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JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUUE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ l'rl>ru>r7 SO, 1806. 



incnc<;J llicir cultivation hero with the view of CniUngout what 

 varieties were best adapted to the climate ; I have, therefore, 

 recommended such only as liave done well with me. \STiat I 

 huve naid of King's Acre I would have no hesitation in repeat- 

 ing. As regards its merits in comparison with Jules Jlar- 

 ROttin, I have to state that I was thinking of it at the time I 

 wrote more particularly as a bodder. Jules is a tine Rose for this 

 purpose we all know, but King's Acre, equally robust, appears 

 to be more compact in habit, and is evidently a profuse 

 bloomer ; the colour, if I may judge from his letter, is not 

 quite so pleasing to the eye of " P." This is merely a matter 

 ol taste : in my opinion it is equally good, and certainly a 

 greater novelty. I have not seen Jules Margottin so fine here 

 aa in the south, but neither here nor elsewhere have I seen a 

 bloom of it superior to the one I had of King's Acre ; but time 

 will settle the matter, next July we thall be in a better posi- 

 tion to discuss their respective merits. 



Referring to another part of •' P.'s " letter, I have to inform 

 bim that Gloire de Santenay opened beautifully with me ; I 

 had only two blooms of it, as I had but a single plant, but 

 ■they were very tine. This and Francois Lacharme, should their 

 constitutions j rove sufficiently strong, will, I think, be fit to 

 rank with the six best crimson I'oscs for this part of the coimtiy. 

 I would like, however, to have them another season before 

 speaking positively in regard to them. Their flowers are 

 quite globular when expanded. 



General Washington has in one or two instances opened 

 ■well here, but its buds are very apt to split, more especially 

 the first crop. I therefore intend pruning late this season by 

 way of experiment. Due de Rohan and Maurice Bemardin 

 liave not as yet opened so well as I could wish, but I have not 

 lost hope of either, more particularly the latter. I shall not 

 feel greatly sm-prised to see them both in fine bloom this next 

 season. 



Prince Camille de Rohan is well worthy of the character " P." 

 lias given it, but I am beginning to fear that it is not exactly 

 suited to this locality, which I much regret, for no dark Rose 

 standi) higher in my estimation. That it wiU ever attain the 

 position he has assigned it I very much doubt ; I am rather in- 

 clined to think that with King's Acre he will sooner be in pos- 

 session of a flower worthy of being classed Al than I shall 

 with Prince Camille de RoJaan. — Loch Ness. 



been advised to discontinue this, and merely to cover the roots 

 with dead leaves, for when covered as before the roots became 

 dry, causing the buds to drop off when bursting. It is now 

 in perfect health and vigour, standing on a lawn, and promises 

 well for the future. — F. Ellman, Battle, Sutsex. 



PLANTING VINES. 



THE C-\LVILLE BLANCHE APPLE. 



Mast years ago I used to hear, when travelling in France, 

 the merits of this variety highly extolled by the French cooks 

 .and housewives. Like most of us English, I felt that French 

 -Apples were not to be compared to ours, and I often told them 

 so. It was of no use ; they always would persist that no Apple 

 in the world could equal their Calville Blanche when cooked. 

 It is only within these few years that I have been compelled to 

 think as they do : and I fully believe that when this sort is 

 grown on trees well cultivated in a warm climate — not on 

 orchard trees — it is the finest of all Apples for the kitchen. 

 In the south of England, in warm favourable soils, it may be 

 cultivated in gardens ; but it should be grafted on the English 

 paradise stock. In cool climates it requires either the orchard- 

 Louse or a wall with a wai-m aspect to bring out its fine quality. 

 .\t Treutham it is, or used to be, largely grown on trees in pots 

 nnder glass, and warmly patronised by the French clirf. 



To enjoy its fine flavour it should be baked. There are two 

 modes of doing this. 



Ist. Peel the Apples, cut them in quarters, place them in a 

 closed jar, sprinkle a vei-y small quantity of sugar over them, 

 and bake them in a slow oven till done. They give out plenty 

 of juice, and are most deUeious. 



2nd. Take a small piece the size of a sixpence out of the 

 crown, fill the cavity with sugar, cut off the stalk, and place the 

 Apples stalk downwards on a tin plate, and bake in a slow 

 oven till quite tender. They become a perfect sweetmeat, and 

 are as superior to the Normandy Beelings as a Pine is to an 

 Orleans Plum.— T. R. 



Laboe St.otoard Camellia. — In my garden facing the north 

 is a Double 'W'Tiite Camellia, more than 7 feet in height, and 

 measuring 40 feet ronnd. It is supposed to be sixty years old, 

 or more. It is now covered with buds in clusters, and last 

 ■week I gathered two nearly in full blossom. It has always 

 been covered during the winter with matting ; but we have 



I DAVE read with satisfaction Mr. Thomson's interestiog 

 article upon the planting of Vines in your Number of January 

 30th, and as the subject is of considerable importance, I venture 

 to ask if Mr. Thomson, or any other celebrated (i rape-grower, 

 has tried the following method which I noticed some years ago 

 in the columns of a contemporary. I quote from memory. 



A month or five weeks before the Vines ore to be planted, 

 a hotbed should be prepared as for Cucumbers or Melons. 

 After the heat has sufficiently subsided, a few inches of soU 

 should be spread over the bed, and the Vines turned out of 

 their pots and placed upon it at a few inches apart, and the 

 interstices tilled up with suitable soil. I presume there would 

 be no frame or covering over the Vine roots. After remaining 

 upon the bed a fortnight or three weeks, the Vines should ba 

 carefully lifted and planted in the vinery, and watered with 

 warm water, the border being previously warmed where prac- 

 ticable ; and where no heat can be applied to the border, the 

 Vines should not be planted till the beginning of May. — 



IXQUIRER. 



[■We forwarded this inquiry to Mr. Thomson, and the follow- 

 ing is his reply : — 



" The method of planting Vines, detailed by " Inquibeb," 

 will, doubtless, answer very well where the border is heated ; 

 but as it has never been aJojited by me, I cannot, therefore, 

 recommend it from experience. I have, however, a decided 

 objection to removing Vines from a strong bottom keat to 

 ordinary,' Vine-borders, or to stimulating their roots before 

 planting. 



" The mode of planting which I have always fotmd the most 

 satisfactory, is to leave the Vines, presuming that they are 

 plants raised from eyes in the previous season, in a cool airy 

 house till they burst their buds about a quarter of an inch. 

 They arc then turned out of their pots, shaken entii'ely free 

 from the soil, and well rinsed in tepid water in order to free 

 them from all inert soil. The roots are then dredged with tine 

 sand, and in planting every rootlet is carefully spread out, 

 covered with a little fine soil, and then watered with water 

 at about 80\ The vinery is kept close and moist for a time, 

 and the heat increased as the Vines progress. They make 

 about a foot of growth from each bud rapidly, and then stand 

 stUl for a little time till the roots come into action. I do not 

 beUeve that it is natiiral for the Vine to make fresh roots till it 

 has expanded foUage. I have at present some Vines in the 

 pots in which they were grown last year, and they have no 

 signs of fresh roots, while the tops are 8 inches long ; and this 

 I have noticed for years in succession. 



" Sometimes Ihavo cut the Vines down, allowed them to grow 

 a foot or so, and then shaken them out and jdanted them, and 

 in this way they go on nicely. I have tried several other ways, 

 but these are the two I prefer. 



" Perhaps the finest canes I have seen produced in a season's 

 growth were struck from eyes early in spring, and planted in 

 May ; and with bottom heat, or even when the Vines can be 

 planted inside, 1 would as soon adopt this practice as any that 

 I know. I have planted spring-struck plants in June in out- 

 side borders, placed a hand-glass over the roots and kept it 

 close for a time, and the Vines never retrograded in the least. 



" In connection with young Vines, I may refer to an instance 

 of Vines that I wanted to grow in 1865, for planting in pots 

 this year. These, after they had grown about 18 inches, were 

 potted into IG-iuch pots and placed in a Muscat-house where 

 the buds had just broken. Under unfortunate, circumstances 

 they were allowed to remain in the Muscat-house till the 

 Vines closed over them, and so shaded them that in the high 

 temperature they grew tUl they completely lost their growing 

 energy, and were so drawn and weakly that at first sight I de- 

 termined to throw them out. However, they were moved to 

 another house where there was plenty of light, and were cut 

 down to within an eye or two of the surface of the soil in the 

 pot ; they soon pushed the top bud of that same season's 

 growth and grew away with amazing vigour. The result was, 

 that I never saw such pot Vines before. They are from 9 to 

 10 feet long, and as thick as a man's finger. 



