248 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. r March si, mi 
racks and turned several times daily until they are drjq when 
they are packed in paper or Buckwheat chaff, and are ready for 
repacking for export to England and other countries to which 
they are annually consigned. A few words may be said upon 
the districts in Holland most suitable for producing fine bulbs. 
I am informed that the best bulbs are only grown in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Haarlem, say of a few miles around that centre, 
which may, therefore, be said to be the chief grounds in the 
district. The soil at this part is very deep and sandy, and 
admirably adapted for producing fine Hyacinths and other 
bulbs. Other parts of Holland have been tried at different 
times, but only with indifferent success. This fact may be in¬ 
teresting to those who, like myself, had previously imagined 
that in almost all parts of Holland the Hyacinth could be 
grown to perfection, and be valuable in guiding those who may 
be interested in obtaining the best bulbs only, particularly 
when required for exhibition. 
I will now give a few hints upon the choice and purchase of 
the bulbs, which generally arrive in this country and are ready 
for sale in September. The characteristics of a good bulb are 
solidity, soundness, and symmetry, showing that it has been 
previously grown with care and well ripened. A smooth and 
neat appearance and large size are no indications of its value. 
Some are both large and smooth, whilst others are very rough 
and small in comparison, and both may be equally good. 
Those that are heavy in proportion to their size and do not 
yield to a slight pressure are the most reliable, and seldom fail 
to produce good spikes. If a bulb is light and feels soft or 
spongy when slightly pressed with the fingers, it should be 
discarded, as it cannot be depended upon. The best time to 
purchase them is as soon as they arrive ; you have then a better 
chance of obtaining good bulbs than by waiting until a number 
of selections have been made. They will keep if placed singly 
in any cool dry place where they can receive plenty of air until 
such times as you wish to start them. I would advise every- 
one to take notice of the bulbs before planting them, which 
will soon enable them to form a tolerably correct estimate of 
the bloom they will produce.— John Haigh.— (Read at a 
Meeting of the Sheffield Horticultural Society .) 
GLASS STRUCTURES FOR AMATEURS—VINES. 
(Continued frontpage 186.) 
Border .—Where the natural soil is not of an unsuitable nature 
for the growth of Vines there is no need for excavating and form¬ 
ing an artificial border. A loamy rather light soil will only 
require thoroughly draining with 3-inch drain tiles, at a depth of 
not less than 3 feet nor more than 4 feet. Soils that overlie gravel 
may not require draining, but the efficient drainage of the soil 
is absolutely essential to success. If the soil be shallow over the 
gravel it must be deepened by the addition of fresh compost, so 
as to make it 30 inches deep. The whole of the border should be 
trenched to a depth of 2 feet G inches, presuming there is that 
depth of good soil ; if less make it of the required depth by raising 
it with the fresh material. In trenching a sprinkling of half-inch 
bones may be placed between the layers, and if the soil is not of a 
calcareous nature a tenth of old mortar rubbish may be added 
between the layers, and mixed by pointing each layer over with 
a fork before placing on another layer of soil. Avoid manure 
unless the soil be very sandy, when it and turfy loam of rather 
stiff texture may be added to the extent of one-sixth each. Many 
soils are so favourable for Vine culture that great expense is often 
incurred in forming borders by no means so good as the soil ex¬ 
cavated. Indeed there are very few soils in which Vines may not 
be grown with a satisfactory result ; what is needed is a free 
open soil and thorough drainage. In wet low-lying sites, instead 
of excavating and forming a pit (it may be in clay), the border 
should be kept at least one-half above the surrounding level, 
going no deeper than to secure a solid base for the walls and 
bottom of the border. Nine inches or a foot depth of rubble should 
be placed at the bottom for drainage after the drains have 
been properly laid, the drainage being secured by a layer of 
turves grass side downwards. The top 3 or 4 inches of a pasture 
where the soil is medium-textured loam, light rather than heavy, 
is the best staple possible. This should be chopped up roughly, 
adding a tenth part of old mortar rubbish, and about one part in 
twenty-five or thirty of crushed bones ; those thoroughly incor¬ 
porated form an excellent border. If the loam be close-textured 
an addition may be made of charcoal in a similar proportion to 
the bones. Those near towns may obtain oyster shells, and these 
calcined are a capital addition to Vine borders. The material 
should be mixed and made up with the border in dry weather, 
and be one-third higher than the intended level to allow for set¬ 
tling. Only a part of the border need be made in the first in¬ 
stance, a width of 6 feet being sufficient to serve the Vines for two 
seasons ; and in the case of the half-span and span-roof house the 
Vines should be confined to the inside border for two or three 
seasons, to secure the thorough establishment of the roots there 
before admitting them to the outside, which should not be made 
until required. 
Vines .—All the structures illustrated in the last volume were to 
accommodate six Vines 4 feet distance apart, commencing 2 feet 
from the ends. With but one house the ambition is to obtain a 
supply of ripe Grapes over as long a period as possible. My selec¬ 
tion shall be one Mill Hill Hamburgh, which is often confounded 
with Black Champion, the latter having oval berries, the former 
round and sometimes oblate, and hammered. It is freer and 
earlier than Black Hamburgh, and, as stated in the “ Fruit 
Manual,” is “ a noble Grape of first-rate quality, having the ap¬ 
pearance of the Dutch Hamburgh with the quality of the Black 
Hamburgh.” It is a Vine that tells more than any other the 
falsity of judging by appearances, its foliage being pale green and 
sickly-looking, yet its constitution is good ; it bears abundantly, 
and the Grapes invariably finish well. A fitting companion for 
that is White Frontignan, which is sure to find favour with the 
home consumer for its excellent, abundant, and certain bearing, 
and very rich juicy crackling flesh, with fine Muscat flavour. 
Black Hamburgh is indispensable and needs no eulogy, being the 
most deservedly popular of Grapes. A fitting companion for it 
is Foster’s White Seedling, which is a showy Grape of first-rate 
quality, and will hang some time in good condition, as will also 
Black Hamburgh. Lady Downe’s is a valuable kind and an 
abundant bearer. Its companion white may be found in Muscat 
of Alexandria, the most delicious of Grapes ; and though requiring 
more heat than the others, it ripens fairly well in the same house 
with the preceding, but like the Hamburgh does not hang well over 
Christmas ; consequently if late keeping is a consideration 1 would 
advise Alnwick Seedling, which though new is of proved excel¬ 
lence, or those that look upon new things with disfavour may 
have two instead of one Lady Downe’s. Grapes will then be 
ensured from July to May. 
With a view to a maximum of produce Vines may be planted 
inside the house on the opposite side to where the permanent 
Vines are shown in the span-roofed house (page 4G2, last volume), 
allowing them to fruit heavily for the first two or three years and 
then cut them out; but unless the owner has resolution they had 
better be omitted, for planting two where there is only room for 
one is the sure way of courting failure.—G. Abbey, 
STANDARD ROSES. 
It seems rather my fate to be on the unpopular side. I stand 
up almost single-handed for Hybrid Teas, and now the current 
seems setting almost equally against standard Boses, in which I 
believe far more fervently. The Briar' standard is the English 
stock. It is found in all our hedges, and if only properly selected 
and properly cared for flourishes in all our gardens, most especi¬ 
ally in strong soil, where m it does far better than the Manetti; 
also I maintain, other things being equal, a good standard cut¬ 
back yields finer blooms. It stands to reason that a larger body 
of sap will flow up a stem so much larger in diameter ; while, 
again, it is far easier to bud than the dwarf Manetti or seed¬ 
ling Briar stocks. How charmingly Shakespeare describes that 
process— 
“ Yon see, sweet maid, we marry 
A gentler scion to the wildest stock, 
And make conceive a bark of baser kind 
By bud of nobler race.”—( Winter’s Tale, iv., 3.) 
When budded, if care is taken to wax over the Briar top, there is no 
reason, with a good stock, that it should not flourish for years, 
always excepting a winter like the present. But there are excep¬ 
tions to all rules, and even this seems to be ending in a survival 
of the fittest. We are getting a good idea of the hardiest Roses. 
There are Briars and Briars no doubt, and some smooth-wood sorts 
are never likely to live long or to stand much hard weather ; but 
give me good strong soil and plenty of room, and I should dis¬ 
tinctly prefer a bed of standards to any other. I venture to think 
they are by no means exploded, and very little likely to go out of 
culture altogether. There are many places they occupy where 
Boses on the Manetti or on their own roots would be entirely out 
of place, and utterly unable to produce the effect required. At 
the same time I quite sympathise with Mr. Thomson’s melancholy 
