens' 

 Seedling, Sir Harry, Sfr Charles Napier, British Queen, 

 Oscar, and the Elton. 



I plant and manage them exactly in the same way that 

 your correspondent states, with the exception of planting 

 in the three-and-a-half-feet beds, and allowing their foliage 

 to remain tUl spring. I have, for instance, a quarter of an 

 acre of Keens' Seedling in one bed. These were planted three 

 yeai-s ago 3 feet from plant to plant in the row, and 

 the rows 2 J feet asunder. Last year this bed produced 

 some very fine fruit, averaging about twenty-two to the 

 pound. After they had done fruiting the scythe was 

 introduced to perform that barbai-ous practice that your 

 coiTOspondent says has happily passed a-nay. After the 

 scythe the knife came into operation, in trimming and 

 cutting every runner and decayed leaf away, leaving only 

 the young leaves that were just bursting forth. The next 



