December 19. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
919 
There was a collection of Pears, in good condition, 
from J. Abell, Esq., of Limerick, chiefly to show the 
difference between the same kinds on the free and 
quince stocks. 
Pine-Apples.— Mr. Fleming sent a fine Pricldy Cay¬ 
enne, weighing 5 lbs. 4owith a very small crown; 
and three Montserrats, 4 lbs. 4 oz.; another to match ; 
and the third weighed 3 lbs. 13 oz.; the three had large 
crowns. 
Mr. Brown, gardener to J. Parnell, Esq., of Waltham 
Abbey, Essex, sent a Queen, 3 lbs. 10 oz., with a very 
small crown ; and Mr. Jones, gardener to Lady Charlotte 
Guest, Dovvlais, sent a Ripley Queen, weighing 41bs., with 
a modorate crown ; a lino looking specimen, which would 
keep longer, and was hardly ripe enough for table; and 
a very lino looking Cayenne Pine, 5 lbs. 7 oz., was sent 
from Arundel Castle, by Mr. Me Ewen, who came out 
on this occasion quite pomologically. Mr. Me Ewen 
was the first gardener who proposed, and “ did,” pyra¬ 
mid Geraniums ; and I bought a pound of pic-nic bis¬ 
cuits to crack with him, and learn more about them 
from him, at the last July Show at the Regent’s Park, hut 
I missed him. 
Grapes. —There was one bunch from Mr. Snow, and 
if it had been suspended from the roof, I venture my 
head that not three members out of all the Pomological 
could tell the kind ; and I am not quite sure, if he had 
given it another name, that one of the Horticultural 
would hit nearer the mark. It was not eighteen inches 
long, but not far from it, very “ loose set,” wide across 
the shoulders, noble looking, good berry and colour, and 
full 4 lbs. in weight. The shape put you in mind of the 
White Nice, but it was a Barbarossa, and the best of 
that kind hitherto “ brought out” in this country. Mr. 
Snow put some of us old ones to the blush, also, with a 
dish of old Golden Pippins, so large, so smooth, and so 
yellow inside, that we cotdd not gainsay the purity of 
the kind. Mr. Nash, of Bishop Stortford, sent two large 
baskets full of his far-famed Grapes, a Black Hamboroityli 
and a Muscat of Alexandria. They were splendid, but 
the Muscats were not so ripe as they are usually liked 
for table. The Muscat is not lit for the Queen till it is 
of an amber colour all round, and the sunny side is 
tinted brown, or reddish-brown. Great age and free 
ventilatioja only will go to this stage, in a temperaturo 
lit for the Hamborough; but 75° as the lowest day tem¬ 
perature, and 00° for the night, from the full size of the 
berry, will soon bring the Muscat to amber and tint. A 
direct contrast to the Muscat was in four ripe bunches 
of the While Syrian Grape, from Mr. South, gardener 
to A. H. Davenport, Esq., of Capesthorn Hall, Cheshire. 
All the boat in coals will not ripen this Syrian, nor the 
Nice, nor the Tokay, nor the Salamana, without age; 
that is, noue of them can over be forced to ripen like 
the Muscat ; they must all of them have time—that is, 
to haug six weeks or two months after one would take 
them to bo ripe enough without tasting them. These 
Syrians were done.justice to, and now they are next kin 
to the Muscat. When they are cut, and swallowed in 
the usual way, peoplo complain of them being too hard, 
and without delicate flavour; but that is certainly not 
tho fault of one of them. The Salamana is the best of 
tho four, and tho least known, 
j Mr. Hill, gardener to R. Sued, Esq., of ICeelo Hall, 
| Staffordshire, and next-door neighbour to Mr. Fleming, 
I has got into tho Flomingtonian way of growing and 
! packing Grapes. He sent threo bunches of lino Muscats, 
, and three of Black Hamboroughs, lying “ heads and tails,” 
| in one box; and they were much praised. Every 
! gardener, who sends fruit for exhibition, ought to be 
allowed to see exhibition fruit unpacked at the shows, in 
order to seo the best methods of packing. There were 
i Pears and Grapes completely spoiled for exhibition at 
. this mooting, and at almost all the meetings; but I 
shall not mention names; the fault lies with the em¬ 
ployers. My first master was toogood a judge to believe 
I knew everything as well as I ought; and he sent mo 
to London, and all over the country, to learn ; and told 
me to put down the expenses in tho garden accounts; 
and now there are hundreds of things which I know 
little about,.but which every gardener ought to know. 
In the army, there are sets of men brought out on pur¬ 
pose to do the things ; but in thtf garden, a pair of bands 
and one head is expected to know and do every thing, 
from the field-marshal to the last drummor; but tho 
thing is simply impossible. 
Straw Mats. —Mr. Brewer, from the Pine-Applo : 
Place Nursery, sent a straw mat; and a very ice 
model of a frame for making them, easier than on the 
ground, or on a wide table, as we used to do them. 
The frame is just like a clothes-horse, breast high. 
There aro two upright spdains of half-inch deal, fixed 
against tho horse, near each side. These have holes ! 
four or six inches apart. Then there aro two splains, 
with two wooden teeth to each ; and these fit the holes, 
leaving a two-inch space, between the horse and the 
moveable pieces. Now, in weaving a mat four feet wide, 
you want five raus of tarred twine, at equal distances. 
The straw is let in from the top of the horse, in thick- | 
nesses of an inch or so; two strings across each little j 
bundle, at so many places; and when the first part is i 
done, draw out the two pieces with the teeth, let down 
what there is of the mat, and put in the teeth again, and 
between the ribs of the mat; and so on to the end. 
D. Beaton. 
MANDEVILLA SUAVEOLENS NOT 
FLOWERING. 
“ I havo a Mandevilla Suaveolens, which has been 
planted against tho wall, at the back of my greenhouse, 
upwards of a year-and-a-lialf. It has not flowered; 
though this last summer it has grown luxuriantly, 
and quite unchecked, to the top of the house. Can you 
tell me whether it requires any particular management? 
and, if so, what? It has never been cut at all.” 
Your plant is not strong enough to bloom, I expect. 
Unless your house is very light, and there is no im¬ 
pediment to the full force of the sun’s rays, you will 
get no blooms to speak of against your back-wall, i f 
there is plenty of light, and you prune your plant pretty 
well in, you may expect some blooms on the current 
shoots of the following summer. To got plenty of 
bloom, however, tho plant must be got near the light, 
so as to secure the thorough ripening of the wood. I | 
would advise you, therefore, to grow your plant in loam j 
and peat, the latter being within a few inches of tho ! 
ball, as, after that, good, fibry, well-drained loam will bo i 
best. If not very luxuriant next summer, soak tho \ 
roots with manure-water frequently, provided your 
drainage is good. You will likely have a number of 
shoots on the back-wall, and before freo-growth com¬ 
mences in spring, go along and prune off every offset, j 
so as to secure one stem, just as if you were going to : 
make a standard Rose of it. If your shoot of this last 
summer is a foot or two abovo the back of tho house, 
cut off all these offsets clean, so as just to leave ono 
stem; but if your shoot merely reaches as far as tho 
glass, then, lest you should check tho roots too much at 
once, it would be advisable to allow a few buds to 
remain along the stom at tho back-wall, just to act ns 
stimulants to vital energy—until tho main point shoot 
was growing freely, when all buds beneath the top of 
the wall should be removed. If you had half-a-dozen 
buds well-ripened, near the glass, and left those, it is 
probable you would from them havo shoots aud flowers 
next summer. If theso buds aro not sufficiently 
