September 5, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
185 
Golden Feather, and angles of Veronica repens, a green carpet 
plant of much promise and employed for the purpose for the 
first time. Those beds are very beautiful, the Alternanthera 
amcena being especially rich. But the favourite beds, judging 
by the manner in which the public crowd around them, are what 
are popularly termed the “ coffin beds,” a somewhat gloomy yet 
withal an expressive term. There are two beds each nearly 
20 feet long and 6 feet 3 inches wide near the broad end, 
tapering to 4 feet 6 inches at the narrow end. The two beds 
are divided by a circular bed 6 feet 6 inches in diameter. A 
diagram of this circle is submitted to show the extreme sim- 
plicity of the planting ; also of one of the long beds (fig. 27), 
the other being an exact counterpart. 
1, Raised edging, Echeveria glauca (double row). 
2, Alternanthera amcena (double row). 
3, 3, 3, Golden Feather (narrow line). 
4, Mentha Pulegium gibraltarica (groundwork). 
5, Sedum glaucum edged with Kleinia repens. 
6, Alternanthera paronychyoides major. 
The whole of the centres are planted with Alternanthera 
surrounded with narrow lines of Golden Feather. These im- 
part colour, lines of the same plants being arranged near the 
margin of the bed forming an admirable balance ; but perhaps 
the chief charm consists in the 6-inch band (5 in the diagram), 
of Sedum glaucum, with an edging next the Golden Feather 
of Kleinia repens, the erect growth of which appearing above 
the Sedum is highly effective yet extremely chaste. The 
colours are well displayed by the green groundwork of Mentha, 
and the whole arrangement evinces taste in conception and 
‘skill in manipulation, for in point of finish the beds are as 
near faultless as we can imagine beds to be. The round bed 
(fig. 28), has a margin (1) of Sedum acre elegans, a band (2) of 
Leucophyton Brownii, 
and an inner line (3) 
carried round the 
rays of the star and 
circle of Alternanthera 
amoena, the rays and 
centre (4) being planted 
| with Sedum glaucum 
; dotted with Pachyphy- 
ton bracteosum, and 
the angles (5) with the 
same Sedum dotted 
with Cacalia tomen- 
tosa. The appearance 
of this bed is quiet and 
sober, and shows to ad- 
vantage the two long 
beds which it divides, 
and with which it is 
associated. 
Other portions of the park deserve notice, but only one can be 
alluded to—the Alpine Garden, and this only because it places 
under the eye at a glance five green carpet plants—namely, 
Pyrethrum Tchihatchewi, excellent for large banks and dells ; 
Leptinella scariosa, with its much-toothed leaves, and well 
adapted for the same purpose; Cerastium arvense, too dull in 
colour and unleyel in growth to be recommended ; the Mentha 
above referred to, admittedly one of the best green carpet 
plants ; and Veronica repens, dwarf, rich, green, the only real 
rival the Mentha has, and likely to be heard of again. To 
make a sixth green carpet plant there is in an adjacent bed 
Herniaria glabra of low slender growth and graceful, yet 
somewhat dull in colour. The two most useful plants of this 
nature are the Mentha and Veronica. 
It is pleasing to hear that, while it is not unusual for 25,000 
visitors to assemble in the park during Sunday evenings in 
summer, it is very rare that any injury is done to plants, 
shrubs, or flowers—the best proof that the excellent work of 
Mr. Roger, the Superintendent, and his assistants is appre> 
ciated.—J. WRIGHT. 
GRAPES SHANKING. 
Is the shanking of Grapes more than usually prevalent this 
year? Itisso with me, not because the Vine roots are too 
dry, for abundant supplies of water have been given to the 
inside borders, and to outside also during hot dry weather; 
nor is it because of stagnant moisture at the roots, for the 
borders rest on the limestone rock and water gets away quickly ; 
nor is it on account of overcropping last year or this, for the 
Vines which bore the lightest crops both seasons are the worst 
shanked. 
The Vines (planted in a span-roofed house 40 feet by 20 in the 
spring of 1874) are very strong, the foliage large, leathery, and 
clean. They are Black Hamburgh, fine in bunch, berry, and 
colour, and scarcely a shanked berry ; Alicante, good bunches, 
no sharking ; Madresfield Court, good bunches, large berries, a 
few bunches shanked at the tips; Dr. Hogg, fine long bunches, 
some few shanked at the tips; Buckland Sweetwater, large 
loose bunches, very large berries, many shanked in every 
bunch ; Muscat Hamburgh grafted on Black Hamburgh, splen- 
did bunches, but more than half the berries gone—this has 
always behaved badly ; Ferdinand de Lesseps, no shanking ; 
Golden Queen, a strong three-year-old Vine with only three 
bunches, which look as if they would go altogether ; a Black 
Hamburgh and Madresfield Court planted in a narrow border 
in the middle of house, which cannot get a drop of water except 
from the can, have each a good crop with not a berry shanked, 
and quite up to the mark in size and finish, though densely 
shaded by the roof Vines.—BLAcK HAMBURGH. 
THE TRANSFUSION OF ESSENCES. 
HAVING recently read your remarks on the transfusion of 
essences in the Journal of the 15th ult. leads me to believe 
that other cases of it may interest you, though perhaps the one 
! I have to record is a more common occurrence. 
In January last I inserted buds of last year’s growth of the 
White Sweetwater Vine into the main stem of a Black Ham- 
burgh. Three of them grew; two are bearing fruit, and are 
