340 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE OARDENB3. 



[ May 12, 1863. 



His attack on Mr. Robson, Mr. Keane, and all practical gar- 

 deners who do not subscribe to his notions on orchard-houses, 

 by declaring that their "walls have enclosed their gardens and 

 their minds," is rich in the extreme. 



Mr. Eeane may not, perhaps, be able to inform " R., of S.," 

 how many pamphlets were published on PolmaiBe heating and 

 coiling Vines, and what success they had. It is, however, satis- 

 factory to know, that those Bystems when first promulgated were 

 successfully exposed by practical men. 



As " R., of S." winds up with a scrap of poetry, I shall do 

 the same with a couplet written by a famous hand at composing 

 doggrel rhymes — 



" Whene'er you write on potted trees, 

 No * Keane ' remarks make, if you please." 

 -P-, of Q. 



OLD VINES VIGOEOUS BUT UNFRUITFUL. 



I HAVE an old-fashioned vinery heated with a flue and planted 

 with Black Hamburgh Vines (now very old), and for years past 

 I have had a capital crop of Grapes. The winter before last 

 I made a hotbed with stable-dung in the vinery, but it was too 

 powerful for the Vines. I was obliged to cut them down to 

 the bottom of the vinery. They then broke and made capital 

 ■wood to the top of the house. I gave plenty of air and the 

 ■wood became quite ripe and looked in first-rate condition ; those 

 who saw them said I should be sure of a good crop this season. 

 •However, I am greatly surprised and disappointed to find I 

 have only a very few bunches at the top of the vinery, and all 

 those gone, or going, blind. 



The vinery has been kept at a regular heat, not above 65°, 

 with air occasionally. The Vines are making first-rate wood this 

 season, except one shoot that is about 2J feet long in the middle 

 of the vinery, and the foliage is all going like the leaves enclosed. 

 I have discontinued fire heat since I found out I should have no 

 Grapes.— H. H. C. 



[I have glanced over your case and should have liked your 

 statement to have been more explicit as to time of firing the 

 vinery ; and as to the leaves sent, if they belong exclusively to 

 the weak Vine. If so, lose no time in having it out at once. It 

 is smothered with fungal spots, the result of unhealthy root- 

 action ; and I am greatly deceived, though the leaves are much 

 dried, if there is not also an incipieney of the dreaded mildew, 

 and the plan you are now adopting of giving air occasionally and 

 -shutting off the fires is the best means for causing it to spread 

 all over the house. 



Now, first, it would be interesting to know when you put into 

 the house the Btable-dung that was too powerful for the Vines. 

 Of course, if you took dung that was rank and fresh from the 

 stables after the Vines broke, then I can conceive how the Vines 

 were injured ; but I cannot see how they could have been so 

 injured by a mere hotbed if the manure was sweet, as I have 

 seen many such hotbeds in houses. Neither do I see how the 

 Vines could have been injured by rank manure being brought 

 in when they were in a Btate of rest, as though I have no oppor- 

 tunity of doing such a thing now, I have had a vinery such a 

 •mass of pungent steam for three weeks that you could scarcely 

 see your finger at an arm's length ; but then care was taken to 

 have the huge heap sweet enough for Cucumbers before the 

 Vines broke, and care also was taken to keep the sweltering hot 

 heap at a respectable distance from the stems of the Vines. I 

 know successful cases of this mode of using unfermented litter, 

 and I have known of eases in which there was mischief done 

 from being too venturesome and keeping the houses too close, 

 • and if "H. H. C." has no particular reasons for the contrary, it 

 would be instructive to know how the mischief was done, as I 

 'have a strong belief that a failure rightly used is quite as in- 

 structive as a success, only it requires a little more moral courage 

 to let all the causes of a failure be known — that is to say, if we 

 do know them ; for the most corroding thing is to find the failure 

 and be at sea wholly as to the causes. 



I had a note the other day about Vines cut over a few inches 

 below the soil, and because the proceeding has next to failed, 

 without telling me anything of the plans adopted I received a 

 genteel hint that I must have had wonderful magnifying spec- 

 tacles on when I saw the Vines at Woodstock. Fortunately for 

 my own eyesight, I received by the same post the simple state- 

 ment that these Vines so cut over seem to be the best this 

 season at Woodstock. Now, the plans adopted in the case of 

 jailure would be instructive, and as no one can describe a case 



of sueeeBs so well as the manipulator, I trust that when he has 

 time Mr. McDonald will himself tell us the particulars of his 

 treatment of those Vine-stems which he so unceremoniously 

 sawed across. " H. H. C." would also be doing good in telling 

 us the why and the how he injured his Vines. 



Second, I should also have liked, as already Btated, to have 

 known the time when the Vines were injured, as then we would 

 have been more sure of the cause of the want of crop this season, 

 which I certainly attribute to a want of ripeness in the strong 

 wood made last season. Did I know that the Vines broke afresh 

 — say in March, or later, that the fires were left off early, and 

 air occasionally given, then I would be certain that I am right 

 in my surmises. I am more convinced of this from the faot of 

 the Vines being very old, as in that case unless the border is 

 flagged or concreted, the roots or part of them would be apt to 

 run deep, and thus be more likely to produce luxuriant rather 

 than well-ripened wood. This extra-luxuriance would be kept in 

 check so long as there was a good regular crop of fruit, which 

 of itself would absorb so much of that vigour, and leave the less 

 for mere wood development. In such circumstances I should 

 have given air freely during the day, left air on in smaller pro- 

 portion all night, except in very cold nights, and I would have 

 used fire heat, unless when not wanted by the heat of the 

 weather, until the wood was as hard as oak, and the leaves 

 began to turn yellow ; and the high temperature and the dry 

 atmosphere would evaporate the mere watery particles from the 

 sap of the wood, and make every bud left fruitful. If I am at 

 all right in my conclusions, I would adopt exactly the same 

 course now, preparatory for next season, as a cool temperature 

 and a close moist atmosphere will be apt, unless the summer 

 and autumn are bright, to produce wood too unripe to be 

 fruitful, with the chance of mildew and other evils in addition. 

 But, of course, I may be wrong in my conjectures, but I think 

 they are rather likely to be right. — R. Fish.] 



A COTTAGE GARDEN and its OLD-FASHIONED 

 FLOWERS-DERBYSHIRE. 



There fragrant Roses, white and red, 



And Mint and Lad's-love grew, 

 And Lilies with their petals white, 



And spikes of Speedwell blue ; 

 Carnations, Pinks, and Gilliflowers, 



The purple Columbine, 

 And Honeysuckles round the porch 



Their trailing tendrils twine. 



Dear homely flowers ! whose very names 



Airagrance seem to yield ! 

 Ye mind me of my childhood's home, 



A cottage half conceal'd 

 *Mid Fir trees dark, and Poplars tall, 



Where now a stranger dwells, 

 And playmates' names, to memory dear, 



The moss-grown tombstone tells. 



I love ye better far than all 



The modern flowers so rare— 

 The glaring, gaudy, scentless things 



That deck the gay parterre. 

 I love the Primrose in the wood, 



The blushing Dog Rose wild. 

 I love ye all the more because 



I lov'd ye when a child ; 



For well do I remember how 



(A long, long time ago), 

 I wander'd forth a thoughtless boy 



Where yellow Cowslips grow ; 

 With meadow-flowers of brightest hue 



I wove a garland gay, 

 And blew the Dandelion seeds 



To tell the hour of day. 



Thus fancy roams ! and o'er me steals 



A vision bright and clear. 

 A mother's smile I seem to see, 



A sister's laugh to hear. 

 The springtime comes, and summer flowers 



Bloom brightly as of yore ; 

 But siBter's laugh and mother's smile 



Will come again no more. 

 Olossop. C. Daniel. 



The Birmingham Bose Show. — Our readers will perceive, 

 on referenoe to an adverfcisment appearing in another column, 

 that Thursday and Friday, the 16th and 17th of July, are the 

 days fixed for holding the next Show. It is also announced that 

 the prize list and regulations are now ready, and may be had 

 on application to the Secretary. 



