MARCH. 



27 



can be done, and thereby prolong the duration of the bloom, and with it the 

 joy its presence imparts. 



Remove the bulbs from the ground when the time of flowering is past 

 before the rains of autumn penetrate to their quarters. Cut off the spike to 

 within about 6 inches of the bulb, and with some soil attaching to the roots 

 place them in some dry position where damp cannot affect them. I feel 

 certain that during the months of repose they are better exposed to heat than 

 to damp. Take care of the offshoots, and in the spring plant them in a bed by 

 themselves till they shall have become large enough to produce a good spike 

 of flowers. 



If you have the means to grow a few Gladiolus, and have not as yet done 

 so, I say, Try to do so. Many very handsome varieties are very cheap, and 

 you secure at starting the nucleus of a collection that propagates itself. 

 Additions can gradually be made. Year by year some new aspirant to popu- 

 larity may be brought into contact with yourself for the' first time ; and I for 

 one conceive it to be a pleasure of great value, and of high enjoyment, to watch 

 daily the gradual development of one of these charming flowers, whose 

 exquisite pencillings, or whose rich raiment of colour, shall salute you for the 

 first time. Verily, there is something better here, and of a higher order of 

 pleasure than those that pall upon the heart and deaden the tastes, because 

 sought for from sources beneath the level of the satisfaction that is required. 



Quo. 



RELATING TO GRAPES. 



We are frequently hearing of new as well as old fruits and flowers from 

 the hands of different cultivators. Perhaps a few remarks on some of the 

 new, or not generally cultivated varieties, of Grapes may not be without 

 interest to some of your readers. Full descriptions will be found in Hogg's 

 " Fruit Manual." These remarks are from my own observations ; the same 

 kinds of Grapes might be superior in the hands of another grower. In the 

 month of July, 1858, we replanted one of our vineries. I was anxious at the 

 time to prove all the different varieties I could procure, as Grapes are the 

 only fruit my employer eats ; at the same time I wished to be on the safe side. 

 We planted a Black Hamburgh to each rafter, and the intermediate spaces 

 with new or little known varieties, in case of any kind not being satisfactory it 

 could be removed without a blank, or could be grafted ; the latter we have 

 been obliged to do in several instances. For my own part I see no objection 

 to Vines being planted 2 feet apart — that is, one up the rafter, and another up 

 the centre of the light ; it only requires the spurs to be kept a little further 

 apart. These can be easily regulated at pruning time. The following is a 

 list of kinds we have fruited the last three years: — ■ 



1. Muscat Hative de Saumur. — A very excellent White Grape, rich Muscat 

 flavour, excellent for pot culture, and I have no doubt would ripen well on the 

 open walls in the south of England. The earliest Grape I know. 



2. Muscat Noir d' Angers, or Angers Frontignan. — A very fine Frontignan- 

 fkvoured Grape, but, like most of its class, apt to shank. 



.3. Golden Hamburgh. — I regret to say we cannot succeed with this ; it 

 fruits freely, and goes on satisfactorily till nearly ripe, when half the berries 

 become discoloured and drop off, and the bunches become mere skeletons ; 

 while the Hamburghs on each side are all we could wish. 



4. Trentham Black.— This is a Grape of first-rate flavour. The bunches 

 require care in thinning, or will be loose ; said to keep longer than Black 



