November 17, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
427 
into it may undergo those changes which turn them into plant food. 
It we wished to cause a piece of wood or other vegetable matter to decay 
as quickly as possible, what should we do with it ? I should say place 
it in a position where air and moisture could both get to it. It has been 
proved by experiment that decay is most rapid where air and water 
meet. A bar of iron placed upright in a tub of water for some time will 
e round to rust away most rapidly just at the part which is nearest to 
, e surface of the water. Take a beam of wood, build it into a house, 
*eep it properly dry. and it will last for hundreds of years. Take the 
same beam, bury it deep in a bog, deep in water but preserved from air, 
and agam it will keep sound for centuries. Only the other day we read 
in the newspapers of the finding of the framework of an ancient ship, 
probably eight or nine hundred years old, in Lincolnshire; it was dis¬ 
covered during the excavating for a gas-holder deep in the ground, and 
e vvood was perfectly sound. Not very long ago I stood in a natural 
orest high up among mountains, where great trees, probably 8 or 10 feet 
m diameter, being blown down by the gales, decay and fall away to 
earthy matter in about four or five years, so wet is the climate, while 
e same trees down in the valleys, some 3000 feet below, I believe, 
stand sound and strong, the wood becoming like iron, for thirty or forty 
years after the settler has killed them. 
(To be continued.) 
FRUIT EXHIBITION AT THE CHILWELL 
NURSERIES. 
,. Numbers of visitors are attracted to these nurseries to inspect the fin e 
display of Apples and Peirs. and £10 being offered in prizes brought 
a good number of exhibits. The Show is held in a spac'ous vinery 100 feet 
ju length ; 310 dishes are very neatly arranged on a table down the middle of 
the house. The c l'ect : on of twebe varieties, culinary Appl s (six fruits 
each) brought seven exhibito s. Mr. S. Rhodes, Tliurear.on Park, Notts, 
was first wi h good fruits, the most conspicuous being Maltster, exception¬ 
alu^ ne ’ Northern Greeninsr, Spencer's Favourite (Queen Caroline). 
Caldwell, Emperor Alexander, Noimanton Wonder, Warner's King, and 
j“l® n “.im Pippin. Second, Mr. J. Jo es, gardener to the Hon. Louis Hope, 
the Knowle, Haylewood, Derby, showing a splendid dish of New Haw- 
thornden. Equal second Mr. F. Oldham, garden r to 0. Schwind, Esq., 
Broomfield Hall, Derby. With dessert Apples there were ten exhibits of 
six dishes. First, Mr. Anderton, gardener to H. R. Clifron, E>q., C ifton 
Hal|, Notts, showing ia g-md condiuon Lord Lennox, Blenheim Pippin, 
Coxs Orange Pippin, King of the Pippins, New Bess Pool, and Rb-ton 
Pippin, all well grown. Mr. F. Oldham was a close second with King of 
the Pippins, Golden Reinette. C >x’s Orange Pippin, Worcester Pearmain, 
Blenheim Pippin, and Eve. Third, Mr. Attenborough, gardener to W. H. 
Farmer, E-q., Alexander Park, Notiingham. Wi h twelve dishes of Pears, 
distinct, there were five entries. First, Mr. Cunnington, gardener to J. 
Marriot, Esq., The E ms, Crosswell, Rubley. Nott°.—viz., BeuriA Hardy, 
Glou Morijeau, Benrre Ranc' 1 , Uvedale’s St. Germain, Urbaniste, Doyennd 
du Comice, Marie Louise, Durondeau (very fine). Doyenne Baussocb, Mare- 
chal de Cour, Beurrd Sterckmans, and Beurre Diel. Second, Ms. Marks, 
gardener to C. R. P. Morewood, Esq., Alfreton Hall, Derby. Third, Mr. Old¬ 
ham. In the c'ass for six varieties—first, Mr. Anderson ; second, M r . Atten¬ 
borough; third, Mr. Coy, gard°ner to Rev. Drooston, Bingham Notts. For 
the heaviest Apple there were five entiies, the first prize going to Mr. 
Rhodes wilh a Mai s'er, weighing 12J ozs. An extra prize in this class was 
awarded to Mr. Anderson for a beautiful fruit of Blenheim Pippin. For the 
best dDh of Pears M r . Cummington was first with a grand dish of Beurid 
D’el, and Mr. Milner extra for an exceptionally fine dish of Winter Nelis. 
Mr. Toulson of Chilwell, exhibited, not for competition, a fine Warner’s 
King, weighing 20.) ozs., also dishes of New Northern Greening, Court 
Pendii Plat, and King of the Pippins in good fo m. 
Mr. Ingram, of Belvoir Cast e Gardens, showed a very fine sample of a 
new Potato, Ideal, and Mr. Taylor, of King’s Newton, a very promi-ing 
late culinary Apple, which be intends to nime Newton Wonder. Among 
the varieties selected from Messrs. J. & R. Pearson’s own orchards were 
noticeable Golden ReinetU, Cellini, Warner’s King, Spencer's Favourite, 
Beauty of Kent, Polt's Seedling, N6W Northern Greening, and Duchess 
of Oldenburg, the latt-r still sound, though ripe in September. Blen¬ 
heim Pippin was included in eve-v collection, and was very fine through¬ 
out both in size and colour. New Noithern Greening was well represented. 
Mr. R. Milner exhibited in three classes, but as the competiti m was con¬ 
fined to Notts, Derby, Lincoln, Stafford, or north of these counties he was 
disqualified from showing against the otter exhibitors, but owing to the 
exceptional quality of his fruit he was awarded an extra fi si for twelve 
varieties of Pears, and an extra second for dessert Apples. 
MEMORIES OF A TOUR. 
[Continued from page 405.') 
THE CASTLE COCH VINEYARD. 
I WAS brought to a sudden stop last week just when entering on a 
description of this interesting example of Grape-growing in an open 
field as a commercial undertaking in the production of wine. In order 
to make as clear as possible the method of growing the Vines, I had a 
photograph of one of them sent to an engraver some time ago, and 
subsequently sent a written request to be furnished with the engraving 
of this Vine. It seems the artist had at the same time the view of a 
celebrated garden in hand, and so when I asked for the Vine he sent me 
the “ view,” and as there was no time to rectify the error I had to pull 
up sharp. The Vine now appears, and the view will no doubt follow in 
due course. Both of them afford sufficient evidence that my talented 
coadjutor can do his work better than I do mine, for I must attribute 
the mistake to my faulty caligraphy, of which I am often not a little 
ashamed. However, I managed to write “ Vine ” plain enough the 
second time, and had my reward. This reminds me of a delicate com¬ 
pliment b stowed by a celebrated gardener to whom 1 had occasion to 
write some time ago, and who replied, “ I have received your letter, but 
can only read some of it, as the style is so distinguished.” I thought 
that admirable, and the more so since my friend’s “style” of writing 
was so far beyond me, that I have not to this day been able to decipher 
anything like the whole of his letter, so we both stand “distinguished” 
for bad writing. This is mentioned in the hope that young gardeners 
who are desirous of entering the literary arena may take a lesson from 
our shortcomings, and distinguish themselves in a directly opposite 
manner. And now having stated what “ happened ” to check progress, 
we will glance at the vineyard, and see if what has been done there does 
not afford material for reflection. 
As was recently intimated in the review of Mr. Barron’s excellent 
woik on the Vine, the author remarked that, “the Castle Coch experi¬ 
ment of growing Grapes in an open vineyard is not considered to be 
very successful.” There was sufficient justification for the observation 
at the time it was penned in 1883, but there have been many changes 
since then, and amongst them the most important have been better 
and brighter summers than those shortly anterior to that date. The 
Vinos were planted in 1875, and in 1877 yielded forty gallons of wine, 
which, at the price now obtained for the “ Castle Coch ” brand, would 
be worth £60, or £30 an acre ; but the Vines were young then, and 
more wine was obtained in the following year. Then came the not to be 
forgotten season of 1879, when the Potato and grain harvests were failures 
through excessive wet, and many of the Grapes dropped off the Vines. 
This meant another year’s failure, for the wood was of necessity soft 
and unfruitful. There was a good crop in 1881. then two more failures 
through bad seasons, so that Mr. Barron was quite right, for up to 1883 
the experiment was certainly not very successful. If we take the first 
ten years probably the value of the wine made would not much more 
than pay expenses, yet there would presumably be no loss. 
The weather during the greater part of that period caused 
other fruit crops to fail, and the Vines had to endure an 
ordeal of exceptional and abnormal severity. But what do we 
find since then ? Not prosperity in agriculture, nor in ordinary fruit 
culture in this country ; but taking the wine value of this year’s vintage 
alone, we have at its actual selling price of £3 a dozen a total of £840, 
the yield, Dr. Hogg tells me—and he has seen the must, or new wine, 
since I saw the Vines—being 10 hogsheads. If we spread that over, 
twelve years we have an average of £70 a year, or £35 an acre, two 
acres being under cultivation. Can ordinary fruit culture or farm crops 
show an equal result i for that is a fair way of testing the matter ; and 
judging by that test, the Marquis of Bute is surely not adopting a 
reckless policy in extending his vineyards very considerably. The 
experiments now may fairly be considered satisfactory, and there is at 
least as bright a future for wine-growing in South Wales as for any 
other crop that is ordinarily grown in this country. Eleven more acres 
are to be planted, making a total of thirteen, or 62,920 Vines. 
The vineyard at Castle Coch is favourably situated both as to 
site and soil. The soil is yellowish loam of a medium texture 
resting on broken limestone. It was trenched 2 feet deep, and the 
turf turned in gave it a fibry texture. There is thus a good feeding 
ground and good drainage. It slopes to the south from the base 
of a high and heavily wooded hill, thus is well sheltered from 
the north ; it is also fairly protected from the east and west by lower 
and less heavily wooded hills from a quarter to half a mile away. The 
Vines are growing 3 feet apart in lines from north to south, with the 
same distance between the plants, or one to each superficial yard, making 
4840 to the acre. They are secured to strong stakes cut from the wood, 
such as are commonly used for Raspberries, and rise about 4 feet above 
the ground. As viewed from either end, looking up the slope from the 
south side, or down it from the north, the straight rows of Vines, neatly 
dressed, no laterals bristling from them, the ground clean, and the 
Grapes changing, it was impossibl: not to admire the general effect, and 
particularly the remarkable health of the Vines and the care with which 
they were tended. Mr. Pettigrew’s trusted helper practically lived 
amongst these Vines, and had his little lodge for shelter. He knew 
where the best bunches were, and pointed them out » ith modest pride 
and a politeness of manner that is not equally possessed by all tillers of 
the ground. His appeared to be a pleasant occupation, and he carried 
out intelligently the wishes of his chief. This active and experienced 
Vine dresser, though not old, had passed the meridian of life, and has 
since been summoned to his long rest, leaving a good name behind him. 
Most persons, I apprehend, who are expecting to see something for 
the first time form an imaginative sketch of the object. In my forecast 
of the Vines at Castle Coch I was at fault in one particular. I was 
under the impression they were managed the same as Raspberry canes 
are—that is, taking two or three up a stake, bearing them their entire 
length, then cutting them down in winter; others, of the summer’s 
growth, being trained in their stead. That is simple enough, but the 
method ado, ted with the Vines in question is simpler still. It consists 
in cutting back the bearing canes every year close to the main stem or 
stump 9 inches or so from the ground. The stem naturally enlarges, 
just as a spur does on the main rod of a Vine under glass. The Vines 
then may be said to be cut back to the spur every season, exactly the 
same as “ pollarding ” Willows. Several buds -break, and growths stait 
in the spring, just as they do from spurs in a vinery. Disbudding is then 
resorted to, and a selection of the most promising growths made for 
hearing. In the engraving three are shown, a leaf or two having been 
