December 16, 1869. ] JOaKNAL OF HOBTICULTCTRE AND COTTAGE G-ARDENER. 



477 



bright golden Colens. I hope to be able to report progress in 

 fche coarse of a few months.— F. P. L. 



SETTING THE ROYAL VINEYARD GRAPE. 



Last year I asked the cause of the bad setting of this Grape, 

 and it was your opinion I had left too many bunches (eight). 

 This I coold not agree in, a? the Vine was so strong, the rod, 

 6 feet from the ground, being 4 inches in circumference. Eight 

 or wrong, this year I have been successful in setting twelve 

 large bunches. My method is simple — nothing new. I draw a 

 dry hand along the bunch, or part of the bunch, when in flower, 

 repeating the operation until the whole bunch is set. This 

 answers well with all the Muicats I have, but the Eoyal Vine- 

 yard is more dithcult to set, for with me it is never dry, a 

 dewy wetness being on the bunches when in flower, making 

 the hand damp and sticky. Having other Grapes in flower at 

 the same time, I charged the hand with pollen and drew it 

 over the Royal Vineyard, drying the hand every time, and 

 every berry set ; but when the Grapes had just finished swell- 

 ing, having attained a good size, there appeared on some of 

 the berries a blotch which had the appearance of a scorch. 

 Scorching, however, could not occur, as the foliage was dense ; 

 in fact, the sun could not touch a berry. The berries so 

 afEected were at once cut out, but every day the disorder 

 increased, so that by the time the berries not affected were 

 ripe more than half the bunch was gone. The house is what 

 we call our latest, and the crop is ripened without the aid of 

 fire heat. We ripened Muscats in the same house, and to 

 effect this we were obliged to put on fires. Can this have had 

 anything to do with the disorder, as it commenced with the 

 extra heat ? Air was given night and day. Lady Downe's is 

 in the same house, but is all right. One bunch of the Royal 

 Vineyard was less affected and now hangs, being close to a 

 front opening. It is one of our best-hanging Grapes, which 

 is a consideration, and I do not like to condemn it if it can 

 be sucoessfuUy managed. I shall try it in pots nest year. 

 Will some of the readers of "our Journal'* give us their 

 experience of this desirable Grape ? — C. M. ilcC, Nash Court, 

 near B'aversham, 



[The berries of your Royal Vineyard Grape were attacked by 

 "the spot," an ulceration usually caused by the roots not 

 supplying a sufficiency of sap to sustain the growth of the Vine 

 and its crop. If a little rich compost were placed over the 

 roots, and weak tepid liquid manure applied once weekly during 

 the season of growth, the spot v,ould probably disappear. If 

 the roots have descended deeply, or into an ungenial subsoil, 

 they should be raised to nearer the surface,] 



FLOWER SUPPORTS. 



I HiVE been a reader of your Journal for many years, and 

 from it have derived a large amount of pleasure and knowledge, 

 and as yoa invite all gardeners to record in it their thoughts 

 and experience, a few remarks on the subject heading this 

 communication I think may be of use to some. 



Sticks are rather scarce, especially in or near towns; there, 

 as is well known, are many gardens of small extent, the culti- 

 vators of which have not the privilege of going to a wood for a 

 few sticks to which to tie their pet plants. To remove the 

 difficulty I will name a plant which is not equalled for the 

 purpose ; it is of easy culture, and within the reach of most 

 gardeners, and a great quantity can be grown in a small space. 

 The plant is a common one in most gardens, but not grown so 

 much as it deserves. It is the Halesia, or Snowdrop Tree, 

 which enlivens our shrubberies with its beautiful snow-white 

 drops in winter. Procure plants or suckers, or sow seeds in 

 spring ; select a piece of ground — they are not particular as to 

 soil, any out-of-the-way place will do, but a moist one suits 

 them best — plant them 1 foot apart, and cut them down to 

 within 2 inches of the ground every autumn. If a few stronger 

 sticks are wanted, leave the plants a winter without cutting, 

 tie the shoots in bundles, and keep them in a dry place until 

 wanted for use. If used green, as they emit roots so freely, 

 they should be placed on a hot flue, or some such place, for a 

 few hours. The quantity a few plants will grow is astonish- 

 ing, and the sticks will last two years, and I am sure they are 

 nnequalled for tying such plants as Achimenes, Mignonette, 

 <fcc. If allowed to grow in the shrubberies the plants are very 

 ornamental, but when permitted to flower, and make large 

 hashes, the qnantity of shoots obtained is diminished con- 



siderably. Bees, too, are very fond of this plant, the flowers 

 being numerous, and from them the bees gather a great quan- 

 tity of honey. 



Perhaps it will not be out of place to mention a few more 

 plants from which useful flower sticks may be taken. If grown 

 and cut down as above, many varieties of hardy deciduouB 

 Spiraeas, varieties of Hypericum, or St. John's-wort, Ligustrum, 

 or Privet, and Lilacs will produce an abundance of useful flow6r 

 sticks. — H. C, Hcndre Park, Monmouth^ 



PLANTS IN FLOWER DURING NOVEMBER. 



9th. 



2nd. Tricyrtis Lirta 



Obeliscaria pulclierrima 

 Rose, Cciine Forestier 

 Anne Boleyn Pink 

 Calceolaria, Ruby Bicolor 

 Linaria bipartita 

 PiiloK, CounteBS of Home 



decusiata 

 Statice Limonium 

 Calendula officinalis 

 Achillea compacta 



aerrata 

 Omphalodes vema 

 Pentstemon procerum 



Vi^nuatuni 

 Santolina incana 

 Antinhiniun majue 

 Arctotis breviscapa 

 Sedum CEeruleum 



Sieboldi 



variegatum 

 Gaillardia picta 

 Corydalis lutea 

 Galega officinalis 

 Arpemone grandiflora 

 Lathyrus grandifiorus 



odoratua 

 Cth. Nepeta violacea 

 O^calia llava. 



elegans 

 Schizostylii coccinea 

 PlumbaKO Larpentie 

 Pyrethrum Partheaiuni 

 Aster Amellua 



dumo8U3 



ericoidea 



laevia 

 Campanula carpatica 



Rartranica 



Hostii 



pumila 

 Cheiranthus fruticuloBus 

 Linana purpurea 

 Astrantia major 

 Double White Daii^ 

 Strawberry. Black Prince 

 Arabis albida 

 Calandrinia umbellata 

 Gynerium argenteum 

 Hyasopua officinalis 

 Lobelia cardinalia 



fulfjens 



St. Clair 

 AgrathcTa cceleatia 

 Lychnia coronaria 

 Rudbeckia laciniata 



Neumanni 



ample^folia 

 gth. Roses 



Alyasum saxatiie 

 C^dronella cana 

 Artimiaia maxitima 



annua 

 Chelone coccinea 

 Crocus autumnalis 



Boryanus 

 Draco cephaluir. sibiricum 



grandiflorum 

 Melissa aurea 

 Mimulus cupreus 

 CEnotLera macrocarpa 



Saudiflora 

 raxacifolia 

 Aira ceaepitosa 

 Ajuga genevenais 

 Senecio tanacetifolia 



— M. H., Acklam Hall^ Middlesbrough-on-Tees, 



Senecio caemlea 

 AlohemUla alpina 

 Viburnum Tinua 

 13th. Ammobiuin alatum 

 Erigeron canadensis 



vUlatBii 

 Cerastium tomentosum 

 Dianthua barbatus 



Caryophyllns 

 Coroniila Emerus 

 Betonica strieta 

 Aubrietia: deltoidea 

 Aaperula odorata 

 Centranthua albas 



ruber 

 Calystegia pubencens 

 Centanrea ffymnocarpa 



candidissiina 

 Clematis Jackmanni 

 Cineraria maritima 

 Convolvulus cantabricas 



minor 

 Echinops Ritro 



bannaticuB 

 Cyclamen europseum 

 16th. Spergula nodosa 

 Erica ramentacea 



etricta 



camea 

 Veronica dentata 



spicata 



incana 



sibirica 



specioaa 



serpyllifolia 

 Viola tricolor 



lutea 



comnta 



montana 

 Jasminum nudiflorum 

 Alyeaum mantimum 

 Siachya lanata 

 'Stenactis apeciosa 

 Tradescantta viiginica 

 Verbena venosa 

 19th. Vinca hcrbacea 



Vittadenia trilobata 

 Koniga maritima variegata 

 Rose, Monthly (Jhma 

 Doronicum caucasicum 

 Lobelia apeciosa 

 Statice latifolia 



Limonium 

 22nd. Th; muB officinalis 

 Tritoma Uvaria 

 Verbaacum Blattaria 

 Viola odorata 

 Zauschneria califomica 

 Salvia patens 



coccinea 



fulgens 



Grab ami 

 Chrysanthemums 

 .25th. Helyehryaum bracteatom 

 Linura perenne 



ftavum 

 Whitlavia p-andiflora 

 ChrysanthemumBurridgeanttUl 

 Oxaiis rosea 

 29th. Erinus alpinus 

 Ruta graveolens 

 Achillea tomentosa 

 Malcomia maritima 

 LupinUH nanus 

 Gilla tricolor 

 Sedum dentatum 

 Saponaria calabrica 



GARDENERS' ELECTRICAL ALARUM. 



It may be iateresting to some of your readers to learn that 

 the clever application of electricity is now becoming the gar- 

 dener's friend, although for domestic purposes it has been. 

 employed for some time. 



E. E. Thomson, Esq., J.P., of Kenfield Hall, Petham, near 

 Canterbury, has recently had fitted up an electric apparatus, 

 which surpasses even the electric house bell, which is now 

 being extensively adopted in large mansions. The electrie 

 wire has now been fitted for the first time in Kent to all the 

 greenhouses, hothouses, forcing pits, &c., at Kenfield Hall, 

 and has been attached to thermometers iu such a manner as 

 to ring a beU in the gardener's room should any great change 

 of temperature take place either from sudden frost or orei- 



