September 23 , 1890 . ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
268 
M R. J. ROBERTS, in his excellent and suggestive paper on 
“Grape Culture for Market,” published on page 241 last 
Ti\eek, observed : “Those who are old enough to carry their 
memories back thirty, or even twenty, years will be able to recog¬ 
nise how greatly this fruit has risen in commercial value.” The 
increase in the production of this princely fruit during the period 
indicated has been little short of marvellous. Not only has the 
market supply increased enormously in bulk, but the advance in 
value, as represented by the size and good appearance of the fruit, 
is equally remarkable. Twenty or thirty years ago the general 
character of market Grapes was the reverse of inviting, and much 
of the fruit by its rubbed and bedraggled appearance was more 
calculated to repel than to invite purchasers. No doubt superior 
Grapes could be had, but they were exceptional, and the prices 
were high accordingly. Grapes, large and practically faultless in 
colour and quality, were regarded as luxuries a generation ago ; 
whereas they now abound and are obtained by thousands of 
persons to whom the prices of the old days would be pro¬ 
hibitive. It is to the improvement in culture and packing, as well 
as to the increase in quantity, that the present popularity of Grapes 
may be ascribed, and the best cultivators are yet able to derive 
profit by their skill, or they would not continue in the occupation. 
T he prices for their fruit have undoubtedly fallen considerably, 
but many, if not all, the chief growers have in some way contrived 
to increase the bulk of their produce without impairing its quality, 
and so they have managed to “ struggle on,” while some who might 
be heard declaring that Grape growing was “done for” have ex¬ 
tended the cultivation of this most popular of all exotic fruits. 
Mr. Barron, in his useful and highly popular work, “ Vines and 
A ine Culture,” refers to the commercial supply of Grapes and the 
general fall in prices as follows :—“ The average prices now realised 
are from 25 to 50 per cent, lower than they were ten years ago. 
Many feared that the enormous increase of the Grape trade would 
swamp the market and ruin the growers. On the contrary, how¬ 
ever, more money in the aggregate is realised by the growers than 
was formerly the case with high prices. They base their calcula¬ 
tions on the actual costs and gross returns, and argue thus : that to 
sell a ton of Grapes at 2s. or 3s. per lb. is better than, as formerly, 
to sell a few hundred pounds at 10s. or 20s. per lb.—prices that 
were practically beyond the reach of the consumers. Cheap prices 
now enable retail fruiterers to maintain a supply on sale at all 
times, thus increasing the consumption.” How great this was when 
those lines were written in 1887 the author of the above work gives 
some examples. One commission agent in Covent Garden is said 
to have disposed of over 40,000 baskets, or an equivalent of about 
250 tons, in the preceding year ; and a Kensington fruiterer is 
recorded as having sold to his customers during the same period 
40,144 lbs , the cost price of which averaged a little over Is. a pound- 
It is clear that the public are very well served with Grapes, but 
with the increase of population and wealth the demand will increase 
also, and perhaps in greater proportion than before, since the 
dietetic and hygienic value of fruit is becoming more and more 
appreciated. 
Mr. Barron has done good service in disseminating sound know¬ 
ledge on Grape culture during the past few years ; but there is 
another gentleman to whom the world is immensely indebted— 
No. 535.— Vol. XXI., Third Series. 
the veteran cultivator and effective teacher, Mr. William Thomson 
of Clovenfords. Mr. Thomson has been growing Grapes, such as 
have seldom, if ever, been surpassed, between fifty and sixty years, 
and twenty-eight years have elapsed since the first edition appeared 
of his “ Practical Treatise on the Grape Vine ” (Blackwood). Prac¬ 
tical it undoubtedly is, as it is a record plainly and clearly told of his 
actual practice and its excellent results. It is impossible to estimate 
the amount of good that has been done in the Grape growing 
world by the publication of this work. Gardeners all over the 
kingdom have been made wiser by its teaching, and Grape growing 
was never so well understood before as it became after its appear¬ 
ance. Ten editions of the work have been issued, and the last of 
them has been for some time on our table. What may be termed 
the “ Grape Conference week ” at Chiswick appears appropriate 
for a brief allusion to the re-issue, and also for recognising the 
great services of the author by the publication of his portrait, 
which will be found on page 273. 
We have no intention of writing the history of the great 
cultivator. We know he took charge of the gardens at Wrotham 
Park, Barnet, in 1837, and in the work he has graphically described 
the bold treatment to which he subjected the Vines there. It is 
worth repeating. 
“ In a house 65 feet long and 22 feet wide there was a row of 
strong cast-iron pillars running along the centre of it to support 
the rafters, and against these the Vines were planted, twisting 
round them like enormous snakes. My employers were loth to 
have these old Vines destroyed, and wished me to make an effort 
to renovate them if possible. I made a careful examination of the 
state and position of their roots, and found that none of them were 
within a foot of the surface of the soil. It was the custom to keep 
all the bedding plants standing on the floor of this house, and the 
constant watering and treading had made the whole surface, which 
had not been broken up for years, as hard as asphalt. This I had 
picked up, and removed from the house, to the depth of 1 foot. I 
then got hold of the leading roots and traced them as far as possible. 
When they could be pursued no farther without going a great 
depth I cut them and coiled them round the pillars that supported 
the stems, till in this way I had raised some eight or ten of the 
roots of each Vine, not one of which, as far as I traced them, had 
any live rootlets on them. I had mats put round these bundles of 
roots, and kept them damp for the time being. I then laid out all 
the roots on a bed of new soil, making a regular set of incisions 
with the knife right and left, about 9 inches apart, along their 
whole length, covering them over with 6 inches of the same com¬ 
post, and giving them a good watering with warm water. This 
was done in March, just as their buds were beginning to swell. 
They broke as weak as straws, and looked very miserable till about 
the end of July, when they showed some signs of making second 
growths of a more vigorous character than the first. Shortly after 
this time I dug down to several of the roots I had made the 
incisions in, and found that from the lip of each wound nearest the 
parent stem a great number of young roots, like porcupine quills, 
had started off into the new soil. This was in the summer of 
1838, and in 1839 they broke comparatively strong, showing a fair 
crop of fruit, which they brought to perfect maturity. In 1840, 
and for seven or eight years afterwards, they bore first-rate crops 
of excellent Grapes colouring well. They were Black Ham- 
burghs.” 
That successful example of Vine renovation has been copied in 
hundreds of instances with excellent results. After bearing fur 
some years the Vines were removed, all but one that was left for 
experiment, and this Vine we saw thirty years subsequently in the 
best of condition and bearing splendid fruit. 
Having given an extract from the first edition of the work we 
take another from the tenth, in which are embodied sensible re¬ 
marks on Vine borders, thus :— 
“ In making up the border, if the soil is what may be termed 
light loam, let it be well beaten and made evenly firm by a steel 
fork ; but do not tread it hard with the feet, or wheel barrows over 
it. If the soil is what may be termed heavy, and especially if damp 
when the border is made up, the above caution is even more 
necessary. I know of nothing in the field of horticulture that 
exhibits greater lack of scientific knowledge than ramming damp 
soil hard together in positions where it is to remain for years, 
No. 2191.—Vol. LXXXIII., Old Series. 
