296 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
ioued because we first saw them growing in ail 
llieir freshness ami homely luxuriance in the 
old-fashioned gardens, and around the plain, 
unpretending doorways of our grandparents, 
so many years ago. The Lilac, with its crisp, 
purplish, grape-like . bunches; the Myrtle, 
[Periwinkle— Eds.] whose starry blossoms seem 
almost to have stolen their hues from the sky; 
the Snowdrop, always so suggestive of the pale, 
lifeless fingers that so often clasped them,—all 
these, and very many more, have to ns a charm 
•of their own, and so they remain each year in 
their own quiet, secluded corners, while showy 
mounds and extensive borders are brilliant with 
the many-lmed gems of more modern times, and 
redolent with their rarer perfume. 
It is the old, dearly loved Past that is dreamed 
over as one ministers to the wants of these 
shrubs and plants, in freeing them from the dead 
leaves, in loosening the soil around them, and 
pruning them to a healthier growth; and one 
likes to linger near a Rose-tree or Snowball, 
bending low with its weight of snowy burdens, 
and think, ‘ My grandmother loved these. I 
used to gather them for her when a child.’ 
Then comes the always fresh remembrance of 
the old-fashioned garden, old-fashioned ways, 
and the kindly throbbing hearts of old-fashioned 
times, and whatever the heart may be now, 
whether seared with the conflicts of long, bitter 
years, or hardened to all gentler influences, one 
moment, at least, has been devoted to that which 
was pure and good. 
So we have a way of dividing our garden into 
two kingdoms. One shall rule the Past, and the 
homely beauty of its rose-trees and lilacs shall 
keep fresh in our minds the dearly loved ‘ days 
of old,’ and keep the memories of happier 
days near the heart, that their gentler influ¬ 
ences may dispel all the evils that beset it. 
Our fuchsias and verbenas and geraniums 
may still nod their graceful heads at every pass¬ 
ing breeze, but we will devote their beauty and 
brilliancy to the Present and Future, with the 
thoughts, ‘ They are pure as heaven. Tiie same 
hand that distils the gentle dew in their grate¬ 
ful cups, and the same air and sunshine that 
nourish their sweet lives, bring to us as they 
do to them, life and health. Like them, we 
must learn to mirror the purity of heaven 
in our hearts and lives.’ So let us devote at 
least one quiet corner to our sombre-hued flow¬ 
ers, and thus perpetuate our veneration and love 
for the Olden Times. Once or twice a year, we 
will walk under their sheltering boughs or stoop 
to gather their modest tributes, and linger for 
the sweet story their enfolded leaves and blos¬ 
soms impart, but for those who come to ‘ see our 
garden ’—why, we will lead them away from the 
old-fashioned flowers to admire the rare beauty 
of our last collection from the green-house.” 
Odds and Ends in Gardening. 
A garden of moderate pretensions well kept 
is more pleasing than a large and neglected one, 
even if it be filled with rare and costly plants. 
Frequent going over the plants and attending 
to their needs at once is necessary to order and 
neatness. One who loves plants will be daily 
among them, tying, nipping, propping, and 
making everything do its best. Tying materials 
should be always at hand. For vines and 
plants generally we prefer Russia malting to 
anything else. Get a bright, fresh piece, and 
Keep it where strands can be pulled out as 
needed. Wetting makes them sufjffliently flex¬ 
ible. To have the material always at hand, we 
cut up the strips into convenient lengths for one 
or two ties, wet it, and place it in a case made 
by folding a bit of oil cloth carpet. This can 
be carried in the pocket of the working coat all 
day, and be in good condition to use. In bring¬ 
ing into shape plants that were disposed to 
sprawl too much, we have found Wilcox’s Gar¬ 
den Trellis very useful. For some plants this 
makes too much show ; all supports should be 
concealed as much as possible, and we use a 
ring of galvanized wire, tied to three small 
stakes, after the manner of the trellis made of 
hoops and stakes figured in May last on page 172. 
In flower gardens there is much small work 
to be done, especially among bedding plants 
before they cover the ground. These are set so 
closely together that ho ordinary implement 
will work among them conveniently. We took 
a large kitchen fork, such as is used to lift 
heavy meats from the pot, cut off the shank at 
a convenient length, fixed on a handle, and found 
we had an excellent implement for working 
among such plants. By its frequent use the 
surface is left in that open and mellow condi¬ 
tion so conducive to the health of the plants 
and the well-kept appearance of the beds. 
The Grape Vine—How It Grows and What 
to Bo with It. —Wt Article. 
This is the proper place in which to reply to 
the question of some of our correspondents. 
Honoring Leaves.— Never remove the leaves of 
a vine with a view of ripening the fruit. True, 
we have recommended the stopping the growth 
of the bearing shoot at three or four leaves 
above the uppermost bunch of grapes. This 
results in rendering the remaining leaf surface 
more effective, and better able to perform its 
part in developing and maturing the fruit. The 
remaining leaves grow larger, thicken up, 
and become firmer in texture, and are better 
able to resist disease. The leaf opposite the 
cluster is the one mainly concerned in the nour¬ 
ishment of that cluster, and to remove it is, to 
take away its sustenance. For the best devel¬ 
opment of fruit the leaves need full exposure to 
the sun and air, while the clusters need that 
genial shade afforded them by the leaves. 
Tendrils .—-These may be removed ; the® are 
of no use to the-'vine if the shoots are kept 
properly tied to the trellis, and are often an 
annoyance to the cultivator. In the wild vine 
they are needed for its support, but in proper 
cultivation the shoots are kept in place by 
artificial means. The ingenious Mr. Meehan, 
of the Gardener’s Monthly, has advanced the 
idea that plants expend a certain amount of 
vital force in overcoming the attraction of gravi¬ 
tation, i.e. a vine which lias to support itself 
by tendrils, or by twining, uses up a certain 
amount of power which might be turned in 
another direction. If Mr. M.’s views be cor¬ 
rect, (and they have met with the acceptance of 
some of our best authorities,) then the removal 
of the tendrils and providing a support in their 
Fig. 17. —VINE AT END OF SECOND TEAR. 
stead should result to the benefit of . the vine. 
In previous articles we have given various 
forms of the Horizontal-Arm system of train¬ 
ing, and though the modifications of which this 
is susceptible are not exhausted, we turn now 
to other plans. It is often desirable to cover a 
trellis or screen with the foliage of the vine, the 
shade and shelter being of quite as much im¬ 
portance as fruit. From a neglect of the laws 
of the growth of the vine—which we have en¬ 
deavored to set forth in this series of articles— 
this covering of screens and arbors is usually 
done in a very unsatisfactory manner. The 
vine soon gets the better of the cultivator for 
the want of starting right. To cover a screen 
or arbor we must keep upn, succession of new 
wood, and constantly bear in mind that a cane 
that has borne once never bears again, but be¬ 
comes a part of the stem. Let us suppose that 
a good young vine was last autumn cut back to 
three buds, and that the shoots from these have 
made a strong growth during the summer In 
autumn the vino will appear as in figure 10. 
The three canes at pruning are to be shortened 
to three buds each. The following summer 
nine shoots will grow, which in autumn will be 
ripened into nine canes. The stem will present 
three divisions, each of which bears three canes, 
figure 17. In pruning the vine at this time, 
one of each of the three canes is cut back to two 
buds, to produce new shoots to extend the vine 
the next year, while the other two are pruned 
to eight or ten buds, according to their strength. 
The shoots from the canes pruned to two buds 
should the next summer be laid in so as to best 
Cover the trellis. The shoots from the buds up¬ 
on the longer pruned canes will produce fruit. 
These should be kept tied to the trellis, and 
when they have made three or four leaves be¬ 
yond the fruit, be pinched—indeed, treated 
just like upright fruiting shoots heretofore de¬ 
scribed. These canes are simply upright arms, 
bearing their shoots one above another, instead 
of in a horizontal position. At the end of the 
year in which we suppose this growth to have 
been made, the vine will appear as in figure 18, 
which shows only a portion of the idne. The 
vine in this condition, in which it is supposed 
to have quite covered the screen, is to be pruned 
with judgment and with the laws of growth 
well in mind. The weaker canes are to be cut 
back to one bud, the others to two, three, or 
more buds, as may be required. It is necessary 
to recollect that every bud will produce a shoot, 
and to look forward to the future growth. In 
the treatment of such vines, too many rather 
than too few buds are apt to be left, While a 
