THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 307 



not one of those g;rand subjects that render a large expenditure 

 necessary before its flowers can be enjoyed, for a stock can be 

 obtained for a trifling outlay, and, planted in any good garden soil, 

 they will grow freely, and when well established, produce a goodly 

 number of flowers. 



The Christmas Rose is of course well known, but the usual 

 practice of growing it in solitary clumps along the front of a mixed 

 border, is not the best that could be adopted when a supply of cut 

 flowers is required. It blooms naturally at midwinter, when the 

 weather is mild and open ; but their production is checked by severe 

 frosts, and the rains and snows destroy their purity. The course 

 I should suggest is that a rather large bed be formed in a sheltered 

 position in the kitchen garden, and then they can be protected with 

 a frame or one of the portable structures now before the public. 

 The plant preservers manufactured by Messrs. Boulton and Paul, 

 of Norwich, are the best for the purpose. The frame should bo put 

 over the bed towards the end of October, and the lights opened 

 sufficiently to admit of a free circulation of air. In frosty weather 

 they must be closed, and a covering applied to keep out the frost. 

 Strong plants may also be lifted and planted in large pots, and then 

 placed in a cold frame for the winter. They must be lifted at once, 

 with as little disturbance to the roots as possible. 



The month of October is in every way favourable to forming 

 beds of the Christmas E,ose, and all the preparation the gronnd 

 need undergo is to apply a good dressing of manure, and then dig 

 it up deeply. They should be planted about eighteen inches apart 

 each way, unless the frame within which they are to be covered is 

 narrow, and then it will be better to have the rows not less than 

 a yard apart. 



In sheltered situations away from towns, in the southern and 

 western counties, protection will not be so essential as in the 

 northern parts of the country. Protection is of the utmost value 

 in the neighbourhood of towns, because of the liability of the 

 flowers to be disfigured by the impurities with which the atmo- 

 sphere is frequently charged at the time the flowers are produced. 



CHOICE GRAPES EOR AMATEURS. 



BY ■WULIAM COLE, 

 The Grove Vineyard, Feltham. 



|]X this communication I propose to offer a few remarks 

 on grapes especially adapted to the requirements of ama- 

 teurs, and to briefly explain why some of the most 

 popular grapes at present in cultivation should not be 

 planted by this class of cultivators. So many of the 

 finest flavoured grapes require great skill and a special knowledge 

 of their peculiarities to bring them to perfection, that it is of the 

 utmost importance that amateurs should exercise great care ia 



October. 



