May 14, 1874. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



377 



VINE MILDEW. 



I N a former paper I gave a vei-y low estimate 

 of the value of sulpbur for one of the pur- 

 poses for which it is coiiBtantly recom- 

 mended, and it might fromi that be inferred 

 that I place no value at all in a horticultural 

 point of view on this wtil-known valuable 

 substance. On the contrary, I would not on 

 any account be without a stock of a quarter 

 of a hundredweight at least in the growing 

 season. If it is not required, and it very 

 seldom is, so much the better ; should it unfortunately be 

 necessary to use it, it could be made to do its duty, and 

 be out of sight again in at the most thirty-six hours. Left 

 in sight it tells tales ; it as much as says to every visitor, 

 " You have been treating your Vines badly, giving them 

 too much encouragement above ground and too little 

 below — pulling them forward, as it were, by the head, and 

 neglecting the roots. You have, perhaps, been keeping 

 a damp atmosphere, fondly hoping thereby to kill red 

 spider, and have unintentionally given a good reception 

 to Oidium Tuckeri." 



This, if not dealt with in a sharp, decisive manner, will 

 make greater havoc than the red spider ; but it is one of 

 the easiest things in the world to get rid of if taken in 

 band quickly. One should always be on the watch for 

 the slightest speck ; if fruit is on the Vine, it generally 

 appears on the fruit first in the shape of little, round, 

 woolly-looking specks, at other times on the leaves 

 in the same form, and rapidly spreads over the whole 

 liouse ; it will do this in two or three days in moist hot 

 weather. I have examined a good many Vines on which 

 mildew originated, and have in every case found them 

 too dry at the roots. In some cases they had recently 

 had tons of water applied to them, but it had failed to 

 reach the most vital parts ; the soil, when comparatively 

 dry, had contracted, and left a space between itself and 

 the wall, where most of the water would go down quickly 

 to the drainage ; or new soil had been added which was 

 moister and looser than the old, and consequently the 

 water would enter it very freely, and barely touch the 

 older portion. But, most general of all, a sufficiency of 

 water had never been applied. Even supposing the bor- 

 der to be in perfect order, sixty or a hundred gallons at 

 a time would be nothing extraordinary to give a vigorous- 

 growing Vine in a well-drained border wholly inside 

 the house, and not too much shaded. This quantity 

 will suffice for three weeks or a month if the soil is not 

 too porous or too limited in bulk. The water should 

 always be as warm as the soil, rather over the mark than 

 under it — say never lower than .55° ; 75° will do no harm. 

 A little warmer than usual just as the flowers are expand- 

 ing will give a little healthy excitement, and will help the 

 shy-setting varieties. 



Although I have never known mildew originate on 

 Vines that had not .suffered from an insufficient supply of 

 water at the roots, I believe an insufficiency of anything 

 there, and a moist growing atmosphere at the same time, 



No. 685.- Vol. XXVI., New Series. 



would tend to encourage it. The following, learned some 

 years ago from a respected tutor, is the plan to get rid of 

 it, supposing the house to be heated by hot- water pipes. 

 Make the pipes as hot as possible towards the evening, 

 giving at the same time as mvich top ventilation as the 

 state of the weather will permit ; if warm and dry, open 

 all the ventOators, and get rid of most of the atmospheric 

 moisture ; then, as soon as the sun is off the house, damp 

 the pipes a yard or two at a time with a rag or sponge, 

 and dust on, through a piece of coarse tifl'any or netting, 

 as much sulphur as will adhere to the top of the pipe while 

 it is still damp. Keep the ventilators open tdl all tho 

 pipes have been covered in this way, by which time the 

 atmosphere of the house will be sufficiently dry, and it 

 may be closely shut up. It will probably rise to 00° or 

 100°, and a blue mi.st will be seen to ascend from the pipes ; 

 this is sulphurous gas, and will soon put an end to tho 

 mildew. If the Grapes are half grown it wUl not harm 

 them at all ; if not so forward as this, it will probably make 

 some of them a little rusty and darken the footstalks. 

 The mildew, however, must be got rid of at any cost, and 

 in nine cases out of ten you can get rid of it in this way 

 without leaving any trace of the sulphur. The heat should 

 be kept up for an hour or two, after which the fire may 

 be allowed to slacken. The sulphur is of no use after it 

 has been once thoroughly heated in this way, and can 

 be washed off the next day. 



If there is any doubt about the mildew, the treatment 

 above described should be repeated with a fresh dose 

 of sulphur. If, however, the mildew has not a very 

 strong footing, and the job is well done, one dose will be 

 quite sufficient. It wih, perhaps, surprise some of your 

 readers to be told that this treatment will not rid them 

 of red spider ; it will kOl some of the young and tender 

 insects, but the old hardy ones will go through it un- 

 scathed. What, then, can be expected from sulphur that 

 is never heated sufficiently to produce sulphurous gas ? 



While writing about mildew I will remind your readers 

 that mildew on Peach trees can be easily cured by syring- 

 ing vrith soft-soap water at the rate of 2 ozs. to the gallon ; 

 that on Cauliflowers and the Cabbage tribe by dusting 

 with soot or newly-slaked lime. And now, as you have 

 among your contributors so many Kose-growers and Eose- 

 lovers, I will thank some one to tell us the most effectual 

 way to kill or prevent mildew on Roses.^ — -Wm. Taylor. 



GARDEN PARTIES. 

 These enjoyable n-iinions, which have happily become 

 an institution in the country, are the source of pleasure of 

 the purest and sweetest character. The owner of a gar- 

 den, surrounded by invited friends inhaling the fragrance 

 and appreciating the beauties which Nature has provided 

 at the summons of well-applied skill, ought at that mo- 

 ment to be happy — happy in creating happiness to others, 

 and at the same time adding to his own store. And the 

 gardener, too, feehng that his labour has not been in 

 vain; seeing that, of however lowly birth he may be, it is 

 in his power to minister to the enjoyment of the great 

 and good — yes, and good— for true greatness and true 



No. 1SS7.— Vol. LI., Old Series. 



