394 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 20, 1886. 
water, cold water being the best, and the best position a 
cool and not very light room. So treated the endurance of the 
flowers would surprise many people, and make vases enjoy¬ 
able that are often rendered disappointing by drooping and 
falling petals. 
To retain the petals of flowers all decorative florists 
practise gumming, not of the flowers that are cut alone, but 
those retained for beauty on the plants. A slight touch of 
clear gum in the centre of a Pelargonium flower, for instance, 
seals the petals, and it requires very violent shaking to 
remove them, while if the work is expertly done the gum is 
quite invisible. The crowded masses of flowers on market 
plants is largely due to this process of gumming—that is to 
say, by that means the early flowers are retained until the later 
buds expand. — G. Abbey. 
NOTES ON VINES AND WATERING FRUIT 
BORDERS. 
A few days ago I was mot by an amateur—a gentleman in a town 
not fifty miles from where I write, with the request “ Come and see 
my Grapes,” and thither I went. Late last autumn his Vines had 
been carefully lifted, the drainage had been rectified and covered 
with tui’ves grassy side down, and the Vines replanted in new soil, 
consisting of good turfy loam, to which one-fifth of horse droppings, 
old lime rubble, and wood ashes respectively had been added, and 
the whole well mixed. The roots were spread out all over the 
border, with a slight inclination downwards from the base of each 
Vine, and any that had become damaged in the process was cut 
clean off at the point of injury with a sharp knife. Incisions were 
made along the bare portions of the principal roots, and a few 
inches up the stems of the individual Vines to cause the emission of 
young roots, and then covered to the thickness of 6 inches with 
prepared compost, a surface dressing of short dung of half the 
thickness indicated being laid on the border. After this the whole 
received sufficient tepid water to settle the soil about the roots, 
which, like those of the Peach and Apricot trees in the orchard 
house close by, are confined to inside borders. Vines thus treated 
and allowed their own time to push into growth this spring could 
not very well do otherwise than break satisfactorily. They were 
carrying from fifteen to eighteen medium-sized bunches each, which 
were being thinned at the time of my visit, and which numbers, 
together with several of the lateral shoots, which were much too 
close to each other (9 inches in some cases), were recommended to 
be reduced forthwith to from 9 to 12 bunches according to the 
strength of each Vine and the size of the bunches, and the shoots to 
from 15 to 18 inches apart. 
My friend’s hobby being “fruit-growing under glass,” he has 
this year taken the management of the trees, &c., into his own 
hands, and being of a scientific turn of mind conceived the idea 
that by persistently stopping the non-fruit-bearing shoots or 
laterals and allowing those carrying bunches to make free growth 
beyond the latter, the flow of sap would thereby be directed into 
the fruit-bearing shoots, and that better results than could other¬ 
wise be obtained would be secured. I told him that the shoots 
and leaves would become overcrowded in a very short time, and so 
prevent the proper development of the latter as well as the ripening 
of the wood ; and that by following a judicious course of pinching 
the laterals and sub-laterals larger and thicker leaves, having buds 
at their bases as large and firm as Filberts at pruning time, would 
be produced. My amateur and scientific friend’s rejoinder was to 
the effect “ that the leaves being the lungs of the Vines, he there¬ 
fore concluded that the more leaves they had, irrespective of size 
or texture, the better it would be for the Vines and the crop.’’ 
However, acting upon my advice he has decided to treat a couple of 
the Vines in accordance with his own ideas, and to subject the 
remainder to the process of pinching the laterals and sub-laterals, 
and to compare the results. 
Leaving the vinery and entering the adjoining orchard house 
the condition of the trees and the prospect of securing therefrom a 
crop of fruit this season were anything but encouraging, the trees 
suffering most severely through inadequate supplies of water. 
What little growth they made last year had been trained in the 
usual way to the back wall, and that of the central standard trees 
to a trellis fixed to the roof within 24 inches of the glass, which 
consists of 24-inch squares, secured to the purlines by small clips of 
copper and tacks, two clips and four tacks being used to each square. 
This done the borders containing the roots had a good mulching of 
short dung and an “ application ” of water, since which time 
(Christmas) no water had been given at the roots. This circum¬ 
stance led to an inquiry being made as to the supply of water at 
command, as well as the quantity given at the roots at each 
watering. The supply was good—namely, a tank, 44 feet square, 
underneath the floor in one of the houses, and supplied by rain 
water conducted thither by gutter and stack pipes from the roofs 
of the glass and other houses ; and it was remarked that this. tank 
had never been empty since it was first filled, an admission 
which showed conclusively how inadequate were the supplies of 
water given at the roots, not only of the trees in the orchard house, 
but also of the Vines during their growing season, inasmuch as the 
tank when full of water would contain only sufficient for giving 
one house one fairly good watering. From this date (the middle of 
May) until the fruit has approached maturity such applications 
should be repeated two or three times a month according to the 
weather, and that the Vines, as well as the Peach trees, &c., would 
be considerably benefited and the results improved if a good surface 
dressing of Thomson’s manure was laid on tho borders prior to 
every fourth watering. This advice my friend has promised to 
follow, together with that of making a free use of the syringe on 
the trees morning and afternoon before and after they have set 
their fruits, and until the latter (Peaches, Apricots, and Plums) 
begin ripening, when syringing the trees and the house should be 
discontinued, and abundance of air admitted on all favourable 
occasions, leaving the ventilators open a few inches at night. 
The importance of the facts and of the manner in which the 
cultural details indicated above are attended to must be my excuse 
for committing them to paper, in the hope that they may prove 
useful to readers of the Journal, as the case cited is but one of 
many, and by bringing the facts stated above under the notice of 
the responsible parties disastrous results may be avoided. I may 
remark that here from the middle of May till the middle of 
September we water our borders every ten days or thereabouts, 
but after the last-named date they require less frequent supplies 
at the roots. The borders prior to the house or houses being kept 
close receive a surface-dressing of horse droppings to the thickness 
of 3 inches, which once during the season (say May or June) is 
renewed. Our chief range of vineries is 128 feet long and 17 feet 
wide. This inside border, which, like the outside one, is well 
drained, receives about 5000 gallons of water at each watering 
3000 gallons of clear water pumped and delivered from a large 
reservoir underneath the conservatory floor by one of Owen and 
Co.’s double-barrel force pumps, having 2 5 -inch delivery hose 
attached, and 2000 gallons of liquid manure following immediately 
after from the manure tank in connection with the dung pound, 
where a goodly supply of stable dung (including a large per-centage 
of horse droppings), in several stages of decomposition, is always at 
hand, and which is watered over with the pump and delivery hose 
indicated every time the supply is exhausted. This washes the 
substance of the heated dung into the tank, whence at a temperature 
of from 80° to 95 ° it is conveyed in water-barrows direct to the 
Vine and Peach borders in quantities as stated above. There need 
be no apprehension of the roots of Vines and Peaches sustaining 
any injury through copious supplies of undiluted liquid manure, 
had from such a source as that just described, being given to the 
borders in which they are growing.—H. W. Ward, Longford 
Castle. 
GLOXINIAS PLANTED OUT IN FRAMES. 
In 1878, during the Paris Exhibition, attention was drawn to 
the splendid collection of Gloxinias grown by M. Lion Duval 
of Versailles, and who annually grew 20,000 plants, Gloxinias 
being M. Duval’s speciality. The plants have become very 
popular, and deservedly so; few are more showy, more floriferous, 
or easier of cultivation, thus being adapted to the requirements 
of nearly all classes of horticulturists ; for it is not absolutely 
necessary to have a greenhouse to accommodate them, as I shall 
presently show. Who can fail to admire their wealth and rich¬ 
ness of colouring, the bold appearance of their flowers, and their 
rich velvety green foliage P We have them in nearly all shades, 
from the pure white of Mont Blanc to the deep purple of Prince 
Arthur, the glowing crimson of Vesuvius and the rosy pink of 
Rose d’Amour. We have them self-coloured, bicoloured, and 
maculated, erect-flowered, semi erect, and drooping, and to the 
impartial admirer they are all equally beautiful. 
Natives of tropical America, they require a certain amount 
of artificial heat for their successful culture, but it is not 
essential that the temperature should be excessive, a moist, 
genial, regular warmth beiDg most adapted to their requirements. 
Although their roots are fine and hair-like, yet they are rather 
gross feeders ; indeed, owing to the delicate appearance of their 
roots they are apt to be very imperfectly nourished by those not 
versed in their requirements. The Gloxinia also, I think, derives 
a considerable amount of sustenance through its large porous 
leaves, and that may account in no small degree for the astonishing 
