40 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



GRAPE CONFERENCE. 



September 24, 1890. 



A Conference on Grapes was held at the Chiswick Gardens on 

 Wednesday, September 24. 



The chair was taken by Dr. Hogg, F.L.S., F.E.H.S., President 

 of the Conference, who, in opening the proceedings, said : This 

 is one of a series of Conferences in which we are interested. The 

 object of these Conferences is to get as many subjects as possible 

 together, in order that we may be able to compare ther merits 

 one with another. I think we have had about seven oj eight of 

 these Conferences, all of which have been remarkably successful, 

 and the results of some of them have been embodied in /hose very 

 valuable works on British Apples and Pears, Orchids, tnd others 

 in the Society's Journal. I am rather disappointed wa have not 

 a larger collection of Grapes here to-day. On forme] occasions 

 we have had a larger number of varieties, but to-day ve are con- 

 fined more to the commercial aspect. Instead of having a 

 number of the smaller dessert Grapes, we seem to abound more 

 in those which are valuable from a commercial pant of view. 

 One reason of this may be the tendency to grow larfe instead of 

 small Grapes. Formerly we used to see Frontignans — Grizzly 

 Frontignans, Black Frontignans, and White Frontinans ; they 

 were largely grown, and it is impossible to have mire delicious 

 Grapes. Why they are not now more grown I cannit tell, unless 

 it is because of their size, and I must say it is a piy that horti- 

 culture should tend in the direction of slavery t) mere size. 

 However, I shall not take up your time any longer, as we have 

 some able readers of papers here. 



FRONTIGNAN GRAPES. 

 By Mr. T. Francis Rivers, F.R.H4 



The Herault department, which has lately been visited by very 

 disastrous and deplorable inundations, once forned part of the 

 ancient province of Languedoc, and has always ben famous for 



