General Notices. 415 



pots, and placed in the vinery. If it is desired to have fruit the next year, 

 a portion of the strongest must be placed in the best situations, near the 

 glass, and forwarded, by successive shift ngs, into the fruiting pots; but, as 

 these never succeed so well as canes from year-old plants, I always leave 

 them, the remainder of the season, in the eight-inch pots, allowing them to 

 make as much wood as they will, without stopping them, as this induces 

 the formation of a good stock of roots. The compost for these shifiings 

 should consist of strong, fibry loam, very roughly broken, with a little ad- 

 mixture of rotteninanure. 



In producing fruiting canes, from year-old plants, thorough drainage is 

 indispensably necessary, and, unless this is carefully attended to, the results 

 will be unsatisfactory. Therefore, presuming that the fruiting pots are at 

 least fifteen inches deep, six at the very least should he open drainage, for 

 which purpose 1 have found old biicks, broken rather small, to answer ex- 

 ceedingly well; amongst which,! have occasionally mixtd some rough 

 charcoal, with very good effect. The fruiting pots being thus prepared, se- 

 lect the strongest and best-rooted vines fiom the stock, and pot them into the 

 fruiting pots at once. The soil I use, and should recommend, is chopped 

 turf, from a heap which has been laid togetner one year, mixed with a few 

 finely-broken bones ; this is the best medium for their roots. 



Soma years ago, I happened to hear an exceedingly clever and intelligent 

 man descanting on the culture of vines in pots, and he made a remark, 

 which, I think it worth while to record, because it ought always to be 

 avoided ; he said, " vines are great feeders, and the more nourishment you 

 can crowd into a pot, in the shape of rich manures, bones, and the like, 

 the better it will be for them." To myself, who, at the time, was but a 

 tyro in pot- vine-culture, this seemed plausible enough, but further experi- 

 ence soon convinced me of its fallacy : that they are gross feeders is quite 

 true, but they must have siimulatives a little at a time, in a clear liquid state, 

 and the medium through which this percolates, must be as porous as possi- 

 ble, in order that the spongioles may not be gorged with too much nourish- 

 ment, otherwise the result is, long-jointed, weak, unfruitful wood. The 

 three great requisites, then, are perfect drainage, pure soil, and stimulation, 

 at intervals, in a liquid stale. 



When the vines are potted, place them in good situations along the vinery; 

 or wlierever the canes can be trained near the glass, and keep them liberally 

 supplied with pure water until they have well filled the pots with roots, 

 when they may occasionally have some liquid manure ; the latter is best 

 made by stirring sheep or deer dung in water, and leaving it to settle, using 

 only the clear liquid ; and always, in every stage, both that and the water 

 employed should be applied in a tepid state. When the shoots have formed 

 six or seven joints, stop them, and remove the lateral from the terminal 

 bud, keeping the other laterals closely stopped at the first joint; tliis will 

 cause the top eye to break again, and give the buds below increased strength 

 to bear fruit ; stop the canes again at five feet, and ihey will not require lur- 

 ther attention than stopping the axillary shoots, and applying water. When 

 the growth is over, prune off all the axillary shoots at once, and secure the 



