Management of the Vinery. 25 



Listera (Neouiii) Nidus avis, &c. Tlio nictliod of proceeding is veiy simple. 

 The ferns, &c., may be planted in hoxes of any size or shape, fnniislied with 

 glazed sides, and a glazed lid. The hottom of the box should he tilled with 

 nearly equal |)ortions othog moss, vegetabU; mould, and sand; and I he ferns, 

 after planting, should be most copiously watered, and the superfhious water 

 allowed to drain olf through a j)lug-liole in the bottom of the box: the l)lug 

 is then to be put in tight, the glazed lid applied, and no fariher care is requi- 

 site, than that of keeping the box in the light. Jii this way many jjlants will 

 grow for years, without requiring any fresh su|>])ly of water. It is scarcely 

 necessary to point out the advantages which this plan (subject to some modi- 

 fications, according to the nature of the enclosed plants) offers to the horti- 

 culturist, and to the physiological botanist. To the one, it furnishes a ready 

 mode of im|)orting most plants, without risk, from the most distant regions of 

 the globe; and, to the other, :he oppornmify of making more accurate exper- 

 iments than have hitherto been practicable, on many important jjoints con- 

 nected with vegetable economy ; such as on the germination of seeds, and 

 the developement-of plants in various kinds of air, and soil, &c. ; but upon 

 this part of my subject I need not here enlarge. I1ie nmnerous exj)eriments 

 I have alreatly made have, I think, established one im|)ortant tact — that the 

 air of London, when treeil from adventitious matter, is as fitted to support 

 vegetable life as the air of the country. 1 cannot conclude this short account, 

 without expressing my warmest acknowledgments to the Messrs. Loddiges, 

 who have at all times furnished me with every |)lant I required from their 

 invaluable collection. — N. 13. Ward, JVelldose Square, London. jVarch (J, 

 1834.— Gard. Mag. for May. 



On the Management of the Vinery. In order to prevent the fruit from 

 suffering from the effects of damp, (an evil so often complained of in vineries) 

 the young wood shonkl always be kept thin, by taking the tops irom the 

 shoots, three or four joints above the fruit; and not allowing them to ramble 

 through the house, shading the fruit from the sun, and preventing the free 

 circulation of air among the bunches and bori'ies. For the same reason, the 

 lateral shoots, which push from the young wood, should be cut or pinched 

 off at the first or second joint, so as not to endanger the bursting of the bud 

 on the main shoot. 



It is well known, that every place from which the sun and air are partially 

 excluded, is sure to be damp: the walls of a house, for instance, which are 

 covered with ivy, if it is not in a very dry situation, will be found wet and 

 uncomfortable in the inside. When this is considered, it will a])[)ear evident 

 that, upon the same principle, the vinery in which the wood is not properly 

 thinned, nuist suffer in the same manner, tliough in a less degree. Particular 

 attention should be given to the thinning of the fruit ; taking out most berries 

 in the heart of the bunch ; leaving those towards the extremities ; and making 

 the whole very thin. Those kinds of gra|)es the bunches of which are of a 

 branchy nature, such as the black Hamburgh, the Syrian or white Nice, &c. 

 should always be stretched out a little, and tied up with a small piece of mat- 

 ting, that they may have room to swell, and be kept from crowding each 

 other. This is not only a means of preserving the bunches from damp, but 

 also of having better-swelled and tiner-flavored berries. It is a common 

 practice with those who have fruit in their vineries, when the season is far 

 advanced, to keej) u[) the temi)erature of the .house throughout the night, with 

 artificial heat, and to let their fires go nearly out when the morning dawns. 

 I do not, however, approve altoj>ether of this plan. Let any person go into 

 a vinery in the morning, before it is aired, and when the sun is shining ujioii 

 it, he will feel the atmosphcn; moist; and on examining the fruit, will |)cr- 

 ceive that it is covered with dew. Now, if this moistine be allowed to re- 

 main for any length of time, it certainly must jirove injurious; and to remedy 

 the evil seems to be an object worth attention. 



VOL. I. NO, I. D 



