1868 ] 
VINE PRUNING.-EPIPHYLLUM TRUNCATUM. 
18 
as last mentioned should be .used, but the plants should be potted more 
firmly. Decayed leaves ought to be carefully taken away; and the plants 
should be fumigated once a-fortnight, or oftener if necessary, to keep them 
free from the aphis and other insects that are apt to infest them. 
Syon House Gardens. George Fairbairn. 
ON VINE PRUNING. 
STRONGLY recommend those who have hitherto pruned their Vines 
on the Close system, to try the Extension one. Let them prune to a 
good eye instead of cutting every visible eye away, and I am sure 
they will soon see the advantage of adopting this method. I think it a 
practical anomaly that a quick-growing and long-lived plant like the 
Grape Vine should not be allowed to extend itself, except in the first few 
years after planting. Long before the Vines get into their teens, they are re¬ 
stricted to about the same quantity of leaves every season, and consequently 
there is no impetus given to the roots to extend themselves much; but let 
the top extend yearly, and the roots will do so likewise, and enjoy their fresh 
food much better than taking the old dose over again. I believe many 
vineries have been ruined because the roots have not had the power to push 
onward. A vinery might be made much more productive as well as orna¬ 
mental, and it would be more in conformity with the habit of the plant, if 
the Vines were festooned, and trained wherever they could get proper light. 
As this cannot be easily accomplished in lean-to houses, I train them after 
the fan fashion, and do not dress them up like Hop poles. 
Cole Orton Hall Gardens. M. Henderson. 
EPIPHYLLUM TRUNCATUM AND ITS VARIETIES. 
« HE Epiphyllum truncation has always, since its first introduction from 
Brazil in 1818, received the attention of cultivators, and many a hoary- 
f headed son of Adam has pointed with pride to the big Cactus at the 
end of the vinery, now all a-blaze with blossom, that had been grafted 
by himself some twenty years before. At intervals a few others were 
obtained, as E. truncation bicolor, Bridgesii, and rubro-tinctum,; and in 1889 
the lovely E. Russelliamon made its appearance, also from Brazil. This 
latter, although recorded as a variety of E. truncation, is certainly a distinct 
species, for while the varieties of E. truncation usually flower in November 
and December, the natural blooming period for E. Russelliamon is the month 
of May. There are, besides, other differences, the petals being evenly 
reflexed, the stamens straight, and the seed-vessel angular; while in 
E. truncation the flower is ringent, the stamens curved, and the seed-vessel 
