410 ON THE PRACTICABILITY OF FECUNDATING FLOWERS. 
tion, than merely fecundating the flower acted on: colour, bulk, and 
qualities might be transferred to the seed, and valuable results might 
accrue. 
As many new varieties of both fruit and flowers had from time to 
time been introduced into cultivation, and by accidental means, which 
were not readily accounted for by those ignorant of the effects of foreign 
pollen, it became a point of practice among those best acquainted with 
the process to do by hand what was before only matter of chance. In 
this new tact of arboriculture, many signalised themselves in originat¬ 
ing new varieties of fruit and florists’ flowers; so that at the present 
time the process of cross impregnation is as easy and as certain as any 
other operation of gardening. 
The above observations have been made in consequence of the very 
useful piece of information conveyed to us by Mr. Bristol, respecting 
the black Lisbon grape. See pp. 348 and 349 of our last number. 
The bunches of this variety, it seems, are very often imperfect, owing 
to many of the flowers being incompletely, or not at all impregnated by 
their own pollen. This defect may be occasioned by the imperfect 
development of the anthers, by the scarcity of pollen, or to its too early 
or too late dispersion. Whether one or all of these accidents be the 
cause of the unequal swelling of the berries, is not, perhaps, exactly 
known; but Mr. Bristol’s expedient, it seems, is an effectual remedy ; 
viz. to dash the flowers of another usually fertile and full-swelling 
kind against those of the uncertain bearer. Mr. Bristol says, any 
“ black ” fruited sort; but, we presume, the flowers of any colour will 
be equally effectual. 
Handsome and equally swelled bunches are a valued property of a 
grape vine. Some of them, as the black Hamburg for instance, have 
almost every berry perfect; others, as the Dutch Sweet-water, have 
many imperfectly swelled berries, and cause a good deal of labour with 
scissors to make the bunches fit to be seen. Others there are of both 
those descriptions, which, if married at the proper time, in Mr. Bristol’s 
manner, would make both equal. 
A practical remark naturally occurs to be mentioned in this place, 
namely, sorts which are constantly liable to have unequal-sized berries 
should never be planted alone, and, moreover, never at the warmest 
end of the vinery ; because, coming in flower first, they have no chance 
of receiving assistance (supposing they need it) from the flowers of later 
sorts, or from such as are farther from the heat. 
We well remember having the charge of a vinery in which a Dutch 
Sweet-water was intentionally placed at the warmest end of the house, 
to accelerate still more its constitutional earliness. This vine always 
