JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
446 
lateness. I still grow most of the old Russian for winter bloom. 
It never fails me, and although its small flowers are comparatively 
insignificant beside the new and fashionable monsters, yet they 
are so abundant and so fragrant as to worthily take a leading 
place wherever large quantities of winter Violets are wanted. 
Violet culture in suburban gardens, even so far out as Lewisham 
and Blackheatb, appears to be so generally a failure, that I dare 
not recommend it, for the smoke is invariably fatal to them. But 
knowing that readers of the Journal near London are desirous of 
trying again, I would advise the beds to be of very gritty rich soil 
upon a thick substratum of rubble, so that drainage must be 
prompt and sure, and a thorough washing twice daily by watering 
overhead with clean water through the rose of a waterpot. Even 
with this care I am by no means sanguine of success, for 1 know 
full well how soon every part of leaf and branch becomes coated 
with soot in the smoky atmosphere of our huge metropolis.— 
Edward Luckhurst. 
INARCHING VINES. 
The present time is the best to inarch Vines. Green wood 
unites quickly, and the rods made tins season will bear fruit 
next year. Inarching has many advantages. By its means houses 
of Vines might be changed altogether without disturbing the 
border or uprooting a plant. Supposing a good border to have 
been formed some years ago and the house planted with Black 
Hamburghs or some early variety, the whole or part of these might 
be transformed to Lady Downe’s, Alicantes, or Gros Golmans with¬ 
out any further trouble or expense than inarching. I have done 
much of this work lately amongst our early Vines. As we want 
most of the late sorts, and as we could not afford to wait while 
young Vines are grown, inarching on to the old rods was 
practised, and fruit-bearing wood secured on the kinds intro¬ 
duced before cutting away the others. At present a Foster’s 
Seedling is being converted into a Muscat of Alexandria and 
another part of it into Golden Queen, as the latter two sorts are 
much better keepers in autumn than Foster’s, which is not wanted. 
The young Vines for making additions with should always be 
in pots, and they may be from one to three years old, but the best 
are those raised from eyes three months ago, and which have now 
a single young stem 3 or 4 feet in length. This should be kept in 
the pot and be taken close to the Vine on which it is to be in¬ 
arched. It is necessary that the two parts which are to be joined 
together should meet conveniently, and the pot with the young 
plant may have to be placed on the border, a shelf, or some special 
erection to raise it into position. It is generally best to inarch as 
near the bottom of the old Vine as possible. But if the young 
Vine was 4 or 5 feet long I would not work it on at the bottom 
but at the top. This would give a good piece of youDg cane un¬ 
used, which would be most useful afterwards to plant elsewhere or 
fruit in a pot. 
The operation of inarching is simple, and consists of cutting a 
slice from the side of each of the pieces of wood which it is 
intended to unite. Both cuts shobld be the same size, and when 
placed face to face they should meet evenly. A piece of soft 
matting is then bound round them as firmly as possible. There 
is very little use in trying to work green wood on to an old hard 
rod, but if both are young growths of this year the attachment 
will take place more quickly, and the operation be successful. 
We have seen young growths unite in twelve days, and about 
that time the tying should be loosened a little, that the develop¬ 
ment of the wood may not be hindered. This should be looked 
to every ten days or so until the wood is fully expanded and 
maturing. Vines inarched now will soon reach the top of the 
house, and make canes capable of bearing next year. I do not 
approve of cutting away the parts underneath the connection 
until well into autumn, as the young rod, although drawing 
largely from the old Vine, also receives much support from the 
roots in the pot, especially if the latter are well supplied with 
liquid manure. In dealing with Vines in pots which are over one 
year old I would not work them on the old stem, but one of the 
fresh green side shoots would be the part used for inarching.— 
M. M. 
CALCEOLARIAS. 
On page 366 in the Journal some remarks appeared in reference 
to the failure of Calceolarias as bedding plants, and the following 
few hints upon the subject may be useful, as I have had to deal 
with very light soil, which is not liked by Calceolarias. I do not 
take cuttings so early in the season as many do ; the first week in 
November I find quite soon enough, as those taken earlier are too 
hard. I prepare a box of rather stiff soil for the cuttings, which 
[May 31,1883. 
are inserted 2 inches apart, and remain there until about the first 
week in February, when they are removed to a warm border about 
2 feet in width, the soil being prepared as before stated to receive 
them. These are protected by old lights pitched against the wall, 
removing them altogether whenever the weather will allow, in 
order to render the plants hardy. I prepare the beds by adding 
soil from the Melon beds, which I find suits the plants admirably 
but neither manure nor leaf soil is used, as this produces a fungus 
about the roots. The plants are lifted with a good quantity of 
soil attached to the roots, and in planting the soil is made very 
firm about them ; in fact I sometimes tread the ground around them. 
I use a little soot and slaked lime in preparing the beds, and after 
the plants are into their places a thorough soaking of water i3 
given. In dry weather a thorough watering is given once a week, 
as constant dribblings are very injurious to Calceolarias, which 
require much more water than most other bedding plants. It is 
a very good plan to change the stock of cuttings by making an 
exchange with a friend who has a different soil. 
Another thing that often causes failures is planting too deeply. 
I am careful to keep the ball as near on the same level when 
planted out that it held before. Of course the wind has more 
effect on such plants, but this can be soon remedied by having 
some old brooms cut up, and two or three pieces being placed 
round each plant so that they give support to the branches. This 
may look untidy for a time, but pays for the trouble after the 
plants begin flowering. Nothing looks much worse than to see a 
batch of these plants with the branches split off and withered, 
which is often the case after a gale in the flowering season, caus¬ 
ing openings that cannot be replaced, for they seldom succeed if 
planted out when in flower.—A Suburban Gardener. 
HISTORICAL JOTTINGS ON VEGETABLES.—No. 4. 
ASPARAGUS. 
When a lady asked Samuel Johnson, one day, why he had 
given a rather odd definition to some word in his Dictionary, 
expecting he would assign a profound reason for so doing, tbe 
great man answered, to her surprise, “ Well, Madam, that was 
ignorance, pure ignorance.” The Doctor did not know much 
about Greek, therefore it was probable he also failed to explain 
the derivation of Asparagus, which, if we had it from the Romans, 
is originally Greek, and, as Mr. Glasspoole observes, means the 
tender shoots of a plant not yet unfolded—in fact, a name used 
loosely by the ancients for various sprouts eaten in spring or at 
other seasons. It was clearly not restricted until lafer times 
to what we call Asparagus, but that plant was recognised and 
approved of as an article of food at least 2000 years ago. It is 
certain Cato the elder laid down directions concerning its culture. 
He recommended, amongst other things, the sowing of its seeds in 
those beds where the reeds were grown to support the Vines. 
Two varieties of the wild Asparagus, the mountain and the 
marsh, are noticed and commented upon by ancient writers on 
natural history or gardening, and from a reference made by 
Juvenal to the mountain kind, when he is describing a dinner, 
it would seem that this was preferred to the Asparagus of the 
marshes. Both, however, were gathered and eaten, and in the 
time of Pliny the plant began to be cultivated in gardens, partly 
for food, no doubt, but also because it was deemed to possess 
medicinal virtues of no ordinary character. With his curious 
accuracy, Pliny notes that very fine Asparagus was grown about 
Ravenna, three or four heads commonly weighed a pound, and 
that could be bought for the low price of one as—not more than 2d. 
certainly. One Italian fashion of cooking Asparagus was peculiar; 
the heads were carefully dried, and then afterwards dressed by 
putting them into very hot water, a few minutes’ rapid boiling 
rendering them fit for the table. 
Undoubtedly the Asparagus is a true native of these islands. 
It is still to be found wild in the west and south-west of England. 
On the coast of Cornwall there is an island called Asparagus 
Island, and it occurs also upon the continent in many places. 
France and Holland formerly produced it in much more abund¬ 
ance than they do at present. Gerard gathered specimens of the 
plant in Essex not far from Thorpe and Singleton, he also ob¬ 
served it in some Lincolnshire meadows near Moulton. He men¬ 
tions that the plant can be much improved by cultivation, but he 
does not state if he tried experiments with it in his garden on 
Holborn Hill. It is impossible to say now who was the first 
grower of Asparagus for the London market; there has, however ( 
survived a fragment of history concerning a garden at Lambeth 
which in the reign of Charles I. was known as the “’Sparagus 
Garden.” Lambeth, once called Lamhythe, so ’tis thought, the 
“ Haven of Dirt,” from its moist soil, would be suitable enough for 
Asparagus, and the crop when gathered could be easily conveyed 
