472 



JOTJENAL OF HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



[ December 15, 1S03. 



therefore liigher than the surface of the lower part of the 

 ground on which the house stands — just such a position as 

 one would suppose that stagnant water would have to be 

 guai'ded against. 



When iii'st we saw the house the sides were supported by 

 stout larch poles, and a row of poles went along the middle 

 to sustain the ridge-board. As far as we recollect, the house 

 was either not a true span or the north-east side had the 

 ground lower ; and there the opening from the glass to the 

 ground was filled, we think, with a hedge of Ai'bor Vita?. 

 The object of the house seemed chiefly to be to give the 

 protection of di-yness and of a stiU atmosphere to great 

 numbers of tilings in winter. The south-west side was 

 partly open and partly protected by such temporary means 

 as bushes, mats, and in a few cases by louvre boards, the 

 roof being fixed in the regulai' orchard-house fashion. 



In order to make the house a large storehouse for fruit 

 trees in pots and many other things that required a little 

 protection in whiter, when Vines were planted on the south- 

 west side they were placed from 4.1 to 5 feet apart, that the 

 usefulness of the floor of the house aU the year througli 

 might not be impah-ed by the Vines. 



Unfortunately we cannot lay hold of our memoranda as to 

 the year — not very long ago — when these Vines were planted, 

 ajid we forgot to ask Mi'. Lane ; but so far as we recollect, in 

 forming a border for them there was not a spadeful of the 

 natural soil touched or removed. We have ah'eady indicated 

 that the ground on which the house stands slopes consider- 

 ably eastward; and just in front of the south-west side it 

 slopes a little towards the south-west, but not much. In 

 planting- the Vines for this open waU-less house all the 

 preparations made were putting a good barrowload of fern 

 above the natui-al soil, and then placing a few barrowloads 

 of fresh loam from the common on the fern, and on this soil 

 disentangling and spreading ont the roots of the Vines. 

 As the Vines grew, fresh soil with a similar bottoming was 

 added ; but even now the made border does not extend 

 more than 5 feet in width, and presents the appearance indi- 

 cated on the south side of Jig. 2. The roots have no doubt 

 extended much fai'ther; and we should have supposed that 

 they had pushed into the inside of the house as well as out- 

 side biit for the following cii'cumstance. 



Fig. 2, 



The very cold winters of 1860 and 1861 showed the ne- 

 cessity of having a more secure shelter at the sides, and, 

 therefore, the deeper north-east side was walled up to the 

 plate on which the glass roof rested. The south-west side 

 was filled up pai'tly by a wall and then with glass on the 

 top of it. The foreman and Mi-. Lane told us that they 

 had found no roots inside of that wall, though the mounds 

 of decomposing tan, sawdust, and litter inside would have 

 been an inducement for the roots to revel in, if they had 

 obtained the chance to do so. The very intelligent superin- 

 tendent, who may well be pleased with the heavy crop of 

 fine Grapes, is anxious that the wall should be cut into 

 arches, or pillars, that the Vine-roots may be encoiu-aged 

 inward, making for them at fii-st a small nai-row border, 

 and increasing the width as the roots occupy it ; and then he 

 would cut a drain some 12 or more feet from the wall out- 

 side, and put up a wall there below ground to prevent the 

 roots going- farther. He is afi-aid that unless something of 

 this kind is done, and if similar heavy crops are taken, that 

 the Grapes will be apt to shank or colour badly when a wet 

 unfavom-able summer comes. As the Vines are floiu'ishing 

 so weU, we feel persuaded that Mr. Lane wiU adopt at least 

 a paa-t of these suggestions, merely as a preventive of what 

 might prove an unpleasant contingency. 



These suggestions, however, apply to the fixture, and not 

 to the present condition of the Vines, which have as yet 

 received no coddling, except watering the narrow liorder 

 several times duriug the summer with drainings from the 

 dunghiU, and covering it in September with short sashes of 

 glass, so that the heated ah miglit enter freely and yet the 

 rains of autumn be thrown oif. During the past summer for 

 the fu-st time, we think in July, two hot-water pipes have 

 been taken round the house, which for the future will so far 

 take away its purely orchard-house character. The help of 

 these pipes in future will also assist in the thorough ripen- 

 ing of the fruit, the preserving it when ripe, the hardening 

 of the wood, and the in-eserving still more securely the vast 

 number of pl-ants in pots stowed awaj' here in -winter. 



We mention these little matters as likely to be intereat- 

 ing ; but let it be recollected, that until J uly the Vines had 

 no help except what was given in an open orchard-house, 

 and fr-om a small border of 5 feet in width made on the 

 surface of the natural soil. The sight of these Vines in 

 September was a vei-y striking one, most of them being in 

 full bearing, and they reached ft-om the south-west side up 

 to the ridge and down to the bottom of the north-east side. 

 All were heavily, and many rather too hea-vily cropped, which 

 in a few instances might impau- then- ftiU colouring. The 

 bunches in general were large, and the berries of full size. 

 We measm-ed some berries of Black Hamburgh somewhat 

 at random, and found that they ranged from 3i inches and 

 more. We counted the bunches on a number of A'^mes, and 

 they numbered from thirty to forty on each Vine. On one 

 fine Black Hambm-gh Vine we counted them pai-ticularly and 

 found forty-three bunches, and some of these were very large. 

 We- are sure that these forty-three bunches would average 

 2 lbs. each. Notwithstanding- such a heavy crop the Vines 

 seemed in full health and vigour, showing that the roots were 

 not idle somewhere. As one evidence of then- vigour, we may 

 mention that some shoots laid into pots at the fai- end of 

 the Vines on the north side were making splendid canes of 

 wood, receiving a little additional help from the pot. 



The kinds thus planted outside and grown across the 

 house fr-om side to side were Black Hamburgh, Mill HOI 

 Hamburgh, Dutch Hambm-gh, Pope's Hamburgh, Golden 

 Hamburgh, exhibiting a little tenderness in the foliage, 

 showing that a slight shade in summer woidd be useful ; 

 Muscat Hamburgh, the bunches lai-ge, thick set, 

 , and the berries squeezed against each other, having 

 grown too large for the thinning given them, and 

 which wDl be apt to interfere with their colouring 

 fully up to the mai-k. In some places this Grape 

 has set vei-y badly this season. We think the 

 low temperature may be an advantage. We should 

 judge some of these perfect balls of bunches to be 

 little under 4 lbs. in weight. Esperione was not 

 colouring so well as others ; Black Prince, West's 

 St. Peter's, Frankenthal, Buckland Sweetwater, 

 and Bai-barossa, had fine large bun«hes, but ber- 

 ries much smaller than other varieties, and looking 

 as if they would need the hot- water pipes to ripen them. It 

 will be noticed that, with the exception of the Bai-barossa, 

 most of the others would come in about the same time — a 

 matter often of importance in a commercial point of view ; 

 but it is different in a gentleman's garden, where succession 

 of supply is of gi-eater moment. 



So many inquiries are made whether anything can be 

 grown under the shade of Vines, that we must mention what 

 we found on the floor of this house. Of course it woidd be 

 differently fiUed in winter. There is no attempt at nicety 

 in the internal arrangements. The most of the plants in 

 pots were plunged in mounds of sawdust, but so moved (as 

 on inspection we found), that the roots should protrude 

 little or nothing. Here we observed some excellent Figs 

 in pots, chiefly the Grand Florentine, a beautiful large Fig ; 

 the White Marseilles, the proUfic variety, than which none 

 is richer ; the well-known and prized Brown Turkey ; and 

 the small, sweet. White Singleton, a good old Fig under 

 a new name, but having the faidt that it seldom yields 

 a good fii-st crop however treated — at least we have found 

 it so oftener than was agreeable. With good pinching, 

 however, the second crop comes early, and generally sticks 

 on as if fastened mechanically. 

 The moat striking objects, however, on the floor of the 



