102 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND. COTTAGE GARDENER, 
January 31, 1895. 
no dressing shoHld be done beyond washing with some approved 
insecticide, as circumstances alter cases, and Mr. Craven would do 
something more if his Vines were badly infested with mealy bug. But 
the words “ peeling Vines ” grate on my ear. To peel them is one thing, 
but to take off loose bark is another. The Vine throws off its bark as 
new is made, and that is the bark to pull off which we find hanging 
from the rods or in any way loose; but the inner bark must be let alone. 
If vineries are looked after as they ought to he no bug ought to be 
found in them, but I advise those who are troubled with it to paint the 
houses with two coats of white lead, or rub all woodwork and iron with 
a cloth wrung out with petroleum before any washing down is done; 
then wash the Vines and paint with coal tar, mixed as follows, though 
I have not to use it here :—One 5-inch potful of coal tar to five 
5-inch potfuls of water; mix with clay to form a smooth paint. The 
above mixture with a watchful eye will banish the enemy.— May 
Flower. 
The subject under discussion being of great importance to gardeners, 
I should like to give a definition of what bark is, taken from an old 
educational work by Chambers. “ The bark of exogenous trees, con¬ 
sisting of three, and sometimes four parts—namely, the cuticle, or outer 
skin ; the cortical integument, or solid part; and the liber, or inner 
bark. Of these the cuticle, or outer skin, soon cracks, and partially 
peels off, as from the closeness of its texture it cannot dilate, so as to 
give space for the bark beneath it when that increases in thickness. The 
cortical integument is what is properly called bark, and this in some 
trees attains a considerable thickness, as, for example, in the Cork tree, 
which is a variety of the Spanish Oak, and in several kinds of Elm. This 
bark, or cortical integument, is occasionally in two layers, the inner one of 
which increases so rapidly in diameter, that the outer often cracks, and 
in some trees, as, for example, in the Oriental Plane, it falls off in large 
plates as the part below it expands. The liber, or inner bark, which is 
quite distinct from the two layers of cortical integument, is very thin, 
though a layer is deposited of it every year within that of the preceding 
year. It is generally very elastic, and dilates as the stem of the tree 
increases in thickness, but in a few ligneous plants, such as the Vine 
and the Honeysuckle, a portion even of the liber is thrown off 
annually.” 
The words “ peeling ” or skinning appear to mean takmg off the 
entire skin down to the wood. I prefer the word barking, as there 
are several layers of bark. Who is more able to give advice to young 
gardeners than those who have had practice 1 I have heard of Mr. 
Craven’s success as a Grape grower ; but I fear from his own admissions 
he has not had the chance of proving his ability as a bug exterminator— 
at all events, on Vines, as he said in one of his articles that he only had 
connection with it in one instance, and that as a subordinate. 
It is my firm opinion that where mealy bug and red spider abound 
on Vines the only sure way of reaching them is by assisting Nature in 
the removal of all superfluous bark. Even with this method their 
eradication is notan easy matter. To my mind, trying to clear bug out 
of a vinery without removing the loose bark from the Vines, and that 
somewhat closely, would be like trying to wash filth off the body with 
the clothes on. 
A practical question we have to consider is this : Would the health 
of the Vines be as much impaired by barking as a house of Grapes 
would be injured were the bark and insects under it to remain undis¬ 
turbed ? I think the old motto fits in here very well —“ What is worth 
doing at all is worth doing well.’’ 
My advice to those who have either bug or red spider on Vines is to 
remove as much of the loose bark as can be done without penetrating 
the skin of the Vine. I should not be an advocate for this practice were 
it not that I feel conVitaced that it is next door to impossible to exter¬ 
minate these pests without ta^ng this course. Barking Vines in a 
rational manner has been resorted to for many years by good growers, 
who, as “ Erica ” states, are not allowed to figure in the show tent. 
By this means, whatever insecticide is used, it has a fair chance of pro¬ 
ducing the desired effect. Those who have no insects on their Vines 
have cause to rejoice, and certainly have no need whatever to remove 
any bark during the whole life of the Vine. I have heard people 
say they like to see the rods made smooth, though I think they look 
mudh better if the bark is only partially removed. I cannot see how 
this loose material can be of any benefit to the rod ; it can hardly be 
necessary to keep it warm in a heated house. I hope we shall be 
enabled to get the best information possible on the subject from practi¬ 
tioners.—J. S. G. 
I AM not acquainted with Mr. W. Taylor personally, nevertheless I 
admire the man for recording his experience in peeling Vine rods. He 
bag made it plain that they were denuded of every particle of bark. I 
strongly disapprove of the practice, and hope W. Taylor will tell us how 
his Vines have behaved at the end of the next season. 
Your correspondent, W. M. Potts (page 55), has remarked on the 
merits of the Grapes grown by Mr. Nash. I have seen his very 
excellent Grapes at exhibitions, and the grower of them, too, on one 
occasion, and thought him a less pompous man than some I have met. 
I feel sure he would be ready to show anyone interested, the peeled 
Vines at Badminton. As regards the garden labourers taking part in 
the operation of peeling Vines, I think Mr. Potts casts a mild slur on 
them. Many of them are thoroughly observant and careful. I was a 
garden labourer once, talking part in all outdoor rough and smooth 
operations, and often taken indoors to assist in peeling and cleaning 
Vines. I well remember the caution I had at the commencement 
against scaling the buds. 
I have two vineries planted with young Vines, unfortunately infested 
with red gpider, and also a small trace of mealy bug. I am painting all 
wood and ironwork, and dressing the Vines with their “ jackets on ” 
with the tar mixture in about the same proportions as stated by your 
correspondent “E. K.” (page 77). I have used this mixture on other 
occasions, and can thoroughly rely on its efficiency in eradicating these 
pests. I am not in a position to say how the Vines in question became 
infested, as 1 had not charge of them, but I will gladly send a few lines 
at the end of the season, giving the effects of the dressing.—D. P., 
Lindley Hall Gardens. _ 
During the last few weeks several letters have appeared in the 
Journal of Horticulture on peeling Vines, some writers condemning 
the practice, while others advocate the system when properly carried 
out, If Vines have been more or less attacked with red spider, thrips, 
or mealy bug during the summer the cultivator may rest assured that 
with the fall of the leaf the pests will take up their winter quarters in 
and under the loose bark, especially that in the crevices surrounding the 
spurs, and there quietly wait the advent of favourable conditions to 
appear in greatly increased numbers as soon as young leaves are 
developed. This being so, what is to be done ? To attempt to destroy 
the insects by means of softsoapy water applied with a brush without 
first removing the loose bark would be simply a farce—labour wasted. 
There is a great difference in removing all loose bark from affected 
Vines, even to the extent of carefully scraping the bark off the spurs 
with a blunt knife, and in laying the inner (green) bark bare. The 
former treatment is sound in the circumstances indicated, and the latter 
method of procedure simply barbarous. 
Our Vines are barked in the reasonable way, washed with a softsoap 
solution, then dressed with a mixture of 3 lbs. each of softsoap and 
sulphur, a 6-inch potful of soot, and half a pint of paraffin in eight of 
water, clay being added to form a paint. This is applied to fruit trees 
also, and answers the intended purpose M'ell. One year the Vines were 
not so dressed, and the next were attacked with red spider from a few 
of the preceding season having rested under the bark. 
In reading Mr. Taylor’s interesting and useful article on page 55, it 
occurred to my mind that the flagging of the leaves of his Vines might 
in a great measure be attributed to the check which they had sustained 
through partial loss of foliage the previous summer and autumn. Mr. 
Taylor’s testimony is favourable to the barking of Vines under certain 
conditions. “ I think under the circumstances,” writes Mr. Taylor, 
“ it was be;t to take the bark off.” The operation was performed on the 
principle of bad cases requiring the application of strong remedies, 
otherwise such an able cultivator as Mr. Taylor would not have “peeled ” 
his Vines to the extent he appears to have done. 
I can fully endorse Mr. Potts’ remarks on the excellent examples of 
Grapes annually staged at Bath and other shows by Mr. Nash of 
Badminton, and who, Mr. Potts says, “takes every particle of bark off” 
his Vines every year in the process of cleaning preparatory to forcing 
them the following year, a fact which goes to show that Grapes of 
the highest order can and are annually produced by “barked” Vines, 
notwithstanding statements to the contrary.—H. W. Ward. 
SPAWNING MUSHROOM BEDS. 
It could not fail to be instructive to many gardeners and others if 
your readers would state the temperatures for spawning Mushrooms 
which they have found the most satisfactory. I have a bed in which 
at the end of last week the thermometer rose to 120°, so I took the bed 
out partly, well turned the material with other manure, and now I have 
put all in again, as I did not intend it to be dried by overheating. I 
do not think it will rise much more than 110°. The material smells 
sweet, and I could not press any moisture out of it. Am I right in 
pulling the bed out, or how high might the temperature of a new 
bed be expected to rise, and how deep should the thermometer be 
plunged in the bed ? 
The Mushroom crop is so important, and the disappointment so 
great when beds fail, that I am sure there are gardeners both able 
and willing to try and help the less successful to reduce failures to .a. 
minimum. T have unfortunately had two partial failures. I send a 
portion of “ spawn.”—M ushroom. 
[ The corner of a brick sent contained only the smallest particle of 
mycelium, but this is not infrequently the case with “corners,” whereas 
the bulk may be fertile. Still, if the whole brick was like the sample 
sent it would not be capable of affording good produce. We shall be 
glad to publish the experience of Mushroom growers as suggested by 
our correspondent.] 
THE FRUITERERS’ COMPANY AND ST. PAUL’S DAY. 
The Master and Wardens of the Fruiterers’ Company for each year 
are annually chosen on the 25th January, the Feast Day of the 
Conversion of St. Paul, the Patron Saint of London. 
This festival day has a celebrity peculiar to itself. During the 
Middle Ages, and even down to our time, it was an article of constant 
belief that the whole character of the coming year is prognosticated by 
the condition of the weather on this day. The special knowledge of the 
future which might be derived from it was arranged under four heads in 
