352 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 4. 
indeed, that were it not for the escape of too much at¬ 
mospheric moisture, and perhaps too sudden depression 
of heat, we should say—ventilate constantly, day and 
night. And here we venture an opinion, that forcing- 
houses will never be what they ought until complete 
provision is made for this practice. The prime con¬ 
sideration in such a case is to provide for the rapid 
dispersion of air moisture, and certainly it would seem 
at first sight a very easy affair. However, in order to 
avoid the use of the syringe from the moment the vines 
commence blossoming, let all floors and other surfaces 
be sprinkled three times a day, viz., at 6 a.m., at mid¬ 
day, and at 5 p.m. The mid-day sprinkling we hold to 
be of as much importance as either of the others, 
especially if the day be bright and hot, for an incon¬ 
venient amount of heat is very apt to be suddenly 
engendered about ten or eleven o’clock in such weather, 
especially if fires have been used. The application of 
moisture under these circumstances both carries away 
surplus heat, and moderates the dryness of the atmo¬ 
sphere. 
And now about ventilation. Every one must have 
heard of “ scalding in the berry,” and much learned in¬ 
vestigation has taken place concerning it; the question, 
all the while, lying in a nutshell. Ventilation, then, is 
the antidote to scalding, or, rather, the preventive. It 
ought to be more generally known, that moist air scalds 
much more rapidly than dry air, and at a much lower 
temperature, at least so we have always found it. Now, 
in order for any one to rightly appreciate the rapid accu¬ 
mulation of the solar and other heat conjointly, at the back 
of a lean-to house, one hour’s thinning of grapes at the 
back part, before air is given, some bright and fair March 
or April morning, will better convince than a quire of 
well-inked paper. Little do novices imagine, when stand¬ 
ing, it may be, in a front path, what is going on overhead; 
the thermometer, however, will be the best test, and let 
those desirous of being careful on this point just try the 
difference between one on the ordinary floor line and 
one within a foot of the roof, towards the back of the 
house; and if there has been a fire through the night, 
and the pipes or flues are still warm, the experimenter 
will be astonished at the amazing discrepancy; the sun 
shining, and the experimenting period say 8 to 10 a.m. 
Arguments such as these prompt men of experience to 
recommend a very early ventilation in vineries. When 
old practicals talk of “giving air,” that is, suffering the 
accumulated heated air to escape at the back or apex, by 
letting down the back lights, or other available means, 
as early as seven a m., some people wonder, and cannot 
divest themselves of the idea that it is an unnecessary 
work. This, then, leads to the fact that we would 
fain impress on the minds of learners:—that those who 
will avoid that mysterious thing called “ scalding,” with 
other aliases, must give air,—back air—at least in all 
lean-to vineries, if only an inch, by eight in winter, 
seven in spring, and six in summer, a.m. 
Equally with early airing, we advise early closing; 
and if it be really essential that vineries must be closed 
for a few hours during the twenty-four, we say, let it be 
from the moment it becomes safe to close entirely, until 
dark; this will be about two to five p.m., in very early 
forcing, and from four to seven or eight at more ad¬ 
vanced periods, other cases being of course intermediate. 
This, which old gardeners in our earlier days termed 
“ putting to bed warm,” is the one grand maxim in most 
forcing affairs, as far as the regulation of heat is con¬ 
cerned. 
It will be seen that at present we have said nothing 
about disbudding, stopping, thinning the berry, modes 
of training, &c. To embrace all such would occupy a 
whole week’s Cottage Gardener; we prefer at present 
to discuss what may be termed graver matters, and which 
are yet but imperfectly understood, a3 witness the 
gardening periodicals generally; seldom do we take up 
one, but there is some tale of woe connected with vine ; 
culture. Robert Errington. 
{To be continued.) 
PACKING FRUIT-TREES, &c., FOR OUR 
COLONIES. 
It is not often that I can find sufficient room to quote 
so largely from the letters of correspondents as 1 did 
last week under the above heading ; but that letter was 
so concise, and so much to the point, that one might 
take it, at a glance, to represent the wants and perplexi¬ 
ties of nine-tenths of such of our readers as are inte¬ 
rested in this important question. It also gave a general 
idea, but a very erroneous one, of the usual way of pack¬ 
ing trees for long sea voyages, and, therefore, I thought 
the best course would be to give publicity to the whole, 
and then to state my own views and experience on the 
different heads. 
The practice of puddling the roots of young trees 
when they are removed in the spring in the nurseries, 
is as old as the hills, but it is not much approved of by 
the best planters in these days; and if we consider, we 
shall find that the practice is just as likely to be 
attended with injurious consequences as not. 
Puddling is done on this wise: a hollow is made in 
the ground, and filled with water; the edges of this 
hollow are then cut down with the spade, and the soil is 
mixed with the water until it is as thick as cream. A 
young tree, if well rooted, must have a large portion of 
the roots small and fibrous, and when the puddle hangs 
to them they lose their natural position, and are drawn 
together in close bundles; and a tree planted with the 
fibrous roots in this condition must, in the long run, 
suffer more or less from this cramping—hence the 
reason for the discontinuance of the practice. Now the 
supposed benefit of puddling the roots of trees for long 
voyages is, that the mud or puddle will secure the roots 
from the air; but as soon as it is dry it will crack in all 
directions on the least disturbance of the box, or the 
workings of the vessel; so that, in point of fact, there is 
very little advantage gained by this process. 
Packing in very dry sand, or any non-conducting 
medium, is also intended to secure the roots from the 
air; and for quick voyages, as from England to New 
York, that is all that is required; but then, why not use 
dry sawdust instead of sand, as being less heavy, and 
not so liable to shift about on a rough sea ? 
I have already stated the objections to packing in wet 
moss, without insuring its moisture throughout the 
whole voyage, which cannot possibly be done without 
some such scheme as that which 1 recommend—enve¬ 
loping each ball of moss in an air-tight covering. I 
would not advise more than one tree being put in a ball, 
on account of the difficulty of securing the bandage 
round the stem. If you have two stems, or three or 
more stems tied together, they cannot be brought toge¬ 
ther so closely, but vapour from the moss must escape 
between them; and if you were to plaster or puddle 
some composition in between the stems, so as to make 
the whole air proof, the chances are that cracks would 
soon be made as with the common puddle. On the 
whole, therefore, I think it more safe to put up every 
tree or plant in a separate ball, and afterwards to pack 
them in the box as closely as possible. The South 
American moss, or pastil, Tillandsia usneoides, or our 
own moss in a very dry state, would be as good, if not 
better, than dry sawdust for keeping the body of the tree 
from the air; but it is more troublesome to procure 
than fine shavings from the carpenter’s bench, therefore 
I prefer the shavings, and I shall tell presently how I [ 
became acquainted with this kind of packing. Mean- , 
