588 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



September i 0 , 



Chrysanthemums. 



Setti 



PECULIARITIES OF CERTAIN VARIETIES. 



and Colouring 



ALEXANDRIA G 



OF M 



OF 



* „ w • , , , The Muscat of Alexandria grape is, without doubt, the best 

 There is. to most of us, a certain sense of consolation in the knowledge . „, u . tlnn anA wt :„ snitP ftf ; tm K • l ' ine Dest w " 



that the various weaknesses and peculiarities of many chrysanthemums 

 are common to almost all cultivators. We are apt sometimes to fancy 



in cultivation, and yet, in spite of its being so, we very rarely !nd V *?* ly 

 what might be honestly termed a really fine crop, comparing 



are common 10 an an ^u^i - - apu .uineumes to xancy ieties , n ^ what is , ooked * - cron of V 



that we have found a special trouble amongst our plants that will be . ^ u» _ 5 a gooa crop of this 



see 

 it with 



pretty sure to upset our chances of success, but on finding that other 

 people experience precisely the same difficulties, our hopes revive and 



, — — ~ bwvjvi. uup oi tnis varietv 



would, in the case of others, be considered a very meagre one r h 

 crops, however, of this muscat have been grown, and they prove that such 



people experience uicciaciy mc same umi^uu^o, uui iiuucd revive ana , t ■ -i 1a , 4i*-™»v»w> rr*.^,™ i r , . 1 " viu «vauma 



• • i j • • „ ~ / mi , thing is possible therefore, no grower should feel satisfied ,,nt;i u i_ 



new interest is awakened in overcoming, as far as possible, whatever . : i/ j • ™Ji„„;«„ * v ,piH nn.,ni * *iusnea until he has 



r ■ triumphed in producing a yield equal in every respect to those of his Bla k 



may be amiss. 



One of the most perplexing weaknesses is that to which Madame 

 Carnot and its sports are subject, viz., that of losing some of their leaves 

 immediately below the "break," at the period when new shoots are just 

 getting away. One might advance several theories as to the probable intimation of a 



Hamburgh Gros Colman, and Alicante. Strong healthy shoots with 

 dark-green foliage of good substance, are sure indications that the Z 

 of the vine are in the right soil, and that the treatment, so far is correct 

 It is when the flowers open and fail to set satisfactorily that the first 



something wrong is apparent. A hirfi temnerAt.i«. Ja 



cause, all of which would appear reasonable cr.cugh, but as far as our 



observation takes us, we are not able to offer with confidence any one of 



these as the sole agent of the evil. Apparently the trouble is a constitu- 

 tional peculiarity arising from some cause or weakness inherent in the 

 plants, and over which it seems impossible to exercise control. Gener- 

 ally speaking, the after consequences are not so disastrous as might be 

 expected, many leaves which become pale in colour regain their normal 

 green in a marked degree where the plants are well cared for. It is re- 

 markable that when the bud which is "taken n about the third week in 

 August appears no loss of leaves occurs as in the previous cases of the 

 break buds forming. This may suggest that the young shoots which are 

 selected to grow on the early breaks absorb such a large quantity of 

 sap that the leaves immediately below suffer in consequence, and that 

 the reason no loss occurs when the flower bud Is taken, is because this 



bud does not make such a demand on the energies of the plant as does 

 the young growth. 



The only other variety which is at all affected in this way is Madame 

 Ad Chatin ; this sort occasionally loses one or two leaves below the 

 break. However, the fact remains, that highly manured plants suffer as 

 well as those grown moderately, and as I have before remarked, we all 

 are liable to the same experience, so the worry is less, and the chances of 

 overcoming the weakness so much the greater. 



Australian Gold is very subject to the " scorching" of the points of its 

 shoots during July. I have seen plants in several places during the 

 season injured in this way, and sometimes so badly that the plant has 

 been rendered useless, but usually only the edges of the young leaves 

 suffer, and the flower bud comes on in due course. The reason is most 

 probably found in having the shoots moistened during hot sunshine. A. H. 

 Wood and Eva Knowles sometimes lose their foliage in a curious manner, 

 and never recover a healthy growth. We have had plants of these 

 apparently in perfect health suddenly commence losing leaves, the 

 extremities shrivelling and dying back." The first named loses its leaves 

 after the three shoots have been selected, commencing above the break, 

 but with Eva Knowles the loss commences on the main stem and con- 

 tinues upwards as growth proceeds. 



The pale colour of the foliage of plants of Dorothy Shea need cause 

 no alarm ; it never has very dark leaves, though if very pale it shows a 

 lack of feeding ; the plant is a free rooter, and will require ample 

 support. Many growers have a difficulty in growing E. Molyneux 

 satisfactorily, in consequence of its leaves curling and refusing to develop. 

 This generally arises from mistaken attentions in the early part of the 

 summer, and when once plants assume this condition it is impossible to 

 induce them to make a satisfactory growth. The * ' # " 



find 



0 0 ety is impatient of 



much water until it has become well rooted, nor should manure be very 

 liberally employed in the soil. Any check imposed in this way contri- 

 butes to the collapse of the plant, and once a faulty root action is 

 engendered the case is hopeless. Charles Shrimpton and one or two 

 others arc sometimes affected in a similar" manner, but if grown care- 

 fully they are very robust. 



A weakness which will be observed as autumn advances in Simplicity, 

 Ella Curtis, Chenon de Lcche, and perhaps one or two more, is the 

 decaying of foliage here and there, usually in large spots near the 

 extremity of the leaf. This arises through too much moisture in the 

 atmosphere, and is aggravated by a too moist condition of the roots. 

 Blindness in some varieties is caused through over strong growing. 

 Jeanne d'Arc, Brookleigh Gem, J. Agate, and Mdllc Therese Rey often 

 fail to produce proper flower buds when grown in large pots and freely 

 manured. The remedy is obvious, though with the tendency inherent we 

 cannot escape entirely and ensure every shoot producing its proper flower. 

 President Borel usually becomes pale in leaf at this time of the year ; it 

 is a free-rooting variety, but is easily over-watered, Thomas Wilkins also 



pparent. A high temperature and 

 dry atmosphere seem to have no effect in averting the misfortune If 

 the vines happen to be vigorous, large bunches -from fifteen to eighteen 

 inches long— will only set a few berries. The worst sets, too will be 

 found where the bunches are most exposed to the sun. 



Had gardeners been familiar with structural botany years ago and 

 brought the knowledge it imparts to bear on the cultivation of this 

 grape, they might have been able earlier to understand the bad setting 

 peculiarity of the vine. A knowledge of the cause would have 

 enabled them to direct attention in the most likely channel to 



a remedy. If we examine the flowers of this muscat grape 

 minutely every day from the time they open, it will be observed that im- 

 mediately the anthers part company they are ready to drop, and a very 

 little disturbance of the canes will effect their release. It will also be 

 noticed that, although there is any amount of pollen, yet only a very 

 limited number of the grains attach to the stigma and grow. Being con- 

 versant with these facts should induce us to avoid shaking the canes 

 roughly in an attempt to distribute the pollen. It will also be observed 

 that many of the stigmas are coated with the grains, and still a set is not 

 effected. Now, this is where botany comes to our aid, and points out 

 that the stigmas are not ripe, and that the flowers are protandrous, i.e., 

 the anthers are ripe before the stigmas. Having made this discovery 

 some years ago, I employed foreign pollen for the purpose of fertilizing 

 the Muscat, and with every success, but as my supply was limited, 1 

 determined to try and effect the same results by other easier and simpler 

 means. Some might say, why not run the hand over the bunches of 

 other varieties rich in pollen and throw over the Muscats? To this 

 remark I would answer that the method is too crude a one to be recom- 

 mended, for even supposing it possible to transfer the pollen in this manner, 

 any grains which may have become attached are likely to be knocked 

 off the next time the hand passes over the bunch. So far as the supply- 

 ing of foreign pollen is concerned, the better plan will be found in cut- 

 ting off the superfluous bunches of Alicantes, carrying them carefully, and 

 then shaking them over the Muscats. It Is advisable in the first instance, 

 however, to reduce the Muscat bunches to one to a lateral, or even to 

 what would be required to form a crop. The easier and simpler method 

 of attaining good sets is by shading. Some years ago I had two bunches 

 of about equal size growing on the same vine, and on laterals of ap- 

 parently the same strength. One of these bunches I shaded with tissue 

 paper, and well exposed the other to the sun. The shaded one set like 

 a Black Hamburgh, whereas the one exposed only set about a dozen 

 berries. Since then I have continued to coat the outside of the glass 

 with thin lime wash just before the vines come into flower, and have never 

 had the least difficulty in securing sets equal to those of any free-setting 

 variety. Besides putting on the shading, I soak the vine border at the 

 same time with water containing a small percentage of nitrate of soda, 

 and at a temperature of 90 degrees. The lime wash is gradually removed 

 by rains, so that by the time the colouring period is reached it is prac- 

 tically all gone. 



The next difficulty to be met with in connection with the growth of 

 this grape is in colouring it. During the last sixteen years I have tried 

 many things recommended, but one and all with the same indifferent 

 success. In warm, dry weather some berries, occasionally even a bunch, 

 would finish well, but, generally, they retained their greenish hue. In 

 practice abundance of air is advised after the fruit shows signs of colour- 

 ing, but remembering the exceptionally fine finished muscats where I 

 once lived, and the conditions under which they grew, induced me to 

 alter my course of treatment during the colouring period. In order to 

 bring it into harmony with the one which obtained when the Muscats 

 coloured well, I had to close the ventilators at the usual time in the after- 

 noon, and otherwise treat them as if they were simply swelling their fruits. 

 They were supplied with warm water at their roots, the same as when 

 they commenced flowering. Under this treatment every berry in the 



is often ruined in the same way ; it is an excellent grower, but once give !l e .L° ok on a beautiful amber colour, and this, too, in much less time 



it a check at the root and the plant seldom recovers. ™ n /■? usua,1 y given to trying to colour them. The success wnK» 

 1 r . .... attended mv pffnrtc ;„ . ~r Ai^ n ^;< l trranes in this 



may caution growers once more against over manuring their plants. -AST* m fimshin * Muscat ? f A1< T f * I ZZlrs' un- 



ro keep feeding moderately and in accordance with the condition of the ^3 r suit ? ^.i 0 COntinue the P raCt,CC ' ^V*^ £S« , £ hose 



plants is all very well, but beware of over dosing, or damping will be one readers of il v7° Uld now stron 8 lv reco m? emi ,ts ado ? t °" ™th and 



of the inevitable results. Colonel Smith, William Seward; Mis. F. A. SSKrf? & "ho «IWt^M*iP(C^.f^^ 



Uevan, G. C. Schwabe, and Mdlle. Therese Key are very susceptible to 

 this, and require very moderate supplies of manure at the present time. 



present 



format a n n T m f °f Queen of England have a peculiar habit of 

 ■ en T g lt is ;?n,T mal ClUSlCr ° f su ^er growths round the base of the 

 SH?" U . ,s » ot alw ays wise to remove OuaTas in doing so many roots are 



likely to be broken. If, however »K ' — ' "V V? y ,"~".'7~~ 



any serious damage to he ^J^^^^^J^S?!*? W ' th .? Ut 

 certainly impose J S li K ht check 0^ ^ mC \ nS lu ? k , ^ ft they 



Trent Park Gardens P *>' rowth > as do a11 the basaI shoots - 



W. H. Lkks. 



finish of this grape. 



COm lVr Uch trea tment-the shutting-up process, I mean-as above 

 recommended for Muscats would be detrimental to the finishing of black 

 varieties, therefore, White Muscats associated with other white varieties 

 only should be treated in the manner described. In the case of houses 



^ « V( mc wnues and . f h bIacks . A muc u»«- 



in matters of this kind often confutes largely to the success which 

 follows in the walk of intelligent enterprise. J- 



