304 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 8. 
HARDY FERNS. 
Adiantum pedatum ' Lastrsea Lancgstriense _ 
Asplenium adiantum nigrum „ noviboracensis 
(Britain) Lomaria crispa 
„ filix fmmina crispa „ spicant 
„ ruta muraria Onoclea sensibilis 
, viride j Osmunda interrupta 
Aspidium filix mascula „ cinnamomea 
Athyrium filix fcemina „ regalis 
Botrychium lunaria Polystichum lonchitis 
Gystopteris fragilie A dentata „ lobatum 
Grammitis ceterach ,, achrostichoides 
Lastrtea thelypteris >, angulare 
„ marginalis ,, oculatum 
„ uliginosa Polypodium Dryopteris 
„ cristata » vulgare 
„ recurva „ achrostenoides 
„ rigida „ alpestre 
goldiana Strutliiopteris Pennsylvanica 
’’ dilatata „ Germanica 
„ spinulosa Scolopendrmm vulgare 
oreopteris AVoodwardia obtusa 
’’ filix mascula Woodsia Perriniana 
pumila 
The above Ferns are growing on a raised border, four- 
feet hmh, sloping to tlie south, with clusters of burnt bricks 
used in the soil, and the border is sheltered with walls on 
the north and west. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
i VINES NOT BEARING, AND THEN PRODUCING 
A SECOND CROr. 
“ Three years ago we put up a 4 inery, in two compart¬ 
ments, in which eighteen Vines were planted; the roots 
' outside, in a border, with which great pains were taken as to 
draining, &e. 
“The two first seasons they were not allowed to bear; 
this is the. third, and from the healthy appearance of the 
plants we anticipated a good crop, instead of which five 
bunches divided amongst tb.reo vines were the whole of the 
i produce. Not being satisfied, I sent to Mr. Tinney, of 
Gateshead, near Newcastle, from whom we had the plants, 
to send a competent person to examine them, as the gar¬ 
dener would not admit there was any mismanagement. 
“ The person sent seemed to blame the border, which he 
thought composed of too tenacious a soil, and advised that 
it should be re made in the autumn, and several additions, 
in the shape of brickbats, bones, old shoes, &c., made to it. 
« Soon after this circumstance occurred, which ended in 
the dismissal of our gardener, and the person appointed to 
succeed him not having any knowledge of vineries, I was 
inclined, rather than lose the place, to try (with the assist¬ 
ance of my own servant, who is in the stables, and also 
with that of your useful publication, which I have from the 
begining) to manage it. We commenced, and in a few 
weeks the vines broke out into full bearing, and the present 
appearance of our house is as follows:—In the first com¬ 
partment, where all the five original bunches were, is a 
second crop, near the top of the house ; the first colouring, 
and ripening fast; the second, large, beautiful bunches, 
with the fruit as large as hazel-nuts and peas; several later 
fruit-bunches have been taken off. In the inner house, 
whore no fruit was, we kept little heat, till advised that for 
the ripening of the wood some more would be needed. 
“ Since we have applied the fire more freely they also 
have begun to show several bunches; and what I wish to 
know, is, if we can allow them to come forward without 
injury to the plants, which are ripening their wood very 
fast? The bunches are not in flower yet. Would you, also, 
consider it requisite to disturb the border, which I ant un¬ 
willing to do; as I fear the principal fault has been with 
mismanagement.—A Sufferer.” 
[There are several circumstances deserving consideration 
in your communication, to which, without any attompt at 
order, we will briefly advert. 
1. There is something singular in the whole affair, and 
yet not so unprecedented to our experience and observation 
as to warrant us in fixing the blame on the gardener, with¬ 
out a knowledge of all the circumstances;—as to means 
taken to ripen second year’s wood; tlie strength of that 
wood; the length of rod left; the time at which forcing 
commenced; the fire-lieat at command; the means taken 
to break the Vines regularly; the precaution to keep the 
roots in a healthy action, by covering, &c.; securing the 
stems from sudden alterations of weather; and whether 
bunches showed and went off, or the buds did not break, or 
all broke nicely, but only five showed fruit, .fee.” 
2. We are gratified, very much indeed, with your success ; 
it just evidences what the best gardeners in the country can 
testify, that the best results are generally the consequence 
of the most ample supervision and attention; and if you 
take The Cottage Gardener as your guide, you will, no 
doubt, soon do greater things even than these; and yet, 
either owing to our own dulness of comprehension, or a 
want of clearness in your statistics, we fail, even now, to 
comprehend your case, which an explicitnesss of dates, 
such as when firing was commenced at first, and when 
under your own auspices a second time, w r ould form a useful 
index to ; as we are left in doubt, whether the full bearing you 
refer to came from buds hitherto remaining dormant, and, 
if so, testifying, in some way, to mismanagement, especially 
as forcing was not commenced early ; or that full bearing 
was owing to fruit showing on a strong lateral, or, rather, on 
the starting of a strong bud belonging to the wood of the 
growth of the present year, which, at present, we are the 
more inclined to believe, as it seems this full bearing 
manifests itself chiefly at the top of the house, where the 
young shoots of this year’s growth would be exposed to 
the consolidating influence of the heat and light which 
they would receive there, not only from the direct rays of 
the sun, but also from the radiation and reflection of 
heat from the top of the back-wall. Now, when the 
vines are in a good healthy state, and the crop, from any 
cause, is not heavy, it is no unirequent thing for hunches 
to come in this latter way indicated, and when they come 
as early as your’s have done in the forward house, it is 
usual to keep some of them as a succession crop, provided 
the vines will not have too much to do. But whether 
these bunches came on previously unstarted buds of last 
summer’s wood, or from a bud or a lateral from the wood of 
this season, we do not see, unless a certain defined object 
was to be gained, how it consists, with recognised modes of 
good management, that this second crop should be obtained 
from either of these means, “ near the top of the house;" as, 
unless the canes or rods were extra strong, it would have 
been prudent, in their first year of fruiting, to have cut 
them back to a third or a half ot the length of the rafter, 
and if that had been done, no fruit from either the second 
or the first crop would have been so “ near the top of the 
house." 
3. Taking the fact, however, as it stands;—a few ideas 
suggest fhemselves, which, with a reference to some late 
articles on the vine, will, we presume, meet your case. 
1. Whatever amount of hunches your vines individually 
show, do not allow more than from five to seven, better less 
than more, to remain to each, and the vine will ripen these 
without much or any injury to the bearing wood of next 
season, so far as we can form an estimate of the strength of 
-wood from your present description. It is anything but 
economy to over-crop a young Vine at first. Many, in your 
case, would have left only two or three bunches to each, 
however many had shown, doubling that quantity the next 
year, and trebling it on the third. When Vines in pots 
fruit plentifully at an early period, it is rarely that the plants 
do much more good, at least, until they are rested from 
bearing for a season. 
2. With respect to the bunches in the second house not 
in flower yet;—we should advise removing them, unless there 
] are so many of them as to be worth the expense of firing to 
J ripen them, late in the autumn. In this process you might 
also run the risk of starting a few of the buds you now say 
I are ripening ; but there would he less risk of that, if you 
allowed the laterals to grow rather freely. Such shows of 
fruit would present you with nice ripe fruit in the beginning 
I of the year; but, unless very numerous, the expense for 
