October 7, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



475 



from plants introduced by Monsieur Regnier, of Fontenoy 

 sous Bois, from Cochin China, but it has remained a rare 

 plant. Sir Trevor Laurence possesses about fifty plants of 

 it, and these, when in flower, produce an effect as brilliant 

 as a bed of scarlet Verbenas. The whole plant when in 

 flower does not exceed six inches in height, the erect stem 

 bearing from six to ten fleshy, strap-shaped bright green 

 leaves and a cluster of numerous flowers, which Reichen- 

 bach aptly described as resembling in form the flowers of 

 a well-developed Orchis purpurea. The lip is the conspic- 

 uous feature of the flower, as it is flat, trifid, nearly an 

 inch across, and colored rich scarlet ; " no English soldier 

 can boast a jacket of a brighter scarlet than this." As with 

 all Habenarias, this species loses its leaves and goes to 

 rest in winter, pushing up new growth in early spring. It 

 requires a tropical temperature and plenty of moisture all 

 the year round, and for compost a mixture of peat, sphag- 

 num and good leaf-mold. Thrips are specially partial to 

 it, and soon destroy the leaves ; to keep them in check it 

 is a good plan to wash the leaves with soap and water 

 about once a fortnight. 



Habenaria carnea. — This is a new introduction from 

 Singapore which has just flowered at Kew, and which, 

 from the size and prettiness of its flowers, is likely to be- 

 come a favorite with those who take an interest in small 

 Orchids. It is not unlike H. militaris in habit, but the 

 leaves are shorter and form a rosette at the base of the 

 stem, which rises to a height of about six inches and bears 

 about six flowers which have a clavate spur three inches 

 long, a spreading, flat, incised labellum, one and a half by 

 one inch, and ovate sepals and petals. The color of the 

 whole flower is the most delicate flesh-pink, which fades 

 to- almost white with age. The flowers last three weeks. 

 The cultural requirements of this species appear to be ex- 

 actly the same as those of H. militaris. 



Kew. 



W. Watson. 



Cultural Department. 



Early Grapes in the North. 



A LONG our northern border, and across the Canadian 

 ■**■ boundary as far as the upper St. Lawrence River, the 

 earliest Grapes can be grown with considerable success. The 

 Catholic clergy of Montreal have long cultivated early kinds of 

 European Grapes within their enclosures in and about the 

 city, and have even used them for making wine ; but my 

 occasional visits have shown me that" it is with the greatest 

 difficulty, and only by the free use of sulphur and other 

 chemical applications, that these foreign Vines can be kept 

 sufficiently free from disease to produce crops of mature 

 fruit. The wealthy people of Montreal have very fine grap- 

 eries, and at the exhibitions of the Montreal Horticultural So- 

 ciety, which I have many times attended in the capacity of a 

 judge of horticultural and pomological exhibits, the display 

 of house-grown grapes has not been inferior even to those 

 seen at the fruit-shows of the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society. 



There is a narrow strip of country in Canada, between the 

 northern end of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence, where 

 the Concord Grape is successfully grown and ripened. There 

 are even a few commercial vineyards on a moderate scale in 

 that vicinity, but by far the greater portion of the native 

 grapes sold in Montreal are either from the United States or 

 from the south-western part of the province of Ontario, which 

 is an excellent Grape region. 



In Vermont the whole shore of Lake Champlain, together 

 with the several islands in the lake which constitute the 

 county of Grand Isle, produces good grapes. It was here that 

 the now fairly well-known Vergennes Grape originated. This 

 grape is fully as late as Concord, yet it is esteemed not only for 

 its very good quality, but also as one of the best keepers. But 

 beyond these low-lying water-side regions, on both sides of the 

 international boundary, the climatic conditions change. A 

 late spring and early fall frosts materially shorten the growing 

 season ; and although the vines grown among the hills are 

 much more healthy than elsewhere, it is useless to plant any 

 but the earliest varieties, and these only in warm sheltered 

 spots open to the south and protected from cold winds. Along 

 the shores of Lake Memphremagog, the surface of which is 



upward of 700 feet higher than Lake Champlain, only forty 

 miles away, there are many nooks well suited to Grape-cul- 

 ture, although very few ot them are yet so occupied. In 

 such spots even the Concord often perfects its fruit, but only 

 where the water keeps off the September and early October 

 frosts. I have been experimenting with Grapes in this region 

 for twenty-five years, and have been successful with several 

 varieties, though I have never been encouraged to plant them 

 on a commercial scale in competition with more favored 

 loi alities. 



Soon after I began, the late Dr. Grant, of Iona Island, in the 

 Hudson River, introduced his Eumelan Grape, and my first 

 plantings were chiefly with this, the Delaware, the Israella, the 

 Hartford and the Salem. Since then I have added the Tolman, 

 the Brighton, Moore's Early, and recently the Green Mountain 

 and Diamond, but from the Diamond I have not yet received 

 fruit, though the vines have made a good growth. Perhaps a 

 few notes on these varieties may interest readers who are culti- 

 vating grapes under similar conditions. 



Hartford is the oldest and best-known of these early grapes. 

 It is hardly in advance of the wild type, and the feeble attach- 

 ment of the berry to its stem as it ripens robs it of what little 

 value it might otherwise have. Eumelan is a very strong grower, 

 making an immense quantity of wood and requiring a great 

 deal of summer pruning. It is early and fai-rly good, but the 

 clusters are imperfect. Israella is ot about the same season as 

 Eumelan ; it is a more moderate grower, with good clusters 

 of fruit that holds well to the stem. In quality it is quite good, 

 but I have not found it as productive as it was supposed to be. 

 Delaware is all that one could ask for in a grape of its class, 

 but its thin foliage makes it the easy victim of the thrips, 

 which is the only enemy that attacks my Grape-vines, and tor 

 which I find no perfect remedy. The insects make this small 

 grape smaller, and, by injury done, the foliage retards ripening. 

 Still we get a lot of Delawares nearly every year. 



Salem is, with me, one of the earliest arid surest to ripen. It 

 is unlike other grapes, in being quite eatable before it is fully 

 ripe ; and it is also a long keeper, improving in quality to the 

 end. If it had a good cluster, it would be the king of Ameri- 

 can grapes. I want to protest vigorously against the common 

 practice of selling the Agawam grape under the name of Salem. 

 Quite often I have been taken in by dealers in the city, for the 

 two are strikingly alike in the basket, but with no other resem- 

 blance. Tolman is simply a wild grape, very early, good for 

 making a jelly to go with meats, but for every other use value- 

 less. I could grow them by the car-load more cheaply than 

 currants, but I do not. Moore's Early is as defective" in its 

 clusters as Salem, but I hear that it does better with long train- 

 ing and age. It is what the street-dealers in Boston call it, an 

 Early Concord. Brighton is a grape of peculiar habit ; it is 

 early in a hot season, but in a cool one it does not even begin 

 to color — that is, it requires a higher average temperature 

 than it gets in the mountains to be an early grape. 



Green Mountain has fruited finely for me for the first time, 

 this year. I saw it when shown for the first time at the meet- 

 ing of the American Pomological Society, in Boston, four 

 years ago, and was much struck with it. I must set it down 

 as being as early as Tolman and as good as Delaware, with a 

 much larger berry and cluster. For home use I put it at the 

 head for the cold north, but I fear it will not be a success as a 

 market grape, except, perhaps, for a near market, because of 

 its tender skin and weak attachment to the stem. Otherwise 

 it is as near perfection as I expect to see in so early a grape. 



Newport, Vt. T. H. Ho skills. 



Planting- Hardy Bulbs. 



VX/'HEN it is desired to mass Narcissus for color effect, as in 

 * * flower-beds, it is obviously necessary to plant those 

 kinds together that will be in flower about the same time. 

 The flowering season lasts over a much more extended season 

 in Europe than in America, owing to the more gradual ap- 

 proach of the spring season. With us Narcissus-flowers can 

 be counted on in two weeks after the frost leaves the soil, and 

 the different varieties may be had in abundance for about a 

 month if the yellow kinds are used. The white varieties of 

 the Poeticus section extend the season two weeks longer. One 

 who wishes to plant yellow kinds can select a few of the most 

 reliable kinds, like Princeps, which is cheap, early and good. 

 N. obvallaris, the Tenby Daffodil, one of the best for any 

 purpose, with N. rugilobus, N. incomparabilis and its variety 

 Stella, which has white perianth and yellow crown, and N. 

 spurius, the Trumpet Major of catalogues, are well-tried and 

 reliable varieties, and we were much pleased with Ard Righ 

 (Irish King) last season, although it is hardly cheap enough 



