January 21, 1892.] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
47 
With amateurs like these working in the spirit which animatid 
Mr. Greenshields, and with trained nurserymen like Mr. Downie 
of Edinburgh, also interested in the culture of this lovely flower, 
and to which latter all florists’ thanks are due for his life-long 
labours in the development of our best florists’ flowers, we may 
rest in expectation that year by year w’e will see progress made in 
Pentstemon culture.— Alexander Sweet. 
SIMPLE FACTS ABOUT TOP-DRESSING. 
Inquiries relative to Vines and Vine borders are continually 
being made, and doubtless will be as long as the amateur delights 
in tending his vinery, or the wealthy require a good supply of 
Grapes from their more extensive vineries. In consequence of 
the great interest in Vine growing having been thus maintained 
for many years past, almost every conceivable method of cultiva¬ 
tion has been thrashed out in the pages of the Journal of Horti¬ 
culture, many of those highly instructive articles being penned by 
eminent cultivators, who have been as w’ell known for the excel¬ 
lence of the produce staged by them at the leading horticultural 
shows as for the freedom with which they described their method 
of procedure. Yet it is a well known fact that some of those who 
have achieved phenomenal successes are directly opposed to each 
other concerning the means they adopt to attain the same end. 
This conflict of opinion is, no doubt, somewhat embarrassing to 
casual observers ; but if the greatly varying circumstances under 
which each cultivator conducted his operations could always be 
put quite clearly before readers, much that is apparently incon¬ 
gruous would, in many cases, be better understood. 
Take, for instance, the excellent practice of top-dressing Vine 
borders annually. Many cultivators place implicit faith in the 
practice, while others consider the performance of it of little con¬ 
sequence, averring that they have seen but few beneficial results 
which could be directly traced to periodical top-dressings. As far 
as my observation goes there are hundreds of Vines which receive 
no benefit from the practice, not because the system is at fault, 
but for the simple reason that the carefully prepared soil which 
is spread so evenly upon the surface of the Vine borders only 
comes in contact with a few stray roots, the majority of them 
having wandered in search of food not found in a palatable form 
near the surface ; and so long as an unsuitable mass of material 
remains between the roots and the lich top-dressings it is a difficult 
matter to induce the roots to come upwards to it. Once place fresh 
healthy soil near good roots, they will quickly appropriate such 
necessary food, and become ten times more active. In many 
cases the Vines, being planted in wide deep borders, ramble freely 
in all directions for the first few years, while the compost is rich 
and sweet, no especial trouble being taken to keep the roots near 
the surface. They frequently penetrate far deeper than is good 
for their ultimate benefit, as after a few years the bulk of fibry 
roots are at the extremity of the border or deep down in the 
subsoil. The consequence is, the Vines gradually get into an 
unsatisfactory state through sluggish root action, and it frequently 
happens that Vines in this state cannot be restored to vigour and 
fruitfulness without renovating the border to its entire depth, 
because the bulk of the roots cannot be reached by any other 
means. 
These facts ought to be deeply engraved upon the minds of 
those who are engaged in top-dressing Vine borders at this season of 
the year. It is a loose system of culture to get into the too common 
habit of yearly removing the soil from Vine borders to a given 
depth and adding fresh materials, without paying much regard as 
to where the roots are located. The real guide should be to 
remove the soil till a fair quantity of roots are found, then to 
notch any strong ones in places where they are devoid of fibre, and 
cut clean away any damaged parts. The soil should then be worked 
underneath them, lifting them as near the surface as practicable, 
and place a few inches of soil upon the top, instead of always 
filling the border to its normal height. I am fully convinced that 
Vines frequently receive too much soil at the yearly top-dressings, 
which causes the roots to become in time too far from the surface, 
and as they do so produce less of those small fibry roots 
upon which the perfect finish of a good crop is so largely depen¬ 
dent. Top-dressing, when carried out intelligently, is, I hold, of 
immense benefit, and ought to receive due care and attention. 
Those who can command good turfy loam are more fortunate 
than many of their neighbours, but any fairly good soil can with 
proper preparation be made suitable for top-dressing. When heavy 
clayey soil has to be dealt with abundance of wood ashes, road 
sand, and lime rubble should be thoroughly incorporated with it ; 
the aim should be to produce a good rooting medium, as it is 
always a simple matter to supply animal manure to feed the roots 
and sustain the crops. For surfacing the soil of Vine borders 
where the Vines are in good health an excellent compost consists 
of four parts good loam, one of well-decayed horse droppings 
or cow manure, half a part wood ashes, and a little soot. AVhen 
the loam used is of a heavy nature add a sufficient quantity of lime 
rubble and road sand to make the whole in the right mechanical 
condition for roots to work freely amongst, and to prevent it 
getting into a sodden condition the quantities of these materials 
must of course be varied according to the degree of tenacity the 
loam used possesses ; in some instances the lime rubble, wood 
ashes, and sand ought to be as large in bulk as the loam ; sufficient 
manure should then be added to make it about one-sixth of the 
whole. 
Where the Vines are not in good condition and are wanting in 
fibry roots I would substitute leaf soil for the manure, as I have 
found Vines have a great partiality for sweet, half-decayed leaves, 
in which they root with surprising freedom, and it is useless to 
attempt to feed Vines until abundance of roots are first produced. 
After the soil has been placed in position, half-decayed manure to 
the depth of 1 foot should be placed upon outside borders, but I 
would defer placing the manure upon the inside ones until the 
fruit is thinned. Where Vines in outside borders are forced early 
I fully believe in placing fermenting materials to the depth of 
3 feet upon the borders, as it keeps the surface of the borders 
warm, and induces in a marked degree what all Grape growers 
strive to get—viz., plentj^ of surface roots.—H. Dunkin. 
CINERARIAS AT MIDWINTER. 
Cinerarias grown as annuals are extremely useful plants, and 
accommodating too. Although the regular flowering season is con¬ 
sidered to be during the months of March and April, a good 
display may, with a little management, be obtained at midwinter 
and for a month before Christmas if desired, so amenable are the 
plants to different forms of treatment. A good number of plants 
flowering at the time named gives a pleasing variety after the bulk 
of the Chrysanthemums are past, the same plants lasting in good 
condition for a considerable time. 
Apart from their usefulness as decorative plants, Cinerarias in 
a cut state are appreciated, the bright and varied colours appear so 
well under artificial light. No annual that I am acquainted with 
gives so much range in colouring as Cinerarias. 
An advantage gained in flowering these plants at this time of 
the year is they are not nearly so liable to be infested with green 
fly as they are when flowering more at the ordinpy season, when 
the weather is warmer. Where convenience exists, there is no 
reason why the plants should be in flower at one time. Whether 
it be during the middle of winter or in spring, a succession can 
easily be secured, provided space is available for a greater number 
of plants. The point to study is to sow the seed at intervals, 
instead of making but one sowing, as in the ordinary method of 
allowing the plants to flower as they will, say in March and 
^pril. . . , . 
Some cultivators still adopt the old method of raising their 
stock of plants from offsets annually. Where special kinds or 
colours are desired no other method is so certain of success ; but, 
nowadays, when such a wide range of colours as well as quality in 
the individual blooms can be obtained from seed through a reliable 
firm, it seems to me to be a waste of time to resort to the offset 
method. For flowering at Christmas, those raised from seed are 
better. Two sowings should be made—the first during the early 
part of May, and the second the first week in June. A succession 
of flowering plants is then assured, assuming, of course, neglect 
does not follow the initial stage. Any fine sandy, sweet soil will 
suffice to sow the seed in. W^ell-drained pans are the best for the 
purpose, covering the pan with a square of glass. To maintain the 
soil in a moist state, a little moss over the glass will dispense with 
the necessity of shading the frame. 
Directly the seedlings show through the soil remove the moss 
and tilt the glass a little to admit air to keep the plants sturdy. A 
weakly growth cannot produce dwarf plants with robust foliage and 
strong heads of bloom, such as are required to be effective in a 
decorative point of view, especially for house use. Plants ranging 
from 9 inches to double that size in height are best suited for 
decorative use at the time named. This is a point to be borne 
in mind. , , r 
The pots in which the plants are to flower should range trom 
41 inches to 7 inches in diameter. These final sizes will guide the 
cultivator in giving the plants their preceding shifts. A compost 
largely composed of leaves thoroughly decayed, with a small portion 
of loam and sand mixed with it, will be suitable in the initial stage ; 
afterwards more loam should be added in the place of the leaves, 
with a small quantity of partly decayed horse droppings for the 
final shift. It is a mistake to allow the roots of Cinerarias to 
