Coiling System of Vine Culture. 363 



looked upon by some with indifference, while others have used 

 towards it the language of vituperation. This probably arises 

 from the number of new plans that ai'e broached, and are at 

 first highly praised, but which, when tried, are not attended with 

 success. This makes many practical men look upon every new 

 plan with suspicion, and reject what is good, because they have 

 been deceived by the praise bestowed by the inventors on what 

 they find to be bad. To obviate this, I think it the duty of all 

 gardeners to relate the result of their experience whenever they 

 have tried a new plan ; and, to put an end to those super-super- 

 lative success papers of which they complain, they should expose 

 every case of deception within the range of their knowledge, or 

 simply give an account of their failures, when following certain 

 prescribed modes of operation. To the necessity of doing the 

 first they will probably give a cold assent; while from comply- 

 ing with the last they ai-e deterred, lest it should be supposed 

 by their employers that their failure arose from their not pro- 

 perly understanding the system, and not from any deficiency in 

 the system itself. I have frequently felt the force of such rea- 

 soning; but, considering it to be my duty to make all such feel- 

 ings succumb to the desire of establishing truth, I shall, with 

 your permission, sometimes give you an account of my failures, 

 in order that you and your readers may inform me whether my 

 want of success is to be attributed to my ignorance of the prin- 

 ciples of management, or to the circumstances in which I am 

 placed; or to the delusive vanity of individuals, who, in order to 

 bring themselves into prominent notice, have, without sufficient 

 proof, published, as most beneficial systems, those which from their 

 very nature cannot be attended with general utility or success : and 

 I do this, hoping that, if others should be induced to follow my ex- 

 ample, the usefulness of the Magazine will be increased, and the 

 interests of gardening as an art and science will be promoted. 



Having made these preliminary observations, I shall now pro- 

 ceed to offer some remarks upon a new system of cultivating the 

 vine, the invention of Mr. Mearns ; namely, that of coiling rootless 

 shoots round the inside of a pot, in order to produce fruit from 

 them the same season. Allowing that, after much trouble, a few 

 bunches may be obtained by such a process, especially when tried 

 late in the spring, my present impression is, that it never will 

 be attended with that utility which will warrant its general adop- 

 tion, even if it were practicable ; and that, however interesting 

 it may be, as establishing a phytological doctrine, the discovery 

 can lay no pretensions to the honour enthusiastically claimed for 

 it, of being a general benefit. I must confess that, reasoning 

 upon first principles, my hopes of its success never were high ; 

 but as this season I had some shoots of old and young wood 

 from three to six feet long, I was anxious to give the system a 



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