688 Cause and Cure of the bad Setting of Grapes. 



Tokay. I am not certain of its name as I never saw the 

 sort before ; nor could any gentleman or gardener who saw it 

 tell me what it was : but three good practical gardeners, to 

 whom I sent single berries, informed me it Was the Palestine. 

 Be it what it may, it is an excellent grape, of good flavour, 

 and one of the best of keepers : the fruit was ripe in July, 

 and I cut the last bunch in Christmas week. The berries are 

 of a dark red colour, and of an oval form. 



I presume that the following observations and treatment of 

 this vine will be equally applicable to many other bad-setting 

 sorts : — 



On close inspection, when the blossoms are fully expanded, 

 it will be obvious to every observer who is acquainted with 

 the parts of the fructification, that the main cause of their 

 abortiveness is a defect in the filament, and not in the anther, 

 as supposed by many. It will be found that the filaments 

 are very small and recurved, so as to render it almost impos- 

 sible for the anthers to come in contact with the stigma of the 

 same blossom, and I am persuaded there is a sufficient quan- 

 tity of pollen on the anther for the fecundation of the stigma ; 

 but so awkwardly is the anther situated, that in very few 

 instances can the pollen perform its function on the stigma 

 without the assistance of art. The evil may certainly be 

 remedied in a great measure by suspending over its racemes 

 those of any free-setting sort, when the flowers of both 

 are fully open ; or by intermixing with its branches the 

 branches of any free-setting sort that may be expected to 

 flower at the same time : but in many cases neither of these 

 methods would be convenient, nor do I consider them at all 

 necessary. 



About half of the bunches I impregnated with the pollen 

 taken from the bunches of other sorts in flower at the same 

 time, collected with a soft camel-hair pencil, in the following 

 manner : — I took a sheet of white paper, and held it under the 

 bunches from which. I intended to gather the pollen (select- 

 ing those which were fullest in flower), and then applied 

 the pencil gently to various parts of them ; and when the 

 pencil was charged with yellow powder, I took it to the 

 bunches which I wished to fecundate, and touched lightly 

 with the pencil the female parts of the flowers, holding the 

 paper as when gathering the pollen ; and what dust fell into 

 the paper I took up in the pencil, and applied it as before. 

 These did as well as I could wish. All that remained (except 

 two bunches) I impregnated with their own pollen, by work- 

 ing the pencil carefully among the flowers, and by that means 

 dispersing part of the fecundating dust, and collecting part of 



