December 11. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
1G1 
with egg-shaped, yellow anthers; style, longer than corolla, 
thickening gradually to the stigma. 
It was found in the plains of Thibet, at 15,000 feet above 
the sea’s level, by Lieutenant Strachey. It thrives in 
common garden soil, and is propagated by division of the 
root in autumn or early spring. It belongs to the Natural 
Order Nightshades (Solanacese), and to 5 -Pentandria 1-Mo- 
nogynia of the Linnsean system. B. J. 
THE ERUIT-GABDEN. 
The Early Vinery. —The advent of Christmas is a 
reminder of the approach of another years’ labours to 
the forcing gardener, and, as the Vine stands foremost in 
point of general culture and utility, we proceed to offer 
advice as to forcing principles; advice, be it understood, 
equally applicable to a house closed in February, as in 
December. Vines intended to be forced very early, that 
is to say, to produce ripe Grapes in May, will have been 
pruned some time since: if not, this indeed is the very 
first step. 
Some caution will be necessary in this matter, for if 
the Vines have been forced early in the preceding year, 
they will be almost sure to bleed. Vine cultivators 
should make it a maxim at all times to prune their Vines 
in-doors or out, for whatever purpose, the moment the 
last leaf has fallen; indeed it may be done somewhat 
before. In the event of its having been neglected, the 
best way is to wait a few days for a frost, or for a very 
low temperature. With a thermometer at four or five 
degrees of frost the danger will be much diminished. 
The primer, too, should have a lad, or some person, to 
follow with some thick white lead; a patch of this on 
the top of the wound will, if the wound be dry, effectu¬ 
ally stop all bleeding. If the sap run at the moment of 
pruning, it is ten to one the object is defeated. Indeed 
it is well to paint the ends of Vines which have been 
pruned some time, especially if young and very strong 
ones; such very frequently commence bleeding upon 
the application of heat, particularly if too suddenly 
employed. 
Stripping away the loose bark is practised by many 
good gardeners as a defensive measure, and should, by 
all means, be done, as it affords a much better chance of 
exterminating the insects and their eggs. It consists in 
removing every particle which is decayed; and inex¬ 
perienced persons must take much care that they do not 
wound the living bark. This proceeding, like many 
others in horticulture, requires some caution. It must 
here be observed that the bark strips much better when 
moist, and, the evening before stripping, the Vine stems 
should be repeatedly syringed, and as much atmospheric 
moisture as possible sustained in the house all the night. 
The water used in syringing may be of a temperature of 
120 degrees, and the syringe may be kept going during 
the stripping process. After removing the loose bark 
entirely the trees may immediately receive their annual 
dressing, a process of the utmost import, both with 
regard to the destruction of insect life at present, and 
the prevention of it during the spring and summer, as 
also as antagonistic to the Vine mildew, which has 
committed such fearful havoc of late. Previous to this, 
however, we advise a thorough “stoving” of the house 
with sulphur fumes, and it is almost needless to suggest, 
that if such a course be adopted, every plant, everything 
with a live leaf in such house must at the time be 
removed, for this “ stoving” is certain death to all active 
vegetation. 
It will be readily seen by our more experienced gar¬ 
dening friends, that the stoving here suggested is in¬ 
tended as a most searching ordeal, as to either insects 
or fungi, previous to the wash about to be recommended. 
Now sulphur requires a little management in its com¬ 
bustion; it is a fitful thing. We do not pretend to 
know which is the very best way to manage this fumi¬ 
gation, but may simply state our practice, which is to 
blend a little sulphur with a good deal of fresh and dry 
sawdust, and after placing four or five bouncing red- 
hot coals in a vessel, to throw a pile of this sulphurous 
mixture over the coals, thus producing a smouldering 
mass for an hour or two. Every light must be closed 
during the operation, and the house inside, with the 
wood of the tree, should be perfectly dry. 
And now the wood of the trees may be dressed all 
over with a mixture applied with a painter’s brush, 
taking care to brush it into every crevice. Our practice, 
indeed, is to give a second coating; this ensures a com¬ 
plete dressing. Different mixtures are in use by dif¬ 
ferent practitioners, but nearly all include a good 
amount of sulphur, and some use lime. Our practice 
is to beat up soft soap in warm water, at the rate 
of three ounces to a gallon; we then add about a 
pound of sulphur, and after mixing clay in water until 
a thick fine mud, we add as much of the latter as 
will make the whole into a thick paint. This fully 
answers the purpose, and although we cannot say that 
we never had the terrific mildew, yet this, and our 
practice of painting the hot water pipes with sulphur 
nearly every month, has not only kept it quite at bay, 
but, we believe, totally extirpated it. We have now 
(December 1st) as nice a house of the Black Hamburgh 
and West’s St. Peters, as, perhaps, ever was seen at the 
period; these we shall be using until the middle of 
February. They are black as the sloe, the bloom per¬ 
fect, and the flavour exceedingly fine. The house and 
the wood were subjected precisely to the processes here 
described, and no syringing has ever been resorted to. 
Undoubtedly, a very free ventilation is, of all other 
things, of the utmost importance with very late grapes; 
and, as according to the old country adage, the “ goose 
sauce answers for the gander,” we really do not see why 
we may not infer that a free ventilation is necessary for 
early grapes as well as late ones. We hear so much 
about cold currents, &c., that it is to be feared what is 
termed by common people “ a muggy atmosphere,” is 
but too often the cause of some of the grape evils so 
often complained of. 
The vines pruned, painted, and dressed, let us now 
enquire about the borders, the heating apparatus, &c. 
Painting, whitewashing, or, indeed, any sort of colouring, 
cannot be done too often; it is to be fairly presumed 
that every time a coating is applied to the walls, wood 
work, or other parts of the fabric, that myriads of insect 
beings, present or prospective, are destroyed; moreover, 
decency, yea decoration, is mixed up with the general 
economy. These things we all know are best done at ( 
an earlier period; but if not so, let us make the best of j 
a bad bargain. Passing from tins portion of the sub- j 
ject—first observing that the more of flowers of sulphur j 
that can be blended with the washes or paints the better { 
—next the border: and here we must confess to a mis¬ 
placing of this division of the labours. 
All good cultivators in these days are advocates for 
an artificial warmth imparted to the border if it is un¬ 
luckily (for early grapes) outside the house. Now, fer¬ 
menting material is generally resorted to of necessity, 
and, as has before been observed, tree-leaves and 
manure, mixed, make an excellent material, both as to 
warmth and manurial tendencies. We believe that 
experienced men will agree with us in saying that the 
application of these materials two or three weehs before 
the forcing commences, will be a benefit, as tending, to 
prepare the root for a reciprocation of good offices with ; 
the branch, immediately the fluids in the latter shall be i 
set in motion. Indeed, setting aside the idea of a high 
fermentative warmth in the material, good gardeners j 
always take care to cover their borders attached to early j 
