Mny 9, 1867. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



327 



VINE BORDERS. 



Theue baa been so much discussion lately in yonr pages, 

 respecting the making and management of Vine borders, 

 that it may be thought presumption in an amateur of only a 

 few years' experience to put in a word among such skilful 

 growers. 



I cannot help thinking that Vine borders, as a rule, are too 

 much enriched, which is, I think, not only wasteful but posi- 

 tively deleterious, as productive of coarse long-jointed shoots. 

 My present Vines were planted in March, 1865, inside a house 

 30 feet by 10, the front built on arches, and with an outside 

 border of lime-rubbish and common garden soil, about 15 feet 

 wide. The inside border -aas made with rotten horse-manure, 

 bones, and lime-rubbish, and a small quantity of charcoal 

 added to about four times the quantity of common soil, and I 

 have occasionally given waterings of weak liquid manure, such 

 as guano water and diluted chamber lye. The outside border 

 was cropped the first year with early Potatoes, and last autumn 

 it was dug up and a small quantity of horse-manure pointed 

 in. The roots were found to have gone through, but were cut 

 back. 



The house is in two divisions. In one I have a Muscat 

 of Alexandria, a Bowood Muscat, a Muscat Hamburgh, and 

 a Lady Downe's. In the other, or cooler compartment, are 

 a Lady Downe's, a Purple Constautia, two Black Hamburghs, 

 and one Eoyal Muscadine. I have been firing a little since 

 the end of February, but ceased doing so in the cooler com- 

 partment at the end of March. In the warmer division the 

 Muscat Hamburgh bunches are 10 inches long and largely 

 shouldered, the berries the size of large peas ; the others are 

 rather smaller. In the cooler division the Grapes are just 

 beginning to set. I pinch very severely at the first joint be- 

 yond the fruit, and afterwards at the second leaf, and the shoots 

 are sturdy and short-jointed, and the leaves large, often 10 inches 

 across each way, every eye showing fruit, though I only allow 

 about seven or eight bunches this year on a Vine. I give more 

 air than many, as I think it conduces much to flavour, which I 

 prefer to size, and next month (May), I intend to have the back 

 shutters partly open all night to prevent early scorching, my 

 aspect being south-east. 



Some of my neighbours have covered their borders with a 

 thick coating of long dung, and their shoots are gross and 

 iong-jointed, with puny flower-stalks six or seven joints from 

 the stem ; but mine have only four or five joints, and when in 

 full flower are only 5 or 6 inches from the stem. I do not believe 

 that Vines require such constant dressings of rich manure as 

 many apply to them. Tboy do not get them in the foreign 

 vineyards to anything like the extent ; and other fruit trees, 

 when established, are left to themselves, and bear large crops 

 of fruit, as do Vines on walls in good aspects and climates, 

 their roots running under gravel walks and in all kinds of 

 rough soil, and only wanting good drainage^and plenty of sun 

 heat. — J. C. Barnh-im. 



SORGHUM TARTARICUM. 



We have read the very disparaging notice of the above 

 aovelty in a late number of the Journal with much surprise, 

 and hasten most willingly to satisfy your correspondent, 

 "W. P.," in last week's issue, as to our position respecting it, 

 although our advertisement, if correctly read, contains abun- 

 dant explanation. 



Our house has long been celebrated for introducing novelties 

 of the vegetable world, and we are compelled in most instances 

 {excepting when of our own raising), to rely upon the descrip- 

 tion givoTi ns by the raiser or introducer, as the case may be ; 

 but at the same time we specially avoid personally guarantee- 

 ing the excellence of any novelty nntil we have proved it at 

 our trial grounds. In this ease we intimated most distinctly 

 that the description is " as given us ;" and in the advertisement 

 of S. tartaricum we say, " that we have not yet proved its 

 qTialities," followed by a verbatim description from our corre- 

 spondent, whose testimony we are by no me.ans disposed to 

 question. 



A doubt has been expressed as to S. tartaricum possessing 

 sufficient hardiness of constitution to thoroughly ripen its seed 

 in this variable climate ; but as our correspondent assures us 

 it is " quite hardy," we have every reason to believe the variety 

 as offered by us has not been sufBeiently tried in this country 

 to warrant its condemnation, and we suspect the reports to 

 which we allude emanate entirely from hearsay evidence, or 



from a trial of an inferior kind of Sorghum incorrectly sup- 

 posed to be synonymous with the sort in question. 



We cannot, therefore, allow our correspondent's description 

 to be disputed upon such unsatisfactory evidence ; and as we 

 have made a considerable sowing at our seed farms in Essex, 

 besides distributing large quantities to our customers, we have 

 no doubt the question of its adoption as an English cereal, or 

 a valuable forage plant, will be effectually determined by this 

 season's trial. We may add, that should it fail as a corn ei-op, 

 it is reported to possess remarkable qualities as a forage plant, 

 for which purpose the Sorghums generally have proved mora 

 or less adapted. — Ja.iies Carter & Co. 



PARIS UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION. 



To those who have been accustomed to visit or to report on 

 the flower shows in England, a visit to the horticultural por- 

 tion of the Great French Industrial Exhibition will be attended 

 with a singular mixture of perplexity and disappointment. 

 Unlike the exhibitions we are accustomed to see in our own 

 country, where all the subjects are gathered together in one, or, 

 at least, in contiguous places, and the various collections in 

 the same class are so placed that they can easily be compared, 

 or serve to form groups that contribute pleasing effects in form 

 and in colour, the French Exhibition is distributed over a large 

 surface in detached glass houses and sheds without any ap- 

 parent system, or without any attempt either to produce effect 

 or to afford pleasure. 



The horticultural part of the Exhibition occupies one of the 

 four equal compartments of the park which surrounds the 

 great building, and it is most skilfully and tastefully laid 

 out, producing the finest landscape effects which undulating 

 grounds, water, rockwork, grottoes, trees, and shrubs are 

 capable of, and this upon a scale which affords ample scope to 

 do justice to every feature that is represented. An idea of the 

 manner in which this has been carried out will be obtained 

 from the accompanying figure, v.'hich, while it represents the 

 disposition of the ground, fails to convey any conception of the 

 artistic beauty of the place. It will be seen from the figure 

 that glass houses are distributed throughout the whole of this 

 space, and it is in these houses that the various horticultural 

 exhibitions take place, with the exception of the hardy orna- 

 mental trees and shrubs, which are arranged in groups, and 

 contribute to the planted effects of the ground. Eound the 

 large conservatory, or Serre monumentale (1), the Conifers are 

 arranged, in which class our enterprising countryman, Mr. 

 Veitch, plays a prominent part, contending for and maintaining 

 the honour and reputation of his country. Notwithstanding 

 the great disadvantages of the long voyage by sea and land over 

 which his collection of Conifers had to be transported, he 

 nevertheless carried off at the second series the first prize. 

 They are a beautiful lot, and whether the great beauty of the 

 specimens or their commercial value is considered they are a 

 valuable collection. 



To enable us to deal with this subject systematically, we 

 shall begin at that corner of the enclosure which is indicated by 

 the "Galerie des Fruits et Legumes " (10). This " Galerie" isa 

 long covered shed, about 50 feet long and 8 feet wide, a lean-to 

 against a wall, and a long table running the whole length. The 

 " Legumes et Fruits," the vegetables and fruits, that have 

 hitherto been exhibited here, are not such as to attract anyone 

 from a great distance to see them. The season is yet too early 

 for any such exhibitions to be attractive, and therefore our 

 readers will not be astonished when we say that with the 

 exception of a few withered Apples, some very unhappy-looking 

 Oranges and Lemons, and some of those large specimens of 

 Uvedale's St. Germain one sees in Covent Garden Market, and 

 which appeared to be the worse for the repeated services they 

 had already performed, there is really nothing to look at in the 

 fruit way. Within these last few days a dozen or two pots of 

 forced Strawberries have made their appearance, and do ample 

 credit to the good cultivation of Mr. Charles Henry, of Bagneus. , 

 It appears, however, that this gallery is put to other uses than 

 the exhibition of vegetables and fruits, the vacant space being 

 filled during the last fortnight of April with cut blooms o£ 

 Hyacinths and Tulips from Mr. Krelage.of Haarlem, and which, 

 if he had seen them, were not likely to have excited great alarm 

 in the mind of Mr. William Paul, who apparently will be per- 

 mitted to retain the laurels he has already won for some time 

 to come, against both Dutch and French growers at all events. 



The third series of exhibitions commenced on the Ist inst.. 



