October 11. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
31 
and clean, and as thick as a burly yeoman’s arm. There 
has been no raniiiant growth, and there is none now. They 
are pruned upon the short and close spur system, and 
growing, as if by order, an exact and moderate length. The 
houses in which the vines grow ami tlounsh face the south, 
at an angle of forty-five degrees; they stand upon a steeply- 
sloping hank, and are planted in a well-drained and well- 
made bed, in such a way that they can be looked after, and 
trained with nicety and ease. 
There is nothing royal in the houses, and nothing royal 
about the man who waits upon them. The houses arc 
clean and sweet, and the man is civil, without servility. 
There is an air of order and industry about the j)lace, that 
makes any thoughtful person believe that where there is a 
will there is a way. 
At Hampton Court the vine is large and fully grown, and 
managed froni its origin upon the long-rod system ; age, 
however, begins to tell upon it. The grapes this year are 
small, and many bunches will never colour, and never ripen. 
The house is good in size, and clean, but grand as it is, 
and as it was, it will not compete with the plebeian’s vine in 
Hertfordshire. 
There is something refreshing to my mind in the retro¬ 
spect; it makes one think how much a man may do who 
puts his shoulder to the wheel. To be up and doing is the 
way; never to be dashed, and never to be daunted; a no- 
surrender man is the man for me, and the British, when 
once fairly on the scent, succeed wonderfully, excel every¬ 
body, because they look far anti near for information on 
any subject they take up. I'he French invent, and we 
perfect. The foreigner is full of theory; we are full of 
practice. 
I am well aware there are many aristocratic vines which 
will compete with those which I have described, but the 
reader niust recollect these aristocratic vines cost an 
aristocratic outlay; wheretis these plebeian vines are tended 
by a solitary man, who must keep watch and ward over 
them from one end of the year to the other. 
1 ought to mention that tlie Stortford vines are not forced, 
but merely cared for. Each house is warmed by a flue, and 
these flues are only used in very chilly or very damp days. 
If the foregoing is thought woi’thy of a place in your 
journal, I may, perhaps, take the liberty of entering upon a 
further correspondence at some future time.*—Titos. Moxon. 
The above mode is adopted for admitting the stems of 
the vines into the vinery without holes in the brick-work. 
I A broad plate of thick wood projects about a foot from the 
wall, a semicircular piece is cut out of this for the vine- 
stem to sink into, and the front lights can then shut down 
close upon the plate. In the above di-awing, two windows 
are shown propped open, and one is closed. At Bishop 
Stortford vinery, a piece of w'ooden plate is fastened to each 
window, out of that the semicircular piece is cut, so that the 
plate shuts down upon the vine-stem, but causes all the 
front lights to project in a slanting direction, even when 
closed. 
* Tlie sooner tlie better.—E d. C. G. 
THE CULTIVATION AND HARVESTING OF 
TOBACCO. 
In the United States. —Sow as soon as frost is fairly 
nut of the ground, or even in February, if you can get a 
warm spell of weather sufficiently dry to enable you properly 
to prepare the seed bed. Select a warm, sheltered spot of 
virgin land, free from grass and weeds, dig it up lightly, and 
put the surface in very line order. For a bed of twelve or 
fourteen yards square, mix a hu'ge wine glass full of seed 
with about a iieck of fine wood-ashes, so as to divide the 
seed equally through it, that it may he more evenly sown. 
Sow broadcast on the surface, rake with a fmo-toothed rake 
very lightly, and tread or roll the ground very firmly. 
In England. —Sow in a bed, with gentle heat, about the 
Kith Apiil, or, if only for a few plants, in a small box, or 
large garden pot, under a frame, with little heat, until the 
plants appear; but take care that the plants do not get long 
stalks, as that is fatal to a good plant. They should, when 
young, bo as flat to the ground as possible ; if they come up 
too thick, wait till some have got five or six leaves, wdien 
carefully prick tliem out, so as to give more room for the 
others to come on; when the largest leaves are about three 
inches long, plant out where they are to remain, not nearer 
than three feet apart—in light, warm, well-drained soil, not 
over rich; if artificially made, let well-rotted leaf-mould form 
a large portion. Keep the ground w'ell stirred and pricked 
aromid it during the period of its growth. The chief ingre¬ 
dients it seeks are potash and ammonia; the latter it ob¬ 
tains in a large amount from the atmosphere, through its 
immense leaves. As soon as any of its blossoms show j 
colour, break off the head of the yilant, including also the 
small top leaves ; this will soon increase the size of the 
leaves, but, at the same time, the plant will again make an 
effort to blossom, by throwing out side-shoots. As soon ns 
these become about two inches long, or as thick as your 
little finger, break them all off. If the season is not too 
wet, the plant will now begin to open; the ground leaves 
first, and so upwards. But sonietinies it will become neces¬ 
sary to let the plant stand till you have to break off a second 
set of side-shoots. In America, and in a large crop, you 
must judge by experience when the plant has the best 
average of matured leaves upon it, and then cut it down and 
hang it up in a large, open, and airy barn to cure ; but in 
England, on a small scale, you had better strip each leaf as 
it becomes ripe, and only cut down wdiat remains when you 
are afraid of a sliaiqi frost. The small ground leaves gene¬ 
rally turn yellow, and in wet weather get partially damaged; 
they ought then to be inilled; with a large needle and piece 
of twine, string them and hang them up to dry, leaving them 
so that air can freely pass between them, and in as airy a 
place as possible, but under cover from night air, dew, or 
rain. These leaves will cure light and thin, and make veiy 
mild smoking tobacco ; the next set of leaves may, or may 
not, turn yellow, but will look blotchy and rather trausijareut 
looking ; they may then be pulled and treated in the same 
way, and so on as they ripen ; but seldom, if ever, the whole 
of the leaves will ripen in this country; so when you antici¬ 
pate a sharp frost, cut the 2 ilaiit down, and hang it up also 
to dry. Now, cured tobacco always rajiidly absorbs mois¬ 
ture from the atmosphere, and can only he handled when it ! 
has given a little, but it must now remain until every vein 
in the leaf has become thorou<jldy dry, and not a particle of 
sap remains in it; in this damp climate that may be a very 
long time. After it has once been thoroughly dry and crisj), 
watch the next change in the atmosphere, and as soon as it 
is soft enough to be safely handled, and the middle vein is 
not crisp enough to snap when bent, take it down and fie it 
in small bundles, or hands ; put these, if on a small scale, 
in a box, packed eveidy with the butts outside, press them 
moderately, when they wiU undergo a slight heat; but this 
is the most delicate and nice paid of managing a crop of 
tobacco; on it depends, most materially, its good flavour, 
and six or eight hours neglect may injiu-e the whole crop, 
indeed totally spoil it; on a small scale, however, it cannot 
suffer so much from the same cause; when fermentation 
once commences, it sets in with great rapidity; all that is 
requisite, is that a very slight warmth should be generated, 
then oiien it all, shake the hands in the air, so ns to let off 
the heat, and repack it again lightly, or, if it is in the right 
