May 29, 18«6. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AKD COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



405 



duced to that number immediately after the flowering is past, 

 and the laterals below the bunches should be broken off close 

 home, keeping those above the bunches closely stopped to one 

 joint, or so soon as a leaf is made take out the point of the 

 shoot ; the tendrils to be pinched ofi close. Keep the shoots 

 well tied down, and properly adjusted to the wires. 



TniNNiNci THE Benches. — When the berries are the size of 

 No. 4 shot commence thinning, first of all tying up the shoulders 

 of the bunches. Thin out the smallest berries, and especially 

 those with small wiry footstalks, remembering that as the 

 berries are now small tliey must be left correspondingly wider 

 apart than were they not thinned until larger. It is well also 

 to bear in mind that the earlier thinning is commenced the 

 less the nourishment afforded by the roots and leaves will be 

 expended on those berries cut away, and the larger those left 

 will be. It is well to go over the bunches twice, first giving a 

 good thinning, and again in ten days or a fortnight going over 

 them again, giving a final thinning, and if there is anything to 

 be guarded against it is leaving too many berries. I find 

 nothing so good for tying up the shoulders as yellow Japan flax, 

 which from its fineness is scarcely visible, and it is of immense 

 strength, even in very small shreds. In thinning avoid hand- 

 ling the berries, using a small round pointed stick about 

 7 inches long, and with this raise the shoulders and maintain 

 the bunch steady in a proper position whilst the berries are 

 being thinned out. 



I stated in a former part of these notes that I would observe 

 on the several descriptions of canes for fruiting at different 

 seasons, but having gone through the whole routine of Vine 

 culture it only remains for me to note the difference between 

 Vines started in autumn and those after January, which con- 

 sists in those started after that not requiring so high a tem- 

 perature to commence with ; 40° should be the maximum night 

 temperature to begin with, increasing 5° fortnightly afterwards. 



A correspondent finds a difficulty in " starting Vines in au- 

 tumn to obtain strong canes for fruiting in January and Feb- 

 ruai'y. They break well, but make such small straw-like canes 

 as not to equal those raised in January from eyes, the others 

 being strong one-year canes cut in to two eyes." I have ex- 

 perienced the same difficulty not only with Vines started in 

 autumn, but with those raised from eyes — some always lag 

 behind. Any having such will find stopping the Vines when 

 they have grown a foot in length an excellent plan, cutting 

 them immed ately above a joint. A lateral will start from the 

 joint to which the shoot was stopped, which, if allowed to 

 grow, will make a leader, but of weak growth in comparison to 

 that of the original. By the lateral is a bud, and to induce 

 this to push the lateral by its side is to be pinched off closely, 

 otherwise the principal eye would not push until next season. 

 AH the laterals below are to be pinched off closely, and then 

 one or other of the principal eyes will certainly push. The 

 shoot from a principal eye is to be preserved, and trained as a 

 leader, which will usually be strong ; if not, allow it to grow a 

 foot and then stop it as before, and obtain a new leader from a 

 principal eye by closely pinching in the laterals. — G. Abbey. 

 (To be coutinaed.) 



SOWING VERBENA SEED. 

 I HAVE just read an article in your Number of April 17th on 

 the raising of Verbenas from seed by Mr. Wills, and as his 

 recommendations are entirely contrary to my own experience 

 I write to say that I always find Verbena seed will vegetate, if 

 properly treated, in about a fortnight, and will grow nearly as 

 freely as Mustard. In proof of this, I have Mr. Perry's per- 

 mission to show your correspondent some thousands of plants 

 with the bloom-buds on them, all raised from seed sown in 

 February last. The seed was not sown "2 inches" deep, as 

 recommended by Mr. Wills, or I should not have been sur- 

 prised if it had been from " seven weeks to two years "before 

 the plants had made their appearance, or even if they had never 

 seen daylight. — T. Pointon, GanUncr to C. J. Perry, £«j., The 

 Cedars, Castle Jiromwich, iwar Blmiingham. 



Daffodil in Ireland. — On looking over the second volume 

 of your " Wild Flowers of Great Britain," I find, under the 

 head the •' Common Daffodil," " Abundant in woods and moist 

 meadows in the south of England. Kare in Scotland and Ire- 

 land." I beg to bear my testimony that it is most abundant 

 in the county of Dublin, amongst old trees and in moist mea- 



dows, and as far as I can learn it is almost as common in 

 other parts of Ireland. — J. Vernon, Clonlarf. 



[Our authorities, Hooker and Amott, speak of it as rare in 

 Ireland, and Bentham says that it occurs " in Scotland and 

 Ireland only where introduced." — Eds.] 



HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION AT THE 

 ANTIPODES. 



The Horticultural Society of Canterbury, New Zealand, held 

 its final Exhibition for the season on February 28th. The Ex- 

 hibition, I am sorry to say, was not patronised by the public 

 to the extent that it decidedly merited on this occasion. The 

 display of flowers far exceeded the show of fruit and vegetables. 

 This last Exhibition for the season certainly surpassed the pre- 

 vious two as regards the number, variety, and growth of the 

 articles which were contributed. I send you a few notes I made 

 on the occasion, which you must receive in the shape of gossip. 

 I omit the long list of prizes awarded, and if you knew the 

 intrinsic value of each award it would furnish you with a good 

 hearty laugh. 



I will begin with pot plants, which were shown in great pro- 

 fusion. The Fuchsias were really magnificent ; some of the 

 plants were 5 feet high and 5 feet through. They consisted of 

 Sir Cohn Campbell, Souvenir de Chiswick, Rose of Caatille, 

 Guiding Star, and some others ; these formed the most attrac- 

 tive part of the show of flowers, and I may say there was not 

 much else in this department to arrest the attention of those 

 accustomed to good shows. I must say also that the Fuchsias 

 were the finest I have seen in the province, and equal to any I 

 ever saw at Chiswick years ago. I must specially notice some 

 Gloxinias, Achimenes, Gesnera zebrina, and Clerodendron 

 fragrans, as being without doubt the first time I have seen them 

 exhibited here. They were beautifully in flower and well culti- 

 vated, and much admired by the visitors ; many questions 

 being asked about them as well. I missed from the plant- 

 stages this year Humea elegans and Perilla naukinensis, which 

 had a very graceful appearance mingled amongst the other 

 plants. Stove plants seem to be creeping in to fiU up their 

 place. I am looking forward to see Orchids amongst us at no 

 very distant period. Marble Balsams and Cockscombs were 

 well represented on the table amongst other subjects, and are 

 becoming very fashionable at our exhibitions. They put me 

 in mind of those formerly exhibited at Chiswick about the year 

 1840 by Mr. Wm. Cock, which no doubt will be fresh in the 

 memory of many of your readers. We have not been able to 

 come up to him yet in growing Pelargoniums to such a large 

 size, nor do I think we ever shall. Our Pelargoniums are 

 grown BO as to form much smaller and more compact plants. 

 We are not far behind, however, in the growth of the Fuchsia. 



Of native Ferns I noticed only one collection which, accord- 

 ing to the schedule, should be twelve in number. Amongst 

 them were Lomaria elongata, L. nigra, L. discolor, Aspleninm 

 bulbiferum, Cyathea dealbata, Dicksonia squarrosa, Phymatodes 

 Billardieri, C'heilanthes tenuifolia, Leptopteris hymenophyl- 

 loidea, and several others. They well deserved the small prize 

 awarded, 7s. M. Seven-and-sixpence for a prize for twelve 

 Ferns in pots 1 Why, it is ridiculous. I was sorry not to 

 find in the collection Asplenium Hookerianum, for it is pretty 

 plentiful in our bushes. I noticed at the Exhibition, in the 

 shape of dried plants, a handsome species of Gleicbenia, 

 brought from our west coast gold field. I understand that 

 plants of it are looking healthy with us as well. Your Fern- 

 growers will be pleased to hear this. The taste for indigenous 

 Ferns here is quite in the bud. We have an endless vanety of 

 them. I hope in course of time the taste for them will grow 

 fully ripe amongst us, and that we shall see the bud fully ex- 

 panded. We are not short of material to work on, I can assure 

 ycu. 



In finishing with pot plants I mnst not forget to mention 

 double Petunias, which, mixed with the Fuchsias on the stages, 

 had a very pleasing effect. We have them of all sliades and 

 colours, with flowers exactly like a double Dahlia or Hollyhock, 

 and equal in size to a good Rose, and fragrant in scent. We 

 can grow bedding-out plants here, and well too ; neither are 

 florist's flowers forgotten amongst us. We have progressed 

 wonderfully in this way. Seeds of choice Verbenas, Petunias, 

 &c., keep arriving every mail by post, thanks to our friends 

 at home for sending them. 



Of cut flowers, our Dahlias were not so fine aa usual, owing 



