November 14.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
97 
shoots, and we know of nothing better than lime, sul¬ 
phur, and soft soap for the purpose. Beat up two 
ounces of soft soap in a gallon of warm water, add three 
handsful of sulphur and as much lime as it will carry; 
stir the whole into a uniform mixture, and anoint 
every portion above ground with it. The mixture may 
be applied at the high temperature of 130°, and we will 
engage that neither an insect nor an egg will be left 
alive. 
And now we say to those who have canes of some 
three or four feet or more in length, let your canes be 
bent in some way, in order to make the buds develop 
themselves with equality. If you can by any means 
make the cane describe a semicircle, or nearly so, until 
every bud has pushed, you will be repaid by more good 
shoots than by neglect of such practice. 
We may now suppose the vines fairly established in 
their new situation, under circumstances previously 
described; and now the next little affair will be to disbud 
with a cautious hand all sprouts which may be con¬ 
sidered superfluous. The amount of branches to be left ! 
depends on two things: first, the calibre of the stem; 
and second, the amount and character of the roots. A ! 
stem three-fourths of an inch in diameter, well ripened, i 
and possessing good roots, should be able to carry ' 
from six to eight pounds of good grapes; any more j 
would certainly deteriorate their flavour. All useless 
sprouts, then, being disbudded as soon as possible, stop¬ 
ping must come next in order, and this may be per¬ 
formed at either one or two joints beyond the fruit. 
Indeed, all the remaining processes are so strictly iden- 1 
tical with the general management of ordinary house 
vines, that we do not care to inflict a repetition of de¬ 
tails—such will be found in previous numbers. The 
whole management, indeed, henceforth, will be just of 
the kind alluded to; and the operator has only to con¬ 
sider each plant, witli its appurtenances, in the light of 
an individual branch from a tree in a vinery, only he 
must allow a much greater expanse of foliage, to cater i 
for the extra number of bunches. 
Soil. —We believe that nothing will be found superior 
to chopped turf of a loamy character—half way between 
adhesive loam and what is termed sandy loam. This j 
should be a year old, and if so, the turfy portion will 
readily crumble in the hand. The turf from limestone 
is said to be the best, and probably the opinion is 
correct. With this we would blend one-third of rich 
manure and leaf mould in a half-decayed state, and 
finally add some charcoal grit, or lime rubbish, and, 
above all, the most complete drainage. All this, how¬ 
ever, refers rather to the matter of previous culture. 
Through all the proceedings we would, if convenient, 
so place them, as that their pots should be a few degrees 
warmer than the atmosphere; and, as another point of, 
good culture, take care tliat the pots are not exposed to a 
dry atmosphere without shade or protection. If they are 
unplunged, why a little moss or a piece of old bast may 
be tied round the pots, or they may be double potted, as 
some people do with their Ericas. 
Watering is a most important affair: let them never 
be watered until they are really dry; let them never be 
dry long; and when you do water, give enough to 
charge the soil all through. Clear water until the blos¬ 
soms are set, and then a regular course of weak and 
clear liquid manure until the berries begin to change 
colour. 
When surface roots begin to abound a good top¬ 
dressing may be applied, and an artificial rim may be 
made to the pots, in order to hold the more. The top¬ 
dressing may be equal parts old turf and very rich 
manure. 
Ventilation must be well attended to : give air be¬ 
times, and take it away betimes; give all your thermo¬ 
meter will allow you. 
Another point ,—insects must be watched. If the 
aphides attack their young points, fumigation must be 
instantly resorted to,—not a day lost. In order, too, to 
be guarded against red spider and the dreaded mildew, 
use sulphur rather liberally. It so happens that this 
is antagonistic to both. R. Erringtok. 
THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 
The evergreen, or nearly evergreen, hardy climber j 
which I alluded to last week is Bridgesia spicata, a 
plant that is named after Mr. Thomas Bridges, an 
English gardener who went to reside in Clfili, whence ' 
he sent many plants to his Mends and patr ons at home. ; 
I have been oftener than once, and by more than one 
London nurseryman, requested to report on this plant if 
I succeeded in flowering it. The only place where I ! 
have heard of its flowering hitherto is the Bury St. 
Edmund’s Botanic Garden. Here it is now in profuse ! 
bloom, and it does not deceive me, as new plants often | 
do; it shows how much may be learned about new j 
plants by paying attention to the natural order to which i 
they happen to belong. The Soap worts (Sapindacece) \ 
claim tins plant as a member of their order, not one of 
the twining or climbing plants among which are re¬ 
markable for any qualities preferred by the gardener, 
and Bridgesia spicata will not raise them in public 
opinion ; it is altogether worthless as a flowering plant, 
but being hardy, a fast grower, and not very particular 
about soil, it will be found useful for covering walls, &e., 
where such things as Periploca grceca and linearis, or 
the “tea-plant,” are now tolerated. Against a damp 
wall it would strike like ivy; in large towns, also, where 
it is difficult to get a green covering to walls within 
sunk areas and the like, it will be useful. 
Flower-beds. —Now that flower-beds are cleared for 
the season, and we are allowed time to look back on 
what we have been doing all the summer, and also 
looking forward to new plans and arrangements for the 
next year, and having done so myself, I see one part of 
what people thought I undertook to perform, when I 
was turned over from the windows to flower-beds, must 
needs be apologised for or explained; but I choose the 
word apology, and I allude to my own rudeness in re¬ 
sisting so firmly every attempt at forcing me—and they j 
were many—to do that which no man ever did before j 
me with credit or any degree of success, and which I 
firmly believe no man will ever do after me,—no, not the j 
man in the moon himself,—namely, plant a set of flower- | 
garden beds properly which I had never seen save on 
paper. 
Five and twenty years ago I could have done the j 
thing to a T, and to any extent; yea, I had so much 
philosophy in my head at that time, that if one were to 
send me a sample of the soil of the place in a bladder 
I could tell every thing that was necessary to be done 
for flowers, trees, shrubs and all. I have said already, 
that to plant a good sized flower-garden properly is the 
highest branch of the gardener’s art, and the most diffi¬ 
cult branch too to attain perfection in. Indeed, I am 
quite sure that there is not one gardener in the kingdom j 
who could plant a large flower-garden now, for the first j 
time, without falling into some mistakes. It is true that ! 
we have had writers enough who could do, with the 
greatest ease, that which I insist on cannot be done 
at all—plant flower-gardens at a distance which they 
never saw. I may be excused, therefore, if I exult a 
little at seeing higher authorities putting this species 
of humbug into plain English. Hear what Dr. Lindley 
said the other day in a leading article in the Oar- 
doner's Chronicle. “ The approach of winter brings, 
as usual, many inquiries as to the manner of laying- 
out gardens. One correspondent wants to know what 
