January 24 , 1839. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
63 
late Peas the sharp frost, 8° on the 2nd October, made sad havoc of 
them, and tc did not get a single dish after. 
Kidney and Runner Beans were served the same. We had only 
gathered two dishes of Runner Beans and not so many Kidney 
Beans. Canadian Wonder was a failure. The sorts we picked 
from were Ne Plus Ultra and Negro Long Pod. Of the three 
I think most of Ne Plus Ultra. It is good either for forcing or 
growing out of doors. Were I compelled to grow only one sort this 
would be selected. 
Gilbert’s Universal Savoy is good and well worth growing. It 
is the only Savoy we have been sending to the dining room this 
winter. It and Drumhead are my Savoys for the future till some¬ 
thing better turns up. Chou de Burghley is another good winter 
vegetable, very much liked here. When cooked it is tender and of 
excellent flavour. To those who have not grown it I say try it.— 
G. Hilton. 
.VOTES ON GRAPES. 
. I HAD intended letting this matter drop, but Mr. Dunkin seems to 
think my statement about temperature not a very definite one. I, too, 
must thank your correspondent for the friendly way in which he has 
met my criticisms. My object was to show that good Madresfield Court 
Grapes could be, and are, grown with front ventilation left on night and 
day in dull seasons as well as in bright. I am aware that there is much 
difference in the temperature and rainfall of the two counties, Wiltshire 
and Lancashire, and gardeners coming from the south to the north find 
they have much to learn as well as something to unlearn. 
The late vinery here is planted with Black Ilamburglis, Alicantes, 
Gros Columns, and Lady Downe’s. We started them the first week in 
April, and owing to the dull sunless summer the temperature was seldom 
above 70°, as stated in my last notes. We could have raised the tem¬ 
perature by closing the ventilators more and increasing the heat in the 
pipes, but I ^do not think the results would have been so satisfactory. 
I do not think a high temperature advisable during cold wet sun¬ 
less days. Our night temperature was about 00°, rising during the 
day to 70°, or sometimes over, according as we were favoured with sun 
and warmth. 
I can quite understand your correspondent knowing Black Ham- 
burghs coloured well in vineries without fire heat in bright seasons 
with the ventilators open night and day. When I lived in Essex one 
house planted with Black Hamburghs never had any fire heat except to 
keep out frost in winter, it being used as a plant house in winter and a 
vinery in summer, and we had annually a fair crop of well coloured 
Grapes. 
This brings to mind that at this same place there was one vinery 
planted with Black Hamburghs which was glazed with thick ribbed 
glass, and unless in bright seasons the Grapes did not colour well. Now 
I think this is something in favour of my argument that Black 
Hamburgh does not colour better in dull seasons than in bright ones. 
There are two vineries standing in the same position—viz., facing 
the south in the same garden, planted with Black Hamburghs, one 
glazed with clear glass, the other with thick ribbed glass. The Grapes 
under the clear glass colour, as a rule, fairly well, while those under the 
ribbed (unless in very bright seasons) colour very indifferently. Those 
in the house with the ribbed glass have the advantage of fire heat.— 
G. Hilton. 
Mr. Riding seems to form several opinions on the scalding of 
Grapes. 1 cannot agree with him that it is for want of feeding, as he 
seems to think (hat might be one cause. I had the charge of the 
vineries in a large garden in the north of England, and we cultivated 
about sixteeen varieties, and in the four years I had charge 1 never had 
any trouble with scalding except with Lady Downe’s. I observed that 
Lady Downe’s scalded when the temperature was low in the morning, 
and that causes the berries not to be in a proper state to bear a sudden 
rise in temperature, a3 a hot sunny day generally follows a clear cold 
night. There was no scalding if the temperature was up to 70°, and 
before making the fires up for the night I take note what the weather 
is going to be, so as to have the temperature up to 70° with a circulation 
of air.—J. T. S. 
GARDENERS’ SOCIAL POSITION. 
I hope Mr. A. Bighier (Journal of Horticulture, pages 4 and 5), and 
all other gardeners, especially gardeners of good standing, and who have 
influence with people of influence, will go on agitating until the injus¬ 
tice of partial disfranchisement which a gardener has at present to 
submit to because he lives in a house on a gentleman’s estate, is done 
away with. I have done all I can, up to now, to do so locally, and, 
when protesting against the robbery on my citizenship in our registra¬ 
tion court, I became so indignant that I was rather rudely told that “ I 
must go and talk like that in the market-place, it was no use there !” 
What amazes me is this. A man is considered a householder and a 
responsible person, entitling him to vote for a member of Parliament at 
Westminster, for one who legislates on Imperial matters, but he is not 
considered a householder, or sufficiently capable or responsible to vote 
for a member of the little parliaments, town councils, school boards, &c., 
of Little or Greater Pedlington. The things that touch him most re¬ 
motely he may have a voice in, but those matters which touch him 
closely, that are connected with every phase of his daily life, he must 
not have a voice in. Is there any sense in that ? I do hope that every 
gardener, and, indeed, all other “ menial servants,” will go on agitating 
until this indignity is taken from their name and position.—N. H. P. 
SELECT HEATHS. 
Attention was called to a few useful Ericas recently, and to those 
then named the following may be added as valuable for spring and early 
summer flowering;— 
E. CavcndisMana .—A strong, erect-growing, and vigorous plant. 
Leaves mostly in fours, linear, smooth, and intense rich green. Flowers 
large, tubular, terminal on the smaller branches, and produced in great 
abundance ; colour, clear golden yellow. 
E.affinis .—A very handsome garden variety, resembling E. Caven- 
dishiana in habit and colour of flowers ; it differs in the yellow being 
much paler, and in having a close contracted neck to the flower, whilst 
in the kind just named the mouth is quite open. 
E. Monsoniana .—A robust, erect-growing, and much-branched shrub, 
now unfortunately, extremely rare in cultivation. Leaves arranged in 
fours, linear, obtuse, somewhat spreading, and deep green. Flowers in 
threes, large, tubular with a contracted neck, pendulous, pure snow 
white, and terminal on the small branches, thus forming a dense long 
spike of bloom. 
E. aristata major .—A splendid variety, in habit dense and much 
branched. Leaves arranged mostly in fours, recurved, furnished with a 
long stiff hair at the point, and dark green. Flowers in fours, upon long 
coloured footstalks, and terminal upon the smaller branches ; blooms 
large, t ubular, deep shining reddish purple ; segments of limb flat, white 
at the margin, deep blackish purple at the base. 
E. MoNabiana (fig. 10).—A very useful aud ornamental Heath, of 
which there are several varieties, which differ only in the colour of the 
tnbe. Leaves in fours, stout and obtuse, the ends armed with stiff, 
bristle-like hairs. Flowers in umbels near the apex of the branches, 
upwards of an inch long, cylindrical, slightly swollen below the middle 
rosy red at base, increasing to deep red towards the neck ; limb large, 
and spreading white. 
E. depressa .—A dense, compact-growing plant of great beauty, the 
peculiarly depressed or downward growth of its branches giving rise to 
its name. Leaves arranged in fours, stout, and blunt-pointed ; colour, 
intense deep green. Flowers mostly in threes at the ends of the 
