December 23, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



549 



when a flower show has been established, year after year the 

 exhibitors become more proficient, and the productions they 

 exhibit and which they place before their employers (if gar- 

 deners) are improved year after year. And the societies that 

 have been formed for the encouragement of florists' flowers 

 cause the florists themselves to take a greater interest in them, 

 to grow their flowers better ; and the general public, who have 

 no other opportunity of admiring them, can do so at the ex- 

 hibitions, and a love for the flowers is fostered and spreads 

 into places where they were before unknown. This many 

 florists can abundantly testify. Let ns encourage them all we 

 can, from the lovely queen of flowers even to the humble Cab- 

 bage, and when the Royal Horticultural Society has been released 

 from the fetters with which it is still bound, those at the head of 

 affairs will find the work has not been neglected. We shall 

 be pleased to hand it over to them, and the work will go on 

 prospering and to prosper. The work of Mr. Wilson will not 

 be in vain. Thousands of Fellows will rally around the old 

 Society, and its last days will be its best days. — J. Douglas. 



BUTOMUS UMBELLATUS. 

 To say that this flowering Rush is a lovely flower is saying a 

 good deal, but that fallsifar short of what might be said of 

 one of the finest hardy aquatic plants that we possess. It 



Fig. 79. — Butomus umbellatus. 



is mostly met with by the sides of sluggish streams and par- 

 tially stagnant ditches and watercourses, and must be seen in 

 its native home to be seen in all its beauty. It is said that the 

 sharp edges of the leaves of our favourite plant cause the 

 mouths of oxen to bleed when browsing upon it. We may 

 reasonably suppose from the above that its rough edges are 

 intended for a protection. Gerardesays, " The water Gladiole, 

 or Grassie Rush, is of all others the fairest and most pleasant 

 to behold, and serveth very well for the decking and trimming- 

 np of houses because of the beautie thereof." The finest 

 plant in cultivation I ever saw was in a pond in the garden of 

 Dr. Herbert at Spofforth many years ago. It was placed on 

 a pedestal in the centre of the pond in a large pot about a foot 

 below the surface of the water. When in bloom it was worth 



a day's journey to go and see. Native though it be, it requires 

 care to get it established. I find it a good plan to establish 

 the plants in pots, then sink the pots in a muddy bottom, 

 when the plants will take care of themselves. They may be 

 potted in any good loam, and are increased by division when 

 growth is commencing. They are telling plants in a collection 

 of native plants on an exhibition table. — N. 



TBAINING VINES. 



Let me thank Mr. W. Taylor for his account of training Mus- 

 cats on the extension system. Practical men like to see depicted 

 the works and the places which are worthy. An illustration 

 which appeared in your pages some months ago showing a 

 splendid crop of Grapes grown by Mr. Cottingham of Heath 

 near Mansfield was a worthy example for other growers to 

 imitate, and could not have been sufficiently represented with- 

 out the artist's aid. The figure of Mr. Taylor's vinery shows 

 no such crowding of bunches, but it shows a disposition of 

 wood which has assisted the Vines to become extremely vigor- 

 ous, which have carried splendid Grapes, and will yet produce 

 more. 



The mode of training illustrated is both suggestive and in- 

 structive. It not only shows what Mr. Taylor told us in his 

 notes of the horizontal main rod being trained past the " nurs- 

 ing " Vines, but it shows what he did not tell us of the remark- 

 able strength of the Vines from the ground to the bottom of 

 the rafters and the diminishing strength of the canes as they 

 reach the top of the house. This is just as it should be, but 

 how seldom is it accomplished ! Many more than half of the 

 Vines in Britain are the smallest nearest the ground, and con- 

 sequently the thickest at the top. When in that condition it 

 follows as a matter of course that the first flow of sap has to 

 traverse restricted channels. In the case of Mr. Taylor's Vines 

 the first outflow is unimpeded, for the first few feet of the 

 stem is of marvellous thickness in comparison with the upper 

 growth. How has this been effected ? I think the illustration 

 shows it. 



In the first place Mr. Taylor appears to have encouraged the 

 growth of some foliage even down to the ground. That is 

 undoubtedly most important in influencing the correct thick- 

 ening of the stems of the Vines. How often do we see the 

 growths rubbed quite off the stems from the ground to the 

 rafters — perhaps even before the Vines are planted, or at any 

 rate immediately afterwards ! That is a common practice, 

 but a great mistake. If the lower portion of the stem of the 

 Vine is denuded of its buds in infancy and made as smooth as 

 a water pipe it will not swell much faster than will that pipe; 

 but allow the leaves to remain, and the stem will increase in 

 size in a natural manner, and certainly to a beneficial end. 

 Mr. Taylor knew better than to denude the lower portion of 

 his Vines of foliage ; he left a portion to attract and retain the 

 sap where it was especially required, and thus laid the founda- 

 tion of his robust Vines. Those who are planting Vines will 

 do well to follow the example thus given. 



Another important matter is in equalising the flow of sap 

 by the mode of training which has been adopted. The flow of 

 sap has something in common with the dispersion of smoke. 

 With a straight upright shaft direct from the fire the smoke 

 rushes upwards with great force, and will turn a " jack " which 

 the strength of a man cannot resist; but firat conduct the 

 smoke along a horizontal flue before it is permitted to ascend 

 vertically, and a child may prevent the " jack " from turning 

 if it is placed beyond that horizontal flue. The strength of 

 the smoke, so to speak, is exhausted at the base of the building 

 by the counteracting influences of the horizontal flue prevent- 

 ing its violent rush upwards. It is the same with the sap of 

 the Vine, but to a greater extent in consequence of its greater 

 velocity and force. I have read that an old author and ex- 

 perimentalist, who made elaborate experiments on the force 

 of the sap-movement of the Vine, found that in a mercurial 

 gauge fixed to the bottom of the Vine the mercury was raised 

 by the force of the sap 38 inches, equivalent to a column of 

 upwards of 43 feet of water. I think that fact (for I am not 

 aware that it has ever been disputed) is well worthy of con- 

 sideration in reference to training Vines. 



A horizontal flow checks the violent upward rush of sap, 

 which is the real cause of so many Vines being too weak at 

 the bottom and over- luxuriant at the top. If all the growths 

 were trained horizontally the Vines would probably be de- 

 ficient in vigour ; but by the practice adopted by Mr. Taylor 

 of taking vertical or nearly vertical rods from the horizontal 



