464 



JODENAL OP HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ November 26, 1874. 



will eoon detect its first appearance, and it should be diligently 

 hunted after every other day tiU all danger is over. 



li there is any gamming or damping of the stem cut the 

 diseased part clean out, even if you have to cut half through 

 the stem, and scrape some freshly-burned lime, and apply as 

 much as will adhere two or three times with an hour's interval. 

 Lime that has been slaked is of no use, it must be caustic 

 lime. 



Mildew is sometimes troublesome when the weather is close 

 and duU. The best cure is flowers of sulphur, and the best 

 way to apply it is to mix it with water, and syringe it on. 

 Place the sulphur in a watering pot with just enough water to 

 form a thick paste, and afterwards add sufficient water to 

 give every leaf in the house a good syringing on both sides. 

 Avoid a stagnant atmosphere and even temperatures for all 

 plants that are subject to mildew. 



I am not an advocate for much syringing in winter. My 

 plants are not syringed once a-month ; it is not required with 

 a moderate temperature. — William Taylok. 



OUTDOOR GRAPE-GROWING. 



I AM of opinion that outdoor Grape-cultivation is lamentably 

 neglected, and a few remarks on the subject may do a little 

 towards awakening people to their own interest, and encou- 

 raging many to pay a Uttle more attention to the plant that 

 will in most cases bring a fair return for the trouble taken 

 with it. 



It is not uncommon to see the Vine planted against the 

 poor man's cottage with only here and there a tie to keep it 

 to the wall, while in all other respects it is allowed to ramble 

 as it may, making a vigorous growth to be battered about by 

 the wind until it is an unsightly object such as no one can 

 admire, and indicative of a carelessness which few would like to 

 imitate. In many instances the Vine is taken care of, and its 

 branches trained neatly to the wall, the wood carefully stopped 

 and thinned-out, other wood laid-in to succeed that to be taken 

 out at piuning-time, while due attention is paid to thinning 

 the fruit as with hothouse Vines. Attended to in this way it is 

 an ornament to the house it is trained to ; for if it is a proper 

 sort, and placed on the right aspect, it must be a bad season 

 indeed if it do not bring some substantial return in the 

 shape of fruit to the person it belongs to. What a difference ! 

 I wish there was no reason to picture it in this way. But why 

 is it so? Allowing something for an occasional disappoint- 

 ment in the Vine not ripening fruit in an unfavourable season, 

 or perhaps an insufficient knowledge of its treatment, does not 

 satisfactorily answer the question why we so frequently see the 

 Vine growing against a cottage or on the walls of the amateur's 

 garden, and yet so little done with it. If the fruit is not 

 wanted for home consumption it is easily marketable at the 

 nearest town ; and even now in this town every greengrocer's 

 shop has a display of outdoor Grapes, both black and white, 

 which meet with a ready sale, and one dealer told me he 

 wished he could buy more, as his customers were anxious for 

 them. It must be understood that I do not intend to affirm 

 that the Vine can be profitably grown in all parts of the 

 country ; the southern counties are perhaps its home, though 

 in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and some of the adjoining 

 counties, I have seen the Vine produce fairly remunerative 

 ciops. 



One of the sorts grown appears to be the Black Cluster, a 

 variety with small bunches and berries, and very black. I 

 have a kind here called Miller's Grape, but which I have seen 

 in Sussex bearing the name of Burgundy ; its leaves are thickly 

 covered with a white woolly substance, and more especially its 

 young shoots in spring. On referring to a friend about it, he 

 tells me that it is probably Miller's Burgundy. Then in some 

 places the Black Hamburgh is planted, and succeeds well in 

 some seasons. When Uving at Hawkhurst I saw a Vine of 

 this sort trained up the walls and the lower part of the roof 

 of the house on an eastern aspect, and in 18G8 or 18(J9, I 

 am not quite sure which, more than two or three bunches 

 reached 2 lbs. weight, and quantities 1 lb. and less, the berries 

 being large and very highly coloured. I believe, though the 

 Vine has since produced very good crops, they have not equalled 

 that of the particular year, it being a very hot dry summer. 

 The next sort, and perhaps the best of all to grow, is the 

 White Sweetwater, with which the White or Royal Muscadine 

 is nearly identical ; either of these will do well on a wall on a 

 southern or eastern aspect. One in the latter position with 

 me produced three hundred bunches this year, of which two 



hundred are now hanging well coloured and developed, as well 

 as being of fine flavour. The wall it is growing on is 15 feet 

 high, and being that of the fruit room the eaves of the latter 

 project enough to form a good coping. This Vine has not 

 been known to fail in bearing a crop. I have seen a good crop 

 on it for three successive seasons. This year the bunches are 

 larger than common, being produced from young wood laid-in 

 last season. The Vine is planted at the centre of the wall, 

 and a branch runs horizontally each way ; from these, twenty- 

 four branches are trained perpendicularly at pretty regular, 

 distances apart. Each of the upright branches throws out 

 side branches at intervals up to the top ; these are formed on 

 the spur system up to the third or fourth year, when a fresh 

 cane is grown to take the place of the one cut out. I think in 

 outdoor Vines it is necessary to be particular about this, for 

 I find that after a shoot reaches four years old the wood be- 

 comes weak, and produces small insignificant eyes, the shoots 

 of which produce bunches very little better than tendrils 

 with a few Grapes at the extremity. It might be different to 

 this if outdoor Mnes had proper borders made for them the 

 same as for hothouse Vines, and treated in other respects the 

 same. The Vine is question has no preparation whatever for 

 its roots, but is simply growing in the border, which is dug-up 

 and cropped the same as any other part of the garden. It 

 receives one good watering every summer just after the berries 

 are set, but in the spring, when the buds burst into growth, 

 they are protected with hexagon netting till all danger from 

 frost is gone. During this time a disbudding takes place, and 

 again a little later on. After the bunches show themselves the 

 point of the shoot is taken out three joints beyond the bunch ; 

 these are carefully nailed to the wall, all superfluous shoots 

 are taken out, leaving only those shoots required to take the 

 place of old wood, the berries are thinned in due time, and 

 all laterals kept pinched back. Beyond this there is nothing 

 more to be done but to see that all is in a healthy state, free 

 from mildew, &c. This disease must be watched for, and im- 

 mediately it is discerned, if only on a single berry, dust the 

 whole Vine over with sulphur in a moderate way, which will 

 generally stop it. 



I do not believe that every Vine will succeed as well as this 

 without some preparation as to boU, for although here the soil 

 is good enough, it is not so at everyplace; and where it is bad, 

 or in a low damp situation, drain the place a little to carry off 

 stagnant water, and get together a small heap of good garden 

 soil, not very rich, to plant the Vine in, and add to it yearly as 

 the Vine grows and requires it. The aim should be to induce the 

 Vine to make a moderate growth with no pithy coarse shoots, 

 but such wood as will ripen well and prove fruitful. Induce the 

 wood to ripen early, and keep it all nailed close to the wall, 

 but exposed as much as possible to the sun at all times. Never 

 allow the growth to become thick and matted ; cutting out a 

 quantity at a time is very injurious to any Vine, especially an 

 outdoor one, and causes a great check, such as it will not easily 

 get the better of in one season. Always pay strict attention to 

 stopping and disbudding in the early part of the season, and 

 that will avert all such ill effects as stated above. — Thomas 

 Recoed. 



SKELETONISING LEAVES AND OTHER PARTS 

 OF PLANTS. 

 The present is a favourable time of the year for skeletonising, 

 woody fibre being sufficiently hard. Procure an earthen pan 

 holding a gallon or more, and put into it a quantity of leaves, 

 seed vessels, etc., selected according to the subsequent direc- 

 tions. Pour upon them sufficient boiling soft water to covet 

 them. This done, place the pan upon any place exposed to 

 the warmth of the sun and the vicissitudes of the weather. 

 Stir the leaves occasionally, say once or twice a-week, and care- 

 fully, but never change the water. The putrefactive fermenta- 

 tion will now soon ensue, and in about six weeks or two months, 

 according to the nature of the subjects, many of the specimens 

 will be completely macerated, and will require no other atten- 

 tion than holding them singly under the tap of awaterbutt or 

 other small stream of water, which will wash away all the other 

 skin and green fleshy matter. If this matter do not come off 

 readily when assisted a little with the thumb and finger or a 

 small knife, the leaves must be soaked for a longer time. 

 Those of the leaves which seem liable to break during the 

 washing may be preserved from breaking by placing them 

 upon a little piece of board and holding them up by the thumb 

 and finger ; and should a Uttle of the green fleshy matter re- 



