308 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



[ April 22, 1875. 



the snu and air reach them to dry them too much. As for 

 Tigorons Rose plants of the Hybrid Perpetual class being killed 

 hy frost, I have never had an instance of such a thing in my 

 practice, although I have known Oak trees receive injuries from 

 frost from which they have not yet recovered. 



The cuttings remain where they are first placed till the follow- 

 ing November, when they are taken up carefully and potted, 

 or they are planted either in their permanent quarters or in 

 nursery ground 2 feet apart each way. In three years from 

 the time of putting in the cuttings they form good-sized speci- 

 mens. As my principal ambition is to obtain a large quantity 

 of blooms, I do not object to large plants, and therefore do not 

 prune so close as some do. I have plants now four years old 

 which would be 4 or 5 feet through if tied out. 



I ought to say that the standards grown in the clayey soil 

 would not remove very well from it, and they are not intended 

 for removal, but only to produce blooms for cutting. I con- 

 sider standard Roses eo ugly that I keep them out of sight as 

 much as possible. — William Taylor. 



GRAPE-FOBCING— PRODUCTION OF LARGE 

 BUNCHES. 



We have been favoured with the following paper read by 

 Mr. J. Hunter, Lambton Castle Gardens, at the Gardeners' 

 Institute, Darlington, March 2.5th : — 



" Gentlemen, — I have come before you to fulfil the promise 

 I made to you when in the Mechanics' Institution that night 

 BO enjoyably spent in celebration of the first anniversary of the 

 Gardeners' Institute — nobly founded by Edward Peaae, Esq., 

 for the benefit of all desirous of improving by it — you asked 

 me to read a paper on the treatment the Vines received at my 

 hands. The large Hamburgh bunch, being the one then in 

 question, is included in the treatment of this house, to which 

 I win only refer. I had the house put up in the spring of 

 1869 ; it occupied the old foundations so far as regards width, 

 but was in length made nearly double by putting two into one. 

 It may be interesting to some of you to know that this house 

 stands on piles ; and while I was making alterations I found 

 after boreing that we stood 31 feet 9 inches from anything solid 

 to work on ; however, after getting a cement and brick bottom 

 to my satisfaction, some 4 feet in depth, I resolved to have the 

 borders made without further delay. Drainage on such a 

 bottom as this must be efiicient and thoroughly well carried 

 out. In this case our front drain is built with brick, and pipes 

 put inside, so that the top of the drain is a little below the 

 cement bottom of border ; at every 6 feet a line of C-inch pipes 

 crosses from front to back, and at every 4 feet from end to 

 end of the house, the pipes thus forming a number of oblong 

 squares t) feet by 4 feet. These were filled up with brickbats 

 to a foot in depth, and then with small stones and coarse gravel, 

 after which it was turfed over with the grassy side of the sod 

 downward. Soil suitable to make the border was the next 

 important item. The park, or a portion of it, being drained 

 previous to my coming to the gardens, I used turf which was 

 put aside for gardening purposes, and cut fresh turf to make 

 out with. To every six cartloads of soil I added one of lime 

 debris, one of charcoal, one of burnt clay, three owt. of broken 

 bones, and a good dressing of clean cow manure, when the 

 whole was turned over twice in the border, and in a few days 

 the Vines were planted. Some of them were from one-year- 

 old canes, and the others from eyes struck the same spring, 

 the latter having a decided advantage at the end of the first 

 year's growth, which advantage is maintained still. I found 

 wireworm a most destructive enemy the first year. To check 

 this all the surface of the border was smoothed over with the 

 hack of a spade, coated over with rape dust, laid over with thin 

 boards, and covered up with 2 inches of old mushroom manure ; 

 this was turned over every alternate morning, then the wire- 

 worms were picked oil the boards by hundreds. After this 

 treatment the Vines carried their foliage well into December, 

 when they were cut back to 6 feet from the bottom. I very 

 soon after felt disposed to see what wireworms were left in the 

 border, and also with a view of further assisting the Vines, I 

 had an opening taken out at the back of the border and worked 

 forward on them carefully with steel forks ; every portion of 

 the border was hand-picked and turned back until within 3 feet 

 of the Vines ; by this time we had a fine lot of roots laid bare. 

 The soU was worked forward again, with the addition of a few 

 more ingredients to the old, the roots being carefully laid 

 in again. This has been done this and every year with one 



exception since planting, I doubt not with advantage to the 

 Vines. At one place where I was under a noted Vine-grower I 

 assisted in making over 100 yards in length of new Vine bor- 

 ders at various widths, and to my surprise, on removing the 

 old Vines, which were considered Al in their day, I found each 

 had but a root or two to support them ; they had taken up 

 their abode in some quarter never made for them, as they 

 passed out of the border without leaving a fibrous root in it. 

 Imagine a gardener trying to assist the Vines by repeatedly 

 watering and top-dressing such borders ! 



" I shall close my remarks, gentlemen, by giving the out- 

 lines of treatment the Vines had in this house. In the latter 

 end of February the house was kept close previous to starting 

 on March 1st, when syringing morning and evening, was well 

 done, according to the weather. Fire heat was applied at 

 6 A.M., and taken off at noon. No fire heat was given at night 

 unless compelled by frost. During the month the outside 

 and inside borders were watered with 1C80 gallons of tepid 

 water, running on at the rate of seven gallons per minute 

 through a fine rose. By the 15th no syringing was allowed 

 overhead. April : for this month fire heat was turned oS 

 sooner in the day, weather permitting, but was applied imme- 

 diately after shutting-up. On the 6th, so rapid was their 

 progress that the shoots were pinched two leaves beyond the 

 fruit and tied down. On the 13th the evaporating troughs 

 were allowed to become dry, and fire heat used freely, front 

 air put on at 8 p.m. and increased at 10 p.m. On the 20th 

 they were in fuU flower ; treatment the same, only the troughs 

 becoming dry. 27th, all set, evaporating troughs refilled, 

 applying front air more freely. Commenced thinning on the 

 1st of May ; airing as last month. On the 13th watered the in- 

 side border with 3360 gallons of guano water at a temperature 

 of 85°. After the 18th the temperature of this house was not 

 allowed below 65°, when front air at nights was applied much 

 more freely. On June the loth the outside border was served 

 with guano water the same as the inside, running at the rate 

 of six gallons per minute, which lasted seven hours ; quantity 

 given 2520 gallons. Again, on the 29th, this house received 

 5040 gallons, and on July the 20th, 1680 gallons. All this was 

 put on tepid, regular in temperature. Further than attending 

 to the regular requirements, such as stopping, tying, thinning, 

 &c., you have a correct statement of their treatment, except the 

 temperatures, of which I hold an accurate account, but it 

 would occupy too much space to enter into, as they were kept 

 four times daily. I also experimented with the border of this 

 house in the growing season of the Vines, the results of which 

 I hope at another time to be able to bring before you, should 

 they prove as suitable and satisfactory as they did last year. 



" It may not be out of place, gentlemen, to raise the ques- 

 tion. What are the advantageous points to Grape growing in 

 the county of Durham ? Can it be the gases from the thou- 

 sands of coke ovens that injure vegetation at distances off; or 

 the immense volumes of smoke which we see continually hurled 

 into the atmosphere, carrying with them the sootflakes which 

 require a water-engine to play on your houses to admit day- 

 Ught even dimly into them ? Or the fumes from the chemical 

 works, brought by a direct wind, sometimes overpowering the 

 stomach of a bilious person in consequence of their nauseous 

 stench ? Some say wet localities have their advantages ; here 

 we have a dry one ; in the Grape-growing season at Lambton 

 Castle our rainfall did not exceed 10 inches. Some say soU ; 

 if so, why did not our predecessors, who used the same, do the 

 same as us ? In the way of experiment last year 1 had a small 

 house of Vines planted, void of natural soil, except a small 

 quantity which was used to surround the newly-planted Vines. 

 The Vines have made roots from 8 to 10 feet in length, and 

 turned out pretty good yearlings. This I only mention to 

 show that Vines can be grown, whatever their staying powers 

 may be, without turf or garden soil." 



THE FLOWER GARDEN.— No. 1. 

 The cold and dreary weather of the winter that is now 

 slowly passing away, while it has somewhat retarded many 

 spring flowers, has injured none. The earliest bulbs have 

 been in full beauty for some time, and the later kinds are 

 putting forth leaf and blossom. Erica carnea, with its mass 

 of bright pink flowers, is now at its best ; Anemone coronaria 

 now " robes the earth in beauty ;" hardy Primroses are also 

 in full bloom. The beds of Myosotis, Silene, Saponaria, and 

 Violas which were planted about the end of last October are 

 in excellent condition, and will form lovely masses of various 



