SEPTEMBER 29 



growing,' by John Wright, F.E.H.S. (171 Fleet Street, 

 London), is clear, comprehensive, and concise, giving 

 excellent information on pruning and general cultivation 

 of all outdoor fruit-trees, and currants, gooseberries, and 

 raspberries. It makes no allusion to orchard houses, nor 

 to vines under glass or out of doors. 



Samphire is a herb I have never yet tried to grow. I 

 believe it is only to be had wild in its integrity from 

 Norfolk, where they still make quite an industry of 

 gathering and pickling it. The fresh Samphire is only to 

 be found in August and September. 



A critic in ' The Guardian ' on ' Pot-Pourri ' says it is a 

 mistake to prune Chymonanthus fragrans after flowering 

 in the winter, as I suggested ; and adds, * it should be done 

 late in the summer by shortening back the year's growths 

 to a quarter of their own length or less, to throw the 

 vigour of the shrub into the short flowering spur rather 

 than let it run into long, leafy and flowerless branches.' 

 I think this quite true, but I call that cutting-back. 

 What I mean by * pruning ' is taking out real branches, and 

 I think that is desirable here in this light soil with 

 nearly all the flowering shrubs directly after flowering, 

 as well as cutting-back later in the year if they make too 

 much growth. 



I wonder the claret-coloured Vine is so seldom 

 planted. The foliage is handsome and effective, and the 

 little bunches of black grapes are interesting, and remind 

 one of the ornaments in early Gothic churches. The 

 stunted bunches are quite different in shape from those 

 of ordinary grapes. They grow well up a pole, and make 

 a good rough arch. Pancretiums are excellent green- 

 house plants and well worth growing, especially P. 

 fragrans. But in a small garden and greenhouse all these 

 bulbs and plants want remembering and looking after in 

 order to get a good succession, and the head of the 



