498 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 18, 1885, 
rockery, which should run as nearly as possible east and 
west. If the rockery is extensive walks should as much as 
possible be avoided. It is this which detracts so much from 
the rockeries in our public gardens. The many-headed 
monster could not, of course, be permitted to walk over the 
places where plants of value are growing, and so walks must 
be provided for them ; but not so in private gardens. In 
our friend, Mr. Loder’s, for example—which is, I think, by 
far the finest and richest alpine garden that I have seen, 
and I have seen a good many—there is only one walk 
down the centre, and to examine particular plants you have 
to step on and over the stones to do so. This informal 
arrangement preserves the natural appearance of the garden 
and adds much to its charm. 
A good deal of late has been written on the subject of 
soils, and it has been insisted on that we must provide lime¬ 
stone for plants found in such localities, and so on. This 
has been done in a very complete manner by Mr. George 
Paul in his new alpine garden at Broxbourne; and while I 
have little doubt that plants will be grown more successfully 
in this way, yet I am sure that it is not absolutely necessary. 
A good sandy loam suits, according to my limited experi¬ 
ence, nearly all the plants we require to grow, and it is only 
deterring beginners to say that they must provide special soils 
for their plants. A few, such as our chalk-loving plants, 
as the British species of Orchis and Ophrys, will require 
to have their particular wants provided for, but a large num¬ 
ber of very lovely things will thrive in the soil I have indicated. 
A word of caution is necessary as to the introducing of 
some plants which, pretty in themselves, become a nuisance 
by the manner in which they overrun everything—such 
plants as Anemone sylvestris, Dianthus deltoides, and Rosa 
pyrenaica. The latter will cause me to take up a piece of 
my rockery in order to get rid of it. 
I have thus marked a few of the plants which I think 
may be the means of opening an interesting discussion, and 
as we have several successful growers of alpines here present 
to-night I hope we may derive much instruction from the 
details of their experience.—D., Deal. 
[A very interesting discussion as noticed in our last issue 
followed the reading of this paper.] 
WHY GRAPES CRACK. 
“ A Thinker ” is right with regard to the effect that “ bard hitting ” 
has on me, as when it is delivered fairly and in good spirit I much prefer 
it to any amount of flattery. What I do object to are garbled quotations as 
well as unfair deductions, and in both of these respects “ A Thinker ” is an 
offender. It seems to me that if he had such a strong case he would not 
trouble to parade his great age and experience and general superiority to 
myself, but he would have written more to the point. This is a busy time 
with us, and not many can afford to wait for the mountain to “ bring 
forth a mouse,” for after all, and in spite of his excessively confident 
assertions, there is very little to be gleaned from his page of matter. 
What I wrote concerning the profes-ors was that all their experiments 
“ tend” to prove their pet notions to a demonstration (I did not intimate 
they succeed in so doing), and I find on reference to a dictionary, as 
kindly advised to do by my critic, the definition of the word tend is “ to 
move in a certain direction : to aim at: to contribute.” If I make no 
greater blunders than that which he makes so much of, I shall be well 
content, and no correction will be needed. 
I ask again, will there be found many believers in the theory pro¬ 
pounded by Messrs. Mclnioe and “Thinker?” Will many practical 
gardeners believe it is possible for any kind of fruit, whether attached to 
a plant or severed, to imbibe sufficient moisture through its skin to cause 
it to crack, and this in the short space of a few hours ? That all more or 
less are capable of imbibing a very minute quantity of moisture through 
stems, foliage, and fruit may he correct enough, and the coarse porous 
roots of Orchids may plump up in a congenial atmosphere, but that any 
should burst in consequence is very hard to believe. Frogs, we are told, 
will absorb much moisture through their skin, this causing them to swell 
somewhat, but ACsop is the only chronicler who gives an instance of a 
frog bursting. It must not be thought I am accusing our friends of 
imitating the author of a wonderful book of fables, as there is no doubt 
they are, or at least one is, fully convinced of the soundness of the newly 
announced theory. 
We appear to be well agreed that the primary cause of Grapes crack¬ 
ing is an excess of moisture in the berries, but how this excess of moisture 
finds its way there is the question at issue. Mr. Mclndoe attaches much 
importance to the absence of moisture after the bursting has occurred ; 
but this ought not to influence him in favour of the endosmose theory, 
simply because we might a 3 reasonably expect a drop to ooze out from a 
repleted and bursted berry, whether over-fed inwardly or outwardly. If 
they are capable of absorbing so much moisture from the atmosphere, 
they would be quite as capable of taking in more than is good for them 
if supplied to them with a syringe ; yet I defy either of my opponents to 
crack berries in a well-ventilated house in such a manner. Neither will 
the berries crack when fully ripe, and, therefore, less juicy, and after the 
foliage has fallen, and this Mr. Henderson proves. They will decay in a 
badly ventilated house, but do not crack under similar condition as would 
affect them when in full leafage. We always cut Tomatoes in order to 
prevent cracking, and they are placed on a dry shelf or staging, simply 
because a moist position causes an early decay. The skins of Grape 
berries and Tomato fruits, and I might say the pulpy matter each contain, 
are somewhat analogous, and both appear to crack under similar con¬ 
ditions. Anybody can experiment with the latter, but no one can afford 
to do so with a house of Grapes. 
Why does “ A Thinker ” persistently ignore the possibility of the 
cracking of the berries of the Duke of Buccleuch and other fruits from 
undue expansion of the fluids, as suggested by Mr. Thomson ? Thisis 
really the true cause of the cracking of fruit, which is “ hampered ” in a 
wet state. A mass of wet fruit is bound to become heated, and softening 
or weakening of the skins finishes the mischief. If it was brought about 
by the very small quantity of moisture attached to each the same thing 
would happen if we wetted Grapes and any other kind of fruit that is 
liable to crack, and merely cover them so as to prevent evaporation. Do 
the top fruit in the hampers crack as badly as those underneath ? I say 
most decidedly not; yet if left on the tree where they would dry quite as 
quickly every plump fruit would perhaps have been spoiled. Those 
sheltered from the wet by overhanging branches are certain to be more 
backward, and in many cases are of inferior quality, therefore less liable 
to burst. I am asked to explain “ how it is that so much soft fruit bursts 
in the night when packed wet in the day, even when taken out of the 
hampers and spread on trays ? ” In my comparatively short career I 
have not seen an occurrence of this kind, but doubtless our friend has or 
the question would not be asked. I do not suppose he expects me to 
believe they absorbed too much moisture, and I shall want a lot of con¬ 
verting before I believe that the small amount of moisture on each skin, 
even if it passes into the fruit, will fill it to a cracking point. It 
is too incredible, and will only be smiled at. A hamper of wet ripe 
juicy fruit will commence heatiDg in a short time, and expansion 
of the fluids would follow; and when laid out thinly the skins 
would naturally be the first to dry, contracting accordingly, hence 
the cracking. The same argument holds good with “the Duke” .at the 
Manchester Show. Moisture and heat swells the pulp of the fruit, and 
to a certain extent softens and renders the skins elastic ; but in the case 
of an excessive supply of sap they become too weak to resist the rush, 
while, when the fruit is in a cut state and overheated, the bursting 
follows cooling and contraction. Plenty of light and air results in the 
formation of tough skins and the fruit keeps better accordingly. In hot 
dry weather the moisture passes from the leaves principally, this diverting 
it from the fruit. A dry heat does not unduly expand the juices as “ A 
Thinker ” wants to insinuate I stated ; but, on the contrary, hastens the 
formation of sugar. It is the moist heat that does all the mischief to ripe 
or nearly ripe fruP. 
“A Thinker” tries to put a ridiculous complexion on much that I 
advance, notably on my remarks upon the softening of the skin ; but he 
has overshot the mark. I did not say softening of the skin “ predisposes 
cracking,” nor did it at the time enter my head that such a construction 
would be put upon my assertion. Any schoolboy knows only too well 
when his hands are most liable to “ chap.” If, however, unduly softening 
the skin does not really predispose cracking, how is it the “ horny hand ” 
of the labourer, and which seldom finds its way into warm water nor gets 
anointed with scented soaps, rarely cracks, while the soft hand of the 
aristocrat, if exposed to a cold dry wind, chaps badly ? If there is any 
truth in the emiosmose theory the porous hand of the individual—say, a 
washerwoman—constantly being moistened ought to become bloated, and 
crack occasionally ; in fact, I should think they would be more liable to 
suffer from it than the glazed skin of a Grape berry. 
I, too, should be glad to have Mr. W. Taylor’s opinion on this new 
notion, and 1 hope soon to get it without openly flattering him with the 
idea of calling in his assistance.—W. Iggulden. 
THE ANTWERP INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION AND 
CONGRESS OF [BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE. 
I beg to inform you that an international Congress of botany and horti¬ 
culture is to be held in Antwerp on the 10th of August next, at the same 
time as the great international flower show. 
At the general assembly of the Royal Botanic Society of Belgium, on 
the 7th of December, 1884, it was decided unanimously that the Society 
should participate in the Congress, and its directors were at once invited 
to have an interview with the directors of the “ Cercle Floral ” of Antwerp 
(promoter of the Congress) and that of the “ Chambre Syndicale des Horti- 
culteurs Beiges ” as to the organisation of the said Congress. 
The three directions have met since several times in Antwerp, Brussels, 
and Ghent. A commission was appointed to elaborate the programme to 
all regulations. 
Distinguished botanists and horticulturists have been invited to prepare 
preliminary reports of the various subjects to be discussed. Forty-two of 
them (belonging to different nations ) have promised to send their reports 
within a short time. 
