334 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 24, 1884. 
ventilators almost to their full width results in more injury to Vines than does 
almost any other mistake in management. This reply was in type before 
your second letter reached us. Your first did not arrive in time to be 
answered the same week. 
Apple Buds Eaten {Novice). —They have been no doubt attacked by 
birds, and by a little attentive observation early in the morning you might 
see them at work. We have not known chaffinches to attack the buds of 
fruit trees, but one or two bullfinches often prove very destructive. We are 
glad to hear you have succeeded so well in raising Auriculas. 
Vine Laterals Breaking (J. F .).—The “ slipping off ” of the laterals is 
not the result of any mismanagement of the border, but is due either to their 
coming in contact with the roof or wires, or to imperfectly tving them. If 
they are tied down too soon, or the ligature is too near the point of the 
laterals, the latter are almost certain to “ slip off.’’ We have known Vines 
seriously and permanently injured by defects in tying, as blanks made by 
the breaking of the laterals cannot be readily occupied by fruitful wood. 
Do you keep the house too close and moist, and thus make the growths 
unusually tender ? 
Cutting-down Vines in Spring {Doubtful). —If Vine rods are shortened 
when the laterals have only just commenced growing there is such a great 
loss of sap that they are seriously weakened ; but if they have grown a yard 
or so, and produced a number of developed leaves, a rod may be safely cut 
off if there is another on the Vine to take the sap, or if there are strong 
growths below the point of severance. Such Vines will lose a certain 
quantity of sap, but the bleeding will soon cease, and the Vine will be as 
healthy as ever. We have known Vines improve by this process, and we 
have known others ruined by beheading them in early spring. 
Gardenia Buds Deformed {Mrs. Radlijfe). —We have received the 
deformed buds, but no letter referring to the condition of the plants, nor 
to the treatment or temperature to which they have been subjected. We 
have noticed on several occasions buds deformed when they have been 
produced from the small side shoots in early spring, but not to the same 
extent as. they appear to have done upon your plants. A check when the 
buds are in an embryo state, arising from the soil being kept too wet, causing 
torpidity of the roots, is sure to result in deformity, especially if the plants 
are kept in a high temperature, and thus their top growth is forced too 
rapidly for the sluggish roots to support the flowers. That is one cause of 
deformed buds ; another is too low temperature, in which the whole plant is 
paralysed, while plants in an enfeebled state by any cause do not expand 
their flowers freely. 
Zonal Pelargoniums and their Raisers (IF. E. B .).—We cannot under¬ 
take to give the names of the raisers of the thousands of varieties that have 
been placed in commerce during the past thirty years. You, however, only 
ask for six at present, and we are enabled to supply you with five of them, 
perhaps some of our readers can give the sixth. Tom Thumb was raised 
by Mr. Willson, gardener, Dallingham House, Newmarket, and was placed 
in commerce about forty years ago; Mrs. Pollock was raised by Mr. Peter 
Grieve at Culford, Bury St. Edmunds ; Bijou was raised by Mr. Westwood, 
Turnham Green; Crystal Palace Gem by Mr. Gordon, who was outdoor 
Superintendent at the Palace ; Lord Palmerston by Mr. Donald Beaton ; and 
Christine was raised by Mr. E. R. Kinghorn, Sheen Nursery, Richmond, but 
we do not know the raiser of the variety you call Magenta Christine. 
Vines not Fruiting (IF. A. B .).—You do not mention the varieties, some 
of which naturally grow luxuriantly and bear fruit sparsely. Still, judging 
by the sample sent, the soil of your border is much too rich and deficient in 
calcareous matter. An application of lime would probably be beneficial, but 
the best remedy would be to lift the Vines in September, or when the fruit 
is cut, and place the roots in a compost of fresh loam, with an intermixture 
of lime rubbish and charred refuse, and half a bushel of crushed bones to 
each cartload of soil. The border need not exceed 2 feet in depth, nor be 
wider than the roots extend ; and it can be kept fertile with the Vine roots 
near the surface by mulchings of manure. This, with thinly training the 
growths so that.every leaf is exposed to the sun, and judicious ventilation to 
insure the ripening of the wood, will result in fruitful Vines. Perhaps the 
growths are too crowded now, and the house kept too close and moist. 
Raising Anemones {J. B. Loft). —Single Anemones are readily raised 
from seeds, and plants raised early by sowing now commence flowering next 
year if grown in fertile soil. The year following they will be very fine if 
the tubers are not disturbed. The seed being very woolly must be separated 
by rubbing it with sand, and then scattered in drills about 6 inches apart 
and 1 inch deep, saturating them before sowing if the soil be dry. Should 
bright weather follow it will be advisable to shade the beds with mats or 
some other material, as the seed will not germinate freely ; and shading is 
much better than watering after sowing. If the seedlings are crowded 
patches of them may be dug up with earth adhering to the roots, and trans¬ 
planted in showery weather in summer. Fresh seed should be obtained, as 
the old does not germinate freely. 
Salting Asparagus Beds {G. Melton). —This is certainly not an “old and 
useless” practice, whether you have found it valueless or not. Salt is not 
only an excellent manure for the crop, but it can be given safely in sufficient 
quantity to destroy weeds, or, what is better, prevent their growth. We 
never weed our Asparagus beds, because a weed is never seen on them, while 
we never fail to cut excellent heads of this esteemed vegetable in their 
season. But the soil of our beds is fertile and the plants strong. Salt will 
not make Asparagus grow where there is none, nor will it enable you to cut 
large heads from weak crowns. We apply it at the rate of about 3 ozs. to 
each square yard, at intervals of a week or two, and we have found by many 
years of experience that the dressing, is beneficial. Had it been otherwise 
we should have discontinued the practice long ago. 
Old Essays on Auriculas {N. L.). —We scarcely know what you mean by 
Gilbert’s Essay.” Bound with “ The Florist’s Vade-Mecum,” and men¬ 
tioned on. the title page, is “ The Gardeners’ Almanack for five years, 1G83- 
1687. With monthly directions what ought to be done in either kitchen or 
flower, garden for ever.” And appended to it is a “ Treatise of Auriculas,” 
of which he and others were great patrons, as is told in this paragraph of its 
introduction:—“Peter Egerton of Boughton near Chester, Esquire : I can¬ 
not but let every lover of flowers know his remov’d abode, to his estate at 
the Hall of Shaw, near Manchester in Lancashire, where he will keep up 
(and increase as new faces appear) his choice collection of plants and flowers. 
The last April I waited on him, before he removed from. Boughton, and 
there found many Auriculas’s, that were not mention’d in this Compendium, 
and also three or four that I afterwards saw in the Pallace Garden at \v or- 
cester, belonging to Mr. Thomas Newton, gentleman to my very good lorn, 
the Right Reverend Father in God, James Lord Bishop of Worcester, feo 
that from Mr. Egerton's collection, who was the best florist in Cheshire, ana 
hath the same pre-eminence in Lancashire, and Mr. Newton, who may chal¬ 
lenge the same for skill in Worcestershire, and myself in Shropshire, and 
consequently from the choicest collections in these nations, I desire you 
accept the ensuing catalogue of the best single striped, double, and double 
striped Auricula’s.” 
Various {A Lady). —You will probably not err by pinching the Vines at 
the top of the house, though some gardeners allow the growth to extend and 
hang down the back wall to encourage root-action. The precise method to 
adopt, as regards stopping them or permitting them to extend, cannot be 
determined without a knowledge of the condition of the Vines. The 
temperature of the house in which the Vines are flowering is right, and 
provided you keep the air buoyant by judicious ventilation, full bunches of 
fruit ought to follow. Drawing the hand gently over the bunches when they 
are dry early in the forenoon accelerates the setting process, so does tapping 
the bunches or giving the Vines a short and sharp shake, as this distributes 
the pollen. A soft brush lightly drawn over the bunches has the same effect. 
The temperature of your second house is also right. Your gardener has 
probably acted rightly in top-dressing the Amaryllises, also in potting the 
Epiphyllums, as we assume the latter needed larger pots. It is, however, 
very easy to overpot these plants, but as you neither indicate the size of . the 
plants or the pots we are unable to answer your question explicitly. A light 
shelf in a warm house is suitable for both kinds of plants. They cannot 
have too much sun, and must have sufficient water to keep them growing 
until August, then the supply must be gradually reduced, just enough being 
given to keep them fresh without promoting further growth. All the suit 
possible and a dry atmosphere will be suitable for ripening the growth, 
which is essential for the formation of flowers. A bright and genial summer 
and a hot and dry autumn are the conditions requisite for growing both kinds 
of plants successfully. 
Vines not Thriving {J. M.). —Your first letter was not received by us 
nor, presumably, was the post-card we sent in answer to your second received 
by you. It was not necessary to publish your letter in the Journal, and 
possibly if it had been inserted it would not have elicited a reply, since 
ordinary readers, and indeed good gardeners, would have felt that more 
particulars were needed to enable them to answer satisfactorily. We answer 
all such questions ourselves, and our reply was prepared and in type before 
your letter of the 17th inst. arrived. If the Vines had been heavily fruited 
before you had them, they ought not to have been sold for planting, as Vines 
that are fruited in pots are usually exhausted by the crops they produce. 
We can scarcely think, however, that the nurserymen you name would sell 
inferior—that is, exhausted—Vines. Have you asked them if the Vines were 
fruited before you had them ? Many Vines fail because the canes are not 
well shortened when they are planted, or, preferably, a month or two before, 
if they are planted in the spring. For instance, if your Vines were 7 or 
8 feet long, and were left that length, we should not expect them to do 
well—not half so well as if they had been shortened to a length of 3 feet. 
It would not do to shorten them now, they are just starting, but if cut down 
in the autumn to the base of the rafters, strong growth would probably 
follow that would bear well the following year. You might try one or two 
of the weakest. If they will not bear as they are you have nothing to lose, 
while the gain may possibly be considerable—always provided you treat 
them properly in respect of atmospheric moisture, temperature, and ventila¬ 
tion. Errors committed in these respects spoil the best of Vines ; but even 
if the best treatment is accorded, Vines that have been heavily fruited in 
pots and then planted without severely shortening the canes, cannot be- 
expected to flourish. We have never known the firm in question to sell 
exhausted Vines. They would no doubt dispose of such Vines if ordered, 
and charge a reduced price for them accordingly ; but cheap Vines are dear 
in the end. 
Azaleas after Flowering ( D. E. Best). —A good place for them is a Peach 
house or vinery at work, or any position where slight shade can be given and 
a moist night temperature of 55° or 60° maintained. It is decidedly preferable 
to encourage them at this season than to subject them to hard forcing when 
wanted to flower during winter or early spring, which not unfrequently ends- 
in failure. Plants that make their growth and set their flower buds early 
force into flower when wanted with ease and certainty, in fact unfold their 
blooms almost naturally as soon as heat is applied. When these plants have 
started fairly into growth and their roots are active potting can be done if 
required. Before commencing this operation see that the soil is sufficiently 
moist, so that no water will be needed for some days after repotting. Use 
clean pots and afford liberal drainage, which should be carefully placed in 
the pots and covered with a layer of moss. Good fibrous peat, with a liberal 
admixture of silver sand, is the most suitable compost for these plants. 
Remove the old drainage carefully, but do not disturb the remaining portion 
of the old ball. The new soil must be pressed firmly into the pots round it, 
so that water when applied will not pass through it and leave the old soil 
dry, which means serious injury and even death if the error be not quickly 
detected. If repotting is not necessary apply weak liquid manure, or, better 
still, give two or three applications on thG surface during the season of some 
artificial manure purposely prepared for plants in pots. This in many 
instances will prove as beneficial as repotting. 
Vines in Pots (FI. S.). —Our last reply to you was on page 274. You 
sent stamps for numbers, but not sufficient, and accidentally omitted your 
address. We naturally expected hearing from you during the week, ancl 
your letter would have directed us to your question, which was placed in 
the envelope containing the stamps. We are now in this position of possess¬ 
ing your stamps while you again omit your address, and we cannot send the 
numbers. We can, however, answer your question by quoting Mr. Bardney’s 
description of his method of growing Vines in pots. It simply differs from 
