December 19, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
473 
ing property of the female, and a fruit of the size of the male 
20 inches and more in length, short neck, regular in thickness, 
few spines, deep green skin, very handsome, and very good. 
Tt succeeds admirably under frame culture, and is only a little 
less hardy than the ridge varieties. Such a valuable trio seldom 
fall to the lot of a raiser at the onset, which shows that 
proceeding upon the principle of selection is preferable to 
the haphazard system of crossing, which results in varieties 
the merits of which principally rest upon the superior culture 
bestowed upon them so as to bring them to perfection. — 
G, ABBEY. 
HEATING BY PARAFFIN STOVES. 
I USED a small stove all last winter and it never harmed any 
plants in the house, and my house contains a great variety. 
This year I made a larger stove from the plan of your corre- 
spondent “EH. H.” at page 261 of this Journal for this year. 
It stands 21 inches high, and is 6 inches in diameter and holds 
one quart of oil. The oil I burn is ls. per gallon, and I was 
able to keep up the temperature of my house (a lean-to 10 by 7) 
to 42° during every night this week, without any covering over 
the house, even when there has been from 10° and upwards of 
frost. I keep the wick trimmed, fill up the oil once a day so 
that the lamp may not burn out, and keep the lamp turned up 
to one height.—F. W. 
[Our correspondent “E. H.” has informed us that he has 
succeeded perfectly with a bed of Melons raised and ripened 
entrely with a paraffin stove for supplying artificial heat. 
—EDs.] 
NOTES ON GRAPES. 
I FOR one would like to see the character of every Grape in 
cultivation discussed in the Journal of Horticulture. That 
such a discussion would prove interesting to all and instructive 
to many there need be no doubt, as there is no plant cultivated 
under glass to which so much attention is paid at the present 
time as to the Grape Vine. To set the ball rolling in the 
matter suggested, I will state my experience with a pretty 
extensive collection of Grapes. 
lt has often been asserted that Black Hamburgh and Muscat 
of Alexandria are the two best Grapes in cultivation. In this 
I fully coincide, especially in the case of the Hamburgh ; but 
the Muscat is only a Grape for those experienced in Vine-grow- 
ing, as it will not do well with either the ordinary attention or 
the moderate temperature sufficient for the Hamburgh. In 
these respects it is not the best white Grape; with plenty of 
heat and good management it is. 
Respecting many new Grapes I think they are like many 
new boilers, which make their débiit as being something to sur- 
pass everything else, but in a year or two they are heard little 
of. I believe Pearson’s Golden Queen an exception to the 
above rule. I have grown it since its very first appearance 
in public, and I know of many others who have done the 
same ; and in every instance it has given perfect satisfaction. 
-Amongst its many good qualities, one of its greatest is its 
hardy constitution and the very free way in which it grows. 
Tt is just the Grape, I should say, that would do admirably in 
an unheated house, and in such a house I mean to try it. 
Briefly, it grows well, forms fine-shaped bunches, sets well, 
ripens thoroughly without any trouble, becomes of a splendid 
golden colour, is of excellent flavour, and lastly it keeps intact 
when others around it can hardly be kept from decaying. 
Madresfield Court is still sustaining the good character it 
showed at first with many growers. It isa Grape well worth 
growing to supply fruit from July to October. It has hand- 
Some bunches and berries, and fine flavour. It has also the 
Means of growing well; and without this tendency Vines are 
next to worthless. I have never found it showing any inclina- 
tion to decay as it has been said to do with some cultivators. 
What has become of Waltham Cross Seedling Grape? I had 
it when first sent out, but the berries showed such a tendency 
to decay before it could be used that I have not had it for 
some years. Information on this Grape is wanted. Let me put 
the same question about White Lady Downe’s. This Grape was 
to take the place of all other late white Grapes ; and wherever 
there was a house filled with Black Lady Downe’s it was 
expected that the half of them would be rooted out to give 
place to the White, then there would be a supply of Grapes 
in two colours as late as anyone chose to keep them. Has 
this come to pass? Not that Iam aware of. Indeed I cannot 
name a place where White Lady Downe’s is cultivated, and 
my acquaintance with Grape-growing places is not very limited. 
I saw the Grape some years ago, and then did not consider it 
either good in colour or flavour, and it had a bad habit of pro- 
ducing small stoneless berries. Black Lady Downe’s is not 
altogether free from this defect. Its late-keeping quality is 
the best property this Grape possesses. Its thick skin is not 
pleasing, and on this account it is not being quite so generally 
planted as it was. Gros Colman is one that is taking its place 
a good deal, and its thin skin and fine appearance qualify it 
for its position. With us it has always been best when it was 
ripened in September and used from the middle of November 
onwards. 
Dr. Hogg and Duchess of Buccleuch are about very similar 
as regards merit. The Doctor is the most to be preferred of the 
two, as it is of equal flavour and never shanks nor cracks. 
These and the Grizzly and White Frontignans might all be 
classed together for small size of berry and fine flavour. 
Buckland Sweetwater is a Grape seasonable from May until 
November, with qualities much above the average. It does 
not require much heat; bunches and berries large, colour good, 
flavour fine. Foster’s White Seedling possesses the same cha- 
racter. Golden Hamburgh is more tender and less worthy ; 
ditto Golden Champion ; and I can give no better verdict 
about Duke of Buccleuch. 
Gros Guillaume is a fine winter Grape when it colours well ; 
and to insure this it must not be overcropped. Black Alicante is 
a useful, easily managed, free-fruiting late Grape, which, I pre- 
sume, no person can say muck against. Calabrian Raisin and 
Trebbiano are both useful late white Grapes, superior to Syrian, 
Royal Vineyard, Muscat Eschollata, or Tokay ; but the latter 
may be placed after Trebbiano. Mrs. Pince is a good late 
black companion to the Alicante. Venn’s Black Muscat I take 
to be the same as my Muscat Hamburgh, and neither of them 
is worth planting more than one cane of at the most. 
At the present time my selection of the most useful Grapes 
would be for from April to October—Black : Black Hamburgh, 
Madresfield Court. White: Buckland Sweetwater, Foster’s 
Seedling. From October to Apml—Black : Gros Colman, Ali- 
cante, Gros Guillaume, Lady Downe’s. White: Pearson’s 
Golden Queen, Muscat of Alexandria, Calabrian Raisin, Treb- 
biano. To be planted in proportion to the order in which they 
are named. Half a dozen good early and late Grapes are often 
more serviceable than three times as many different varieties. 
—A KITCHEN GARDENER. 
NOTES ON A CONSERVATORY. 
Tue fine large conservatory adjoining the residence of Colonel 
Lloyd, Lillesden, Hawkhurst, is at all times worthy inspection, 
and especially so during the late autumn and winter months. 
The site itself is very good, commanding as it does a view of the 
fine undulating pleasure grounds in which it is situated, and also 
one of the many bits of picturesque scenery for which Kent is 
fameus. It is a plain rectangular building with a three-quarter 
span roof. Two large beds are in the centre, and a narrow 
staging runs round the front of the house, which is usually kept 
filled with florists’ and other flowers interspersed with foliage 
plants, and fringed with Isolepis, Lycopodivm, Panicum, &c. 
The beds are filled with specimen Palms, Ferns, Dracznas, 
Camellias, Abutilons, and other choice foliage and flowering 
plants. Yucca aloifolia variegata is well grown and in good 
numbers, and is a fine decorative plant. The Camellias mostly 
planted out were remarkably healthy and well set with buds, some 
flowers of Alba plena being already expanded. Mr. Channing, 
the able gardener there, uses the knife freely among Camellias 
should any of them be at all unshapely, and others would do 
well tc follow his example. Among the above were interspersed 
well-flowered standard Chrysanthemums, standard Pelargoniums 
(a good way of growing this class of plants: for similar work), 
Celosias, Salvias, &c. The plants are all well grown and of good 
shape, consequently there is no necessity to arrange them closely 
to hide defects, which is too often the case in many conservatories. 
A good margin of Lycopodium denticulatum is planted round 
the house, with the exception of the ends. These are filled with 
Sedum acre elegans, and in thisis dotted a double line of Nertera 
depressa. These were well berried, and we neyer saw them used 
with better effect. 
The pillars and girders are covered with climbers, which are 
always well managed at Lillesden. Habrothamnus elegans will 
be a beautiful sight at Christmas, and a good-sized plant of 
Bougainyillea glabra trained up the back walland on to the roof 
was flowering profusely for the third time this year, the colour 
