THE CULTUEE OF THE GRAPE. 211 



erected houses, in which the vines had been planted last 

 February, I found the young shoots all dead for eight and 

 ten inches back, and some even more ; and, for the cause of 

 this calamity, I could not obtain a satisfactory explanation, 

 the blame being laid upon the sheet glass with which the 

 houses were glazed. Upon inquiring of what the borders 

 consisted, I was told that they had received a large admix- 

 ture of dead carcasses, such as those of deer, horses, &c., 

 and of bones. On more recent inquiry, I was also informed 

 that the death of the young shoots was caused by the flue 

 running four times through the back walls ; but I know of no 

 case of this kind ever having occurred before." (The writer 

 then says, neither the glass nor the flues can be the cause of 

 it.) He adds, " I conclude the malady has arisen from 

 putrefaction in the border ; for, while these carcasses are in 

 a putrescent state, noxious matters must arise, which have 

 proved a baneful stimulant to the tender roots. I feel in- 

 terested in the case, and shall take it kind should any corre- 

 spondent furnish me with an opinion on the subject. If the 

 evil originated from carrion, (as in all likelihood it has,) 

 writers of treatises would do well to first prove its good 

 efiects before they so highly recommend such matters to the 

 imhlic. —Bohert Elliott, Horn's Castle, Nov. 24^A, 1847. 



" (We have always discountenanced ihe use of carrion in 

 this manner. The vines are probably poisoned." — Editorial 

 Remarks.) — Gardeners'' Chronicle, 1S4:7, page 798. 



At the rooms of the London Horticultural Society, De- 

 cember, 1847, were exhibited from probably the above gar- 

 dens, (by Mr. Roberts,) Muscat of Alexandria, and two 

 other sorts of grapes, for which the Banksian medal was 

 awarded.* 



Robert Errington, of Oulton, recommends covering the 

 grape border with barn-yard manure, two feet deep, over the 



* That Mr. Roberts, and the vineries under his care, were the subjects referred to 

 in the above coniniimication, has since been denied ; but no one can censure him for 

 applying the article to himself, particularly when the concluding sentence is con- 

 sidered. 



