October 13, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL. OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



27B' 









WEEKLY 



CALENDAR. 















Day 



of 

 Month 



Day 

 of 



Week. 



OCTOBER 13—19, 1870. 



Average Tempera- 

 tore near London. 



Bain in 



last 

 43 years. 



Sun 



Rises. 



Sun 

 Sets. 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Moon 



Sets. 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Clock 

 after 

 Sun. 



Day 



of 



Year. 



18 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 

 19 



Th 



F 



S 



Sun 



M 



To 



W 



Day breaks 4h. 29m. a.m. 



18 Sunday after Trinity. 



St. Luke. 



Twilight ends 6b. 52m. p.m. 



Dav. 

 60.7 

 59.9 

 59.0 

 59.0 

 58.8 

 60.4 

 59.4 



Night. 

 41.8 

 4u.5 

 40.5 

 40.1 

 40.7 

 40.7 

 41.7 



Mean- 

 51.2 

 50.2 

 49.8 

 49.5 

 49.8 

 50.6 

 50.5 



Day6. 

 22 

 20 

 21 

 18 

 19 

 21 

 22 



m. h. 

 22af6 



24 6 



25 6 



27 6 



28 6 



80 6 



81 6 



m. h. 



11 af 6 

 8 5 

 6 5 

 4 5 

 2 5 

 5 



58 4 



m. h. 



15 af 7 

 47 7 

 25 8 

 18 9 

 11 10 



16 11 

 morn. 



m. h. 



4 10 



8 11 

 after. 



5 1 

 54 1 

 35 2 



9 3 



Days, 

 li 

 19 

 20 

 21 



c 



28 



24 



m. 8. 

 IS 42 

 IS 56 

 14 10 

 14 22 

 14 35 

 14 46 

 14 57 



286 

 287 

 288 

 289 

 290 

 291 

 292 



From observations taken near London during the last forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 59.6°, and its night 

 temperature 40.9 :) . The greatest heat was 80°, on the 14th, 1861 j and the lowest cold 24-,* on the 15th, 1860. The greatest fall of rain was 

 1.04 inch. 



GRAPES FOR EXHIBITION. 



N reading the proceedings of the Fruit Com- 

 mittee at the Royal Horticultural Society's 

 Meeting, September 21st, page 226, I came 

 to the conclusion that a few notes on early 

 and late Grapes would not be out of place, 

 and I invite the attention of the committees 

 of horticultural societies holding their exhi- 

 bitions in autumn. 



I would make a distinct class for such fine 

 exhibition Grapes as Meredith's Alicante 

 and Lady Downe's among the black varieties, as, unless 

 this be done, the different varieties of Hamburghs cannot 

 have justice. I would also have a distinct class for the 

 Muscats and Trebbiano among white Grapes, so as to give 

 the Royal Muscadine, the Sweetwaters, and the like a 

 chance of winning a prize. 



In support of this view I would ask. Is the flavour of 

 the Alicante and Lady Downe's in August, September, or 

 October to be compared to the taste of the Hamburghs ? 

 Also, Is the flavour of the Muscats and Trebbiano to be 

 compared with that of the Royal Muscadine or Sweet- 

 water ? These questions should answer themselves. 



I do not for a moment wish to disparage the fine quali- 

 ties of the Alicante and Lad}' Downe's, leaving out the 

 newer late sorts, for I am perfectly aware of their useful- 

 ness, but I say they are not to be compared with the 

 Hamburgh for flavour now ; and were the judges to taste, 

 undoubtedly there would be many exhibitors disappointed, 

 for, instead, as is generally the case now, of the award being 

 given to the fine large bunches, well coloured though they 

 might be, it would go to the Hamburghs, they being ripe 

 and fit for table (or they should be so when shown), which 

 cannot be the case with the Alicante and Lady Downe's. 

 To me it seems a sin that such fine bunches as I have 

 seen shown in September should be cut, for, the taste being 

 insipid, they are worthless. 



I am fully aware that Grapes must be ripened and 

 coloured by the end of September or beginning of October, 

 or they stand but a small chance of colouring, unless it 

 should prove such a favourable autumn as the present. 

 But Grapes require to hang a certain time after they are 

 coloured. Thus, the Hamburghs coloured by the end of 

 July are not ready for cutting till the end of August, and 

 those coloured a month later are not at their best yet. 

 Above all, the Alicante should hang till February to bring 

 out its flavour, and the same applies, or nearly so, to the 

 Lady Downe's. Of course, I do not say they cannot be 

 eaten till then, but I do say they are not at their best till 

 the time I have mentioned. 



Next, as to the white Grapes. The Muscats are un- 

 doubtedly the finest winter Grapes for those who have 

 vineries and heat enough for them, but their flavour in 

 August, September, and October is not equal to that of 

 the Royal Muscadine, Buckland Sweetwater, and Foster's 

 Seedling. The Muscats require a high heat to ripen them, 

 and they must be ripened early, but they should not in 

 any case be cut before Christmas. 



No. 498.— Vol. XIX., New Series. 



I now give the names of a few good Grapes, black 

 and white, for exhibiting. Of the black, there is none to 

 excel the Black Hamburgh as a show Grape, but a far 

 superior Grape for flavour, though ripening at the same 

 time, is Pope's Hamburgh [Frankenthal]. This is a 

 beautiful Grape, and no one should be without it where 

 quality is considered. It has a very thin skin, a delicious 

 flavour, and will hang till Christmas without deteriorating. 

 Trenth8m Black is also good for exhibiting, but unless 

 ripened, say, in July, it should not be cut till November ; 

 in fact, this is the best of the Hamburghs for keeping. 



Of the whites, the best early is the Royal Muscadine. 

 This is a very early Grape, and a good keeper. Ripened 

 in a late house it will hang well till Christmas. Foster's 

 "White Seedling is also a keeping Grape of good flavour. 

 All the above can be grown well with ordinary care and 

 with but little fire heat. 



The Alicante and Lady Downe's are both too well 

 known to say more than that they are (leaving out the 

 recent additions, such as Mrs. Pince), the best late Grapes, 

 but they are not fit to be exhibited till the new year 

 comes in, because, till then, we ,have plenty of far superior- 

 flavoured Grapes, and no matter how tine a bunch of 

 Grapes may look if they are acid or inferior to the palate. 

 The Muscat of Alexandria, Trebbiano, and White Lady 

 Downe's are, as I said before, good for late work, till then 

 there is nothing to equal the Muscadines or Sweetwaters. 



As it is now some time since I saw this subject dis- 

 cussed, I hope this short paper will be the means of elicit- 

 ing a few remarks from some of your correspondents. — 

 Stephen Castle, Bent Hill Gardens, Prestwich. 



POTATOES. 

 The Potato is, undoubtedly, one of the most important 

 and valuable of all crops to those who are fortunate in 

 having a piece of ground for the growth of vegetables ; 

 and I am one of those who do not believe there can be a 

 home in the country without a nice little garden in front 

 for flowers, and a plot of ground for the growth of vege- 

 tables. I believe if there were more gardens, one at least 

 to every dwelling, that the beershops would have little 

 charm for the hard-working labourer, much less for the 

 skilled and comparatively well-to-do artisan: There is 



not a creature on earth but has a liking for — a love of ■ 



plants, who does not delight in flowers, fruit, or vegetables ! 

 and there are none so ready to manage well the plot of 

 ground they may have as those who by some means must, 

 if they are to appear decent and respectable, keep from at 

 every meal cutting at the bread loaf. It would be well 

 if every house had its garden. It is a mine of wealth 

 that none know the value of better than those who once 

 possessed a garden, but who, unfortunately, have a house 

 (it is no home) without one. Do not understand me as 

 advocating a large garden to a cottage— one that has a large 

 assemblage of fruit trees, of which the occupier may be 

 heard to boast that this or that tree pays the rent. I 

 believe large gardens to cottages are generally neglected. 

 The occupier finds a large garden too large for what he 



No. 1110.— Vol. XLIY. Oij> Semes, 



