380 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
t May 15, 1884. 
exposure to sunshine, neither will it flourish if allowed to suffer from 
drought; a partially shaded situation should therefore be allotted to it. 
In the border it will succeed in any light rich soil free from stagnant 
moisture, which is injurious to it, especially in winter. In severe weather 
it should be covered with an empty flower pot, and in long-continued 
rains in winter the same precaution may be adopted with great advantage- 
In unfavourable localities it may even be advisable to pot it in autumn, 
and pre:erve it through the winter in a cold frame or turf pit, though 
this precaution will hardly be necessary south of the Trent. It may be 
increased by division in spring and autumn, and also by seeds, which it 
sometimes ripens. If a few of these are saved annually its protection 
will then be a matter of less importance, as young plants are readily 
raised from seed.—W. T. 
GRAPE THINNING. 
This is a subject about which it is difficult, if not impossible, to give 
precise directions, so much depends on the variety to be thinned and the 
degree of vigour in the Vine, but a few hints may be useful to beginners. 
A good set is of the greatest importance, as badly set bunches can rarely 
be thinned regularly. The time for thinning varies considerably. The 
Black Hamburgh may safely be done when the berries are of the size ot 
Radish seeds, some others cannot safely receive their final thinning until 
the stoning is completed. Take a well-set bunch of Black Hamburgh as 
an example. The first thing to be done is to tie out the shoulders, which 
should be done more carefully than is often the case. Nearly a year ago 
I noticed in a large garden some fine bunches of Grapes which were com¬ 
pletely spoiled by the careless way in which the shoulders had been 
managed. Instead of three ties to each shoulder there was only one, 
consequently the outer berries were hanging down, resting upon those 
below them, instead of being held clear by two or three neatly twisted 
pieces of matting. These bunches would have looked twice as large had 
the shoulders been well attended to. Moreover, allowing the berries to 
touch each other during the stoning period is a certain way of producing 
gcald, and for this reason, if for no other, this matter should be carefully 
seen to. In some vineries the wires are not well placed for tying out the 
bunches, but a few laths split into suitable sizes and tied from wire to 
wire will remedy this defect. 
Having carefully tied out all parts of the bunch requiring it, 1 binning 
may be commenced, it matters little whether from the top or bottom of 
the bunch. I generally begin at the bottom and work upwards. A piece 
of neatly twisted matting fastened round the stem near the bottom of the 
bunch is useful in moving the bunch about as may be required. All 
badly placed berries, especially those pointing inwards, may first be 
removed, and after that the condition of the Vines is the best guide. 
Vigorous Vines may be relied upon to produce large berries if freely 
thinned. I have been surprised at the size of the berries on a Vine of 
Lady Downe’s, which from a peculiarity of the house always sets its fruit 
very badly. Thinning has much to do with the size of the bunch as well 
as the berry, careful thinning often making all the difference between 
good and undersized bunches. The berry at the extremity of the various 
parts of the bunch should always be left if possible, as their removal 
not only decreases the size of the bunch, but also robs it of part of its 
symmetry. It is difficult for beginners to thin Grapes with any degree 
of certainty without a year or two of acquaintance with the Vines pro¬ 
ducing them, and if they should require a second thinning let it be done 
as soon as possible after stoning, and very carefully, as the skin appears 
to be easily injured by any rough handling at this period.—T. A. B. 
BORDER CARNATIONS FOR WINTER AND EARLY 
SPRING FLOWERING. 
I have never known these recommended for this purpose before, but 
they may prove very useful to some people, as the following facts will 
show. 
A packet of mixed seed was purchased from a good firm at the end of 
September, 1882, and part of it was sown in boxes at once and placed in 
a gentle heat. As soon as the plants appeared they were gradually 
hardened off to enable them to stand through the winter in a cool house 
without any fire heat. Early in February, 1883, they were pricked out 
into other boxes, and when the season was far enough advanced were 
planted out in beds in the garden 15 inches apart. They grew freely, 
but did not produce any flowers during the summer. The autumn being 
a mild one, they commenced flowering in November, and at the end of 
that month several were taken up, and being large plants were placed in 
9-inch pots and arranged for a time in a cool and moist house. As soon 
as they were well established they were removed to warmer quarters, 
where they had a minimum temperature of 45° to 50°. There they soon 
began to open their flowers, and have since yielded a large number. I 
counted over eighty blooms on one plant a short time ago in various 
stages of growth, and those left in the beds are now coming on fast, and 
promise a fine display of flowers soon. 
Some may, perhaps, object to this system on account of some of the 
plants proving to be single varieties, and I may as well say only one has 
come single thus far, and it is not to be despised. I think if the seed is 
procured from a reliable source there need be no fear on this point. 
Most probably the first week in October would be found the best time 
for lifting them.— W. H. Divebs, Bnrghley. 
DENDROBIUM DEVONIANUM. 
At one time this was considered a very difficult Dendrobe to 
manage, but I have always found it as easy to cultivate success¬ 
fully as any other. Imported plants, after they arrive, often 
flower profusely from their long slender stems ripened in their 
native habitat, but to allow them to do this is a great mistake. 
Perhaps no Orchid is so much weakened by flowering as this, 
even when thoroughly established; but when first imported and 
flowered the stems are much shrivelled, and the growths the 
following season are weak compared with what they would be if 
the flowers were removed. This is not mere speculation, but 
has has been practised repeatedly for the purpose of testing 
whether flowers exhaust the plants, and whether the previous 
year’s pseudo-bulbs are of any service to the growths to be 
made the following year. Experience and observation therefore 
warrant me in recommending that the pseudo-bulbs be kept as 
fresh as possible, and the flowers removed from imported plants, 
or the growths will be poor. 
This Dendrobe does best while growing in a rather close 
moist atmosphere where the night temperature ranges from 65° 
to 70°, with a rise by day of 10° or 15° from sun heat, or even 
5° or 10° more when the house is closed in the afternoon. It 
does best in baskets suspended from the roof, and if allowed its 
growths will hang gracefully from the baskets ; but here, while 
growing this plant is never allowed to assume its pendent habit, 
the stems being suspended as close under the glass as possible 
by means of matting. The reason I adopt this course is because 
I have found the growths possess greater solidity, ripen better, 
and in consequence flower more freely than when they are 
allowed to hang from the basket. Too much light cannot be 
given, yet the plants must while making their growth be shaded 
from direct sunshine. 
D. Devonianum is not strong-rooting, and too mucb material 
about its roots is detrimental to success. It dislikes the soil 
used to become sour about its roots, and it should be renewed 
annually, the present being a good time. Employ for a compost 
three parts of sphagnum moss in a living state to one of peat 
fibre, with lumps of charcoal freely intermixed. 
When the roots are advancing freely and the plant growing 
vigorously this Orchid will need more liberal supplies of water 
than any other Dendrobe with which I am acquainted, and if 
not applied and the plant liberally syringed it will soon become 
a prey to red spider, which quickly arrests its growth. The best 
preventive is a moist atmosphere, liberal syringing, and abun¬ 
dance of water at the roots. When this handsome Dendrobe is 
well grown it will make growths fully 4 feet in length, and if well 
ripened will flower freely for 3 feet of that length. 
To show how freely and successfully it can be grown under 
the simple system detailed, it may be mentioned that a number 
of plants (imported) were purchased in February, 1883, for 3s. Gd. 
each. The majority started several growths, and each plant 
this spring has carried between 200 and 300 flowers.—W. B. 
THE HERBACEOUS BORDER. 
At the early part of April the weather was bright and mild, but 
after the middle it was cold, and in the third and fourth week a keen 
north-east wind with sharp frosts at nights retarded, and to some 
extent injured, some plants either in their tender growths or their 
advanced bloom. Notwithstanding this some plants have flowered well 
during April, the most noticeable of which are still fine. 
Iris nudicanlis. —The flowers of this plant are somewhat large, 
similar to a German Iris, the “ standards ” and “ falls ” being of a deep 
rich purple, the flowers being freely produced on a stem about 1 foot 
high, and with the foliage of a similar height have an effective appear¬ 
ance. It does well in ordinary soil. 
Anemone stellata fulgcns. —Too much cannot be said in praise of 
this scarlet Windflower. Its large dazzling flowers peeping above the 
ample foliage render it highly attractive, and it is one of the finest 
hardy plants for cutting in spring. It thrives in any ordinary soil, and 
once established takes care of itself, preferring a rich light soil well 
drained. 
Anemone nemorosa Iractcata plena. —This has the foliage of the 
Wood Anemone, and grows but a few inches high, the flowers white 
and double, with green bracts, the whole very interesting and pretty. 
This is best grown in light soil in a somewhat shady situation, tut 
succeeds in the open border. 
Dodecatheon Meadia. —The American Cowslip does well in any light 
soil somewhat moist but well drained, and its rosy-purple flowers, borne 
in umbels of a dozen or more each on a stem about a foot high, have 
an elegant appearance. There are numberless varieties with flowers 
varying in colour from white to crimson. All are hardy. 
