October 10, 1880. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER L 
307 
■and Clay’s fertiliser with a little lime and soot added. It is covered 
with a small layer of good stiff loam. All are forked together, and 
the border is well watered, repeating the application in the course 
of a few days, so that we can rely on all parts being thoroughly 
.moistened. We recommend this early watering of the border in 
preference to leaving it until the house is started, as it induces 
good root-action before the Vines commence growing. The 
outside borders are then treated in the same way, although if we 
•can secure a heavy rain on it after being prepared in the course of 
week or so we consider this preferable. About the end of 
October we close the house, and at the same time we make a hotbed 
outside composed of one-half leaves and the other good heating 
manure fresh from the stable, made to the depth of about 2 feet, 
covering the whole with old lights or wooden panels made for that 
purpose. We do not endeavour to obtain any violent heat, the 
object aimed at being to protect the border from the cold atmosphere, 
heavy rains, and snow, and to keep the soil as dry as possible 
-through the winter. About a fortnight after closing the house a 
Uittle fire heat is provided on dull days and nights, the temperature 
ranging from 60° hy day to 55° at night, rising and falling according 
-to the weather outside. Thus, if there is a sharp frost we should 
-expect the house to be below 55°; if the night was warm above 
55°, and if the sun was shining over 60°, &c. The endeavour is to 
keep the fire heat as far as possible to one temperature, and this, I 
-think, is well worth a little consideration, by young men especially, 
•as I believe the more closely we follow Nature the surer we are of 
•success. The house when started should at all times be kept moist 
hy constantly syringing the walls, staging, and borders, and the rods 
■three times a day, for keeping red spider, thrips, &c., in check is 
•greatly assisted by this in the early part of the season. 
As soon as the young growths have reached the stage when on 
■close examination the bunches can be detected, those not having 
any fruit are at once removed, and now will be seen the advantage 
•of careful cleaning. All those buds not injured will be found 
•useful in producing a crop of fruit as well as forming new laterals. 
We had a good example of this last year, as from the leading buds 
not more than an average of four to a rod showed fruit, when 
after removing all those not showing we were in the end able to 
obtain a good crop, and strange to say, that although some were 
colouring when others were in flower and just set, they all finished 
■well. This year the wood all seems in good condition, being well 
ripened, a sample of which I sent herewith pruned a few days ago. 
'This is not a chance practice, but has been carried out here for the 
last three years with success. Great care is taken when tying down 
dhe laterals, going over them often rather than run the risk of 
losing one, and to aid this we let the rods hang below the wires 
"2 or 3 inches, and strain them up tighter later on in the season. 
We now come to the setting process. The dry temperature, as 
•practised in many places, is not carried out here, the object we aim 
•at being to keep a warm moist atmosphere, with a little ventilation 
always on when practicable, and the temperature is raised to 65° by 
night and 70° by day, drawing the hand lightly down the bunches 
before syringing in the afternoon. As soon as the majority of the 
bunches are set we give the inside border a good supply of strong 
-sewage water, raised to a higher temperature than that of the 
house. On no account after the Vines are started let it be colder, 
•and if we can catch a bright sunny day so much the better, that we 
■can well ventilate, and so allow the ammonia, &c., to escape, which 
would otherwise do injury to the young foliage ; this greatly assists 
dn the stoning. The soil close to the pipes should at all times be 
kept watered, as dry soil helps to breed insects. As soon as they 
have finished stoning we again raise the temperature 10°, and give 
another good watering as advised above. This is sufficient until 
■4he Grapes are ripe, only supplying clear water after when required. 
The hotbed is taken off about the end of March. 
In thinning great care is taken to remove all the small berries, 
•as they never finish, and only help to disfigure the bunch. Should 
red spider appear we at once supply sulphur to the roots, which 
•soon prevents it spreading any further. In conclusion, I trust that 
any imperfections in these notes will be excused, as I am only a 
young contributor, and already I feel that some of our large growers 
■disagree with a portion of the above practice ; still I should be glad 
io read their opinions.—W. Palmer, Thames Ditton Douse. 
[The wood received is firm, well ripened, and capable of bear¬ 
ing good fruit.] 
LAVENDER. 
The interesting and instructive article by Mr. L. Castle on 
Lavender, p. 193, which appeared in this Journal on Sept. 5th, has 
■created a favourable impression here where the land is of a 
•calcareous nature. Although the distance the chalk lies under the 
surface varies considerably in different parts of the estate, in some 
iplaces there is only 1 foot of soil, in others the chalk is not reached 
at a less distance than 8 feet. Even at the latter depth the soil is 
highly impregnated with chalk, as this is largely used by farmers 
for dressing the land in winter, which then falls to powder by the 
action of the frost. All the land on this estate is heavily mixed 
with flints, which assist the percolation of the surface water. From 
the description of the soil required to grow Lavender well we con¬ 
sidered that success might be obtained. Mr. Myers, being a 
thorough enthusiast in any scheme likely to prove beneficial to his 
estate, has determined to put the matter to a practical test on the 
lines of culture laid down by Mr. Castle. The position chosen is 
one facing south, which is already sheltered on the eastern side by 
a young Larch plantation, and on the north side it is intended to 
make a similar plantation, and as this tree grows fast when once 
established in this soil we do not apprehend any difficulty in 
sheltering the Lavender. I have therefore set about preparing a 
stock of plants, which I apprehend will be ready to plant per¬ 
manently out towards the end of April. Not having stock enough 
to obtain sufficient divisions of old plants we have taken cuttings 
from 4 to 6 inches long, the base of each being furnished with 
partly ripened wood, which will emit roots quicker than the soft 
green shoots nearer the point of growth. The lower leaves are 
trimmed off neatly, the cuttings are then dibbled thickly in sandy 
soil in a cold frame, making each thoroughly firm at the base. The 
frame will be kept shaded for a short time, and little air will be 
admitted until callusing takes place, and as soon as new growth is 
discerned abundance of air will be admitted to keep the plants 
sturdy. Each one will, no doubt, be lifted with a little ball of soil 
attached, the base of the frame being prepared for this by placing a 
layer 2 inches thick of decomposed horse manure, into which the 
roots will run. 
As an experiment we have broken into pieces the remaining old 
plants, slipping off the branches which consist of two and three 
twigs that have no roots. These are dibbled firmly in the soil on a 
west border, first placing a small portion of sand at the bottom of 
the hole to encourage the rooting process. I daresay a larger stock 
of plants might be raised from seed, but my experience of this mode 
of production does not warrant the trial, as a few year3 since, wish¬ 
ing to obtain a stock of plants for garden growth, I obtained a 
packet of seed. The plants resulting quickly grew to a good size, 
but they so varied in character, some lanky, some very bushy, while 
others were spindly, and scarcely any of them flowered like the 
true L. vera, which I afterwards obtained from cuttings. I am 
afraid the weeding out process might entail the loss of too much 
time, and I fancy cuttings may give the best results. After a start 
is once obtained no doubt dividing the plants is the best plan, even 
if the growth has become somewhat weakened by age. Perhaps Mr. 
Castle may have something to say on the question of raising plants 
from seed, and can he give any information on the distillation of 
the flowers ?—E. Molyneux. 
THE GOLD MEDAL FRUIT ESSAY. 
HONOUR3 IN HORTICULTURE. 
Being unable to answer all the letters I receive on this subject, 
I should like to thank my correspondents for their kind expressions, 
and to state in answer to many inquiries that the above mentioned 
essay is being prepared for publication in the cheapest form the 
cost of production wili allow. It belongs to the Fruiterers’ Company, 
and their object is not to derive profit by it, but to disseminate 
information on fruit culture amongst cottagers and small holders 
of land. The pamphlet cannot be ready for a few weeks because 
of the time that is necessarily involved in the preparation of 
engravings from sketches that were introduced for the purpose of 
elucidation. 
The kind words of some of the competitors for the prize are 
especially appreciated, and it may, perhaps, be well to state that 
not a line of my handwriting appeared in the essay sent in, and the 
Judges were net a little astonished when they found to whom they 
had awarded the prize. I should like to add that I shall not con¬ 
sider it well won if the small work does not prove useful. The 
medal is the more valued in being a fac simile in design of one 
granted to Dr. Hogg by the Pomological Society of France on the 
production of the last edition of the “ Fruit Manual. ’ 
I am fully conscious there are many volumes on horticultural 
subjects that have been published during recent years far more 
entitled to distinction than mine can be, but the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society bestows most of its medals, and some very worthily, 
on tradesmen for advertising their goods, though a welcome 
departure was made this year in the bestowal of a very handsome 
one to Mr. Barron foFservices in horticulture ; and a gold Knightian 
medal was on a previous occasion awarded to Dr. Hogg for his 
classification of Apples. The Veitch Memorial medals are awarded 
for “exhibits,” most of them worthy of their kind no doubt, but all 
