"JOSLING'S ST. ALBAN'S" GEAPE. 275 



vines are planted outside. The house is 80 feet in length, but 

 is divided in the middle, so as to form two compartments ; the 

 width is 15 feet ; the height of the back wall about 13 feet ; the 

 upright sashes in front 3 feet. The rafters are straight : these 

 and the sash-frames are all iron. There is no wood-work in the 

 roof, front, or ends ; consequently the temperature of the house 

 is not easily kept up. The heating is by means of flues, the 

 arrangement of which is not the best that might have been 

 adopted ; for one runs across by the partition in the middle of 

 the house, then along the front ; but without traversing the cold 

 farther end it returns, the return portion being closely bedded 

 on the other, so that the air of the house does not come in 

 contact with the upper surface of the hottest flue. Another flue 

 runs across on the other side of the middle partition, and in a 

 similarly imperfect manner heats the other compartment. It 

 will be understood from this arrangement tliat two flues, nearest 

 the fire, run parallel across tlie middle of the house, whilst the 

 two iron and glass ends have no flue to counteract their cooling 

 effects. Altogether the house is not adapted for early forcing. 

 A vine is trained up each rafter ; and each established vine has 

 generally a seedling of some sort alongside. One seedling, I 

 observed, has variegated white and green foliage. 



The vine which was the object of my visit (August 24) was 

 growing about the middle of one of the divisions of the house. 

 It was stated in the notice of it in the Journal, that it had been 

 planted by the side of a Black Hamburgh, which was afterwards 

 cut down : the stump is still to be seen. On comparing the 

 fruit and leaves of the " Josling's St. Alban's " w ith those of the 

 Chasselas musque no differeyice could be observed. Mr. Josling 

 himself agreed that no decided difference could be seen ; but he 

 was certain his vine was a seedling raised by himself. He had 

 cut part of the crop : some good bunches, with berries free from 

 cracking, still remained, and the quality was excellent. The 

 bunches, however, had not such very long shoulders as those 

 from which the description was made in 1846, probably in con- 

 sequence of the border becoming partly exhausted of that nourish- 

 ment which its soil derived from the sheep-pens. 



That some fruits are more liable to crack than others is well 

 known ; and unfortunately the grape in question, according to 

 various accounts, is one of those with this disposition. But 

 under favourable circumstances grapes do not exhibit this defect. 

 This fact cannot be disputed ; and it leads to the question 

 "whether it is more advisable to study, and endeavour to command 

 these circumstances, or hopelessly throw away some of the 

 richest varieties of grapes? Rather than adopt the latter alter- 

 native, I have no doubt some gentlemen would go to the expense 



VOL. IV. u 



