lietrosptxtivc Criticism. 491 



I believe that I stated, !n a former letter, that I had a fine variety of muscat, 

 called the Candia, from Mr. Macdonald of Dalkeith, last year. I received 

 it, as I formerly stated to you, a rootless branch, and very full, to all appear- 

 ance, of fine fruit buds ; but, although it showed such an abundance of buds, 

 they all dwindled and dropped, as Mr. Fish's did. As many of my other vines 

 had succeeded under far more unfavourable circumstances, I suspected that I 

 had not been sufficiently careful in cutting off" all those warty excrescences 

 peculiar to the vine, and that there were underground suckers arising from 

 them ; and, upon inspection, I found this to be the case, and carefully detached 

 three or four very strong ones, springing up like strong asparagus buds. In a 

 short time the vine showed great vigour, and, by a judicious attention to the 

 stopping system (on which the success of the pot culture of grapes so much 

 depends), I soon had a show of plenty of fruit; but, as I was more desirous 

 of fine wood for the second season than a crop of fruit for the first, I detached 

 all but three bunches, which swelled off" finely, and were of excellent flavour. 

 The vine is still in the same (f B.) pot into which it was first coiled, and has 

 ai: !;his time a beautiful display of fifteen bunches of grapes, now changing to 

 a fine pale amber colour; and under no system can grapes swell off" more finely, 

 or promise a higher degree of maturation. I beg here to remark, and it is a cir- 

 cumstance worthy of notice and of great importance, for I believe few besides 

 those who have been long in the habit of cultivating the grape in pots suc- 

 cessfully are aware of it, that grapes are brought to a much higher degree of 

 penection in pots, or when the roots are confined to a congenial situation, than 

 by the usual practice. 



None of my vines from coilers of last season, which were properly prepared, 

 have missed fruiting ; and, of course, I took in none but what I considered 

 were perfectly so : where there are many, they cannot all enjoy favourable 

 situations, or have equal attention paid to them ; consequently, as in every 

 thing else of the kind, there will always be some, like pines, not fit for fruiting 

 till a third season; but, in a general way, like the pine, they are to be fruited 

 in perfection the second season. I have had a great quantity of fine pot grapes 

 this season, from established vines; but 1 had, and have, together, 306 bunches 

 of firie grapes from coilers of last season, and upon forty coilers. One white 

 muscadhie has twenty bunches left on; and they promise to be fine, which I 

 have no d->ubt they will be : it showed nearly four bunches from every eye. 

 The Candia, just noticetl, with fifteen bunches, showed ninety-five this season; 

 and it promises as well for a fine crop the third season, as if it were a five-year- 

 old vine from a single eye, or usual cutting. 



I have had (1 say have had, as many were cut for the table in May and 

 June) about seventy bunches upon cuttings of this season ; and one white 

 Frontignan has, at this time, fifteen bunches. It had sixteen retained ; but one 

 was detached, being small and crowding some of the rest. Twelve coilers of 

 this season have sixty-eight fine bunches on them, and promise well for next 

 season. Any that chance to miss fruiting, if I find that I require them, I in- 

 fallibly make fruiters the second season. 



Two small cuttings of the Chasseias musque, which I received from the 

 Horticultural Society last year, have, at this time, six bunches to each; and, 

 I believe, will be as fine as the kind can produce. 



The purple Constantia coiler of last year, questioned, is no deception ; for, 

 had the small fibre retained been detached, I do not believe that it would have 

 made the slightest difference as to its first year's i)roduce ; and I may detach 

 every root and fibre from it next season without the fear of its not producing 

 a crop, if retained in a root temperature of from 90° to 100°, till the fruit ijs 

 perfectly set. 



If I were to notice what we have done here by the removal of very old 

 routed vines, the first, and especially the second season ; or, if Mr. Fish were 

 to see them, I think he would be convinced of the excellence of my system. 



Until the pot culture of the grape is more enthusiastically entered into, and 

 \li real utility appreciated as it merits to be, the coiling system will never be 



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