October 13, 1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 841 
E. diadema, with an abdomen of a brownish tint, upon which is 
mark that has been regarded as a diadem, and also as a cross. In 
France it is commonly called “ Croix de St. Denis.” The females 
are much larger than their male companions, and often prove to 
be parents of as many as seven hundred or eight hundred young 
spiders ; but no doubt the greater number of these die immature, 
since the annual average of spiders we see remains much the 
same. Birds, though chary in touching adult spiders, clear off 
many of the small fry. 
Poets and naturalists have repeatedly spoken of the beauty of 
the silvery gossamers, “ that twinkle into green and gold.” The 
word “gossamer” is, however, so applied to the webs that are 
produced by more than one species of spider, which webs, spread 
over bushes and trees, are shown up when the sun shines on a 
dewy autumn morning. But the proper gossamer spiders are 
those belonging to the genus Xysticus ; they are able to rise in 
the air by means of the silken thread they throw out, and can 
travel for some distance with the wind. These spiders are so 
formed that they can move either forwards, backwards, or side¬ 
ways, and they can run very rapidly though their legs are feeble, 
excepting the front pair. Some of them chase their prey, others 
hide to obtain it under leaves or in holes. 
The wolf spiders (Lycosidse) are numerous in Britain, about 
thirty species, large and small, being already reckoned up : this is 
the family to which the famous Italian spider, the Tarantula, 
belongs. Dolomedes fimbriatus is one of our largest British 
species, occurring in fenny and marshy districts, receiving from 
its semi-aquatic habits the name of the raft spider. It is brown 
in colour with an orange band and white spots, and its raft is 
contrived of twigs, leaves, or grass secured by silk. Upon this 
the spider sits. As it floats those aquatic insects that come to the 
surface are attainable, but it also plunges at times into shallow 
water and runs over the surface. Land insects are hunted when 
the spider is not inclined to be nautical. Upon nearly every 
lawn the grey wolf spider (Lycosas saccata) glides about, the 
females dragging about their balls of eggs during the autumn. 
Lastly I mention the Salticidse, so called from their leaping 
powers ; they make no web, securing flies and other winged insects 
by springing upon them. They have an oblong thorax and small 
abdomen. The brown and white S. scenicus appears everywhere, 
and chases its prey with the greatest coolness, unawed by the 
presence of human beings.—J. R. S. C. 
MR. SIMPSON'S GRAPES. 
Mb. Simpson is needlessly sensitive about his Grapes, and 
under the circumstances I should have imagined he would have 
let his Edinburgh exhibit pass quietly into oblivion. I was 
requested to furnish a moderately full report of the Edinburgh 
Show, and in doing so gave these Grapes quite as much attention 
as they merited. In the reports published by two of your con¬ 
temporaries no mention is made of these Grapes. Why ? For 
my own part I have not a word to withdraw from that fur¬ 
nished in the report. The Grapes had been badly packed, were 
badly rubbed, and were not in good condition. If Mr. Simpson 
has read “ Single-handed’s ” communication on the next page 
to that in which his own appears he will find my report sub¬ 
stantially borne out. He mentions them as “not very good 
samples.” 
My opinion of the Grapes is this—and if Mr. Simpson had not 
desired my opinion certainly I would not have troubled him with it 
—that at the Edinburgh Exhibition they were amongst the worst ex¬ 
amples of Grape-growing staged. The bunches of Gros Guillaume 
and Raisin de Calabre were quite straggly, with those long stalks 
to the clusters of berries which tell so plainly of the previous 
year’s wood having been unripened. At the same time the thin¬ 
ning had not only been badly done, but too many berries had 
been removed, and the marks of syringing were so patent that 
these alone would have prevented them, if in other respects good, 
from taking a place as first-rate examples of Grape culture. I 
cannot conceive how Grapes, which were so unripe in the second 
week of September as to set on edge the teeth of an inquisitive 
official of the Society, could be pronounced good examples. 
As to gardeners “ not being impressed with the economy of the 
system,” I have only to say that I discussed the subject with a 
number of gardeners, several of whom have taken high positions 
in fruit shows. Nurserymen, amateur cultivators, and proprietors 
of gardens were like the gardeners in expressing their astonish¬ 
ment that such Grapes should have been sent to a high-class 
show. One gardener who grows his Vines on cool treatment, on 
reading on the ticket accompanying the Grapes that they had 
been produced at a great saving in fuel, made this remark—“ The 
fuel has certainly been saved at the expense of the Grapes.” 
I am not much impressed with the letters Mr. Simpson has 
received. His correspondents appear to resemble those who are 
continually trying gardening theories and never succeed in carry¬ 
ing out any of them. I am afraid something else was wrong with 
the Muscats, which would not set in a temperature of 75°, than 
unsuitable temperature. Let us hear from a gardener who has 
proved to the world that he can grow Grapes that Muscats will 
not set at a temperature of 75°, and that red spider is sure to 
follow, and the letters of your correspondent will have due weight. 
The gentlemen whose Vines “have borne good crops of Grapes 
hitherto ” I would not take in evidence either. 
With regard to Alnwick Seedling, from the same Vine as that 
shown at Edinburgh, taking a first prize at Sheffield a few days 
previous to the former Show, I have only to say that to me it 
proves that the gardeners round Sheffield want to brush up a 
little in Grape-growing. But why, Mr. Simpson, did you not 
enter the lists at Edinburgh, and carry the war to some effect 
into the “ camp of the Philistines ?” And now let me say that 
all our Grapes are grown at low night temperatures in the earlier 
stages of their growth. I have to thank Mr. Simpson for the 
hint he gave us on the point several years ago. It was a step in 
the right direction, and if followed out in a sensible manner very 
good Grapes can be grown.— Your Edinburgh Reporter. 
PLANTS IN POTS v. PLANTED OUT. 
While visiting some great gardens in the south of Scotland 
lately, and trying to gather hints of value, we were much struck 
with the difference between many plants in pots and others 
ia borders. In the long corridor at Floors Castle we could not 
help remarking the magnificently healthy specimens of Camellias 
and numbers of other plants permanently planted out in prepared 
borders of loam. In one house there were some dozens of robust, 
healthy, and clean Gardenias, very superior to those generally seen 
in pots. At the same establishment Azaleas and other green¬ 
house and also stove plants in pots, although in some instances 
enjoying whole houses to each kind, were only very ordinary ; thus 
showing the superiority of the system of planting-out. Bananas 
planted out and enjoying a whole house were very fine. 
It is a curious fact that plants in pots in large gardens are not 
often seen in first-rate condition. There are more reasons than 
onp for this, but probably the chief one is that much of the work 
has to be entrusted to young men who are inexperienced and 
perhaps careless; hence potting is carelessly done and watering 
is carelessly done, with the inevitable results. Carefulness in 
potting and in watering may not be very necessary in the case 
of plants which only exist a few months, although even with 
them the result depends very much on these operations. Many 
people fancy that Orchids, for instance, and Heaths are difficult 
plants to grow ; but when these are properly potted and watered 
the supposed difficulties vanish. An overpotted Heath or Orchid 
is almost sure to suffer from overwatering if the supply is not 
regulated with an intelligent forethought not always possessed 
by young men. In the case of the Heath, dryness is extremely 
liable to cut short the existence of the plant if it is the least 
root-bound. 
These facts have often exercised men at the head of large 
establishments. When gardens are so large that the gardener 
cannot possibly supervise everything personally, fine specimen 
Heaths and other hardwooded plants are seldom seen. In com¬ 
paratively small gardens, when, perchance, all the potting and 
watering is done by the master himself, we seldom fail to find 
better results than in larger establishments. We have one such in 
our mind’s eye at this moment. It is a single-handed place in Mid¬ 
lothian, famous for having produced the biggest bunch of Grapes 
on record, and famous for much more, as competitors at local 
shows well know. A year or two ago we visited Mr. Curror at 
Eskbank—for to him we refer—and after having seen the most 
famous gardens in the neighbourhood we were inclined to pro¬ 
nounce Mr. Curror the “best gardener in the county,” as we were 
assured he was by the person who advised us not to miss Eskbank. 
The secret of the whole was simply this : Mr. Curror had to per¬ 
sonally attend every plant himself. Others equally enthusiastic, 
equally skilful, fail to reach any high standard simply because 
important work, such as potting and watering, has to be relegated 
to others who do not fully understand it, and who do not always 
recognise their responsibility. 
It is not always the gardener in charge who is to blame. Some¬ 
times the difference of a couple of shillings a week determines 
whether a labourer shall or shall not take the place of a more skilful 
but perhaps less costly man. Not long ago we experienced a 
case of this kind. A more industrious labourer never worked in 
a garden ; what he lacked was not zeal, but knowledge. In wash- 
