January C, 1876. J 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



JANUARY 6—13, 187G. 



Bojal Society at 8.30 r.M. 



Geologists' Association at 8 p.m. 



Epiphan\ — Old Chkistuas Day. 



1 Sunday after Epiphany. 



Royal Geographical Society at 8.30 p.M 



Royal Medical and Cliirargical Sucioty at S.SOp.:^, 



Average 



Temperature near 



i^oudon. 



DflT. iNierht. Mean. 



41.1 



41.7 



41.0 



41.2 



42.0 



.11.5 



42.1 



29.1 

 80.1 

 308 

 30 8 

 80.3 

 30.1 

 29.5 



85.4 

 85.5 

 85.9 

 86.0 

 86.1 

 S5.8 

 35.8 



Sun 

 RiseB. 



h. m. 



8 7 



8 7 



8 7 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Moon 



iteta. 



Moon's 

 Aee. 



h. m. 



11 61 



13 



47 



1 S5 



2 4li 



4 14 



5 48 



2 19 



!) 49 



r, 21 



C 47 



7 58 



8 43 

 g 20 



D.^YS, 

 10 



11 



12 

 18 

 14 



• 

 Id 



Cl.iok 

 after 

 tiun. 



6 66 

 6 23 



Day 



or 



Tear. 



6 

 7 

 8 

 9 

 10 

 11 

 12 



Prom obserrationB taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 41.2' ; and its night temperature 



,1BRA 



NEW Y 



BOTANl 



QARDI 



COVERING OUTSIDE VINE BORDERS. 



B. BOBSON has liandlecl this subject very 

 ably as regards the production of early 

 Grapes. There can be no doubt that it i.s 

 bad practice to have the roots of a Vine in a 

 temperature little above freezing when the 

 upper part of the plant is afforded summer 

 heat. Even when Vines have the benefit 

 of a bottom heat of SO'' or 90°, as those 

 have which are grown in pots or heated 

 borders, they never commence root-action 

 till some of the leaves are grown to nearly their full size, 

 and when the roots are in a very low temperature I 

 believe the flowers often expand before there is much 

 root-action. The evils arising from this are patent to 

 every practical man, and I have endeavoured in former 

 papers to show that it is one of the most fertile causes of 

 shanking. 



I think, from what Mr. Bobson says, he, like myself, 

 would prefer the roots of Vines inteniied for forcing to be 

 all inside ; but sometimes we have no choice in such 

 matters, and when such is the case we cannot do better 

 than follow Mr. Bobson's advice. It is, however, princi- 

 pally upon the subject of late Grapes which I wish to say 

 a few words. 



I have come to the conclusion that for these also it is 

 the most economical as well as the most satisfactory plan 

 to have the borders entirely inside. I am not now speak- 

 ing of amateurs' houses where a little of everything is 

 grown, but of vineries proper. I know many who have 

 the charge of extensive vineries will argue that they give 

 their Vines both outside and inside borders, and that 

 they always find the greatest number of healthy roots 

 in the outside border. This only proves that the Vines 

 know their wants better than the man does who has 

 charge of them. Give them what they require in the 

 inside border and they will not then be so likely to 

 ramble outside, as the teniperature of the soil under glass 

 is certainly more suitable to them than that of the cold 

 soil outside. In nine cases out of ten I believe it is only 

 a question of water. There are not many inside Vine 

 borders in the country which have a sufficient supply of 

 water. It is of no use measuring the quantity which 

 falls from the clouds in any country and then giving a 

 similai-- allowance to indoor plants. The conditions are 

 all so different; our borders are so completely drained 

 and so porous, they are generally cut off from the subsoil, 

 and we with all our modern appliances and skill cannot 

 distribute the water so economically as Nature does it. 

 We must always allow for at least three-fourths of the 

 quantity we give running away immediately into the 

 drains, and a much greater jrjj ortion even than this at 

 the first spring watering if the borders have been kept 

 dry during winter, as I know many are. It is, however, 

 a great mistake to keep them dry at any time. I do not 

 like watering if it can be avoided when ripe fruit is hang- 

 ing on the Vines, and I think it is better to have the 

 borders covered with short litter or something else at 

 No. 771.— Vol. XXX., New Seeles. 



such times to check evaporation. Immediately the fruit 

 is off all inside borders require a good heavy watering, 

 and I am pleased to see that the practice of giving them 

 such is becoming every year more popular. The drying 

 of the roots in winter is totall.y at variance with tho 

 teachings of nature, and great injury is committed in 

 ignoring those teachings. Ihe roots of Vines are not, 

 like the Onion and Hyacinth, connected with a bulb to 

 store up matter for future growth, but each root contains 

 its own store, and must be kept moist or its virtues are 

 lost. 



If it is argued that there is not sufficient room in many 

 vineries for the roots I say, Consider what is done with 

 Vines in pots year after year, and then reckon up the 

 number of cubic yards of soil a moderate-sized house 

 contains. The fact is, the quantity of soil is generally 

 more than doubly sufficient, but the roots are allowed to 

 dart through the greater portion without making any 

 use of it. It does young Vines much good if they are 

 vigorous to shorten their roots now and then ; it gets 

 them into the habit of staying at home. 



Mr. Bobson says his Hamburghs were not thin-skinned, 

 and he seems to think that they ought to keep better for 

 that. I do not think so. I know Lady Downe's with its 

 thick skin keeps longer than the Black Hamburgh, which 

 has a comparative thin skin, but I do not think it is 

 because of the thick skin that it keeps, and I am in 

 hopes of seeing before many years pome thin-skinned 

 varieties which will keep. The skin of Alicante with me 

 is not nearly so thick as that of Lady Dowue'e, and yet 

 it keeps as long as that popular sort does. It is but 

 fair to add that I consider Alicante loses very much in 

 flavour if kept till April, and is not then so good as Lady 

 Dowue's. lu December and January I prefer Alicante. 



Is not a comparatively thin skin on any given kind of 

 fruit a general accompaniment to high iiuish and other 

 good qualities — not Grapes alone, but Apples, Pears, 

 Oranges, &c. ? and do not Grapes which have a com- 

 paratively thick skin for their kind, although they colour- 

 up well, generally turn a little foxy-looking afterwards ? 

 I have some Hamburghs which have not by any means 

 a thick skin which are keeping very fairly, and I aia 

 in hopes of having some of them for the beginning of 

 January. They are grown entirely in an inside border, 

 and were ripe in the beginning of September. I find 

 thick-skinned Grapes, although the flavour may be good, 

 like Mrs. Pince, .are not at all popular with the gentry, 

 and I endeavour to make the Hamburghs last as long aa 

 possible. 



I think we in the southern and western counties have 

 one difficulty with late Grapes which the northern growers 

 do not experience to so great an extent. It is that after 

 the Grapes are ripe in autumn wo have such sudden 

 fluctuations of temperature. Perhaps it is frosty at night, 

 and in the morning before daylight we have a tempera- 

 ture of 55° or more. This happened last year very fre- 

 quently, and at such times, unless a high temperature is 

 maintained in the house, it is exceedingly difficult to pre- 

 vent moisture condensing on the berries. I therefore 



No. 1123.— Vol. LV , Old Kebies. 



