Ntrren.ber 10, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
399 
Maroc has come under my notice, this time in quite a different 
direction—viz., at Gunnersbury House, near Acton. Here again it 
is worked on the Foster’s Seedling stock, and Mr. Hudson, the well- 
iknown gardener in charge, says it is always similarly good in every 
respect with him. According to my experience with the practice 
•of grafting and inarching Vines of one kind on a stock of a totally 
•different character, no perceptible difference, either for batter or 
worse, is to be noticed in the habit and quality of the inarched 
variety. . We have Muscat of Alexandria on the Black Hamburgh, 
Gros Guillaume on the former and Black Hamburgh, Mrs. Pince 
and Alicante also on the Hamburgh, and in neither case is there 
any noticeable difference from those on their own roots. The Gros 
Maroc is naturally of rank-growing habit, and it may be the re¬ 
straining influence of the less vigorous Foster’s Seedling stock 
has the effect of checking grossness, an improvement in the quality 
also resulting. . Foster’s Seedling is not remarkable for the 
superiority of its fruit; at any rate it is inferior to the Black 
Hamburgh, and in many instances might well be changed for a 
longer keeping variety, such as Gros Maroc. The latter invariably 
sells well, and this cannot be said of any white sort other than 
Muscat of Alexandria. 
Bctckland Sweetwater. 
In this district it is surprising how rapidly the Buckland Sweet¬ 
water is supplanting Foster’s Seedling, this being mainly due to 
the rather undue partiality judges at flower shows have developed 
for it. When well grown and finished it certainly is the more 
handsome of the two, but when as at Taunton the preference is given 
to rather second rate examples when there are perfectly finished 
bunches of Foster’s Seedling pitted against them, the judgment is 
•decidedly wrong. As a rule exhibitors are not often in the habit 
of placing themselves second, but the shrewd exhibitor of the 
Buckland Sweetwater was agreeably surprised at being awarded the 
first prize. Foster’s Seedling is no doubt more easily grown than 
Buckland Sweetwater, and in my estimation is the better Grape of 
the two. Neither ought to be grown very extensively, especially 
■seeing that Lady Downe’s, Alicante, Gros Colman, and Gros Maroc 
require very little, and in some positions no more fire heat to grow 
them to perfection. Moreover, the Alicante, Gros Maroc, and Mrs. 
Pince force capitally, and being of better appearance frequently 
realise much better prices in the market than any of the reouted 
•early kinds. 
Mrs. Pince. 
It appears that Mrs. Pince is improved by forcing. Mr. Lewis 
Barnes, gardener at Collingwood House, Hawkhurst, Kent, in¬ 
variably succeeds without hard forcing in ripening Mrs. Pince 
early in July, and has exhibited some of the best finished bunches 
I have yet seen. Exhibitors in the “ any black class of Grapes 
other than Hamburghs ” should take a note of this, especially if 
they fail to prevent cracking in the case of Madresfield Court. It 
would appear that there is every prospect of a much enlarged Mrs. 
Pince being shortly brought forward. In the vineries connected 
with the gardens at Hallow Park, Worcester, one spur on a rod of 
Mrs. Pince has developed for two successive seasons a bunch with 
■berries fully double the size of those on the other bunches, and if 
the young Vines raised from the lateral retain this character we 
■shall have yet another new variety in commerce. As far as I could 
see this extraordinary sportive bunch has set the berries evenly, 
and they have the square appearance denoting a fair complement 
of seeds. If it should prove to be as shy setting as its parent, or as 
in the case of the Canon Hall Muscat, even worse in this respect, it 
will be a pity for another disappointing sort to be distributed. A 
free setting extra large berried Black Muscat would, however, be 
welcomed on all sides. 
Alnwick Seedling. 
I have tasted Alnwick Seedling in various parts of the country, 
tiut in no instance has the quality proved satisfactory. It is really 
a second rate Grape. Very few now fail to set the berries as evenly 
•as Alicantes, and I have never seen them when ripe other than 
black. As far as habit and fruitfulness are concerned it is all that 
oould be wished for ; but there, however, its good qualities cease, as 
it is not even a good keeper. West’s St. Peter’s is altogether 
superior to it, yet we rarely meet with it, and I must also plead 
guilty to a reprehensible neglect of this good old sort. Mr. Hudson 
has long grown it at Gunnersbury House, and experiences no great 
difficulty in effecting a good set. It requires about the same amount 
of heat as the Alicante, and is grown in a mixed late house. It 
reduces abundance of bunches, rather loose in character, while the 
erries are round, medium sized, quite black, crisp, and pleasantly 
flavoured. Mr. Hudson long ago discovered that invalids could eat 
this Grape when all others proved unpalatable, his experience being 
exactly identical with that of one of our greatest authorities on i 
drapes—viz., Mr. A. F. Barron. 
Late Graphs. 
let another note from Gunnersbury House. In the year 1873 
Mr. Hudson planted a house with late Grapes, those intended to be 
permanent having an outside border all to themselves, while the 
supernumeraries were disposed in a narrow inside border or pit. The 
latter is about 3 feet deep and 20 inches wide, and was built close 
to the front wall. Both borders were built on the tank system— 
that is to say, are so constructed as to hold water in the case of its 
being necessary to flood out a second attack of phylloxera, with 
which Mr. Hudson has had an unwelcome experience. The inside 
and outside borders are not connected by means of an arched wall, 
but there are a few small drainage outlets at the bottom of the 
former. The supernumeraries alternated with the intended per¬ 
manent Vines, and from the first proved quite as profitable ; in 
fact, they have annually done so well that they are yet preserved. 
Lady Downe’s, Alicante, and Gres Colman are the principal sorts 
growing in these narrow pits, and each on an average are carrying 
ten good bunches. An annual good top-dressing of loam and 
manure with abundance of water and liquid manure is what Vine 3 
in narrow bordtrs need, and what they receive at Gunnersbury 
House. I could give other instances where excellent Grapes have 
long been grown in narrow raised borders, but sufficient has been 
stated to open the eyes of intending planters to the fact that a 
small well attended border is much superior to the usual large 
borders only partially occupied 1 y roots. 
Black Hamburgh. 
Few Grapes pay better for superior culture than the Black 
Hamburgh, and no other sort appears so amenable to all sorts of 
treatment. At Gunnersbury Park last year a house of this variety 
was ripened in April. After being rested for about six weeks they 
were started afresh, and actually ripened off a good crop by mid¬ 
winter. It is not to be supposed that Mr. Roberts ever thought 
the Vines would go on perfecting two crops in the year, this being 
too much even for the long-suffering Hamburgh. They were thus 
treated in order to get all that was possible out of them in a short 
space of time prior to clearing them out and replanting with 
different varieties. In March a number of pot Vines were planted 
in a narrow loamy border, and these have developed into some of 
the finest rods I have ever seen. All reached the top of the house, 
and many of them will be only lightly shortened. One cane 
selected at random measured 2 inches in circumference upwards of 
12 feet from the roots, and all are very short-jointed with little 
pith, the wood being really as hard as it could well be. Strange to 
relate, one of the old Vines that was first cut hard back, both at 
the top and roots, and then planted with the young Vines, is nearly 
or quite as vigorous as the rest. If a good start has anything to do 
with it Mr. Roberts will eventually have some fine Grapes from 
those Vines.—W. Iggglden.__ 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES 
SWANLEY. 
One of the most remarkable characteristics of Messrs. Cannell and 
Sons’“ Home of Flowers” at Swanley is the regularity with which a 
succession of special attractions is maintained throughout the year. At 
one time the houses seem full of Pelargoniums, at another the Primulas 
appear to occupy all available space. Verbenas and Tuberous Begonias 
have similarly special seasons when they engross all the attention of 
visitors, and now having reached dull November several houses are d - 
voted to Chrysanthemums. Enormous numbers of plants are grown to 
afford the requisite supplies of cuttings to meet the annual demand, and 
it is always found difficult to obtain sufficient of such varieties as Lady 
Selborne, Refulgence, White Globe, and some others that are not very 
prolific of base shoots. A large space of ground outside has consequently 
been planted with a reserve stock, besides some thousands planted in 
borders under glass to yield early cuttings, and as a measure of safety 
in the event of severe frost. Beyond these three span-roofed houses are 
devoted to plants in large pots, grown to show the characters of the best 
varieties in all sections as well as the novelties which are now so abun¬ 
dant. The plants are dwarf, with lar^e dark green leaves to the base of 
the stems, and there are numbers of fine buds that with favourabli 
weather may be expected to develope satisfactorily. At present the dis¬ 
play is chiefly confined to the earlier Japanese, and in one of the houses 
these form a b autiful bank of bright and varied colours. Amongst the 
novelties are those sent out by Messrs. Cannell & Sons early in the 
present year. These comprise the following, raised from imported seed— 
Lady Cave, Arthur Wood, Mrs. Castle, Mrs. B. Wynne, Mr. Matthew, 
and C. L. Teesdale ; imported direct from Japan Mrs. H. Cannell, Mr. H. 
Cannell, Lady T. Lawrence, Lady Emily, Mr. Addison, Mr. H. Wellam, 
Shirley Hibberd, Edwin Molyneux, and Mr. C. Orchard. Few of these 
are as yet at their best, but the two last named, of the Comte Germiny 
type, are very promising in several collections. It should be added in 
reference to these that special prizes of £10, £5, £3, and £2 were 
offered at the National Chrysanthemum Society’s Show, Royal Aquarium, 
Westminster, November 9th and 10th, for the best twelve blooms of 
