'498 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 5, 1889. 
yourself and surrounding circumstances whether you would be more 
successful than as an earner of wages. All soldiers cannot become 
generals, but the more they stride and the fewer mistakes they make 
dhe better position they attain in the army of competitors. It is the 
■same in gardening and other vocations of life. 
Pruning- Vines (F. J .~).—So long as satisfactory crops are produced 
from spur-pruned rods we do not perceive the advantage of running up 
young canes between them, and then in the autumn not knowing what 
to do with them. It is prudent to provide young canes when the old 
rods show signs of failure, otherwise the practice is apt to cause over¬ 
crowding of the foliage in summer, especially when the main rods are 
only 3 feet asunder. However, assuming the Grapes are not quite 
satisfactory we should saw off all the spurs close to the rods and about 
halfway up them, paring the rough surfaces smooth with a sharp knife ; 
train the new canes up the old rods and shorten them at about 6 feet, 
or so far as the old spurs are removed ; then next year the crop along 
the lower part of the roof would be from the young canes, that above 
from the spurred rods. The young canes can extend to the top of the 
house during the summer, training them where the foliage can receive 
the most light; then if they are satisfactory in the autumn the old rods 
■can be cut out, and the roof will be covered with young bearing rods, 
the lower half two years the upper one year old. But in carrying out 
this plan judgment must be exercised. Some of the old rods may be 
much better than others, and the young canes vary in the same way, 
and it would be foolish to remove spurs in the manner suggested if the 
young canes provided were not in a condition to bear better Grapes 
than the old parts removed. We can only indicate the method we have 
found successful, and leave you to exercise your intelligence and dis¬ 
crimination in carrying it out. If it succeed, you may take all the 
credit; if not, we shall not be disposed to take the blame. 
Mildew on Roses in Pots (5. S .).—We have seen the Roses 
grown under glass by Mr. Bardney, and none could be cleaner, healthier, 
or more floriferous. His practice is to syringe the plants every time 
■syringing is needed with the softsoap solution. It is important that 
the plants are clean to start with, and all trace of mildew has been 
removed, as well as aphides. If used from the time the plants are 
started regularly and thoroughly each time syringing is needed the 
plants will remain free from mildew, red spider, and to a large extent 
from aphides. It is difficult to thoroughly syringe all the points of the 
shoots, and aphides will appear, which should be destroyed at once by 
slight fumigations. Mr. Bardney, in addition to the softsoap solution, 
is careful in ventilating the structure in which Roses are grown. Cold 
draughts on the young tender foliage are certain to produce mildew. 
If these are strictly avoided and the plants watered with care, neither 
giving too much nor too little, you need not fear mildew if you persist 
in the use of the softsoap solution. For a dozen years Mr. Bardney has 
had charge of a house of Tea Roses, and never had to resort to placing 
■sulphur on the pipes. From the time he starts his Roses he is careful 
never to admit air until genial weather in spring. The precaution is 
also taken to stop the ventilators, so that cold air cannot make its way 
through to the plants. The solution of softsoap advised is recommended 
as a preventive of mildew, and by its aid with careful treatment the 
plants can be kept free from its destructive ravages. 
Excrescences on Peach Tree Roots (JV. H .').— The roots of 
Peach trees in light soils are peculiarly liable to form excrescences of 
the description yours present, and very often with a strong tendency to 
throw up suckers. There is not any disease that we can detect, 
certainly no fungus, and we can only attribute the excrescences to a 
■deficiency of calcareous matter in the soil. The roots in most cases of 
this kind are liable to penetrate deeply, probably in quest of moisture, 
which is inadequately furnished by the hot, loose, and dry surface soil, 
and we find nothing equal to lifting trees in such soil in an unsatisfac¬ 
tory state and laying the roots nearer the surface, an addition being 
made to the soil of clay loam, or preferably clay marl, to the extent of a 
fourth to a sixth, according to the lightness of the soil, the clay marl 
being broken up into as fine parts as practicable and incorporated well 
with the soil. We also find that by taking out the soil of the border to 
a depth of 2 feet 6 inches and placing at the bottom not less than 
inches thickness of old mortar rubbish freed of laths, &c., that the 
roots do not pass through it into the gravelly or other unfavourable sub¬ 
soil, the lime rubbish being a source of that element, and at the same 
time a reservoir of moisture through the absorbent nature of the 
material. The old soil can be used again, rejecting, however, any 
gravelly portions or sand, and replacing with strong loam in addition to 
the clay marl already mentioned. The soil should be made firm, but 
not formed into puddle by working in a wet time, and with surface 
mulching of rather lumpy manure, judicious watering or feeding with 
liquid manure, as necessity dictates, better results may be expected. 
Treatment of Vines in Pots ( Hopeful ).—It is a very common 
practice to raise Vines from eyes one year, fruit them the next, and 
then throw them away. The eyes that were inserted last February and 
grown on, producing canes 8 feet 6 inches long, and now in 7-inch pots, 
may be suitable for forcing, and as they are “ covered with plump eyes 
their whole length and appear to be well ripened,” they may be given a 
trial. They will succeed well if potted in the compost you name, the 
pots being well drained and the soil made firm, the sides of which may 
be loosened a little, but care must be taken not to injure the roots, and 
there must not be any attempt at uncoiling the roots, potting with the 
ball entire. It would have been better had the Vines been established 
in the largest pots, being shifted from the small pots in which the eyes 
were struck into the 7-inch, and from these early in June, or when the 
7-inch pots are fairly filled with roots, into the 12-inch pots, in which 
they should be fruited. You may employ native guano as a surface 
dressing mixed with soil, being careful not to use it too largely, and all 
waterings may be of liquid manure in a tepid— i.e., of the same tempera¬ 
ture as that in which the Vines are growing. The concentrated manure 
is also a good fertiliser, and may be used advantageously, the danger 
being in applying the manures, whether solid or liquid, in too powerful 
doses. The Vines should be shortened to a length of about 6 feet, and 
the cuts dressed with styptic or patent knotting to prevent bleeding. 
If there are any cuts made by removing the laterals they must also be 
dressed. The best varieties for pot culture are Black Hamburgh, Royal 
Ascot, and Madresfield Court of black Grapes ; and of white, White 
Frontignan. Buckland Sweetwater, and Foster’s Seedling. For later 
work, those named being suitable for early forcing, all the varieties can 
be successfully fruited in pots. 
Storing- ice (I?. T.~). —As you have not an ice house you may pre¬ 
serve ice in stacks. A correspondent has described the following method, 
which he has carried out successfully for a number of years. “After 
getting the ice in proper working order, and the weather continuing 
frosty, we begin to take it off the pond and cart it home to the stack, 
which is built on level ground, but has the advantage of being shaded 
by trees and bushes from the strong sunshine. We begin the stack by 
emptying the carts on its foundation ; after which there are plenty of 
hands ready to begin pounding the ice with light woollen mallets suffi¬ 
ciently small to pack all large pieces firmly, thereby excluding from the 
interior of the stack as much air as possible. This should rather be a 
little over than under done. The people on the stack pound away till 
the whole is finished, and as the ice draws towards a point one or two 
drop off as the room for working becomes less, and begin breaking the 
ice at the bottom before throwing it up to those who remain. As the 
work proceeds we now and then throw a quantity of water over all, so 
as quickly to congeal the whole into a solid mass. We stack in this way 
from 100 to 110 cartloads every year, and it keeps perfectly well over 
twelve months, sometimes for a longer period, and we have to open the 
stack nearly every day during summer. Before covering-up, if the 
weather will allow us, we leave the stack exposed at least twenty-four 
hours to the frost; if otherwise we cover it at once. For covering we 
use dry wheat straw, covering to the depth of 48 inches at least, and all 
put on at once. We leave no air pipe through it, and we have no trouble 
in consequence of its heating or fermenting. We leave the whole in a 
conical shape, neatly strapped down to keep off the rain. This may be 
thought a waste of straw by some, but no less thickness of thatching 
will enable us to attain our object. The straw, however, -will not be 
altogether lost, as a farmer will know well what to do with it after it 
has done duty on the stack, when he has his cattle in the fold. We 
have no faith in having only twenty or thirty cartloads in a heap, how¬ 
ever well protected and stored. There should not be less quantity than 
a hundred loads for a stack if ice is required all the year round.” If 
the ice is stored in a dry or freezing state snow may be mixed with it, 
but if stored during a thaw snow is a disadvantage. Snow alone cannot 
be satisfactorily preserved for any lengthened period. 
Sheds for Mushrooms—Saving- Manure (A. 0 .').—Undoubtedly 
sheds are advantageous in sheltering from excessive wet; but in “ open 
sheds ” the beds would have to be of the same thickness as those outside, 
and be similarly covered with litter for the retention of the heat that i3 
requisite for the growth of the mycelium and the production of Mush 
rooms between October and March. It is doubtful if the erection of 
open, or even closed, cold sheds, would be a profitable investment, having 
in view the “saving of manure.” Even if the sheds were supposed to 
justify the making of somewhat smaller beds than is advised in “ Mush¬ 
rooms for the Million,” the manure thereby saved would not equal in 
value the outlay incurred in saving it. There must be sufficient of 
material for fermentation, and the heat thus generated must be retained 
for insuring regular crops of Mushrooms. Occasionally, indeed often, 
the heat is sufficient, and retained just long enough for the spawn to 
run freely in the autumn, but Mushrooms do not appear till spring. 
That is because the heat is allowed to escape on the approach of cold 
weather. It would be practically the same if the beds were not thickly 
covered in cold sheds. In structures in which a temperature of 55° to 
60° is maintained, little covering is needed, and beds made of the best 
materials, from a foot to 18 inches deep, afford excellent crops. Such 
houses are indispensable in private gardens where Mushrooms have to 
be cut daily, and especially where vegetables for salad and cooking 
have to be blanched for daily use ; but if that method of Mushroom 
culture were viewed commercially, the cost of the buildings, heating 
appliances, and fuel, would have to be debited against the value of the 
produce ; and we suspect that nine out of ten inexperienced persons 
would lose far more than they would gain by adopting that method. 
Broadly speaking, it may be said that, if a person cannot grow Mush 
rooms profitably on the outdoor-ridge system, he cannot grow them 
profitably in any other way ; but if he has fairly good results from that 
plan, he may expect somewhat better returns from a similar practice in 
sheds, though the beds must be large enough to generate heat there, and 
be covered for retaining it. The idea of running a flue under each ridge 
for imparting the requisite heat to the smallest possible bulk of material, 
is wholly fanciful; the heat must be the result of fermentation in 
which moisture is an essential, whereas artificial heat would dry the 
■ beds and render them quite unsuitable for their purpose. If yon wish 
