May 22 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
399 
once of the head gardener. It was late in the season, but the 
family did not require the Grapes until the shooting season, so 
the Vines had received but little fix*e, and consequently the end 
of May found me busy stopping and tying. All was satisfactory 
until news came unexpectedly that a portion of the family was 
coming home. Then came a lesson which I shall never forget. 
The laterals were trained to three wires horizonally; so far, I 
had attended more to the stopping not only of main laterals, but 
sub-laterals, and very strong they were—too strong, I knew, to tie 
into permanent positions; still I kept them from touching 
the glass, knowing that in time they would be ready for tying. 
The morning came, however. I was to go through the houses 
and tie the Vines to make them neat, though I knew they 
could not be done with safety. During the day the gardener 
showed me how he would like them done, and unfortunately he 
began with a Vine of Josling's St. Alban’s, and this Vine was a 
miserable spectacle all the season, for numbers of shoots snapped 
off in tying and some broke in the night. The moral, of course, 
is, Do not tie tightly at first, just keep the shoots from the glass, 
also brace up with a tie any laterals that may have a tendency to 
bend downwards. 
Since then I place great stress on stopping regularly before 
the Grapes flower, and so long as the leaves do not touch the 
glass and are otherwise secure, I generally tie when thinning. 
I advise all to be careful of Alicante, which is the most brittle of 
all late varieties, the laterals being so strong, and the youug 
growth is often thicker than the old wood. Be content with 
pinching and stopping, and give bracing ties to secure doubtful 
laterals. My Vines 15 inches from the glass give me sufficient 
space. Still, had they been 18 inches I should like it better. 
Lady Downe’s in the same house is very pliable and easy to tie, 
the same may be said of Alnwick Seedling. Gros Maroc is 
rather treacherous. All the above being grown in one house. 
Gros Coltnan shoots left till they are about to flower are easy to 
tie, Madresfield Court can be done sooner, Gros Guillaume is 
very strong and needs care ; all in same house. Muscats I do not 
tie in permanently until I thin them. 
Vines are variable in their growths in different localities. Yet 
I always fail to see the utility of early tying. Attend to each 
lateral as it requires it; do not begin at a Viue and finish it, for 
it is questionable if all the laterals are ready for stopping at 
once. I should rather say pinching, as all mine are done by 
thumb and finger. No hard-and-fast line can be laid down, but 
as a rule the top portion of the Vine is stopped first, then 
perhaps next day we attend to the bottom portion, leaving the 
centre portion of rod, which is always latest, for another day or 
two. It is astonishing, when the strongest laterals are pinched, 
how this not only strengthens them, but causes the weaker ones 
to push forward. In strong laterals, unless I want length for 
filling up, I pinch one or two leaves beyond the fruit, and give 
the weaker ones a joint longer. 
A high forcing temperature is not required for late Grapes 
up to this date. Muscats are an exception. I believe that we 
use too much fire in the early part of the season. Vines, we all 
know, break best when they start naturally, therefore be gentle 
with fire until the Vines by their healthy growing condition tell 
us they are well, then gradually increase the fire. Cutting 
Grapes late in January caused me to be late in starting the 
Vines this season, with the result that they are really stronger 
than I ever had them, but we are now pushing them on by degrees. 
—Stephen Castle, West Lynn, Norfolk'. 
ANEMONES. 
(Continued from page 323.) 
The second or A. nemorosa section of the genu3 contains several 
plants differing widely from each other in general appearance, 
although united by the following characters—viz., by having the 
seeds ovoid and tailless embedded in a mass of downy substance. 
The rootstock also is tuberous, varying considerably in form. This 
section is one of the most popular with the majority of cultivators, 
principally on account of the diversity of colour obtainable by the 
use of the varieties of A. coronaria and stellata. The members of 
this division, too, are widely distributed, and are found in very 
dissimilar positions ; careful attention should therefore be given to 
this by the cultivator. Some of them are what are called social 
plants, and where found are generally growing together in large 
quantities, covering frequently in the case of our wild Wood Anemone 
several acres in many parts of the country. In the south of France, 
too, and the Kiviera many forms of A. stellata, the scarlet Windflower, 
grow together in countless numbers and form a very distinct feature 
in the vernal vegetation of that district. 
A. apennina, L .—An old and much-esteemed inhabitant of our 
gardens, occasionally found in an apparently wild state in several of 
the southern counties, but at best a very doubtful native of this 
country ; it, however, is found wild in abundance throughout Southern 
Europe. The roots are irregular tubers of a blackish colour. The root 
leaves are biternate. The stem leaves, produced in whorls of three, 
are ternate, with elongated obtuse slightly pubescent lobes. The 
flowers, which are freely produced in March and April, are solitary on 
stems 6 to 8 inches in height, of a blight sky blue, about 2 inches in 
diameter. This species and its varieties are not fastidious as to soil 
or situation, but thrive best in a light loamy soil, and are specially 
useful from the fact of their thriving under the shade of trees 
A. apennina alba. —A very useful white variety of the preceding, 
requiring the same treatment in all respects. 
A. apennina blanda.— This unusually well-marked variety is 
considered a distinct species by many botanists ; but while leaving to 
others more competent the task of deciding this botanical question, I 
can confidently assert that it has very high claims on the notice of 
the cultivator. The principal distinctions between it and the type are 
the sepals being smooth on the outside instead of being covered with 
hairs as in the type. The seed vessels are also each somewhat downy 
and tipped with a short black style. This plant is found wild in 
Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor ; it flowers earlier than apennina, and 
also remains in bloom longer. We have several blooms still open 
(April 28th), the first having been seen in the first week of March. 
Tiie flowers are much darker than the type, and also when well 
grown somewhat larger. It prefers a lighter soil and a more open 
situation than A. apennina. 
A. apennina, fl.-pl. —'A very rare form, not nearly so fine as the 
other varieties, but still well worth the attention of the collector of 
curious plants. 
A. baldensis, T. (syn. A. fragife.ro, Mur.).— V very rare and 
beautiful member of the genus, originally introduced into this 
country in 1792 from Mount Baldo. It was, however, practically 
lost for many years, but has been lately brought into cultivation by 
Messrs. Backhouse of York. The flowers, which are white, about 
three-quarters of an inch in diameter, on stout leafy stems 3 inches 
high, very much resemble those of the common Wood Anemone. The 
most suitable soil is a rather stiff loam, with a considerable mixture of 
granitic grit, and if on the rockwork a free western exposure will be 
found most suitable. 
A. coronaria, L. (The Poppy Anemone).—By far the most popular 
species of the genus, and indeed so generally grown as to need no 
further description here. By successional planting this species and 
its varieties may be caused to bloom at all seasons, not even excepting 
the winter. There are several forms found in a wild state which, 
although not up to the florist’s standard, are very effective in semi¬ 
wild situations. 
A. caroliniana, Walter (A. tenella, Pursh).—A somewhat robust- 
growing species from Carolina with white flowers, which appear about 
June on stems 1 to 1^ foot in height. The writer has not had much 
experience of this plant, but it seems to grow freely in the ordinary 
border. 
A. NEMOROSA, L. (The Wood Anemone).—This species is so freely 
distributed in a wild state in this country, and, consequently, so well 
known, that it would not be mentioned here were it not for some of 
its varieties, which are so beautiful that any notes on garden 
Anemones in which they were omitted would be incomplete indeed. 
The principal forms in cultivation are nemorosa fl.-pl., rosea, rosea pi., 
bracteata pi., and cserulea. Of these the three first are sufficiently 
distinguished by their names, and consequently require no further 
notice here ; the two latter, however, require attention. 
A. NEMOROSA CiERULEA BRACTEATA PLENA. —In this form the 
double white flowers are surrounded by the enlarged leafy bracts of 
the involucre in such a manner as to give a decidedly trilled appear¬ 
ance to the blooms. It is an extremely carious and pretty variety. 
A. nemorosa C/ERULEA (syn. Robinsonianct ).—This is one of the 
most beautiful of spring-flowering plants, and one which should be in 
every collection of hardy plants however limited. The whole plant 
is rather larger than the type, and the flowers, which when well grown 
are as large as a florin, are of a beautiful pale blue, sometimes, how¬ 
ever, much darker than usual. It is found in a wild state in several 
parts of England, but not in large quantities. It can be procured at 
nearly all hardy-plant nurseries, and will succeed well on a slightly 
shaded part of the rockwork, especially if planted amongst shrubs, 
and looks remarkably well in association with Dodecatheons, Cory- 
dalis, &c.—G. Guthrie. 
WIIAT IS AN AMATEUR? 
The question of the proper definition of an amateur is so important, 
and albeit a matter upon which there is so much difference of opinion, 
that for the behoof of all concerned some satisfactory solution should be 
arrived at, and all controversy on the subject settled once for all. In 
many societies an amateur is termed a person who does not grow plants 
