DeeemBer 1, 1871. J 



journaij of hobtioultube and cottage gardenee. 



4AS 



Dr. Hogg, in the " Fruit Manual," states that a very fine ex- 

 ample of Moroooo was named Alicante (Kempsey), hence the 

 confusion, but he also states that it has no claim to the name. 

 I saw a magnifioent bunch of the true Alicante exhibited under 

 the name of Kempsey at the International Fruit Show, Oc- 

 tober 4th. Gros Colman is also planted to a limited extent. 

 It seems to be a very late sort, as the berries of Alicante were 

 quite black when it was just showing si^ns of colouring. When 

 qaite ripe it ia a good-flavoured sort, and serves well for market 

 purposes, the berries being very large, quite black, and taking 

 on a beautiful bloom. There are a few rods of SeadifJ Black, 

 which is worth growing as a variety. It resembles Black Prince, 

 except that the bunches are more shouldered, more compact, 

 and the berries are larger. It takes its name from Seaclifi in the 

 East Lothian. Borchardt's Prince [Aramon] Mr. Thomson 

 thinks a desirable variety. It has large, well-shaped, tapering 

 bunches, large jet black berries of good flavour, and keeps well. 

 Madresfield Court Black is also grown in this house, wi(h Mrs. 

 Pince's Black Muscat close to it. The former Mr. Thomson 

 considers one of the beet new Grapes, an opinion which is 

 being confirmed on all hands by the best Grape-growers in the 

 country. The bunches of Mrs. Pince in this house were very 

 poor, and wanting in finish ; the berries did not seem to have 

 set well. Mrs. Pince is somstimes good, and I grow it on its own 

 roots, when the berries always set well ; the bunches are also 

 large, well-coloured, and the berries of good flavour, but it does 

 not keep so well as Lidy Downe's, the berries being so liable to 

 shrivel. 



The next is a Mascat house, the varieties being Tynningham 

 Muscat and Muscat of Alexandria. The first is larger in berry, 

 and ripens before the old Muscat. A new variety of which I 

 had no previous knowledge, named Scott's Muscat, is very pro- 

 mising, and there is a large demand for young Vines of it. It 

 was exhibited in Edinburgh, at the autumn exhibition of the 

 Boyal Caledonian Society, and obtained the highest award for 

 flavour. These three varieties, and a plant or two of Trebbiano, 

 are the only kinds grown in this house. 



All through these vineries the same vigorous growth is 

 noticeable, and is, no doubt, due to the fine turfy loam, this and 

 a few crushed bones being all that the borders are composed of. 

 Maoh of it is also due to the new system of raising young Vines, 

 which Mr. Thomson has explained at length in the columns 

 of this Journal (see vol. xx., page 61), and which at once 

 commends itself to the notice of every intelligent cultivator. 

 All the pot Vines are grown on the same system, and it is also 

 worthy of note that both fruiting and planting canes were 

 struck from eyes during the spring of this year. I am perfectly 

 satisfied that all fruiting canes should be grown from eyes 

 struck in the season of planting them. I have pursued this 

 practice for the last seven years with invariable success, never 

 failing to obtain a good crop of fruit, and that from plants 

 which had no bottom heat from the time they started into 

 growth. My plants were, of course, grown in pots from the 

 first. 



I was particularly pleased with the system of venlilation, all 

 the side sashes opening simultaneously outwards by lever and 

 screw, and they can, therefore, be fixed at any distance ; even a 

 child could move the whole length of 200 feet. The top is made 

 to act upon the same principle. One thing more I must notice, 

 and that ia the watering of the inside borders. These are 

 watered by an india-rubber pipe and hose in the following 

 manner. At the highest end of each block of hot-water pipes 

 is fixed an iron tank, which is filled from them with water of 

 the same temperature. Part of the india-rubber tube is coiled 

 into this warm tank, and the remaining portion carried down 

 amongst the hot-water pipes, so that the cold water flowing 

 through this tube is warmed to a considerable extent before it 

 reaches the surface of the border. At the time of my visit they 

 were giving the house water that was flowing through a rose 

 fixed to the tube on the hot-water pipes, which still further 

 warmed it before reaching the roots. There was an iron support 

 to carry the rose, which was moved to a fresh position every 

 ten minutes by the young man in charge, and who occupied 

 himself with some other work while the house was being 

 watered. 



If the vineries contain some remarkable examples of skilful 

 culture, one is equally astonished by what is to be seen in the 

 fruiting Pine house. This is a lean-to, 150 feet by 12 feet, and 

 contains such examples of Pines, mostly of the Smooth-leaved 

 Cayenne variety, as are not to be seen in any other establish- 

 ment in Britain. The Pine houses of T. N. Millar, Esq., of 

 Biahop Stortford, nuder the care of Mr. Ward, are a sight not 



soon to be forgotten, but as the plants are grown in larga pots 

 13 and 15 inches in diameter, and are allowed plenty of room 

 to develope, under proper treatment one does not wonder 

 that Cayennes are sometimes cut weighing lOlbs. each. Here 

 at Clovenfords, 10 inch pots are the greatest size even for such 

 robust-growing sorts as Charlotte Eothschild. There was ripen- 

 ing in these email pots fruit in plenty, which would weigh 

 from 8 lbs. to 10 lbs. each. The pots used are rather different 

 in construction from those usually employed, being almost as 

 wide at the bottom as they are at the top. In the succession 

 houses the young plants are all that can be desired, clean, and 

 in sturdy, luxuriant health. No doubt, with the Pine Apples, 

 as with the Vines, the rich, turfy, virgin loam is one reason of 

 their success, but it is evident that to grow Pines in very large 

 pots is sheer waste. There are plenty of places in England 

 and Scotland where the loam is equally good, and equally well 

 adapted for growing Pines as that obtained by Mr. Thomson. 

 I shall certainly not use such large pots in future, and I thank 

 Mr. Thomson for the lesson I obtained in Pine-growing from 

 my visit to his establishment. 



This attempt of Mr. Thomson at Clovenfords is a vast un- 

 dertaking, but much more remains to be done, and let us hope 

 that his cfiortH will meet with the success they deserve. — 

 J. Douglas. 



DRAUGHT OF FLUES TOO POWEEFUL. 



SiKCE the cold weather has set in and the fires have had to be 

 lighted, I have experienced some difBculty with the draught. 

 I will preface my remarks by stating that, for economj's sake, 

 I was obliged to content myself with a lean-to on the south 

 side of the house. The fireplace is constructed at the extreme 

 south-east side of the house, with the door and stokehole 

 facing the south ; whilst the flue runs along the south and west 

 side, continued, with glazed pipes, about half way up the original 

 south wall of the dwelling-house. As the greenhouse stands 

 almost in the centre of the grounds, it would have presented 

 an unseemly appearance if the chimney had been run up 

 according to the usual manner — straight up for a short way 

 above the greenhouse. Accordingly I deemed it less unsightly 

 to run the flue into the chimneys of the dwelling-house, thus 

 doing away with all obtrusion of a greenhouse chimney stack, 

 and hence, I believe, arises the dilfioulty which I have hitherto 

 been unable to cope with. As, of course, the chimney stack 

 of the dwelling-house is carried much above the roof, it acts as 

 a complete shaft to the greenhouse flue. Even if the one 

 damper I have is only half way out, the fire roars out in an 

 hour ; in fact, it is impossible to keep in a slow fire during the 

 whole of the night. Even if I put the damper in all but an 

 inch, the house becomes full of smoke, whilst if the damper is 

 much out, the fire roars up, and requires constant replenishing. 

 The consequence is that the house partakes more of the tem- 

 perature of the stove house and is rather injurious to Geranium 

 and other cuttings, for which it was principally constructed. 

 Another obstacle to the chimney being carried up in the 

 ordinary way is that the chances are that the smoke would beat 

 down into the drawing-room windows, to say nothing of how 

 the house walls would be disfigured by the smoke whenever the 

 wind blew from the south-west, a by-no-means unprevaleut 

 wind. Would you, therefore, assist me in solving the diflE- 

 cultj ? I will only add that, as my tenure of the house (for I 

 am only curate and not vicar) is precarious, I should not wish 

 to incur any more expense than I oonld reasonably help. — 



ViEIEIS. 



[Your trouble is very different from other cases that have 

 come before us — namely, want of draught. There seems to be 

 no objection to the flue of the greenhouse going into the chimney 

 of the dwelling-house. In some cases when we have advised 

 such a course we have found it did not always answer unless a 

 fire was kept in the fireplace in the room communicating with 

 the chimney which received the flue from the greenhouse, as 

 otherwise, by a back draught, the smoke would flnd its way 

 down the chimney into the room. You seem to have no trouble 

 in this respect, but from the great draught you cannot keep a 

 slow fire, and you obtain far too much heat. We think yon 

 may manage what you want without any extra expense. More 

 experiments with the damper would show you what was wanted. 

 After your fire heated the flue a circular opening in the middle 

 of the damper of l.J inch in diameter, would very likely ba 

 snflicient to keep up a slow combustion. However, we place 

 little value on a damper in a flue. We would place more 

 dependanoe on banking-up the fire the last thing at night with 



