208 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 7, 1895. 
VINES AT LONGLEAT. 
Critique by the Author. 
It is thirteen years since my treati.se on “Vines at Longleat ” was 
published in the Journal of Horticulture, and eleven years, I think, 
since the last copy in pamphlet form was sold. Still there are frequent 
inquiries for it. I have hesitated to republish it for the reason that 
some of the practices therein detailed are, as far as I am concerned, 
obsolete. But a thought has struck me that I might, by giving 
summaries of the principal chapters, criticise them by the light of 
recent experience, state where my ideas and practices now differ from 
those therein expressed, enlarge on such parts of the subject as may 
seem necessary, and thus take my readers with me up to the present 
time. 
There is first of all given a description of the vinery, which is a span 
running north and south, 216 by 30 feet, divided into three compart¬ 
ments, 60, 75, and 80 feet respectively. Ventilation is secured by the 
upright sashes, 2 feet 9 inches deep, along each side, worked by levers, 
and a 6-feet wide lantern on the top, with upright sashes 2 feet deep 
worked in the same way. 1 am not sure, even after a quarter of a 
century’s further experience, that I could improve on the general design 
of this house for its situation and the purpose for which it was intended, 
except it might be to make the roof less steep. 
One of the buildings I now have charge of is similar in shape, with 
the exception of the lantern roof. This mode of ventilation has many 
advantages, but it adds considerably to the cost of building. Our latest 
erected vineries being on the side of a hill sloping to the south-west are 
built to fit the ground without much excavating. They are terraced 
inside— ie., the front border is on one level, the path another, and the 
back border some 3 feet higher, still sustained by a brick wall on one side 
of the path. The roof is an unequal span. That of the largest house 
has a 28-feet rafter on the front side, and the back ratter is about 
17 feet 6 inches. Ventilation is afforded by lights opening on both 
sides of the ridge, and shutters at front and back close to the ground. 
The front shutters are 1 foot deep only, and the back ones 2 feet. The 
houses are all glazed on a principle invented and patented by Mr. 
Alderman Chaffin, and who, in fact, has built them all himself, with the 
exception of the first, which was done by contract. 
The plan of the glazing is thus. The rafter is rebated in much the 
same way as for putty glazing, leaving the top IJ inch wide ; a strip of 
felt the same width is tacked on to this, and also another strip on to 
the next rafter in the same way. Toe lower pane of glass is laid on, 
and allowed to project over the outside of the wall plate an inch. Then 
another strip of felt the same width as the first is laid over the edges 
of the glass, and finally a length of galvanised hoop iron inch wide, 
turned at the lower end (to hold the pane from slipping) and reaching 
to within half an inch of the top of the pane. This half inch allows the 
lap for the next pane, and the end of the hoop iron, which is fastened 
to the rafter by galvanised screws, holds the second pane in position. 
The rafters are 20 inches from centre to centre, and the glass is half an 
inch less, thus leaving space for the screws between the two panes. This 
style of glazing answers well since we have prepared the iron ourselves 
and taken more pains to do them correctly than tradesmen could be 
persuaded to do. There is very little outside painting, and the glazing 
can be done by a handy labourer in almost any weather. 
Our first built vinery is rather flatter than the Longleat one, which, 
I think, has an angle of about 35° ; our flattest roof rises 1 in 2^, which 
is slightly less than 24°. In the house with the steeper roof Black 
Hamburgh does not colour satisfactorily ; in ihe flattest one it coloured 
last year as black as sloes, but this is a comparatively new house, built 
in 1891, and it is, therefore, too early to speak positively on this point. 
But is it not a fact that Black Hamburghs as a rule do not colour in our 
modern light houses ? We never see the colour and finish on them as 
used to be seen on those shown by Mr. Henderson of Coleorton some 
twenty-five or thirty years ago. I know this gentleman used to point 
to his dilapidated roof, and say that the abundance of air passing 
through it was the secret of his success, but I have my doubts on 
that point. I believe some of our modern vineries have quite a 
sufficiency of ventilation, but owing to the smaller amount of woodwork 
and the large panes of more transparent glass with comparatively few 
laps, the sun acts more quickly on them, especially if the roof is at all 
steep, and the fluctuations of temperature are much more rapid. I 
attribute the want of colour in a great measure to this. Make the roof 
flatter, and there is a marked difference in the variations of temperature 
and consequently in the other conditions of the atmosphere. If a house 
is to be glazed well I know of no necessity for a steep roof, so long as it 
is suflficiently steep to carry off the water, unless it may be for early 
forcing. 
I met some time ago an old friend, Mr. Shore, who is now gardener 
at Berkeley Castle, and called to mind the beautiful Black Hamburghs 
he used to grow in a little house near Bristol. “Yes,” he says, “and 
now I cannot grow Black Hamburghs at all.” I do not suppose it is 
quite so bad as that, but evidently he cannot grow them to his own 
satisfaction, and it would be interesting to know whether the houses are 
likely to be the cause, or it may be that his multitudinous duties in a 
large establishment prevent him attending personally to them. The 
largest Hamburgh berries I have seen—and I believe they were as large 
as the “ Colmans ” we now grow—were produced in a house with an 
eastern aspect adjoining Mr. Meredith’s dwelling house at the Garston 
Vineyard, but they were never quite black. One Vine hanging over a 
cistern at the north end was, I believe, the only Vine in this house which 
produced exhibition Grapes. These were nearly black, but not quite. 
I remember one particularly good bunch in 1868, weighing something 
over 8 lbs,, being cut and placed on the exhibition board, but many of 
the others in the house were very red. This house had a rather steep 
roof, and as soon as the sun rose above the horizon it was shining on it. 
I have had to run out many a time with trousers and boots only to admit 
air, as Mr. Meredith was very particular on this point. I still think he 
was right, but where I am situated now the aspect of the house is 
different, and there is seldom any need to open the ventilators before 
six o’clock in the morning. It was not so at Longleat. While the 
Vines were young they grew vigorously, the leading shoots of Alicante 
especially being stout and sappy. We could seldom get through a seasom 
without some of these shoots, or at least some of the leaves, being caught, 
although it was the practice to give air very early. 
An incident which has only lately come to my knowledge will show 
how particular we were on this point. A young man who had been 
employed on the railway came to work for me, and as I found he would' 
always do exactly as I told him, taking it for granted that I never told 
him wrong, I came to the conclusion that he was the man to look after 
the vinery, and I never regretted it. 1 found him a good learner, as 
he had nothing to unlearn, which is always the difficult point with 
young men. He has since filled one or two important places as head 
gardener, and is now acting in that capacity for a nobleman. He lived 
in the village some little distance from the garden, and one morning 
remained in bed a little too late. He slipped into his trousers and boote- 
as quickly as possible, and started running with his other garments on 
his arm. He was challenged on the road by two dogs, who knew 
him perfectly well when properly dressed but were not willing to allow 
him to go by in that condition. What was he to do ? He says, “ I 
knew that if either the governor or the sun got there before I did there 
would be something wrong.” He therefore threw one of his garments 
to the dogs to amuse them, and ran on, arriving at the vinery just in 
time. This would probably be as early as 5 o’clock, or perhaps 4.30 A.M, 
Of course there are many persons who would not require a house so 
large as those I have mentioned, and where there are already walls it 
might be advisable to build lean-to roofs against them ; but it should 
be remembered that large houses, especially those with flat roofs, are 
proportionately cheaper to build than small ones, and they are no more 
trouble and very little more expense to manage.—W m. Taylor. 
PENTAS CARNEA. 
A “ Constant Reader ” writes desiring information about a 
plant, of which he encloses an excellent truss of flowers. He has not 
previously seen it, and supposes that it is not very largely grown. It is 
the good old Pentas carnea (fig. 38), and flowers during the spring and 
summer, but does not appear to be so extensively grown as it used to 
be. It is an evergreen, and will flower freely in an ordinary green¬ 
house during the early summer months, although it is usually grown 
in stoves. The flowers are of a pretty pink shade. During the winter 
the plants should be kept in a temperature of about 50° to 55°. If 
necessary, propagation can be effected by inserting cuttings of young 
shoots in a sandy compost in the spring, plunging the pots in a hotbed 
or propagator. Plants raised thus and grown on will flower towards 
the end of the summer. A compost of fibrous peat, loam, and sand 
will be found suitable, and rather firm potting is advisable. 
HERBACEOUS PHLOXES. 
No family of plants among the herbaceous section more worthily 
deserves cultivation and a place in every garden than the perennial 
Phlox, but how often we see it mismanaged. There are two sections of 
the tall growing kinds—the early flowering varieties. Phlox suffru- 
ticosa, and the late flowering kinds. Phlox decussata. The early 
flowering section bloom during July, the later through August. Of 
its thorough hardiness there cannot be a moment’s dou'ot, and it lasts 
for ever under fair treatment. The improvement in them during 
the last ten or twelve years has been great, and many new shades of 
colour have appeared amongst them. 
By thinning out the shoots and liberal feeding, grand pyramidal 
trusses of flowers are obtained, and it is a mistake to allow the plants to 
grow on into large masses with an abundance of shoots, for the Phlox is 
a strong-growing plant forming a mass of roots which soon exhaust the 
soil. 1 prefer lifting them every three years, dividing the plants into 
pieces with from three to five growth buds, and planting them firmly in 
good soil, either in the early autumn or in the spring, keeping them 
well watered in dry weather to prevent the loss of foliage for one thing. 
When amateurs have a little gentle bottom heat at their command 
cuttings can be struck in the early spring, but the plan of dividing is 
much easier for them. As soon as the growth is about a foot in height 
a tie-up stick should be placed in position, and the shoots fastened to it 
to prevent injury from the action of the wind. 
When Phloxes are grown for exhibition purposes to secure fine 
spikes and the flowers kept free from injury, a stick should be placed to 
