398 



JOUKNAIi OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



I Novombev 14, 1866. 



rafters are 3 feet apart), and allow the new wood to grow out 

 on either side from the main branches, cutting back every 

 alternate shoot to the rafter branch each year. By this means 

 I have obtained a fair amount of fruit ; but I feel certain that 

 did I f uUy understand the nature and habits of the tree I should 

 have more. Perhaps some correspondent would kindly throw a 

 little light on the subject, as there seems to me no fixed law 

 in the matter. 



The Durion is difficult to propagate, as it is a long time in 

 coming to a fruiting state from seed, and cuttings are very shy 

 of striking. The best way seems to be to peg down a branch 

 to the soil, first cracking, but not breaking, the bough where it 

 touches the earth, and covering it over with a little mould. 

 When rooted plant it in a pot, and plunge into a brisk bottom 

 heat ; it will, when once established, grow freely. A tree raised 

 from seed will not bear under five or six years. 



I had almost forgotten to mention that the fruit must never 

 be cut with a steel knife, and should be eaten at dessert with 

 bone or ivory spoons, in preference to silver ones. — J. H. 



CULTR^ATION OF THE VINE. 



{Cunthutcd from imge 8.) 

 Most of the foliage will now have fallen off the Vines in the 

 early house, and when this is the case lose no time in primin g ; 

 but care must be taken in performing this operation not to 

 split the shoot in cutting. Avoid using scissors for pruning 

 the Viue ; these have a tendency to bruise the shoot for an 

 inch or more below the cut, and when the Vines are syringed 

 afterwards in the course of forcing, the water often runs down 

 the shattered wood, and in many instances destroys the bud at 

 the base of the shoot, and with it the prospect of a crop. The 

 bud that would in due course have shown one or two bunches 

 of fi-uit is by these means destroyed, to be replaced by two or 

 more wood-buds. I am no advocate for the pruning-scissors 

 at all, except for very rough pruning, such as Eoses, and in 

 this case I always use a sharp knife after them, taking care to 

 cut off all the part that has been shattered by them. The safest 

 way is to first shorten the shoot down to about the fourth or 

 fifth eye ; the remainder of the shoot can then be taken off 

 with less fear of injury to the fruit-bud. I invariably keep a 

 sharp knife for finishing off with. After I have gone over one 

 Vine and shortened all the shoots as described above, I com- 

 mence at the base of the Vine, holding the thumb and fore- 

 finger of the left hand fii-mly pressed against the shoot, press- 

 ing the thumb firmly against that part of it where the cut is 

 finished. If this is not done a portion of the shoot is often 

 split off, and with it one of the best buds. I mention this 

 particularly here, so that those who have not had sufficient 

 practice may save themselves a large amount of disappoint- 

 ment. I always prune down to the best prominent eye. 



In about three weeks after the Vines are pruned, if the 

 house is intended to be started in the first week in December, 

 the border should have a good soaking with tepid water, and if 

 the roots are outside, 18 inches or so of leaves shovdd be laid 

 on the border to encourage root-action, before the house is shut 

 up, and the Vines should be syringed; this will cause them to 

 break with greater regularity and stronger. 



The leaves should be turned and well shaken about once 

 every fortnight to prevent their becoming too hot, and if 

 the heat in them is decreasing too rapidly, more leaves should 

 be added. Something in the shape of wooden shutters, or a 

 tarpauling should be placed over the leaves for the purpose of 

 keeping out the rain from them. A trial stick should also be 

 pushed in the bed, which should be frequently examined to 

 ascertain the temperature. Towards the spring the leaves and 

 other fermenting material should be turned as often as once 

 a-week to prevent the roots from coming up from the border 

 into them. If this is not well looked after the Vines may 

 suffer much injury in consequence of their making so many of 

 those fleshy roots which only feed the Vine with more sap than 

 it can make use of ; then loss of colour, shanking, and many 

 other evils follow. 



I should have stated before, that I do not see any necessity 

 for daubing the Vines over with the usual mixture of clay, 

 cow-dung, &c. ; if a little of the old bark is peeled off, that I 

 consider is all that is necessary, and great care should be 

 taken in performing this. I have often seen people scraping and 

 poking out the httle bits of old bark at the base of the shoot ; 

 the only good this does is to make the Vines look a little better. 

 More or less of the buds are sure to be sacrificed during thii 



operation, according to the skill of the operator. This, then, 

 should be avoided by all means. Should any of the Vines 

 bleed, which is sometimes the case as soon as their- roots 

 begin to work, a httle dry Portland cement dashed over tha 

 cut once or twice will stop it. 



The Vines, as soon as the house is shut up, should be liberated 

 from the trellis, so that the top of the \me may be a little 

 lower than the base. This prevents the sap from flowing too 

 rapidly to the top, and causes them to break more regularly. 

 As soon, however, as the shoots are 2 inches or so long, the 

 Vines should be gradually tied-up, still leaving the point a 

 httle the lowest, providing there is head-room. As the Vine 

 progresses, breaking from the base upwards, raise it higher and 

 higher until you have it in its proper position. The house 

 should be frequently syringed when first shut up, and the tem- 

 perature should range between 45° and 5U°, giving during this 

 time all the air possible, but scrupulously avoiding direct 

 draughts and currents of wind through the house. This tem- 

 perature may be continued for three weeks, when the Vines 

 will begin to show symptoms of pushing very slightly ; the 

 temperature may then be increased a few degrees in the middle 

 of the day. Keep all the air on that can be given with safety. 

 About the first week in January they will show unmistakable 

 signs of moving, green leaves will soon be visible, and after 

 these the short, stubby, bunches of frmt. After this the tem- 

 perature should never be allowed to sink below 50° at night, 

 and 55° in the day ; with the sun it may be allowed to rise to 

 65° or 70°, providing there is plenty of air on at the time. The 

 syringe should be freely used up to this time, and twice or 

 thrice a-day up to the time of flowering, when syringing the 

 Vines should be altogether discontinued, but the passages, 

 walls of the house, &c., should be syringed freely. 



I know that I am treading on dangerous ground here, for 

 some advocate the use of the syringe up to the time of the 

 Grapes colouring — my friend Mr. Whittle, to wit, to whom I 

 am greatly obliged for his kind invitation, and I assure him 

 that I appreciate his kindness very much, and shall most cer- 

 tainly accept his offer on the very first opportunity. 



I "had great hopes that his and my disagreeing to agree in 

 our opinions on syringing and other matters connected witli 

 Grape-growing, would have brought out many letters in The 

 JoriiN.iL or HoETicuLTUEE from our champion Grape growers. 

 I still hope that they will favoirr us with their views on the 

 subject, for it is a most interesting one. 



The wonderful display of Grapes at the Edinburgh Show 

 wiU be the means of trying the mettle of our Grape growers 

 for the next few years, and I believe that, however great the- 

 results that have already been obtained, still greater are ob- 

 tainable by applying our minds more fully to the subject. Con- 

 stant practice, with keen watchfulness, wiU make many a 

 mystery clear, and open the door of success to those who are 

 at present labouring under difficulties in cultivating the Vine. 



I think, if my memory serves me right, Mr. Whittle said ha 

 would give us a paper on the cultivation of the Vine in pots. 

 If he would kindly do so I am sure it would be read with plea- 

 sure and profit by many. 



If is intended to propagate a stock of young Vines, the cut- 

 tings of the kinds to be propagated should be tied in bundles 

 and their ends put into the soil. The first week in January is 

 a good time to put in the Vine eyes. They will require a brisk 

 bottom heat, and should be shifted into larger pots as they ad- 

 vance in growth, still keeping them plunged where they can 

 have the benefit of a bottom heat of 75° or 80°. When it is de- 

 sirable to have well ripened canes for early forcing next year, 

 they should be shifted often, and receive all the heat that can 

 be given them. If they have their final shift into 12 or 

 14-inch pots early in April, they may be placed where they 

 can have the benefit of as much sun as possible. They 

 must on no account be allowed to become sufficiently dry 

 so as to cause them to flag. After they have made their growth 

 they may be placed in a cooler house, where they can have 

 the benefit of as much light and air, as well as surface heat, as 

 can be given them ; this wUl soon harden them, and by the end 

 of July their wood wUl be as hard as well-seasoned oak. 



For a late Grape, in my opinion, there is none to equal 

 Meredith's Black Alicante, the more I see of it the better I like 

 it.— J. Wills, Ilimtroijde Park, Burnley, Lancashire. 



The Czar Violet. — I am anxious to make known to all the 

 lovers of Violets who may not have met with Mr. Graham's 

 Czar Violet, that I have now (November 3rd), some splendid 



