416 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 29, 1877. 



done ; and if we can only conclude that the Potato disease is 

 caused by the fungus, and that the condition of the Potato has 

 little or nothing to do with the origin of it, we have only to 

 transplant ourselves in imagination to the backwoods of 

 America, not far from the Rocky Mountains, and believe in 

 the existence of the fungus on several allied plants of the 

 Solanum family, and see the emigrant for the first time plant 

 the ground with Potatoes and watch the spread of the fungus 

 from the uncultivated plants to the cultivated, and we should 

 then have a way of accounting for the origin of the Potato 

 disease which is more in accordance with known facts than 

 several of the other theories which have been advanoed. — 

 Ahateub, Cirencester. 



P.S. — Since writing the above I have been able to procure a 

 copy of " The Colorado Beetle," by Dr. C. C. Riley, State En- 

 tomologist of Missouri. He refers to the Canadian Boatweed 

 as having extended to this country, and acknowledges the 

 American origin of the Phylloxera vastatrix, and to my very 

 great astonishment also admits the American origin of the 

 Oiiinm Tuekeri. His book is about the Colorado beetle, and he 

 does not refer to the Potato disease, but incidentally mentions 

 the existence of about a dozen members of the Solanum family. 

 The only missing links in the chain now are to prove the 

 existence of the Potato fungus on the wild plants, and show 

 that the disease existed not far from the Rocky Mountains at 

 an earlier period than it existed elsewhere, and the case would 

 be complete. This I hope to be able to do on a future occasion. 



STOVE versus FLUE. 



In answer to Mr. L. Hakeman I must remark, it seems at 

 least retrogressive to advocate the merits of heating by flue. 

 However, let us compare notes, and we may then probably 

 arrive at fact?. In the first place I doubt the equality of our 

 conditions. For instance, what is the position of Mr. Hake- 

 man's greenhouse ? what does he grow (a most important 

 question), and when do his plants bloom? My conditions 

 are — greenhouse in the centre of a paddock exposed to the full 

 blast of north and easterly winds. Plants grown — Gardenia, 

 flowering in December; Stephanotis, early spring; RoseB in 

 March; Azaleas in January; Gloxinias according to time 

 started (I am starting some now) ; Clerodendron Balfourii ; 

 Oranges in full bloom in early spring. The foregoing I have 

 grown with the greatest success both as regards size of flowers 

 and health of plants, also Allamanda, Panicum vatiegatum, 

 &c. Now, unless Mr. Hakeman cultivates the same varieties 

 or others requiring similar treatment with respect to heat, I 

 do not see how his argument in favour of a flue (especially 

 as it is only carried once through the house) can hold good ; 

 though I do not doubt the efficacy of his method if simply 

 the preservation of Geraniums and ordinary bedding plants 

 is desired. 



My idea in giving my Three Years' Experience was to 

 advocate the culture of a class of plants seldom seen or even 

 known by the majority of those who possess a greenhouse. 

 My thought was to open up a new field of pleasure and in- 

 terest, as it has been to me. 



As to economy, of course the most economical mode is 

 that which arrives at the same end with the least expen- 

 diture of time, labour, and money. Now, the time occupied 

 in attending my stove is about fifteen minutes in twenty-four 

 hours ; the labour is very little, fuel being close at hand ; 

 expense £2 15s. for nearly a constant fire eight months in the 

 year. As to tempprature, I must confess I do not understand 

 the meaning of 50° average ; it might mean 20 a at one time 

 and 80° at another. The only way to arrive at conclusions is 

 to state the minimum allowed. I seldom register below 53°. 

 One more remark and I have done. I cannot help seeing that 

 my advocacy of this stove seems like an indirect advertise- 

 ment, which practice seems to me both mean and contempt- 

 ible ; I will therefore add that I have since had a Btove con- 

 structed on my own plan, costing less, and with twice the 

 heating power. — Respice Fixeii. 



KEEPING GRAPES. 

 I have sent you a pair of zinc tubes such as I have in use 

 for preserving Grapes in water. A hundred of them were em- 

 ployed last winter and proved satisfactory ; double that number 

 will be used here this season. As the plan adopted here differs 

 considerably in detail from that described and figured at p. 336 

 I will endeavour to tell your readers something about it. 



A shed facing north with a flue running through it, and 

 with ventilators at both ends, so that a draught can be had 

 right through if necessary, is the place we have for keepiDg 

 them in ; and I can scarcely imagine a better place for the 

 purpose, unless it were a dry cellar where the outer atmosphere 

 could not much affect the temperature. 



We aim to have a steady fixed temperature as near as 

 possible with constant ventilation ; indeed just what suits 



ripe Grapes in a vinery suits 

 the Grape room — an even 

 temperature and buoyant at- 

 mosphere. But the Grape 

 room has advantages over 

 the vinery, for in the latter 

 the temperature rises rapidly 

 with the least sunshine even 

 when the air is frosty ; but 

 the Grape room is not affected 

 by a little sun, and its tem- 

 perature only rises a little 

 when the general temperature 

 of the outside air becomes 

 warmer. The safety valve is 

 a little heat and a little air 

 constantly ; for if the place 

 is allowed to get cold and 

 then to rise rapidly either by 

 sun or fire heat condensation 

 is sure to take place on the 

 fruit, even if the air is as dry 

 as it is possible to make it, 

 and decay will speedily follow. 

 On the other hand trie place 

 may be quite damp — it may, 

 in fact, have almost a satu- 

 rated atmosphere, yet if the 

 temperature is kept even and 

 the air buoyant the fruit will 

 take no harm. It is not the 

 amount of moisture in the atmosphere which causes damping 

 off with fruit, flowers, and tender plants : it is the Budden ries 

 of temperature while the fruit, flower, tender plant, or soil 

 around it is sufficiently cold to condense the vapour which 

 comes in contact with it. By-the-by, plants in bottom heat 

 do not damp off at the collar. 



The tubes when filled are hung up near the roof on nails 

 driven into suspended strips of wood. They are merely filled 

 with clear water, just so full that they will not overflow when 

 the stems are inserted. T\ r e do not cork the neck, as we fii-d 

 it unnecessary to do bo, neither do we place charcoal in the 

 water, as the water will keep perfectly sweet so long as the 

 stem of the bunch is in it ; but it gets bad very quickly if the 

 Btem does not reach the water, and we find it necessary to 

 fill up the tubes every week, for the benies absorb a good deal 

 of the water. I have not tested with the scales the difference 

 in weight, but I have observed that berries often become con- 

 siderably plumper after bottling. 



I have had Grapes bottled and hung in a vinery — i.e., I have 

 cleared one division and hung the cut fruit in another division 

 containing ripe uncut fruit, and it did not keep so well as it 

 does in a shed : the stems shrivelled as if shanked. I imagiue 

 that the light caused too much evaporation. They will keep 

 perfectly well in the dark provided all else is right ; the direct 

 rays of the sun are decidedly objectionable. 



The stems must not be allowed to shrivel ; they should be 

 placed in water immediately after cutting. — Wm. Taylok. 



[The twin tube referred to is very similar to one (fig. 80) 

 which was exhibited before the Fruit Committee of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society in 1872. Mr. Taylor's tube differs in 

 tapering from the orifice (where it is a little more than an 

 inch in diameter and slightly flanged outwards) to the base, 

 where it is more than 2 inches, thus increasing its water- 

 holding capacity. It is 6 inches in length inside the fork, aLd 

 is a simple and effectual appliance for suspending Grapes 

 in water. — Eds.] 



JOHN ROSE. 



Totr inserted an article on John Rose in the Journal for 



August 5th, 1S75, No. 749, which contains nearly all we can 



ascertain about him, except that Switzer says also Lord Essex 



sent him to Versailles to study the gardens there, and on his 



