Febraary 9, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



97 







WEEKLY 



CALENDAR. 















Day 



Day 





Average Tempera- 





Sun 



Sun 









Clock 



Day 



Montli 



Week. 



FEBEtlAEY 9—15, 1871. 



ture near London. 



43 years. 



Rises. 



Seta. 



Rises. 



Sets. 



Age. 



Sun. 



Year. 









Dav. 



NiKht. 



Mean. 



Days. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



Days. 



m. s. 





9 



Th 



Meeting of Royal Society, 8 p.m. 



45.3 • 



30,9 



38.1 



17 



27af7 



Oafs 



66 af 9 



27 af 9 



19 



14 27 



40 



10 



F 





44,9 



30.1 



37.5 



16 



25 7 



2 5 



14 11 



47 9 



20 



14 28 



41 



11 



S 





445 



29.8 



37.2 



19 



24 7 



4 5 



morn. 



9 10 



21 



14 29 



42 



12 



StJN 



Sbxagesiha Sunday. 



44.9 



29,6 



37.2 



16 



22 7 



6 5 



35 



32 10 



( 



14 28 



43 



13 



M 



[ral Meeting, Sp.m. 



44.3 



29,6 



36,9 



14 



20 7 



8 5 



57 1 



3 11 



23 



14 27 



44 



14 



Tn 



Royal Horticultural Society, Annual Gene- 



45,6 



31.9 



39.3 



IB 



18 7 



10 5 



15 3 



39 11 



24 



14 25 



45 



15 



W 



Ditto Fruit, Floral, and General Meeting. 



47.0 



31.3 



39.2 



17 



16 7 



12 5 



29 4 



after. 



25 



14 22 



46 



From observations taken near London during fortv-three years, tlie average day temperature of the week is 45.2^, and its night tempera- 



ture 



30.8'. 



TliQ greatest heat was 65'^, on the lOtb, 1831 ? and the lowest cold zero, 



on the 13th, 1S55. 



The greatest fall of rain was 0.52 



nch. t 



SETTING OF GRAPES. 



R. PEARSON, page 500 of the last volume 

 of this .Joitrnal, remarks that it would be 

 interesting if cultivators would state their 

 treatment of Grapes, as he observes some 

 are better growers of particular sorts than 

 others ; thus at one place will be found a 

 champion grower of Hamburghs, and at 

 another a champion Muscat grower. I do 

 not call myself either, nor do I grow Grapes 

 on a very extensive scale. The tastes of 

 our employers ought to be the first consideration — some 

 like Muscat-flavoured, others Hamburgh Grapes. 



Muscats being our favourite Grape, I have endeavoured 

 to grow them as well as I could, and with a little success. 

 The difficulty I first had to surmount was the setting ; this 

 is easily done if attention is paid to drawing a dry hand 

 over that part of the bunch which is in flower, and repeat- 

 ing the operation two or three times a- day until every 

 berry is set. But there are Grapes which task the dr}'- 

 hand system ; two, Mr. Pearson mentions — viz., Canon Hall 

 Muscat and Black Morocco. I will name another — P^oyal 

 Vineyard. The cause of these three not setting is that 

 " the anthers curl back at the moment the flower opens ;" 

 the ends always seem wet. 



I have set Black Morocco and Royal Vineyard to a 

 berry. Canon Hall I have not grown. My method is as 

 follows. The hand is charged with pollen from the Muscat 

 of Alexandria in flower at the same time. The hand must 

 be dried at every application, and drawn gently over that 

 part of the bunch in flower. Repeat this twice or thrice 

 a-day until every berry is set. I have set these two so 

 well that it became no easy matter to thin the berries. 



I am of the same opinion as Mr. Douglas, that no one 

 should decry a Grape or any other fruit until it has had a 

 fair trial; this I have given the Royal Alaeyard, and 

 I have written in these pages about its bad setting and 

 other bad qualities, such as liability to spotting, blotching, 

 &c. I have tried it as a pot Vine, but cannot speak of 

 its goodness when so grown ; but I can say it is a good 

 keeper as respects what remains of the bunches, and some 

 like the flavour. On the whole it ought to have a place. 

 I am to retain it. 



Muscat Hamburgh [Black Muscat of x\lexandria] is a 

 splendid Grape when grafted on the Black Hamburgh. 

 I have had bunches of it weighing 3i lbs. I have not 

 had it so black as Lady Downe's or Alicante, but in flavour 

 it is far superior to either. Of Muscat of Alexandria I 

 set every berry. I have had bunches 4 lbs. in weight, and 

 berries 1 inch in diameter. Bowood Muscat is so much 

 like it that I cannot see any difference, except that it sets 

 more freely. 



I do not place the slightest stress on preserving either 

 a dry or wet atmosphere, apart from the dry-hand system. 

 When my Grapes are in flower the' paths and troughs are 

 not full of water. As I grow different sorts in one house, 

 my Hamburghs are all set by the time the Muscats are 

 in flower, the only difl'erenoe in the treatment is that the 



No. 515.-Y0L. XX., New Sekies. 



Muscats are at the warmest end, less air being given to 

 them throughout ; no front air is given until they com- 

 mence colouring. 



As I have already remarked I am not an extensive 

 grower, but I have had early Grapes in April and late 

 ones in February from two houses ; perhaps it will not 

 be out of place here to name the sorts I grow. Those in 

 the early house are Muscat of Alexandria, Bowood Muscat, 

 Muscat Hamburgh, Duchess of Buccleuch, Foster's White 

 Seedling, and Black Hamburgh. These are planted in- 

 side. I grew last year in pots four on the back wall — viz., 

 one Black Frontignan and three Black Hamburgh; be- 

 tween those in front, standing on the hot- water pipes, were 

 two Lady Downe's and two Alicante Vines, The Black 

 Frontignan was first ripe — on the 24th of April. Those 

 on the back wall were well started in front before being 

 placed against the back wall. In the late house, planted 

 inside, are Muscat of Alexandria at the warmest end, 

 Muscat Hamburgh, Golden Champion (not fruited yet), 

 Madresfield Court (not fruited), Lady Downe's, Mrs. 

 Pince's (not fruited), Royal Vineyard, White Lady Downe's 

 (not fruited), and in pots four Black Frontignan and two 

 Royal Vineyard. 



I cut my last Muscat of Alexandria on January 23rd, 

 also Royal Vineyard at the same time. I have eight 

 bunches of Lady Downe's fit to cut now (.January 25th) ; 

 they look as if they would hang a month longer, but I 

 will cut them with a good bit of wood, and if so cut and 

 hung in any dry place they wiU keep until used up. 



If a few notes on the management of borders, &o,, will 

 be of any use to an amateur who may want to have Grapes 

 all the year through, or nearly so, with two houses, I will 

 write again. [We hope you will— Eds ]— C. M. MoCbow, 

 Nash Court, Faversliain. 



PLANT CULTURE IN GLASS HOUSES. 



Few sights in a garden are more attractive than a well- 

 grown collection of healthy symmetrical pot plants ; whether 

 they are seen in a costly conservatory, or a plain unpre- 

 tending structure, they are equally attractive and enjoyable. 

 My purpose is not to enter upon the cultural details of any 

 particular class, but rather to treat of the management of 

 pot plants generally. 



The first and most important point is to start with healthy 

 plants of a sturdy, compact growth after their kind, and to 

 strive to maintain them in a flourishing condition as long 

 as may be desirable. The means to this end comprise 

 clean flower-pots, suitable soil in a thoroughly sound and 

 sweet condition, and a proper temperature in a suitable 

 house. It may be well to take these simple conditions 

 more in detail. No flower-pot ought ever to he used till it 

 is washed clean ; if this wholesome rule were attended to 

 more strictly, unsightly pots encrusted with filth would 

 not be so common, and the plants would not only look all 

 the better, but be decidedly healthier. It is a good prac- 

 tice to have a couple of tubs of water standing near the 

 potting-benoh, one for soaking the pots in for a day or tr o 

 after any plants are shaken out of them, and the other for 



No. 1167.— Vol. XLV., Old Seeies. 



