October 19, 1876. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



353 



b u 



t when it ia intended that the fruit is to hang late in the 



season the berries must be well thinned-out. This is one reason 

 why Lady Downe's keeps well, the bunches are usually Bmall 

 and never heavily shouldered. Gros Guillaume keeps well until 

 after Christmas, but the bunches are usually large, heavily 

 shouldered, and the berries are thinner-skinned than Lady 

 Downe's. The larger bunches require to be examined to detect 

 decaying berries in the centre. Mrs. Pince's Black Muscat does 

 not keep nearly so well as Lady Downe's, but we have had the 

 former in good condition until the end of February. It is need- 

 less to say much in praise of the well-known Black Alicante ; it 

 is next to Lady Downe's as regards keeping qualities, and 

 superior to that variety in many important respects. One thing 

 ought not to be loBt sight of, and that is the importance of having 

 the Grapes well ripened. The greatest care as regards venti- 

 lation and dryness of the atmosphere will not prevent badly 

 ripened fruit from spoiling. The two essentials, independent of 

 atmospheric influences and cleanliness, are well-thinned bunches 

 and thoroughly ripened fruit. 



Vines in pots now about to be started should be placed in a 

 house without any artificial heat, as the weather is so mild. On 

 six nights during the last week our minimum thermometer 

 registered over 50°. Last Friday it did not fall below 58°. While 

 this continues the house should be closed early in the afternoon, 

 and a bottom heat of 80° will cause the buds to start strongly 

 and regularly all over the canes. It is also necessary to syringe 

 the canes with tepid water until the buds have started, when 

 syringing may be discontinued. See that the roots do not want 

 for water. A pot Vine that is in proper condition for forcing haB 

 the pot packed quite full of roots; and much of its food supply 

 depends on the quantity of water the Vines receive. If any 

 of the_ pots become overdry the reBult is most unfavourable to 

 the Vines. For early forcing by far the best variety is the Black 

 Hamburgh. If a few white Grapes are required, Foster's White 

 Seedling is good. Bnckland Sweetwater is an excellent white 

 sort and generally does well in pots, but early in the season the 

 fruit is watery and deficient in flavour, unless the Vines can 

 he placed in a position where they receive both the noonday 

 and afternoon sun, in which case it is preferable to Foster's 

 Seedling. 



Fig trees intended for early forcing should not be left out of 

 doors after this. Some persons recommend top-dressing them, 

 but this is a plan I do not approve of for Figs ; in fact, it is not 

 a safe one for- any tree" or plant, except it is in full growth and 

 the roots are ready to run into the surface soil at once. When 

 the roots of plants are not very active the plant does not require 

 much water, and if a rich dressing is put over the rootB in 

 winter it becomes sour before they penetrate into it ; and further, 

 the plant or tree requires no stimulant when it is leafless. Our 

 own plan with Fig trees, and it iB most successful, is this : — As 

 soon as the leaves become yellow, or have fallen off, the trees 

 are turned out of the pots and their roots examined. When 

 these are in a healthy condition and well matted round the sides 

 and under the ball of earth they are disentangled, and some of 

 the soil is removed, repotting in a size or two larger pot. The 

 Fig will stand a large shift, aB it is a vigorous-growing tree and 

 rapidly fills the pots with roots. We have put in eyes in Feb- 

 ruary, and by shifting the young trees on as they required it, 

 and growing them in a high temperature, we have had good- 

 sized fruiting trees established in 11-inch pets by the end of the 

 season. The trees should be potted in the same way and with 

 similar compost as recommended a few weeks ago for Peach 

 trees. When forcing is commenced the same system of manage- 

 ment as that for pot Vines is the most suitable for Figs, and the 

 trees luxuriate when in full leaf in a high moist atmosphere. 

 If necessary, surface dressings may then be applied, and the 

 healthy white roots will be through and through it in a few days 



PLANT STOVE AND ORCHID HOUSES. 



Now is the time to have a thorough cleansing in these struc- 

 tures ; the glass and woodwork we are having waBhed outside 

 and inside. In the neighbourhood of large towns, especially 

 where there is much smoke from factories, the glass becomes 

 obscured from Booty particles in the atmosphere, and in winter 

 the plants require all the light it is possible to obtain for them. 

 Plants intended to produce flowers during winter should be 

 placed in a light airy position. Winter-flowering plants are not 

 numerous, and the most that is possible ought to be made of 

 them. Some of the gayer-coloured handsome-folisged plants 

 work in well with Ferns. Small plants of such, as Sonerila 

 margaritacea, Fittonia argyroneura, Bertolonias, &c, have a 

 fine effect as a margin to the stages alternated with the finer 

 species of Adiantum. Some of the above are not only of easy 

 growth but are also of rapid increase. 



Cuttings of hardwooded plants put-in in August have now 

 formed roots and made a little growth. They have been potted 

 singly in small pots. All such plants require to be potted as 

 soon as they are rooted, and the operation must be carefully 

 performed. The whole ball should be turned out of the pot 

 and the plants be picked gently from amongst the Boil, saving 

 all the slender thread-like roots. The compost for these small 



plants ought to be much finer than that for specimens, and the 

 pots must also be well drained. — J. Douglas. 



TEADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Thomas Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, Herts.— Descriptive Cata- 

 logues of Fruit Trees and Roses. 



Jonathan Booth, Pole Lane, Failsworth, Manchester. — List of 

 Carnations, Picotees, Pansies, and Auriculas. 



Thomas S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, London. 

 — Catalogue of Hoses, Florists' Flowers, and Border Plants. 



HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 

 Seobetakies will oblige us by informing us of the dates on 



which exhibitions are to be held. 



Liveepool (Chrysanthemums). November 2nd. Mr. R. Wilson Ker, 6> 

 Basnett Street, Church Street, Hon. Sec. 



Jersey (St. Helier's) (Chrysanthemums). November 8th. Col. H. Howell, 

 Hon. Sec. 



South Bebmondsey (Chrysanthemums). November 13th and 14th. Mr. D. 

 Jewiss, Eosedale Arms, Rosebury Street, Bermondsey, Sec. 



Northampton (Chrysanthemums). November 14th and 15th. Mr. W. 

 Gutteridge, 51, Denmark Road, Northampton, Sec. 



Brixton Hill (Chrysanthemums). November 17th and 18th. Mr. G. Gold- 

 finch, Sec. 



Loughboeough (Chrysanthemums and Fruit). November 21st. Mr. John 

 "West, Chapmaa Street, Loughborough, Sec 



Isle of Thanet. August 30th, 1877. Mr. C. D. Smith, Hon. Sec. . 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*,* All correspondence should be directed either to " The 

 Editors," or to " The Publisher." Letters addressed to 

 Mr. Johnson or Dr. Hogg often remain unopened unavoid- 

 ably. We request that no one will write privately to any 

 of our correspondents, as doing so subjects them to un- 

 justifiable trouble and expense. 



Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions 

 relating to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee sub- 

 jects, and should never send more than two or three 

 questions at once. All articles intended for insertion 

 should be written on one side of the paper only. We 

 cannot reply to questions through the post. 



Horticultubal Directory (A Reader). — It will be published early in 

 January, price 'is. 3d., post free from this office. It is not too late to send 

 corrections. 



Royal Horticultural Society's Fruit Committee [D. P. B.). — It will 

 meet in December. 



Roots Descending into Gravel (J. P. J.). — Cut off the tap roots at 

 planting time, and place seme slates or tiles at the bottom of the hole. 

 Manure the surface and keep it well mulched to attract the roots towards tho 

 surface. 



Fuchsias [Mrs. Holmes). — They are garden varieties which we cannot 

 name. 



Toughened Glass. — " A Practical" asks if anyone has tried MeSBrs. Dick 

 Radclyffe & Co.'s tousbened glass and found that it is equal to the praise 

 bestowed upon it ? He justly says it is valuable if it is tough. 



Grapes not Setting (<7. B., Whitehaven). — The Grape sent is the Royal 

 Vineyard, which seldom sets its berries well, and is unsuited to your cool 

 Black Hamburgh house. You have adopted the best plan you could to im- 

 prove the Vines, and if your inside border is rightly made the alteration 

 will be effectual. The Vines were not likely to flourish in a border " only 

 3 feet wide, cold and wet." 



Forcing Seaeale (H. W. S. C). — The seedling plants we presume are 

 strong, having good crowns. If grown from seed this year the strongest only 

 are available; the weakeBt plants if planted out will make good crowns for 

 another year. The plants may be taken up as Eoon as the leaves have fallen 

 or they part readily from the crowns, and the roots should be planted in 

 rich Eoil np to the base of the crowns, making the soil firm about the rows. 

 We put-in ours in rows about 8 or 9 inctes apart, and 6 inches between the 

 plantB in the rows. The soil being moist at planting no watering is given 

 until growth commences, and then we water between the rows twice a-week. 

 All that is needed to ensure blanching iB darkness. The htads will be fit to 

 cat in fifteen or twenty-one days, and to keep-up a succession yon will need 

 to put in fresh roots at fortnightly intervals. 



Marechal Nlel Rose Vigorous {Idem). — Encourage the suekers from the 

 root, in fact all the growth you have space for, awaiting with confidence the 

 blooms that will astonish those who say you will not have any. 



Cutting Conifebs (A. F.). — Beyond regulating irregular growths, cutting- 

 back and trimming evergreens is not advisable. It is best performed in 

 Bpring when IreBh growth is being made. Pinue escelsa will bear cutting- 

 back, and will probably give a shoot advantageously placed for replacing the 

 lost leader, keeping any disposed to dispute its claims from asserting their 

 right by timely removal. The pruning should be done a little before growth 

 takes place. 



Remedy for American Blight (Idem). — There is no more safe and effi- 

 cacious remedy than applications with a brush to the parts affected of paraffin 

 oil, not allowing it to run down the stems or come into contact with the 

 foliage. This and similar pests can only be overcome by frequent applications 

 ef the insecticide whenever the insect is present. 



Old and Xoung Plants of Variegated Gebaniums (F. J.).— The old 

 plants taken up from the beds and potted, having the irregular growths cut 

 away and all but the very young leaves removed, will make larger plants than 

 those from cuttings, but the latter give finer foliage;; and as foliage is the 



