24<8 Suspended Trellises in early Forcing-houses, 



Art. X. Description and Result of suspended Trellises in early 

 Forcing-houses, as a Method ^or more readily forwarding Vines, 

 &;c. By Mr. Charles Pullar, Gardener to J. L. Goldsmid, Esq., 

 Champion Hiil, Camberwell, 



I HAVE under my charge a hot-house, of the curvilinear con- 

 struction, 40 ft. long, heated by hot water, with vines planted 

 outside, and introduced through the front wall ; there are also 

 vines planted inside on the back wall, trained on the spur system ; 

 and there is a pine-pit in the centre, containing pines in a fruit- 

 ing state. The command of artificial heat is sufficient, and there 

 is no obstruction of light ; but, when the sun shines bright, the 

 internal air is heated to excess, as the means of admitting the 

 external air are limited ; consequently the vines are exposed to 

 extremes in sunny weather ; and, if not carefully attended to, they 

 would receive a severe check in cloudy weather and in cold 

 nights, being near the glass. 



To give, in some measure, more uniformity to the heat, I 

 lowered the vines by tying them to iron rods belonging to another 

 house not in use ; fixing their lower ends, and suspending the 

 upper ends at pleasure. One half of the vines in the house were 

 thus let down from the glass about 3 ft. or 4- ft. The other vines 

 were trained in the usual manner to the fixed trellises, 12 in. from 

 the glass. 



The comparative results, even in the same house, after two 

 months' trial, were in favour of the lowered vines, which were more 

 than two weeks in advance ; they being in a state to be thinned 

 in their bunches, while the vines kept near the glass were only 

 in flower. Another advantage was in pi'oductiveness ; as, though 

 those nearest the glass showed bunches of grapes generally, yet, 

 owing to the variableness of the season, and their being so near 

 to the wet, many of the bunches failed in perfecting their fruit, 

 and were consequently useless. 



The above remarks give a proof favourable to the experiment 

 of suspended trellises, upon the conditions mentioned, at the first 

 stages of the course of forcing; and, also, after the fruit has been 

 gathered, it will be of beneficial effect in preventing the vine 

 leaves from being dried up ; and they will be better preserved to 

 perfect their fruit buds for the after-season, likewise affording 

 succession of fruit in the same house. The mode I had recourse 

 to was only temporary ; but the trellis might be constructed in 

 such a manner as to be lowered or raised at ease, and in little 

 time ; so that, if it were found necessary to give air to the back 

 of a hot-house in case of several successive sunny days, the vines 

 might be let down, and at night raised to any distance that might 

 be deemed proper. 



I have thus given but general ideas; however, at the end of 



