March 5, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
189 
and the best late and most remunerative of all, Ne Plus Ultra. The 
Giant Marrow was nowhere, but most of the others left little to be 
desired. I thought this prosaic experiment wa3 not a bad way of 
judging Peas. However, I regard the majority of new vegetables as 
decidedly good, and also think your able correspondent is not a bad 
praiser. 
AMONG other things he praises, I do not suggest unduly, certain 
kidney Potatoes, on page 167. From a bewildering host he selects four 
as presumably distinct, and amongst them Gloucestershire Kidney. I 
have had Potatoes under this name from three sources, and received as 
many different varieties. This led me to write to .the Journal on the 
subject some time ago, and I was informed that the true Gloucestershire 
Kidney is just the true Myatt’s. I wonder what your correspondent 
thinks about that. 
I have from time to time read much of what Mr* Bardney has written 
on Rose culture and profited by his record of experience ; but there is a 
sentence in his article on page 168 that I stumbled over. It is this :— 
“ Plants potted in autumn, even if done early, are not in a fit state for 
forcing ; the growth will be weak, and the flowers, if any are produced, 
will be small and worthless.” There is forcing and forcing. Such plants 
may, and probably would, fail if forced briskly to have blooms in February 
and March ;' but for a few years I have potted plants in October, and they 
rarely failed to grow strongly and give the best of blooms in April and 
early May. The pots were plunged in beds of leaves and the plants com¬ 
menced rooting at once, as they will do when potted in October. The 
practice was commenced in 1849, so it is not a new-fangled notion. 
“ Vitisator’s” very thoughtful contribution on “The Philosophy of 
Pruning ” will, it is hoped, have the effect of inducing both gardeners 
and amateurs to give deeper study to the subject. Much of the so-called 
pruning that is inflicted on trees can only be properly described as muti¬ 
lation, and more mistakes are made in pruning in summer than in winter. 
A common error is to defer the practice too long, thus encouraging the 
already too powerful root-action, then slashing off the shoots and clearing 
them away in armfuls. This not only gives a shock to the trees, but by 
suddenly exposing the hitherto shaded leaves at the base of the shoots to 
the hot sun they simply collapse. The object of the cultivator should be 
to develope the first formed leaves for the formation of spurs under the 
full influence of light, and they will assimilate and secrete matter that is 
at once necessary for the structure of the branches and the formation of 
fruit buds. The object of penning this passing thought on a great sub¬ 
ject is to stimulate others to bestow more attention on the physiology of 
pruning than can now be given by—A Thinker. 
VIOLET COMTE DE BRAZZA. 
All who wish to have a lovely sweet-smelling bunch of pure white 
Violets throughout the winter and spring months should grow Comte de 
Brazza. The individual flowers of this variety are large, and produced in 
great profusion on long stout stalks. For culture in pots I have never 
seen any Violet to approach it. It covers itself with bloom, and all who 
have a greenhouse should grow it in pots for decorative purposes. My 
experience has been that in growing Violets for greenhouses and dwelling- 
rooms it is best to have them all the season in pots instead of planting out 
and lifting. They should be grown from single crowns in rich Boil, 
plunging the pots in summer in some light material in a border with a 
west aspect.—I). Thomson, Drumlanrig. 
GRAPES KEEPING 
In our late house we have the following varieties of Grapes, but thi s 
is the first year we have had an opportunity of comparing their keeping 
qualities, as last season was their first fruiting, and the few bunches were 
used before Christmas. The first to shrivel was Alnwick Seedling, 
closely followed by Alicante and Muscat of Alexandria. Lady Downe’s 
Bhowed signs of shrivelling the first week in January, whilst Gros Guil¬ 
laume and Gros Colman were still plump. The two latter and Golden 
Queen, that ripened in August, were sent to table the second week in 
January. The Queen was much shrivelled, but the others were without 
a wrinkle. 
Alnwick Seedling set so as to require heavy thinning, but in colour 
and bloom it was perfect. No other black Grape here had such a striking 
appearance. The bunches were well shaped and weighed 2 lbs. What 
should cause Lady Downe’s to give way before Gros Guillaume is inex¬ 
plicable to me. The latter does not keep well here in bottles. The 
shoulders and branches turn brown and they fall when the bunches are 
moved, but the berries remain plump, or moderately so. I have also 
noticed a bunch or two on the Vine that had to be cut very carefully. 
This, I presume, is not the fault of the Grape any mo:e than Lady 
Downe’s is at fault in not keeping, for some have the 'atter as late as May 
where they have superior accommodation for preserving it. The bunches 
we have of it were cut the 20th of January and placed in bottles, and it 
will be scarcely good in the middle of March. A bunch left in the leader 
of the Vine remains in the same condition as it was six weeks ago, and it 
has had to take its chance with a houseful of plants. The structure which 
has to do duty for a Grape room is unavoidably warm—50° to 56° if 
closed—so I am compelled to have the window continually open. Gros 
Colman bottled at the same time as Lady Downe’s was quite plump until 
a fortnight ago, and I fear will hardly keep to the end of March. This is 
such a favourite with my employer that if I grew no other I should so far 
give satisfaction. He has commented upon its noble appearance in terms 
of praise, and on my remarking that its flavour was inferior to many 
others that had been sent to table, he replied that he “ attached but little 
importance to that, as he was sure all his guests had eyes, but he was not 
so certain about their taste.” How applicable that remark may be it is 
not for me tc say. It is, however, proverbial that tastes differ. We have 
also ample evidence that for one who partakes of dessert there are half a 
dozen that do not. 
In most establishments the consumption of fruit is regulated by the 
prevailing age of the diners. A family or party whose members are 
young will consume much more than the same number more advanced in 
years, and amongst the first the criticism is less severe, one Grape being 
deemed as good as another.—W. P. R. 
THE AUSTRALIAN HONEYSUCKLE. 
The Banksias are a peculiar genus of plants, the species forming 
which contribute largely to the native vegetation of New South Wales and 
other districts in the great Australian continent. These plants with their 
relatives the Proteas were at one time much grown in large establishments 
in England, hut of late years they have been almost lost, and are now 
seldom seen except in botanic gardens. Some are perhaps more strange 
than beautiful, but there are several which are by no means devoid of 
attractions, and would add to the interest of many gardens. Of these 
Fig. S3.—Banksia integrifolia (reduced). 
the Australian Honeysuckle (Banksia integrifolia) is especially noteworthy 
as a free-growing and floriferous plant, which recommendations are not 
possessed by all its allies. The popular name appears somewhat far¬ 
fetched, as are many other popular names ; but it does not refer to the 
habit of the plant as might be supposed, but (o the quantity of nectar 
secreted in the flowers. Banksia integrifolia is a shrubby plant, usually 
of moderate size in cultivation, but attaining much greater dimensions in 
its native land, where some of its near relatives rise to the height of 50 
feet. The flowers are yellowish in a cylindrical head at the ends of the 
branches, as is shown in the woodcut (fig. 33), which is a reduced repre¬ 
sentation of a small flowering branch. The leaves are narrow and 
undivided, dark green, and firm in texture. 
The plant succeeds in light turfy loam and peat, and requires only the 
temperature of a greenhouse or conservatory, supplying water carefully 
when not in flower. 
LORD NAPIER NECTARINE. 
Those who write in favour of this imply that I have not the right sort, 
but as I have seen it repeatedly at shows and in different gardens I know 
it well, and I am sorry to say our tree, which produces fruit of fourth- 
rate quality, is really Lord Napier. It may be that it does not succeed so 
