September 18, 1884. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTTCULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
257 
an 1 too strong liquid manure, though it was not a bit too strong or 
too much for an ordinaiy season. 
Another point in Rose culture which is important for a novice to 
know, though I do not remember to have seen it in print, is to be 
sure to bud your stocks from flower-bearing shoots. With the tho¬ 
roughly autumnal varieties this point is not of much importance, as 
every shoot will bloom ; but with any Roses which are not strictly 
perpetual, such as Madame Gabriel Luizet and Francois Michelon, 
the budding from a runaway shoot, which is sorely tempting some¬ 
times, will assuredly produce runaway maidens, which are not desir¬ 
able under any circumstances, and you will get no bloom whatever 
the first year. Does anyone agree with me, by-the-by, that “year¬ 
ling would be a better term than “ maiden ” for Roses in their 
first year ? 
Marechal Niel should also be budded from a flower-bearing shoot, 
and it will probably bloom as a “ yearling,'’ but I cannot guarantee 
that Cloth of Gold will, for I have tried that and almost every other 
dodge with that aggravating Rose, and though I know it blooms 
fairly with some growers, I have bad only one bloom in thirteen 
years. 
Though I think he has misunderstood me somewhat, I hereby 
give my thanks to “A Thinker” for his friendly criticisms. Will he, in 
return, give some thinks to a thanker on these disjointed Rose notes ? 
If my article is too long cut it in two, or cut it how you like. 
—A. F. M. 
[Such interesting notes require no “cutting.’' Our able corre¬ 
spondent desires us to state that they were in our hands before 
he had read “ D., Deal’s,” review of the Rose season last w'eek.] 
SPOILING VINES. 
Although I cannot write to order—never did, nor never 
shall, probably—1 am yet not unwilling to comply with a request 
when I feel a little may possibly be said usefully on any subject 
with which I may happen to be acquainted. A suggestion occa¬ 
sionally brings out something worth remembering; and although 
on the question of spoiling Grapes, on which I am invited to 
enter, I have not very much to say that will be worth printing, 
yet I am convinced if the Grape-gi’owing readers of this Journal 
were to state the causes of the failures they have seen, if not 
experienced, that many a serviceable hint would be given in the 
shape of errors to be avoided in the cultivation of Grapes. 
The last instance of spoiling Grapes came under my notice 
a month ago, and I rather think it is a typical one, because 
simple yet und'iubtedly serious; and the worst of it was, the 
man in charge did not appear conscious of any error at all in 
what he called his “ practice,” which I call a practice of neglect. 
The Grapes were nearly all cut, the residue being as miser¬ 
able as could well be imagined, and it was clear the Vines were 
in an enfeebled state. The bunches that had been cut were, as 
might be expected, described as “ much better, yet not quite so 
good as they should be.” He might as well have said nothing, 
for a man who has been among Vines for thirty years, and 
accustomed to not the worst of Grapes, knows at a glance what 
the canes he sees are capable of producing. 
The Vines in question, so far from being “ as good as they 
should be,” were from my point of view good for nothing. The 
soil of the border was good, manure was spread on the surface, 
and roots were turned up with pride, the wood was strong enough, 
hard, and brown; and “Feel it,” says the man, “it is ripe—I 
always ripen it well; but yet the bunches don’t come big enough, 
and I cannot make it out. There is a bit of spider and thrip on 
the Vines, but that don't matter at this season; if it had been 
eaidier I would have smoked, but as the leaves are coming off 
now it is no use.” He meant it was of no use fumigating to kill 
the insects. These Vines were spoiled. It was as flagrant a 
case of spoiling as ever came under my notice. Thrips were in 
millions. As fast as the roots supplied food the insects appro¬ 
priated it, and faster, for the leaves collapsed and were falling 
in all directions. The buds in the axils were as much like 
Spinach seed as anything—pointed end upwards, and how could 
they be otherwise H They had nothing to support them—no 
leaves to elaborate and secrete the matter necessary for their 
development. This was in the north of England. Are there 
not similar cases in every county? It is greatly to be feared 
there are. I have seen many such during the past twenty years. 
Leaves falling in July that ought to have been green in October, 
and consequently had two months longer in which to absorb and 
store up food, and the two months, moreover, in which more 
nutriment is gathered than during any other two months in the 
year, simply because the root-action of healthy Vines is greater 
in August and September than at any other period of growth. 
I am convinced that hundreds of Vines are spoiled by insects 
every yeai’, especially by thrips and red spider, and the hotter 
and drier the season is the greater is the danger of invasion by 
the enemy. There seems to be far too many persons, also, who 
pretend to grow Grapes who are so astoundingly short-sighted 
as to be unable to see what is the matter until the evil is done; 
and then, as in the case referred to, it is deemed of “ no use ” 
do anything but to watch the premature falling of the 1 eaves 
with complacency. So long as the foliage lasts until the Grapes, 
such as they are, are ripened that is considered sufficient, because 
“ insects can do no harm after the fruit is cut.” Never was a 
greater fallacy, never a more dangerous notion entered into the 
brain of man. I have said brain, but in truth there is very little 
brain power where such ideas are born and entertained. It is 
pitiable to see men contented under such conditions. They are 
living in a fool’s paradise, as sooner or later they will find to 
their cost. 
If more care were taken of the foliage of Vines there would 
not be half the complaints as to bad borders and the state of 
the roots.” Bad—that is, imperfect, ill-developed, insect-infested 
leaves make both “ bad roots ” and “ bad borders.” In searching 
for a remedy for spoiled Vines it is too much the custom to look 
at the wrong end. Grapes fail to colour, but do not fail to 
shank ; the roots are “ seen to,” and found wanting. The cause 
is laid bare—unsuitable soil! Do not make any mistake in this 
matter. In half the instances of spoiled Vines decaying roots 
are not the “ cause ” at all. They are the effect—the natural, 
hence inevitable effect of injui-y to the foliage. It is there that 
the real cause of the evil may be traced in the majority of 
instances where Vines fail. No matter what has spoiled the 
foliage, and hence spoiled the Vines, the result is the same—failure. 
The leaves may have been crushed and crowded, and hence 
imperfect; they may have been scoi'ched, or they may have been 
devoured. It matters not what the precise nature of the evil 
may be, the effects are these—sluggish roots below ground and 
miserable Grapes above. 
Given a well-drained site—that is, a subsoil through which 
water passes freely, with soil that will grow good crops of 
Potatoes; also an adequate supply of water, with a manure heap 
within reach, and healthier Vines and better Grapes can be 
grown, provided the requisite attention be given to the foliage 
in permitting its development and keeping it clean, than can be 
otherwise produced by the best turfy loam that was ever pur¬ 
chased and the finest bones that were ever ground. 
The lesson to be derived from the spoiled Vines above re¬ 
ferred to is clear. Look to the leaves, and do not let “ lookiug” 
suffice. If insects are enjoying themselves on them stop their 
career. It is impossible to nurture brood after brood of thrips 
and red spider and have good foliage too; and without stout, 
clean, perfected leaves that can perform their functions in con¬ 
verting crude sap into sustaining food it is most certainly 
impossible to have creditable Vines and satisfactory Grapes. 
When the fruit is cut, and before if needed, wash the Vines by 
using the syringe as if putting out a fire. Pure water timely 
and sufficiently used is an effectual remedy ; but if not applied 
soon enough, and if the fruit has been removed, then recourse 
must be had to something stronger In a word, first perfect the 
leaves of Vines, then preserve them fresh and green for at least 
a month after the Grapes are gathered -that is, ordinary mid¬ 
season Grapes, and failures will be fewer. 
Your correspondent, “A Thinker,” in casting his bait on 
page 186 asked if I should “bite.” I think I have bitten, or 
should have bitten, the man in charge of the spoiled Vines on 
which these notes are founded, if he were a reader of the 
Journal; but he is not. He is one of those few who do not read 
anything, but grope their way in the dark. These notes are 
wasted so far as he is concerned, but there are others who do 
read but yet spoil Vines. If I “ bite ” them too so much the 
better; not because I have pleasure in giving pain, far from it, 
but the surgeon’s knife must be used at times, and hence I 
perform this little operation.—A Northern Gardener. 
WINTEE-FLOWERING PLA.NTS. 
With the month of September the work, or what we may 
call the final stage in the preparation of autumn and winter¬ 
flowering plants, may be said to commence in earnest. This 
consists in taking up and potting into their flowering pots all 
that were planted out in the spring, and which by this time 
should have made strong and well-developed growths that ought 
to be well ripened if the most satisfactory resuFs are to be 
obtained. It seems almost needless to say that a better summer 
for the ripening of wood than the present one could not be 
desired, and if the season’s growth is immature it is entirely the 
fault of the cultivator, and is due more than to anything else 
