22 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



grape. Whoever owns a house with a 

 strip of land three feet wide around it 

 may produce an abundant supply of 

 grapes for his family ; and in order to 

 do this he need not spend more than 

 three or four hours' labor during the 

 year. Even he who lives in a rented 

 house may produce his own grapes, as 

 his vines may be planted in tubs of 

 earth which he can carry with him from 

 place to place, bedding them in the soil 

 of each successive home until the time 

 for removal comes, and feeding them 

 with the material which is the universal 

 product of every household, and which 

 might thus be made a means of adding 

 to the comfort and health of its inmates, 

 instead of being, as it now so often is, 

 a medium for the spread of disease. 



The grape vine is ordinarily propa- 

 gated by taking well-ripened wood of 

 the present season's growth, after the 

 leaves have fallen, cutting it into lengths 

 containing two or three joints each, and 

 planting these cuttings in mellow earth 

 at such depth that the top bud shall be 

 just above the surface. In making the 

 cutting, the vine should be cut away 

 close below the lower bud, but a couple 

 of inches should be left above the top 

 bud in order that the cutting may be 

 more easily seen in hoeing. Of cuttings 

 thus managed and kept moderately 

 moist, the larger portion will strike root 

 and will make, during the season, a 

 growth of a few feet of vine and a dense 

 mass of fibrous roots. These make the 

 " yearling " vines of the nurserymen, 

 and are decidely preferable for trans- 

 planting to the older vines in our esti- 

 mation. 



One-year-old vines of the common 

 sorts may be bought at a price which 

 leaves no excuse on that score for neg- 

 lecting to plant. Such a vine, if plant- 

 ed in a well drained and thoroughly 

 pulverized plot of land, will be ready 

 to begin bearing by the third year from 

 the planting, and when in full bearing 



will yield annually from a few pounds 

 to several bushels of fruit, according to 

 the season and to the manner in which 

 it is trained, since it may be kept with- 

 in a very small compass, as in field 

 culture, or allowed to spread at will 

 over a wall or tree. 



Any soil which will produce wheat 

 or corn will produce grapes ; but drain- 

 age either natural or artificial, is essen- 

 tial. If the soil is not naturally rich, 

 it should be well manured, in order to 

 produce a rapid and vigorous growth of 

 vine during the first three years. 



Of varieties, the Concord is the one 

 grape for the million. Vigorous, hardy, 

 productive, of a flavor that only the 

 connoisseur finds defective, it combines 

 more excellencies than most other 

 varieties. For him who plants but one 

 vine, the Concord, therefore, is the vine 

 to plant. When the vineyard becomes 

 large enough to begin to admit of var- 

 iety, then plant the Delaware, which is 

 nearly as hardy as the Concord, while 

 the fruit is of more delicate flavor. — 

 Farm and Fireside. 



FUNKIAS. 



These, botanically known as Funkia, 

 and commonly called Blue or White 

 Day Lilies, according to the color of 

 their flowers, are among the good old- 

 fashioned, hardy perennials we should 

 like to see more recognized in our gar- 

 dens than they are at present. They 

 are natives of China and Japan, perfect- 

 ly hardy, and adapt themselves very 

 agreeably to cultivation in our gardens. 

 There are several sorts well worth grow- 

 ing and not uncommon in our gardens 

 bat there is great confusion in their no- 

 menclature. Siebold's Funkia is a 

 noble plant and forms a large mass 

 of tropical-appearing, glaucous-green 

 leaves which are of themselves very or- 

 namental. It blossoms about or before 

 the middle of July, and has large, 



