172 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ September 6, 1867. 



pot, and placed on the dessert-table in the early part of July, 

 the same readers will agree with me that there was not much 

 time lost, and it certainly is a system preferable to drawing a 

 Vine through the aperture in the bottom of a large pot, or 

 growing Vines a year previously to their being fruited, and 

 in such pots as require two men to lift them. 



The Vines grown in these small pots were from 1 foot to 

 18 inches in height, bearing from one to four bunches of well- 

 ripened, and beautifully-coloured Grapes. What magnificent 

 little bushes these would be, laden with their rich fruit, to 

 associate with Mr. Eivers's " wee " Peach and Nectarine trees. 

 Indeed, by proper arrangement with such trees as these, the 

 dinner-table might have them as a decoration. 



Not having seen before such plants laden with such fine fruit 

 grown in such small pots, and that, too, in such a short space 

 of time, I could not help thinking that this mode of grovring 

 Vines would be very remunerative to market gardeners and 

 others, for when such little gems were brought before the 

 public, they would speedily become the fashion of the day. 



Respecting the cultm'e of these dwarfs, I forbear to say more, 

 as I believe Mr. Henderson intends shortly to lay before the 

 public a small treatise, in which will be found foil particulars 

 of his mode of cultivation. 



Should any of the readers of the Journal who are interested 

 in the culture of Viues in pots, happen to be in the Emerald 

 Isle, and have a desire to see these interesting Uttle objects, 

 the place is easily reached by rail to JIullingar, thence by coach 

 through a lovely part of the country to Ballymahon. The gar- 

 dener, Mr. W. Henderson, is well tuown as a leading, energetic 

 horticulturist, and any one who might be inclined to pay him 

 a visit, would find him in courtesy and kindness all that could 

 be desired. — J. S. 



PAINTING AND COLOURING GARDEN 

 STRUCTURES. 



It is somewhat strange that although many persons have 

 made public their views as to the way in which certain plots of 

 ground may be rendered as attractive as possible by ornamental 

 planting, the colouring of any timber or iiou work necessary in 

 the place has received but little consideration. In consequence, 

 however, of want of attention to this matter, sometimes the 

 eye is offended by the incongruities displayed, and it would be 

 well if some definite rules could be laid down, so as to secure 

 the attainment of the object of painting — namely, the preser- 

 vation of the wood and iron — without departing from that har- 

 mony of colour which ought to prevail in all places where floral 

 or vegetable beauty is the main attraction. There is, however, 

 some little difficulty in preserving this harmony where the 

 objects said to require artificial colouring, with the view of in- 

 creasing their beauty and durability, are numerous ; but there 

 are many instances in which I think artificial colouring has 

 been carried too far, and, I think, done in a manner not 

 consistent with propriety. I will now state a few of the cases 

 in which I have seen artificial colouring resorted to where it 

 appeared to have spoiled rather than improved the effect, 

 although others will, I have no doubt, be inclined to differ 

 from me on the subject. 



Commencing, therefore, with objects to which paint had been 

 applied needlessly, I have several times noticed vases or tazzas 

 out of doors, intended to be planted with flowers, painted of a 

 glaring white, which was stained and spoiled by the first water- 

 ings which the plants received. These vases were of artificial 

 stone, or some composition resembling it, and so far as dura- 

 bility was concerned, did not require painting. Cast-iron vases 

 might require a coating of paint ; but in all cases where such 

 is wanted, let the finishing colour be some soft grey, or other 

 tint resembling the stone of the district. I would avoid both 

 white and green, which I think ought not to be used for out- 

 side work of any description. When it is desired to render 

 iron fencing invisible, green may perhaps be admissible ; but 

 then the fence ought to be a long distance from the eye, as ob- 

 jects near at hand cannot be so concealed, and it is useless to 

 attempt doing so. Returning, however, to vases, I may say 

 that the same rule holds good with other features in the gar- 

 den, as pillars, stands, walk-edgings when of stone or resem- 

 bling it, sun-dial stands, and in most cases balustrading and 

 copings. Perhaps if the latter are in contact with new work 

 of a highly-polished character, they may be kept free from lichen 

 and dirt, but they will rarely be improved in appearance 

 by paint ; while I must confess I admire the grey hue which 



age gives such objects, if it is not accompanied with soot 

 and other impurities, that show an artificial rather than a 

 natural colouring. Perhaps one of the worst cases in which 

 1 remember to have seen paint applied was in colouring the 

 coping stones of a garden wall a clear white, and to complete 

 the absurdity, the chimney-tops were painted of the same 

 colour. 



To flights of steps, perhaps, the above advice to let well 

 alone may not apply ; still, I am uncertain whether even these 

 are not meddled with oftener than they ought to be. Cleaning 

 them now and then is necessary, not so much to add colouring 

 matter of a foreign description, as to remove that dirty growth 

 which renders them shppery when wet. This, however, is one 

 of the cases in which utihty asserts a claim to attention ; but 

 it would be well to avoid as far as possible aU imitation of the 

 system of cleaning the front-door steps of dwelling-houses in 

 the case of flights of steps not duectly connected with the 

 residence. 



Dismissing stone work and imitations of it, let us now pro- 

 ceed to the more difficult subject of what ought to be done 

 with the timber and ironwork which constitute an important 

 feature in the gi-ounds, and which we are told must be painted. 

 Many things must be painted, otherwise their utility is im- 

 paired and their durability shortened ; but in all cases where 

 paint can be dispensed with let this be done. Dahlia stakes 

 and similar supports look best when they are of Ash, Chestnut, 

 Hazel, Willow, or other straight-growing wood of the proper size, 

 with the bark on, and no more taken off the knots than is ne- 

 cessary. Most other stakes, both large and small, also look 

 better when made of similar material, rather than of dressed 

 deal painted green or any other hue ; but if deal sticks must 

 be used, let them be painted with some colour not too conspi- 

 cuous. Green, in my opinion, is the worst, and the next to that 

 a clear white. Of course, no one would think of painting stakes 

 bright red or yellow ; but green, which is very commonly em- 

 ployed, is certainly objectionable. For stakes of the kind de- 

 scribed, I would advise a dull ashy grey ; and most ironwork, 

 as arches, trellises, iron and wire fences, might be of the same 

 tint, or what is called a medium lead colour, which is one of 

 the most durable paints employed, certainly much more so 

 than green. All light ironwork might be so treated, but 

 elaborate work of a heavier character, as gates, balustrading, 

 and pillars, might have what is called a bronze finishing. 

 This, however, is a department on which I will not intrude 

 further than to urge against their being white or green. 



Coming now to glass structures : these require painting 

 more than any other object I am acquainted with, as both dvira- 

 bility and utility are alike imperilled by neglect, which is not 

 the case with many objects painted ostensibly to increase their 

 durability, for I believe that no painted piece of woodwork in 

 the kingdom is so old as some that has never received anything 

 of the kind. The woodwork of a glazed structui-e, however, is 

 cut up into small pieces, which are further rendered more than 

 usually accessible to the action of the weather, by grooves 

 made almost as if on purpose to receive the moisture, and now 

 and then interruptions in the way of its escape, so that there is 

 no kind of woodwork that 1 know of, which suffers more from 

 the want of paint than the framework and sash-bars of glass 

 houses and frames. As regards the most suitable colour for 

 this purpose, I think, on the whole, that most commonly em- 

 ployed for outside work — namely, a stone colour, is the best ; 

 but it should not be too light, excepting in places where there 

 is very little smoke or dirt, for a newly-painted structure of a 

 little duller hue than common keeps its colour longer than one 

 which is very bright, and by adopting such a hue nothing is 

 gained. Forcing-houses exposed to much smoke quickly be- 

 come dirty, and I recollect once seeing a long range of such in 

 the garden of a nobleman, celebrated as a patron of horticul- 

 ture, which were painted of an ordinary lead colour, the best of 

 all for durability. I would not, however, recommend this 

 colour except in a few cases where more than ordinary expo- 

 sure to dirt was apprehended. 



There is more diversity generally in the colouring of glass 

 houses constructed of iron, or a mixture of iron and wood, and 

 it is not unusual to paint the ironwork a sort of dark dull red 

 or brown, and the woodwork the usual stone colour. The 

 lightness of such houses, and the different forms given them, 

 afford scope for more variety than is met with in houses 

 built of wood ; and conservatories and other structures, whose 

 appearance is an important object, may be painted with 

 brighter colours than houses of less pretension. Nothing, 

 however, is better than a good stone colour, several coats being 



