21 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



C .I«nunry 9, 1886. 



had liveil n sliort time in the same position as my own it became 

 one of the same variety, anil eoulil not I>n clistinpuis)icd from 

 tliem in leaf or any other particular. To Mr. lieatou I was 

 able to re|>ly that I had succeeded simply by noticing the plant's 

 natural rc'iuirements, which were that it preferred shade to 

 sunshine, and would only grow to perfection where it had plenty 

 of sliade from the sun, when it rewarded mo by tlowerinu and 

 fruiting n'oundantly, besides making a most beautiful edging 

 in a position where few other i>]auts would grow at all. Instead 

 of longer availing myself of my itoiii dc phtme I venture to 

 subscribe my name. — W. Waxklvx. 



VINE CULTlTRi:. 



SiNTf; your correspondent Mr. Wills invites discussion 

 through your pages on the above subject, and as wo do not 

 )iRppen to think alike on some points, I venture to solicit a 

 portion of your space for the following remarks. Not having 

 in my possession at present those Numbers which I infer 

 contain the first part of Mr. AVills's article on the cultivation 

 of tlie Vine, mv remarks refer oulv to what he has stated in 

 No. 242, page 398. 



Vine culture is a subject that has been so often and so 

 thoroughly sifted of late years, that it would be ditticult indeed 

 to broach any new or profitable idea upon it — a fact which 

 your correspondent seems to have been uimblo to overcome ; 

 nor is it with any pretensions to being able to do so myself 

 tliat I intrude upon your pages, but simply with a desire to 

 modify to some extent the impression which I think Mr. Wills's 

 remarks are likely to make. 'With regard to what he says 

 about pruning, covering the borders, and such like, I have 

 nothing to s.iy. His remarks upon these matters are unob- 

 jectionable ; only I think that he entertains unnecessary 

 fears about using the scissors. In inexperienced hands they 

 are, perhaps, not to be recommended, but we know that 

 they have been, and I have seen them, used with perfect 

 safety .ind success by those who have claims to be considered 

 authorities on the subject of Grape-growing ; but this is a 

 point of comparatively little importance. Concerning the 

 necessity of painting Vines, however, as a preventive of red 

 spider, I do not entirely concur with 'Sir. Wills. I know by 

 experience tliat in some places, and >ipon some soils, red spider 

 is one of the greatest scourges that the Grape-grower has to 

 contend witli, and he who Buds it necessary only to scrajjc off 

 a little of the loose bark in order to rid himself of this pest 

 has good reason to be thankful ; but it does not follow that his 

 experience applies in every case. I certainly never heard of 

 cowdung being recommended for the above purpose, nor am I 

 aware of its possessing any particular virtue as an antidote in 

 this respect. I have seen soot and sulplmr, and also clay em- 

 ployed in the form of jiaiiit, and I used to think the necessity 

 of apidying tliese, or anything else that was likely to arrest 

 the ravages of the destroyer, jiretty evident ; latterly, however, 

 I have preferred using soft soap and water, scrubliing the rods 

 ■well with a hard spoke-brush. I think this is the cleanest, 

 cheapest, and most effectual plan I have seen tried, and if 

 carried out before the buds begin to swell there is no danger of 

 injuring them. 



Your correspondent's speaking of lowering the points of the 

 Vines before starting, in order to induce these to break regu- 

 larly, suggests something to my mind which ajipears to me to 

 account as well as anything else for the irregular breaking of 

 Vines in many cases. I am aware that the rush of sap to 

 the top of tlie shoot is generally considered to be the cause of 

 this, and 1 am not prepared to deny that to some extent it 

 may be so ; but I am convinced that breaking irregularly is 

 more owing to the different parts of the Vine being exposed to 

 different temperatures, and in this opinion I am sure that the 

 experience of others will bear me out. I have invariably noticed 

 that the best bunches of Grapes and the strongest shoots are 

 always at the bottom of the house, where the Vines arc in 

 proximity to tlie pipes, or at the toji, to whicli tlie heat ascends 

 and there remains, while the weak shoots and small bunches are 

 in the miildle. This I have always noticed, more particularly in 

 early vineries, where, from necessity, little air could be admitted, 

 and where the temperature was almost entirely dependant on 

 fire heat. In late vineries irregular breaking is less common, 

 simply because less fire heat being required, and more air being 

 admitted, the temperature of the house is more equal. The in- 

 clination of heated air to ascend straight upwards is well Icnown 

 and understood. In a vinery where the pipes run along the 



front of the house, the cold air coming in contact with them , and 

 becoming heated, rises straight up to the glass roof, which it 

 follows until it reaches the top of the house, and there it remains, 

 unless the ventilation is sufficient at the time to let it escape, 

 otherwise the heat can only do so by radiation ; but the ascend- 

 ing current from the jjijies supplies more than what is lost in 

 this respect. The fumigating-pan affords a familiar and practical 

 illustration of what I mean. Under these circumstances a few 

 feet of the Vine rods directly above the pipes, and that portion 

 of them at the top of the house, are subjected to a higher tem- 

 perature than the middle i>art : hence the result. A far pre- 

 ferable plan to lowering the points of the rods at the back of 

 the house is to lay these horizontally along the front ; but 

 were it not inconvenient for other reasons, it would be a better 

 plan to distribute the heating apparatus more equally over the 

 lloor of the house. 



In conclusion, allow mo to notice one or two other points in 

 Mr. Wills's article. On the subject of temperature, I think he 

 advises undue caution. When starting Vines the temperature 

 has often to bo regulated by circumstances, and must be left a 

 good deal to the judgment of the gardener. Much will depend 

 upon the backward or forward state of the Vines, and upon the 

 state of the weather out of doors at the time. When it is 

 necessary to use some amount of fire heat to raise the tem- 

 perature to the desired point, then a low degree of heat is 

 advisable; but if the weather is mild at the time, and has 

 been so for some time previously, then a temperature of from 50° 

 to ,5.5° is quite safe to start with. I think it an unnecessary 

 degree of caution to advise such a long-continued low tempera- 

 ture as that recommended by Mr. Wills. When once the 

 bunches fairly show themselves, I consider a temperature of 

 oO" too low. A rise from about .5.5° to fiO' at night, according 

 to the weather, and a proportionate rise in the daytime, are 

 necessarv, and materially assist the projier development of the 

 bunches."— T. S. y\'. 



KOSES. 



I HAVE read what " CorNXRv Cuihtk " has said, at page 520, 

 with regard to Roses on their own roots succeeding better than 

 on alien stocks. I cannot definitively speak, having had so 

 few Roses on their own roots as compared with those on the 

 Manetti and briar stocks. Some that did not do well on either 

 of the above stocks succeeded well on their own roots, and 

 %-ki' vma. When Roses are raised on their own roots they 

 require to be taken great care of for some time. So far as my 

 experience goes, they do not generally bloom so early, abun- 

 dantly, quickly, or late, as Roses on the Manetti, in my soil. 

 The same remarks also apply to Roses on the briar. However, 

 much depends on the sorts, and also on the soil. There is 

 nothing that I have seen that will touch the Manetti Roses in 

 poor, dry, and shallow land, highly manmed, and kept well 

 watered. 



I do not agree with the saying of the late Mr. Beaton that 

 Manetti is only of use to strike Roses on their owni roots ; but, 

 I do say, that it is the best and surest way to raise Roses on 

 their own roots. .\s I am about to leave Rushton in April, to 

 reside at Child Okeford in this county, I removed several 

 hundreds of my Manetti Roses to a spare garden here, where 

 they will remain till I am able to remove them to my new 

 residence, rented of Lord Rivers, one of my oldest friends. I 

 found that some of them, although planted eleven years, were 

 still only on their Manetti roots, but the most of them were 

 ibiuble-rooted. From such as had been budded too high I cut 

 off the Manetti roots, othei-wise I merely shortened the JIanetti 

 and other roots. Some sorts, in the same family, will root 

 much more freely than others. Tlie two great rooting times 

 are in the spring, and again in September, after rain. If 

 " Coi'NTiiv CrrATK " wishes to get Roses on their own roots 

 from the Manetti, he must )ilant them 2 or 3 inches over the 

 collar of the bud, and keep them mulelied and watered in hot 

 weather. He must also protect the roots during the first 

 winter. There is no doubt that originally Manetti Roses were 

 budded too high, and the radius of the roots was necessarily 

 planted too deep. All trees struggle to make surface roots, 

 and I do not think they will flourish long without them. If 

 my readers have a Manetti Rose budded 'J inches high, the 

 best chance of success will be to bury it sufficiently deep to 

 strike on its own roots. There is no occasion to cut the bark. 

 The Rose will strike in suitable weather (hot, dripping weather) 

 without it. Still it will do no harm to cut a nick over an eye, 



