340 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t October 19, 1876. 



particularly gnarded against. Insects, such as thripa and red 

 spider, are not very apt to appear in great numbers in the 

 short days ; still, when much fire heat has to be used to keep 

 up the temperature these insects do sometimes become trouble- 

 some on early Tines, so that syringing should not be neglected 

 whenever they are known to exist, and the atmosphere should 

 always be kept moist, as this not only tends to keep the foliage 

 healthy ; but insects seldom do much harm when the air is 

 n a moist condition. 



In very early forcing a good deal of the battle is over when 

 the fruit is formed, and the Vines make much quicker progress 

 after this time than before it. As soon as the fruit begins 

 swelling liberal supplies of manure water must be given two or 

 three times a-week at the roots, and this may be continued 

 until the fruit begins to change colour, when nothing but clean 

 water should be given. Most pot Tines produce more bunches 

 than iB sufficient for a crop, and before thinning is commenced 

 all the bunches that are not wanted should be cut off. Of 

 course the worBt are always removed first, and the best shaped 

 and set bunches left for the crop. From six to ten is an 

 average crop, but this mast be regulated according to the size 

 of the bunches and strength of the Tines ; however, it is 

 always better to have one or two bunches less than more than 

 what the Tines will finish properly. When the berries are 

 about the size of peas they must be thinned. Here again it is 

 difficult to say exactly what should be taken or what should 

 be left. In an ordinary way about the half may be thinned 

 out, and the remainder must be left as evenly all over the 

 bench as possible. After the Grapes are thinned the Tines 

 will bear pushing-on in a higher temperature than they have 

 been growing in up to this time. From November to March 

 there are generally not many opportunities of admitting much 

 air, but the top ventilators especially should always be opened 

 more or less on every favourable opportunity, and sun heat 

 during the day is always preferable to fire heat to keep up the 

 desired temperature. Moisture in the air and at the roots, and 

 stopping the shoots as they grow, are the principal require- 

 ments during the latter part of their growth. 



In many instances pot Tines are not started so early as 

 October ; December and January being the months when most 

 are introduced to their forcing quarters. At this time, or any 

 other throughout the winter, they should be treated as recom- 

 mended above, as the difference in the time of starting makes 

 no alteration in their cultivation, excepting they grow much 

 quicker as the season advances. It is mostly gentlemen's 

 gardeners and market gardenerB who grow Grapes on pot Tines 

 so early, as they save the energies of their planted-out Tines. 

 Amateurs who only grow Grapes on the pot system do not, as 

 a rule, start them until March or April. Their cultivation 

 from then onwards is very simple and far less expensive than 

 in the winter time. In good summers they may be grown 

 without the assistance of any fire heat, and it is nothing like 

 such a difficult matter getting the fruit well coloured in long 

 bright days as in short dull days. Much more water is needed 

 at the roots in the summer time, and more attention is gene- 

 rally required to prevent insects from doing harm. Further 

 than this, their treatment as regards tying, stopping, thinning 

 the bunches, fruit, &c, has to be done in the same way at all 

 times. 



When the fruit is ripe the cooler it is kept the better, and 

 after it is cut the foliage should be thoroughly well syringed 

 and cleaned, if the Tines are wanted to fruit the following 

 season. In this case the shoots must be well ripened, and 

 when the leaves have dropped they may be pruned, cutting 

 each shoot back to two buds from the main stem, and washing 

 and top-dressing them as was done the former year. They 

 seldom bear such a fine crop the second time, and many find 

 it most profitable to start with fresh canes every year. For 

 midsummer fruiting, or starting into growth after the days begin 

 to lengthen, it is not necessary to U3e cut-back Tines. Those 

 raised from eyes and well grown the previous summer, although 

 late in ripening, have a long rest during the winter, and gene- 

 rally fruit and succeed well the following season. These canes 

 are often better to keep for fruiting a second time than the 

 cat-back canes which are older in the root. 



Nearly every variety that does well planted out maybe fruited 

 in a pot ; still there r e some better adapted for pot culture 

 than others. The Black Hamburgh is the very best for early 

 fruiting, and amateurs seldom fail with it at any time. Gros 

 Colman and Alicante are good late blacks ; but late sorts are not 

 so much fruited in pots as early sorts. Amongst early whites 

 Royal Muscadine and Backland Sweetwater are two well-tried 



kinds. Foster's Seedling is not worth growing, as it has no 

 flavour. I have not much experience yet of Duke of Buccleuch 

 in a pot ; but while speaking to Mr. W. Thomson the other day 

 he told me he did not care if he did not sell a fruiting cane of 

 the Duke this season, as he would rather keep them and fruit 

 them ; so if he can make more by fruiting them than selling 

 the canes at half a guinea each, it speaks pretty well of its 

 worth as a pot variety. — Tins. 



ASTERS. 

 The Aster is one of the most useful of autumn flowers, and 

 it is the more valuable because it can be cultivated and brought 

 to a high state of perfection by those who have no glass houses. 

 The flowers last long in beauty if left on the plants, and for 

 cutting and placing in vases they are much valued. I heard 

 the remark frequently made last season that Asters had done 

 badly; another says " My Asters are poor this year." Now, 

 Asters will always do well if care is taken of them, but they 

 must be watched from the time the seedlings appear until the 

 flowers open. 



It is not necessary to sow the seeds under glass ; but when 

 a frame can be had with a little bottom heat it is better to do 

 so, as a larger proportion of seeds will germinate in a frame, 

 and the plants grow more strongly in frames for the first few 

 weeks than they do in the open air. The young plants ought 

 to be pricked out as soon as the first leaf is formed. I sow 

 the seed in Bhallow boxes and also prick out the plants into 

 boxes, allowing sufficient space between the plants so that they 

 may form a stubby compact growth. In their young state 

 they are liable to be attacked by green fly, and this cauBes the 

 leaves to curl. The best way to destroy the fly is to place the 

 boxes in a house or close frame and smoke them with tobaeco, 

 or the insects may be destroyed by washing the plants with 

 soapy water to which has been added tobacco liquor. Asters 

 like a good rich soil well trenched and manured : a soil that 

 would grow good Dahlias would also grow Asters well. The 

 plants may be put out about G inches or a foot apart according 

 to the variety. Some sorts will grow between 2 and 3 feet in 

 height, others only a few inches. Until this season I have 

 always grown the dwarf French Chrysanthemum-flowered, the 

 French Pseony-flowered, and the Tictoria in preference to the 

 German or Quilled Asters. The above sorts are generally 

 very free-flowering and are of dwarf habit. 



After having seen the fine Asters shown by Mr. Betteridge 

 I was this year tempted to give his sorts a trial, and can re- 

 commend them as being of a very superior strain and quite 

 indispensable to the exhibitor. They are also preferred to the 

 other sorts for furnishing large vases. The florets are most 

 symmetrically arranged, forming a perfect ball, or rather half 

 ball, at the base of which the outer petals project and form the 

 guard petals. Snowflake and Purple Prince are selfs of the 

 largest size and high-olass quality. The first-named has the 

 most perfect flowers, but the other has them of the largest 

 size. Prince of Novelties and Princess Alexandra may be 

 named together as being most striking flowers and very dis- 

 tinct. The guard petals and outer rings of florets are reddish 

 crimson, the centres being pure white. la some of the flowers 

 the white is distinctly marked, in others splashy; and I had 

 a most beautiful flower with light crimson guard petals, while 

 the centre florets were pure white. There are alBO blue flowers 

 with white centres, also rose-coloured flowers, rose with white 

 centre, &a., comprising at least two dozen distinct varieties. 

 Betteridge's Asters are far superior to the German varieties, 

 and it is a question whether we cannot raise our own seeds 

 instead of importing seeds from Germany and France. — 

 J. Douglas. 



TROPvEOLUM SPECIOSUM. 

 I am in a position to endorse every word "A Rambler " 

 says about this gorgeous creeper as far as Kenmore toll-house 

 is concerned; and further, I would say that if "Rambleb!' 

 could have had a peep over the railing and buBhes to the front 

 of the cottage, about 30 yards from the toll-house on the same 

 side of the road towards Kenmore, a sight of that plant would 

 possibly have been obtained which wonld have gone far to 

 have put the effect referred to in the shade. This plant is, as 

 "Rambleb" says, perfectly hardy, requiring no protection or 

 care whatever beyond providing some sort of trellis for it to 

 climb on. The soil in which it is growing there is not of the 

 richest description, but, on the contrary, it is light and porous. 



