128 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ June, 
possible after the blooming time is over. The compost used is not rich: a fourth- 
part of rotted manure, and a small quantity of leaf-mould and sand is added to 
the turfy loam, just enough to keep it open. Thorough drainage is essential. I 
find that if any of the plants become water-logged they soon show it. Ventila¬ 
tion is the point next in importance ; give all the air possible at all times, from 
now until October; remove the lights from the frames night and day, except 
when it rains. A gentle shower will do no harm to the green-leaved sorts, but 
it splashes the meal on the foliage of those that have white leaves. 
Propagation is slow work in the case of some of the varieties ; others increase 
rapidly. When in Scotland last year, Mr. Meiklejohn, one of the largest growers, 
showed me a plant of Alexander (Stretch) that had not thrown an offset for six 
years ; it had a long stem, and showed buds where the leaves had decayed. Now, 
in a case of this kind cut the head off, and pot it in a small pot in some light 
material; do not water it for twenty-four hours. Place a bell-glass over it 
closely for a few days at first, afterwards tilt the glass a little, and with care this 
top will soon throw out roots, while the old stump will also speedily show 
signs of life, and many cuttings will be obtained from it. As to cleanliness, green¬ 
fly is a serious pest, and must not be allowed on any of the plants. Remove it 
with a small camel-hair brush, or by fumigating.—J. Douglas, Loxford Hall 
Gardens , Ilford , Essex . 
TYING-DOWN VINE-SHOOTS. 
* N Mr. Barron’s eminently practical remarks on “Vines and Vine-Culture,” 
in the Florist, he says, at p. Ill, that “the young shoots of a Vine, 
11^ especially when they are growing vigorously, are exceedingly tender, and 
V easily broken, so that the work of tying them down into their proper 
position on the wires or trellises to which the plants are trained requires a great 
amount of care and patience.” Mr. Barron is quite right; the work does require 
care and patience, which also means considerable time ; and as at this busy 
season no gardener has more of this to spare than he knows what to do with, I 
am induced to call the attention of your readers to a method of rapidly and 
efficaciously getting over this work, which I saw in operation a few days ago in 
Sir Henry Peek’s garden at Wimbledon House. Instead of using bast in the 
earlier stages of the work, Mr. Ollerliead, the gardener, has called into requisition 
some tolerably strong copper wire, which is cut into lengths varying from 6 to 
18 in., and rapidly made into the form of the letter S, one end of which is 
put round the trellis-wire, and the other round the shoot. In a few days, the 
shoot so treated will be strong enough to bear bringing a little lower down, 
when the S-hook is contracted to the required length, and the work is done in 
much less time than it takes to describe. When brought down by easy stage 
into their proper places, the shoots are tied in the ordinary way, and the wire is 
straightened out and put away for use another year. It is astonishing how 
quickly a house of Vines maybe gone over in this way, and I strongly recommend 
