18« 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



r September 5, 1865. 



very prejutiicial to the ripening of fruit, inasmuch as it induces 

 growth and the swelling of the Grapes rather than their ripen- 

 ing. It is no uncommon practice to keep the floors of vineries 

 moist or sprinkled with water after the berries change coloiu-, 

 so as to assist in their second swelling. This, if not too long 

 continued, is not much, if at all, detrimental to the colomiug of 

 the Grapes, and it adds immensely to the size of the berries. 

 Sometimes, however, it does prejudically affect the colouring, 

 and that is when it is accompanied by much moisture in the 

 border. Unless the atmospheric moisture is large in amount, 

 and continued long aftar the first indication of colourmg is 

 observed, I think that it has very little to do with the imperfect 

 colouring of Grapes, for I have seen them much worse-coloured 

 iu a thy house without a plant in it than in one crammed with 

 plants, and moist enough for growing Ferns or Orchids. I 

 have seen Grapes as red as Orleans Plums on the roof of a 

 vineiy kept di-y enough for Cacti when at rest, and yet black 

 as jet when trained to the roof of a moist forcing-house. How 

 was this ? The roots of the Vines in the first case were iu a 

 wet border, the berries were gorged with moisture, and the 

 leaves exhaled considerably, as was evident by the deposition 

 of moisture on the glass, even with air, and, as might be ex- 

 pected, the berries were larger than in the second ease, where 

 the border received no moisture after the berries took their 

 second swelling. Atmospheric moisture, tending to retard the 

 ripeuiug process, is to be avoided, but that it prevents coloirr- 

 ing is the reverse of my experience. If, however, the Grapes 

 be constantly syringed, even after they change colour, they 

 will not necessarily be red, but will be devoid of bloom, and 

 like shanked berries in point of flavour'. 



3. Di'ficiencij of Heat. — It is necessary for the ripening of 

 fruit that there be a sufficiency of heat ; though this has very 

 little to do with the coloiu-ing of Grapes, yet it and dryness of 

 the atmosphere are the essentials for flavour. I have seen Black 

 Hamburghs of the colour of Golden Hamburghs iu a vinery 

 with a temperatm-e fi'om 65° to 85° when ripening, but like 

 Sloes in colour iu a greenhouse with a night temperature of 

 50°. Too miieh heat, inasmuch as it favoms rapid ripening, is 

 more freijueutly the cause of want of colour than less than is 

 necessary to seciu'e flavour, for I find Grapes will colour 

 splendidly in the dark moist autumn months in a temperature 

 of from 50° to 70°. Iu the case of Vines showing fruit on the 

 laterals, one or two bunches may have been allowed to rem.iin, 

 and were these ever knowu not to colour though it were October 

 or November before they rijiened, although the main crop 

 ripening in July or August was deficient in colour ? 



4. Insufficient Ventilation. — Air is essential alike for colour 

 and flavour in Grapes. They will not colour well without it ; 

 but they will not colom- sometimes with air day and night. 

 Assm'edly insufficient ventilation acts prejudicially as regards 

 the eolom'ing of the fruit, yet I have known Grapes colour well 

 where they had no air whatever in a house not opened during 

 the whole ripening period, the Vines being unpruued, and the 

 bimches not thinned ; the doors were left open up to August, 

 and then closed to protect the fruit from depredators. This is 

 not a case for imitation, but it shows that Grapes mil colour 

 without air, or with only that entering by the laps of the glass. 

 The house never being wet inside, the blue bloom shone beau- 

 tifully on the black groimd. A di'y atmosphere, and veutUation 

 day and nigUt to prevent the deposition of moisture on the 

 berries, secure the bloom of Grapes, which is an unerring test 

 of flavour, though it is by no means uncommon to find the juice 

 of a black-skinned berry soirr. Ventilation, so far as it assists 

 iu keeping the air in motion, and preventing the condensation 

 of moisture on the berries, is conducive to colour, by preserving 

 the bloom ; but that deficient veutUation, or the contrary, will 

 cause Grapes to be red instead of black I do not believe, for- 

 asmuch as they may often be seen badly coloiued in a well- 

 ventilated and judiciously-managed vinery. 



5. Leaves partiall}j Deprived eif titeir Power of Elaboration in 

 Consequence of the A ttaclis of Red Spider, Scorch ing, &c. — Certain 

 it is that when the leaves are so injm'ed by the attacks of insects, 

 that a certain proportion of their sm'face is incapable of per- 

 forming its functions, the fruit must be imperfect, this result 

 very often showing itself in the defective colour and bloom of 

 the Grapes. This is a sure cause of want of colour ; but it 

 sometimes happens that the attacks being of short dirration, or 

 occurring at the early stages of growth, the hemes do not 

 attain their full size, and the leaves have sufficient power to 

 ripen the correspondingly small crop in perfection in respect to 

 colour and bloom. If, on the other hand, the berries attain 

 a good size, and the leaves are then attacked by red spider, or I 



scorched, the colour of the berries will be bad, and they will be 

 devoid of bloom, or nearly so. 



6. Hoots too Deep, or in a Cold, Wet Border, or both combined. — 

 Grapes have coloured well with me, although no root was nearer 

 the surface than a foot ; but the soil was the reverse of wet, 

 and I have also seen them quite red when the roots were deep, 

 and the subsoil heavy and wet. 'Wlieu the roots are deep a late 

 growth is promoted, and this being unfavourable to ripening 

 we have Grapes swelling largely when ripening, but very red. 

 In the case of outside borders it sometimes happens that all 

 will go well up to ripening, then rain may fall daily ; and keep 

 the house as dry as we may, the Grapes do not coloiu-, but 

 swell out, and if not, shank. The roots absorb an undue amount 

 of nutriment, it must go somewhere ; the old parts cannot ap- 

 propriate it ; hence new parts are made in the form of laterals. 

 It does not matter whether the roots are deep or near the sur- 

 face, if a continuance of cold rains occur just when the fruit is 

 ripening we may be pretty certain of two results, and very often 

 both — imperfect colouring and shanking. I am convinced that 

 if the border is moist when the Grapes first change colom', it 

 should not be fm'ther moistened until they are cut, otherwise 

 they will not colour well, or wiU do so very rarely, and will not 

 hang long. That a continuance of wet weather (the border 

 being outside) will cause defective colouring, is, I think, proved 

 by the circumstance that the Grapes in the upper part of a 

 house coloured perfectly, the border being dry, and the lower 

 part indifferently from continued wet weather setting in. As 

 further evidence I may add, that with an exposed border a 

 house of Grapes coloured badl^-, while in another house of 

 which the border was covered with boards, the Grapes colom-ed 

 well, and hting more than double the time that the others did. 



I have now gone over the reasons generally assigned for 

 Grapes not eoloming, and stated where I do, and where I do 

 not agree with them. There are cases of want of colour, where 

 none of the above reasons can be assigned, and in which the evil 

 is traceable to want of the requisite appliances and knowledge 

 necessary for Grape-growing ; but there are, as I before stated, 

 cases in which Grapes are defective iu their colouring under 

 the best management, and with the most approved appliances 

 at command. Everything may be done that means and Skill 

 can do, and j-et the fruit may be imperfect. I say impeafect, 

 for I am one of those that consider want of colour an imper- 

 fection, and to be avoided if possible. 



From whence have we disease in plants ? From two sources 

 — bm-dening the leaves with more nutriment than they can 

 elaborate, and on the other hand from a deficiency of nutri- 

 ment in the soil or atmosphere. For some years no subject 

 was so highly fed as the Vine ; and whether it was from 

 the Vine enduring abuse in the shape of strong food without 

 showing any great immediate effects, or from that high feed- 

 ing causing an immediate increase in the size of bunch and 

 berry, that led some to conclude the Vine was a gi-oss feeder 

 I shall not pause to consider, but will take for granted that 

 iu this particular Grape-growers of some twenty or thirty jears 

 ago mistook their way. Though dead animals are no longer 

 put in Vine-borders, some gi-owers still employ the bones of 

 animals whole, and in their fresh state. That the oily matter 

 of the bones does not constitute their chief fertihsing property 

 is demonstrated by the fact that Vines are quite as vigorous, 

 and more healthy, v. hen the border is composed, in conjimction 

 with other materials, of bones from which the fatty poiiion has 

 been extracted by boihng, as when fresh bones are employed. 

 The latter I know from experience are positively injurious. 

 'What we want from bones in Vine-borders, is the phosphate of 

 lime, and not the gelatine, which is soluble in water, and 

 rapidly becomes putrescent. Putrefaction, whether of animal 

 or vegetable matter in the soil supphes various gases to the 

 roots, and it is from an excess of these that the plants are 

 supplied with more food than the leaves can fuUy elaborate : 

 hence the rapid extension of the branches and foliage. 



It is not uncommon to see iu excessively rich borders Vines 

 with leaves like Rhubarb, and making shoots 20 or 30 feet in 

 length in a season. This, we are told, secures strong canes 

 the first year after planting for fruiting the next. Taking this 

 \iew of the case, we reduce the very long canes, and, there 

 being a very powerful root-action, the buds break strongly and 

 the shoots are very strong ; but this season, as we wish for 

 fruit, the shoots, instead of being allowed to run 20 feet, are 

 kept at the length of a foot. With a powerful root-action, and 

 a decreased leaf and branch development, what, I ask, becomes 

 of the sap that the year before circulated in the greater length 

 of rod and leaf? Surely it is impelled into the fruit and leaves 



