230 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct. 1» 1902. 
the nursing could not bring them to perfection, as they 
began ripening they began splitting and nothing could 
^ave them. These vines are what are known as 
Fosters Seedlings, and so far as my experience goes, 
they are utterly worthless for a tropical country — 
though they are far ahead of any other white 
varieties as a heavy copper, The black varieties — JBar- 
barossa or Black William, and another, Lombardy, 
did well, and are still doing well. The Black William 
is certainly the most profitable grape fcr culture in 
the plains of Kingston and St. Andrew. This 
vine here covered a sloping arbour 150 feet long and 
21 feet wide before it was four years old, and having 
been pruned in February of one year, it was never 
without fruit in all stages for the next eighteen 
months. At one time it had on over a hundred large 
bunches. I had the pleasure of sending one to the 
Director of Public Gardens, and another to Sir Henry 
Blake. The former sent me a very complimentary 
letter, and the latter took his to Montego Bay and 
exhibited it in the Court House there. During the 
year just passed this vine has excelled all its previous 
records. On the 2nd February it was pruned by Mr. 
Greenless and my brother and it received a liberal 
supply of goats, manure, (four cart load?,) and later 
on six loads of fresh manure from cow stables, with 
periodical forking and watering it produced the 
largest crop. At one time it had on 250 bunches of 
good grapes, and it was the wonder of all who saw it. 
We sold Five Pounds Ten Shillings and Sixpence of 
grapes ofi this crop alone and gave away quite as much 
again, besides winning the first prize at the Kingston 
Flower Show. Acting under the advice of the 
Botanical Staff I pruned in August, the vine cropped 
fairly well, but the unusually heavy seasons which 
followed completely spoilt the crop. I have now planted 
out twenty of the Muscat of Alexandria and Shafston, 
Muscat generously given to me by Laurence Tate, 
Esq., of Shaftston, and fifty of the Black William. 
I have also through the courtesy of the Director of 
Public Gardens, six fine plants of the Great Hampton 
Court vine. The soil here is what is described as a 
sandy loam ; the deeper you dig the more sand you 
get, and this seems to suit grape growing admirably. 
The climate is warm during the day and moderately 
cool at nights. The district is very dry, and here 
let me say that growing at stake is unsuitable to this 
country. The vines so treated failed entirely, and 
common sense shows that if a vine will cover a great 
area and produce good fruit it ought to be allowed 
to do so. We have no winter here to check continuous 
growth. All the vines are on wire arbours and have 
the full benefit of the sea breezo. That apostle of 
grape culture, the Revd. Wm. Griffiths, says the 
reason that black grapes are not liked is that every 
old woman knows when a white grape is ripe, bat 
nobody knows when the black grape is. As soon as 
the latter turns purple they are gathered as ripe, 
and as a result they are sour, and the grape gets 
a bad name — when every grape turns black the bunch 
can be permitted to remain on for two weeks, and 
then they will be as sweet as any white grape, but 
of course lacking the flavour of the Muscat. Grapes 
can be grown profitably and easily, and there is lasting 
fame awaiting the agriculturist with a scientific and 
experimental turn of mind, when he succeeds in pro- 
ducing a hardy white variety out of the Black William, 
by cross fertilizing or grafting, which will retain the 
vigour of tie parent stock whilst retaining the deli- 
cate Muscat flavour. In conclusion, I must here 
record my thanks to the Botanical Department for 
the able assistance always readily given me at all 
times. Messrs. Cradwick and T. J. Harris have per- 
sonally visited and given instructions on those vines, 
and I have never failed to get valuable assistance 
from the subordinate staff, and to them is due the 
• praise which the success of these vines merit. 
W. Eamsav Thomas. 
Kingston, 3lst March, 1901. 
p.g. I might be pardoned for mentioning the 
following circumstance. In 1900 the Director of Public 
Gardens and Plantations was on leave in England. 
I wrote asking him to try and obtain a few cuttings 
of the famous Hampton Court Vine ; in replying to 
my letter he said he would try, in due course he 
returned to Jamica fetching several cuttings and a 
fine picture of the vine with a book recording its 
history. I planted six of these cuttings myself, and 
gave two a neighbour. They have done remarkably 
well my neighbour'8>ines started fruiting when a little 
over nine months before they had the first pruning, 
and at present they have seven or eight bunches on 
them. — W.R.T.,8th April, 19U2. — Journalofthe Jamaica 
Agricultural Society. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
A Sequoia " Combine." — All lovers of the grandly 
beautiful in Nature — numbering among them the 
readers of this Journal — will be glad to learn that an 
effort is being made to induce the Government of the 
United States to purchase and preserve the giant trees 
of California, now threatened by the lumberer — only 
the Mariposa Grove being the property of the State» 
the remainder being in the hands of private individuals 
which spells lumberer. It would be an eternal disgrace 
to all concerned if these magnificent specimens of an 
old time variety were to be cut down and converted 
into furniture, &c. It is affirmed that they adorned 
the present landscape thousands of years since, and 
one of those now interested in their preservation affirms 
that as far as may be, the giants of the Gold State 
may be considered as immortal ? for they are growing 
now, some of them. But in these days of " combines" 
— of " trust " — why appeal to Government when a few 
of the so-called ' millionaires" could between them 
sign a cheque which would save all brother or explosion 
of sentiment, and render the donors famous for ever- 
even at the expense of conferring upon the rescued 
giants the names of all the members of their respective 
families, A State so rich as is California- -rich in the 
products of the soil and the metals — could we imagine, 
easily settle the whole business in a very few days.— 
Gardeners' Chronicle. 
CoircH Geass. — Yon have given your correspondent 
Pan-Adam (see Gardeners' Chronicle, p. 331), a labo- 
rious task in advising him to trench his land 2 feet 
deep or more to get rid of Couch grass. About 1 acre 
of orchard ground here was overrun with this weed, 
also Mare's Tail, Docks, Nett'es, and woodbine, the 
latter running up the stems of the Apple and Pear-trees 
besides half smothering some old Currant bnshes. 
Instead of trenching and picking them out, I planted 
Rhubarb in the worst places, sufficiently close to sur- 
round the stems of the trees, but jthe Currant trees 
were destroyed as soon as others were raised to take 
their place, and Rhubarb was planted. The Rhubarb 
was lifted the third year for forcing, and fresh plan- 
tations made each spring, so we have always two or 
three batches going. The crops that follow the Rhu- 
barb are Jerusalem Artichokes, Scotch, Eale, Winter 
Greens, and Potatoes, where open space admits of it, 
I have destroyed the weeds profitably, and in a way 
that no other known method would have done so 
effectually, and I would strongly advise Pan-Adam to 
give my flan a trial. I think the Mare's Tail a most 
determined grower, and when once it gets a hold on 
the land or of gravel walks, it defies every means for 
its destruction. When present in gravel walks'; I 
assume that the roots were present in the soil when 
these were made ; at any rate, weed-killers have been 
applied which destroys the tops, but after a year or 
two it comes up as vigorously as ever. P. Robert), 
Cuerden Hall Gardens, Preston. ["Not every gardener 
wants large quantities of Rhubarb, or to crop his 
orchard with Kale, &c, Ed.],— ittrf. 
