JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



1 Jnly 4, 1865. 



better, and will not be so easily washed off by the syriuge. 

 Smear the walls and every available place in the house with 

 the sulphur brush ; this will prevent the appearance of two of 

 the Grape-gi-ower's worst enemies — namely, mildew and red 

 spider. As soon as the gi-eater part of the berries have partly 

 changed colour give all the air [lossible night and day, this 

 ■will help to impart a i3ne flavour, and assist the colouring 

 process very muoh. Fire heat should not be dispensed with 

 until the Grapes have finished colouring, and in damp or dull 

 weather they should have the benefit when ripe of a little arti- 

 ficial warmth to keep them dry, and to cause them to retain a 

 sweet and brisk flavour. After the crop of fruit has been all 

 gathered give the borders another good soaking with water, 

 using a little guano as before. Give abundance of air by open- 

 ing aU the lights as wide as possible, hut by no means take off 

 the top of the house. I mention this particularly, as I know it 

 is often done with the idea of ripening the wood. 



If the top lights are taken off the foliage cannot possibly be 

 preseiTed, it is blown about against the wires by the wind, and 

 by that means becomes very much mutilated. Its decay is, 

 therefore, brought on much earlier than it ought to be, and the 

 Vine suffers very much in consequence of losing a large portion 

 of its foliage before its proper time, or before it has fulfilled its 

 natural functions of storing the Vine with food as long as the 

 sap was in circulation. 



I am very glad my previous article is likely to provoke a 

 little discussion on the cultivation of the Vine. This is what I 

 was anxious to promote. I did not wish it to appear that the 

 plan described and adopted by me was better than that of any 

 other Grape-gi'ower, personally knowing as I do many of our 

 celebrated Grape-growers. I was in hopes that a description of 

 the simple plan pursued with a fair share of success by my- 

 self, would be the means of inducing some of the more suc- 

 cessful growers to favour the numerous readers of The .Journal 

 OF HoRTicuLTCEE w'ith their system of cultivating the Vine. 

 The Editors would, I am sure, gladly open these pages to all who 

 would communicate their ideas on the cirltivation of the Vine, 

 or any other subject connected with practical gardening. 



Mr. Wliittle is quite right in thiniing that I did not allude 

 to the cultivation of Vines in pots in my last article ; that will 

 form the subject of another communication. I fear Mr. Whittle's 

 views will not be very well received with regard to stopping the 

 Vine. In the first place, Mr. Whittle says he would not stop at 

 all until the fi-uit were set. The evil to be expected in this case 

 would be this : By the time the frait had set the shoot would 

 have, perhaps, six or more leaves above the frait-joint, and 

 would have gi-own 18 inches or 2 feet above that joint. 

 This being the case, it is natural to suppose that it will have 

 very much exliausted the Vine, and a gi'eat portion of the 

 Strength of the Vine, which would have been directed into the 

 bunches had the shoot been stopped at the proper time is 

 thereby lost, and the size of biinch and berry very much 

 reduced. Then, again, to cut off a strong shoot when it is 

 nearly the size of one's finger just above the bunch, must cause 

 a very sudden check to the whole system of the Vine ; and I 

 must, until I am further convinced, beg most respectfully to 

 differ in opinion from Mr. Whittle with regard to stopping. I 

 consider that when the .shoot is stopped at the joint from which 

 the bunch gi'ows, and that when the bunch is just formed, a 

 greater quantity of sap flows to the point than the bunch and 

 one leaf can make use of. In mv opinion the two leaves above 

 the bunch are necessary to absorb the supei-fluity of sap until 

 the fruit is set, when the bimch can take without injury all 

 the sap that can be spared by the Vine, and the atmospheric 

 food supplied by the foUage above the bunch as well. 



Mr. 'Whittle says he differs with me ?'». toto, as to sjTinging 

 after the Grapes are set, and that no one would think of syring- 

 ing whilst they were in flower. Mr. "Whittle may, perhaps, 

 think me mad when I tell him that for many kinds of Grapes 

 that is the most proper time to syringe them for thepuirpose of 

 causing them to -set freely, espiecially in the case of Lady 

 Downe's and Muscat of Alexandria. I admit the treatment 

 adopted by Jlr. Wiittle was quite right with regard to the Vines 

 he described the first year he midertook the management of 

 them ; but if he would subject them to the same treatment on 

 the two following seasons — namely, to syringe the Vines, fruit 

 and all, up to the time of the berries changing colour, the 

 water he is using must be clear indeed. Lastly. Mr. Whittle 

 must allow me to differ very much in opinion from him with 

 respect to aiding fertilisation. He may have been fortunate 

 this season, and nature may have done much for him without 

 his aid, but he may find another time, when other natural 



agencies are not at work in his favour, that nature could be 

 very much assisted by art; but more of this anon. In the 

 meantime I hope Mr. Whittle will favom- us more fully with 

 his %'iews on the cultivation of the Vine. — J. Wills. 

 (To be continued.) 



PASSION-FLOWERS NOT BLOOMING. 



" E. M." has two Passion-Flowers (P. ccernlea) trained against 

 a south wall. They have grown about 20 feet, and were shifted 

 last year into tubs 15 inches in diameter. Should '• E. M." give 

 liquid manure to induce them to bloom wbich hitherto they 

 have not done, or what treatment would be most likely to lead 

 to that result ? 



[You may" give mannre water and plenty of it with great pro- 

 priety. If the wood of last year was well ripened, almo.st every 

 shoot that comes fi-om it this season, will give you plenty of 

 bloom. Nothing is easier managed afteraards, you have only 

 to cut back these flowering shoots in spring to two or three buds, 

 and these will throw out the summer flowering-shcota next 

 year.] 



PEACHES AND GPaPES SWELLING SLOWLY. 



The Peaches in my orchard-house are at a stand-stiU, they 

 are now just the size they were a month or five weeks ago. 

 They appear to be quite hidebound and do not swell at all. The 

 stone is getting quite hard, the kenial looks perfect, and the 

 trees are quite healthy. I tm-ned one out of the pot to see if 

 anything was amiss with the roots, they were looking weU 

 and not at aU dry. 



I also have a house of Muscat Grapes that do not stone as 

 they ought.— F. K. 



[The Peaches are most likely all right, you must give them 

 time, they stand still a long while at the stoning period. 



As with the Grapes you must either have too many on the 

 Vines, or the roots are in a soil they do not like.] 



NEW BOOK. 



Hardy Farm: linw I collected and ciillivati'd them. By Nona 

 Bellaies. London : Smith, Elder cfc Co. 



" One of Nature's simplest pages — I had almost said one of 

 its prettiest — is that which I have made the subject of this 

 small volume. 



•' The common hedge-row, the old waU, the rock by the sea- 

 coast, and the wild moor, provide for us the little kingdom of 

 Ferns, whose peculiar habits of life and growth form a pleasant 

 study for our hom-s of recreation. 



" We shoiUd begin our collection from those which grow near 

 our own homes, bringing first one root, then another, finding 

 out to what family they belong, what soil suits them, and their 

 distinctive characters and habits. 



" The cottage garden may always have room for its fernery ; 

 a few plants by the old well, by the wicket-gate, will supply 

 subjects for thought and study ; helping to tm-n the child's 

 heart to the love oJE the pure and beaxxtiful instead of the vile 

 and the debasing." 



To lead to and to aid in eft'ecting the good thus depicted, the 

 authoress has labom-cd attractively and ably. Our readers will 

 recognise in the voliime contributions that have been admired 

 in our pages, but they are now collected iu a form so tasteful 

 that no lover of Ferns but will be glad to possess the volume. 



KOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY— JtraE -^7. 



FLon.u. Committee. — Although the subjects for examination were 

 not quite so numerous on this occasion, there were several noTelties 

 and plants of considerable interest. Mr. Kust. gardener to the Earl 

 of Abergavenny, sent a collection of cut Antin-hinuma of no merit ; also 

 ft seedling Myosotis, with dark bine flowers. Mr. Herbst, Kew, sent a 

 seedling Amarv'llis grandis, with dark scarlet flowei-s. of good substance, 

 but wanting iu form — not nearly equal to Amarjilis Unique. Mr. 

 WiUiams. Holloway. sent Statice pulverula. also a nice specimen of 

 the beautiful New Zealand Fern, Todea superba, which had received a 

 tirst-class certificate at a former meeting ; Lilium species from Japan, 

 small bright yellow spotted flowers — second-class certificate ; Tricho- 

 pilia picta — secoud-class certificate ; Lilium species, serai-double, dull 

 red, spotted flowers ; Phalfenopsis amethystiua, very small and insig- 

 nificant ; a cut specimen of Odontoglossum lt»Ye, the flowers with 

 remarkably narrow segments. 



