November 13, 1808. 1 



JOURNAL OP HOUTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



363 



WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO AVOID IN THE 



^^NERY. 



R. ROBERTS, at page 27il, h8s. in an able 

 and elaborate article, stated liis views on 

 Grape-shankinc; in a manner sufficiently 

 clear and losical to be understood by all 

 interested in the subject. 



I agree with Mr. Roberts to the full ex- 

 tent of the opinion lie has stated so explicitly, 

 but it is because I wish to go a step further 

 that I enter on the subject which he has 

 opened. I give Mr. Roberts credit in going 

 to the " root of the matter." He has literally bottomed 

 the subject. I am more ambitious, and aspire to a higher 

 view, and will spend an evening's hour at the top of the 

 question ; for, after all. it is there that our hope and interest 

 centre. 



Good Vine borders are absolutely necessary for the 

 production of good Grapes, and what constitutes a good 

 border may be clearly gathered from Mr. Roberts's article 

 — viz., material, warm, dry, open, and lasting. Unfortu- 

 nately these good borders, which have been prepared with 

 so much care and at so much cost, are very capricious in 

 the quality and quantity of the Grapes they were confidently 

 intended to produce. I once heard a gentleman say he had 

 sunk itino in Vine borders, and had lost both principal 

 and interest in the transaction, although he had waited ten 

 years for a return. Notwithstanding the lapse of this 

 period, he was premature in his judgment : he ultimately, 

 without changing the border, or the varieties of the Vines, 

 obtained good Grapes. 



I have seen shanked Grapes cut out by the bushel. Bad 

 border, of course ! A new one made, but still the shanking, 

 like a pestilence, held sway in the house. These Vines 

 are now changed in character — not in variety — but the 

 border is still there, and both are now doing good and 

 satisfactory service. 



In these instances, and I think they are not solitary 

 ones, the cause of the mischief was primarily at the top. I 

 believe, indeed, that the roots of the Vines were not in a 

 healthy state, but I hold this to be the effect and not the 

 cause of the unhealthy state of the Vines. Reciprocity of 

 action between root and branch is a law of nature wliich 

 cannot be broken or checked with impunity. As soon as a 

 diseased root-state occurs, it is followed by diseased branches 

 and fi-uit ; and as soon as a diseased or imperfect state of 

 branch or leaf development occurs, it is followed by decayed 

 roots. This last fact is sometimes, I think, overlooked, and, 

 as a consequence, a wrong stand point is occasionally taken 

 as the basis of reasoning in diseases of the Vine and other 

 subjects of the vegetable world. 



No hesitation need be felt before concluding that much 

 disappointment is felt and expressed as to the disproportion 

 of the value of the Grapes received in return for the out- 

 lay inciirred in the preparation of borders. Nor is this 

 disappointment confined to amateurs ; on tlio contrary, 

 many very industrious and worthy gardeners have keenly 

 suffered on tliis point. They have made borders, and not 

 only invested in them the owner's capital, but their own 

 No. S98.-VOI. XV.. New Semes. 



good reputation, in the hope of a return commensurate with 

 the outlay, but in place of the bountiful harvest so confi- 

 dently anticipated, have had to mourn over a comparatively 

 barren and indifferent yield. This is no mere sketch of 

 fancy, but an everyday fact. I grant that a great expen- 

 diture of money and labour does not necessarily result in 

 a good and in-every-way suitalile border. Many egregious 

 mistakes h.ave been made on this head. I am at the same 

 time unwilling to believe that the majority of borders 

 carefully made are incapable of growing good Grapes, 

 if managed in conjunction with careful and proper top 

 treatment. 



I do not seek to depreciate good Vine borders — I advo- 

 cate the best possible border formation. It is these, com- 

 bined with the best top treatment, which afford the finest 

 specimens of Grapes ; but it is only by this combination 

 that a Vine border can insure the perfect gi-owth of the 

 Vines. A good border will do much, but will not do all 

 that is required. Vines planted in ordinaiy garden soil, 

 and receiving sound and careful top treatment, wiU be 

 more satisfactory than Vines which are planted in a really 

 first-class border, and receive only indifl'erent top manage- 

 ment. 



It may reasonably be asked, What constitutes good 

 summer management of a vinery ? Here there is a slight 

 dift'erence of opinion amongst cultivators. It will only be 

 fail', then, if I state my views on the question, and the 

 principles on which they are founded. 



A just equilibrium between root and branch — a per- 

 fect harmony between supply and demand — is the object 

 to be attained. This is the essence of the whole matter. 



To obtain these essentials for the leaves — light and 

 air. the great point to be attended to is to train Vines 

 thinly ; .3 feet (i inches should be the minimum distance 

 apart for the rods, training them in inches from the glass, 

 and the eyes or spurs on the rods should not be less than 

 1.0 inches apart. These distances will allow for the full 

 development of foliage and its exposure to tlie light, pro- 

 vided the pinching of laterals is properly attended to. 

 Train the young growths regularly and equidistant, stop- 

 ping them soon enough to prevent overcrowding. Two or 

 three leaves beyond the bunch may be allowed. As a 

 rule my best fruit is obtained by stopping at the third leaf, 

 and the worst by stopping at the first leaf beyond the 

 bunch. Get these primary leaves in working order as soon 

 as possible by pinching out ;ill axillary productions. 



As a rule, this persistent summer pinching is not suffi- 

 ciently attended to. That letting laterals ran by the yard, 

 and cutting them out by the armful, can be beneficial to 

 the Vines I cannot comprehend. Talk of inducing root 

 action, that is doing it witli a vengeance, and for what 

 purpose? I am aware it is not that the roots should 

 decay, yet this is too often the result, and then the border 

 is blamed ! Secure seven or eight properly- developed leaves 

 on every spur, and tliey may safely be left to govern the 

 roots, which will progress far more natm-ally and bene- 

 ficially than by the push-and-crop system, whicli we are 

 obliged to see so commonly adopted. It was by the 

 adoption of the system above described that the Vines 



No. 1050.— Vol. XL., Old Series. 



