114 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
L August 9i 188ft- 
they can be lifted with balls of earth and planted out in favourable 
weather in March or early in April. Let them have plenty of air 
through the winter excepting in bitterly cold or hard weather. 
“ For planting out, prepare the soil in winter by the addition of 
well-decayed manure—cowdung if it can be had—and have the 
ground in readiness for planting in March or April. If autumn 
planting is adopted, and when it can be done I recommend it, 
prepare the ground as already indicated, and plant out in October 
or November, so that the plants may get a firm root-hold before 
winter set in, and mulch with leaf soil, decayed dry manure, or 
some other material, keeping a reserve stock to make good any 
failuies through the winter. Both for Yiolas and Pansies a position 
where they can be screened from the intense heat of the mid-day 
sun up to three or four o'clock is most beneficial in preserving the 
blooms and the plants. Watering with a fine-rose pot night and 
morning, and even oftener, is beneficial ; and by doing this freely 
this season I effectually kept down the brown aphis, a most de¬ 
structive pest. Old shoots when they have ceased blooming should 
be cut away, and two or three times during the summer some good 
soil should be placed in and about the plants and long growths 
pegged down. If Yiolas and Pansies are kept growing in vigorous 
health, the brown aphis—a terrible enemy —is beaten, and the 
plants kept free from it ; but the plants should be watched for 
this pest, a very small variety of the green fly, then apply tobacco 
water or some other well known solution.” 
We shall be glad to receive contributions from any correspon¬ 
dents on this subject. 
VINES—AERIAL ROOTS. 
It is a generally accepted opinion that the roots produced by 
the stems, rods, or canes of Yines are different from these in the 
border. The only real difference, however, is that one is formed 
on that part of the Yine which is above ground, and the other on 
the part within the soil. Both are emitted whenever the conditions 
are favourable to their production. The root, or descending axis, 
differs from a stem through its origination, it does not ramify or 
branch symmetrically, and is devoid of normal leaf buds. A 
portion of the matter transmitted to the stem and the foliage to 
be elaborated and assimilated must descend and be stored corre¬ 
sponding to that stored in the young wood or cane, so that the roots 
become more or less of a ligneous character, which is proportionate 
to the maturity of the stem. If the growth is soft, long-jointed, 
and distinguished by a large pith, the roots are correspondingly soft 
and bare of rootlets, being more liable to collapse under adverse 
circumstances, as is unripe wood, through vicissitudes of climate, 
than thoroughly solidified and matured. 
As the value of wood for fruit production depends entirely on 
the food stored therein, so with roots. Their preservation or con¬ 
tinuance through the resting period is dependent on the measure of 
their maturity and material stored therein. The object of the 
cultivator with recently planted Yines is to produce as much 
growth as possible, in order also to have an increase of roots. A 
large amount of growth may be produced with very little mature 
wood and less stored matter than in canes that have not made a 
quarter the growth. The latter, through being required for fruit¬ 
ing, are kept somewhat closely pinched, more of the aliment 
absorbed by the roots and elaborated by the foliage being assimi¬ 
lated and stored alike in the cane and the roots. The wood of the 
last is brown and hard, the buds are well developed and prominent 
as nuts, the roots from their ligneous nature are retained during 
the resting period, prepared to emit fibres abundantly when the 
buds are called into activity. The wood of those that are to be cut 
back to the bottom of the trellis or rafter is for the most part 
unripe, the roots are of a spongy nature, and the greater part collapse 
during the resting period ; the consequence is the Yines have not 
the benefit of as many active feeders in the early stages of growth 
as those treated in the previous year, so as to insure sturdy tho¬ 
roughly solidified growth, properly elaborated and assimilated sap, or 
perfectly developed buds on properly matured wood. To encourage 
growth, therefore, in order to form roots, is not good unless means 
are adopted to so expose the foliage to light as to insure a descending 
current of assimilated matter to the roots. 
It is essential that Yines selected for planting have a sturdy 
habit, short-jointed thoroughly solidified and ripened wood. Such 
I am well aware are not preferred, but the best and most thoroughly 
perfected are retained for ^fruiting in pots. Why ? Is it not 
because canes with thoroughly ripened wood have roots of a- more 
ligneous nature, more food being stored in them than those 
that have longer jointed, less firm wood, with larger pith, with 
roots very much less numerous, more fleshy and watery, there 
being very little ripe wood ? Thoroughly ripened wood and 
ligneous roots stored with material give Vine3 their value for 
starting at an unnatural season. The early growths are supported 
by the stored up sap in the stem, still further supplemented by 
that in the roots. The Yine with short-jointed, stout, thoroughly 
perfected wood and plump buds, has sufficient roots to meet 
all the demands made upon them by fruiting without having 
recourse to adventitious or aerial roots. The case is different, 
where the canes are long jointed, thick, having a large pith, and 
only the semblanco of ripened wood, very little stored material 
being available for the support of the growth and the develop¬ 
ment of the fruit. The roots are long with thick ramifications,, 
and they do not transmit food in sufficient quantity for the 
support of the foliage and developing fruit, as the stored up matter 
in their case is soon exhausted. In pot Vines adventitious roots 
appear at the collar or above it on the wood of the previous year of 
cut-backs, and given surface dressings these will soon extend over 
the pots into the plunging material, proving themselves true roots. 
This, however, is hardly applicable to Vines generally, as aerial 
roots from Yine stems or rods cannot well be supplied with 
material from which they can draw supplies supplementary to those 
afforded by the border roots. 
If aerial roots are false our present system of growing Grapes 
is false also. It may be a bold assertion, but I venture to state 
that there is not one Vine in a hundred that is on true roots if 
aerial roots are false, which is not the case. A Vine at planting 
may be everything desired—viz., have short-jointed, thoroughly 
solidified and ripened wood, with a mass of roots emanating from 
the collar or immediately beneath the soil, and yet be ruined by the 
practice of planting so as to bury a good part of the cane in the 
soil as well as the roots. The idea, no doubt, is to increase the 
amount of roots from the part of the cane buried, and these roots r 
adventitious and corresponding to aerial, strike down or mostly 
proceed from the under side of the cane buried, the soil not being 
firm, or it may have shrunk so as to leave a cavity or looseness of 
compost next the wall; in any case, these roots strike deep in to the 
border, laying the best possible foundation of unsatisfactory crops 
of Grapes, with a certainty of abundance of aerial roots. A pro¬ 
perly planted sparse-rooted Yine in a properly formed border may 
furnish itself with roots from the collar, which, proceeding laterally,, 
will extend through the border near the surface, cultural require¬ 
ments being afforded for their keeping, so that they are better than 
those consigned to disaster through burying the original roots along 
with a portion of the cane at planting. Objection may be taken to 
this on the ground that Vines so planted sometimes prove satisfac¬ 
tory. I am well aware of the fact that such Vines do splendidly 
for a few years, whilst the border materials are open, admitting the 
free access of air and rain and water ; but how many years elapse 
before the Grapes begin to shank and finish indifferently ? Take 
a Yine with two rods, both trained alike to the roof and having the 
same advantages up to the first indication or appearance of aerial 
roots ; bring one rod down so that it can be buried a few inches 
deep in suitable compost. It will at once solve the problem as to 
the character of the roots by the additional vigour the growth on 
the rod speedily assumes ; the finer berries and better finish of the 
Grapes, with something to spare for its companion rod, which will 
follow the lead and partake of the other’s prosperity. The rod 
should be layered somewhat in advance of the growth or before 
the buds break, as from the contact of the rod with the compost 
roots will sooner be emitted, but they will not be at all freely 
catering until the Vine is advanced in growth very nearly if 
not quite up to the flowering and setting period. This I have, 
proved by layering canes into pots, lengths of 12 feet or more, with 
the pots as close as they could be. The buds started with those 
from spurs on the rod, but roots did not push freely from the 
part of cane in the pots until the shoots had shown and developed 
the bunches, being well advanced for flowering and even set before 
the shoots began to start away with a bound, a clear indication that 
the roots were in possession of the soil, and sending up the aliment 
provided by applications of liquid manure or water passing through 
mulchings of rich material. Each shoot or cane left alone soon 
attains sufficient length and strength for a fruiting cane of the 
first order for another season’s forcing, and instead of impoverishing 
the Yine they are a source of invigoration as long as they remain, 
and for some time after detachment the good effects continue, 
though there is a diminution apparently of benefit from the time 
of the detaching of the pot canes from the Yine. 
Now let us hie back to the consideration of the two descriptions 
of Yines—viz., the short-jointed stout wood well ripened,' w T ith 
