THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



223 



bloom' in two weeks, and we intended 

 to go again with yourself, Mrs. Treat, 

 and others. Alas ! the bud shot up 

 with almost visible ra[)idity, and bloom- 

 ed on Sunday evening. I saw it at its 

 second opening, when it was somewhat 

 the worse. At its first opening, the 

 flower rested on the water, a pure 

 white blossom a foot in diameter, and 

 filled the air with a delicious pine-apple 

 perfume ; at its second, it was raised 

 above the surface, the petals had be- 

 como a pale rose, and were strongly re- 

 flexed, while the perfume was entirely 

 gone. The stamens were a deep rose 

 color, and folded down, so as to com- 

 pletely cover the stigma, etc. On this 

 second evening, a strange event took 

 place, which we unfortunately did not 

 see, as we had to go to the train, but 

 which was communicated by those who 

 did see it. About half-past seven p. m. 

 the stamens suddenly lifted themselves, 

 and with quite a perceptible jerk shook 

 a mass of pollen down on the stigma. 

 It seems hardly credible, but it is true ; 

 this Victoria had produced four great 

 leaves, with another partly unrolled, 

 and had bloomed, all from a plant six 

 inches high, with one small leaf, in just 

 four months. One would think that 

 the forming of its cells ought to be visi- 

 ble with a hand lens. 



To give completeness to this little 

 sketch, let me quote from the American 

 Cyclopcedia : " The flower is of two 

 days' duration. The first day it opens 

 about 6 p. M., and remains opfni until 

 about the same hour next morning ; in 

 this stage it is cup-shaped, twelve to 

 sixteen inches across, with numerous 

 pure white petals, and emits a delight- 

 ful fragrance. Tlie second evening, the 

 lower opens again, but it presents an 

 Ltirely different appearance ; the 

 )etals are now of a rosy-pink color, and 

 jflexed, or bent downward from the 

 juter, to form a handsome coronet, but 

 low without odor ; the flower closes 



toward morning, and during the day it 

 sinks beneath the surface to ripen the 



BAGGING GRAPES. 



Within a few years, the bagging of 

 Grapes has occupied the attention of 

 many horticulturists. One who has 

 given much attention to this subject, 

 says: " If the application be made in 

 time, the paper bag will preserve the 

 cluster in more exquisite perfection 

 than can be secured in any other way. 

 The Grapes come forth luscious and 

 beautiful enough to amaze Nature 

 herself." 



When*to bag. — The only safe rule is 

 to apply the bag as soon as the cluster 

 is formed. If delayed too long, the 

 spore of disease may have attached it- 

 self to the berry and result in rot. 

 Some have applied the bag before blos- 

 soming has taken place. As the new 

 shoot is very tender and brittle, great 

 care must be exercised not to break it. 



How to hag. — Take manilla or any 

 other paper bags ; cut ofi* the upper 

 corners, in order to wrap the upper 

 portion around the cane ; place the 

 cluster inside the bag, wrap the bag 

 around the cane, and then pin it. 



Size of bag. — This depends upon the 

 usual length of the cluster,- and whether 

 more than one cluster is placed in a 

 bag, ' two or three pound bag is suf- 

 ficient for most single clusters. 



Results of bagging. — The cluster will 

 average larger, ripen later, color in gen- 

 eral better, produce larger berries, and 

 the bloom will be preserved more per- 

 fect than in those not bagged. As to 

 flavor, ojnnions vary, some think it is 

 better, others that it is not improved. 



Bagging as a preventio)i of rot. — If 

 applied early enough, it is a j)reven- 

 tion. Rot is found in some cases in 

 the bags, but mostly takes place after 

 the Grapes are ripe. 



