406 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, September 29, 1857. 
one of the, if not the very best public writer in Eng¬ 
land on those articles under dispute. Therefore, to 
spare blood and ink, I do hereby suggest that the report 
of the Commissioners, word for word as it was delivered 
to the Couucil in London, be sent to the Editor of The 
Cottage Gardener, and that he be requested to pub¬ 
lish the same, that all may stand on the same footing 
by hearing both sides of the question; and that there may 
be no mistake, I give the name and address of the head 
Commissioner, Mr. W. Forsyth, F.H.S., gardener to 
Baron Rothschild, Gunnersbury Park, Ealing, Middle¬ 
sex. I am persuaded that no reader of The Cottage 
Gardener will ever regret having read Mr. Forsyth’s 
report. No one need be more jealous of his p’s and q’s 
than I am; but, at the risk of every word of the report 
being against me I want it produced, because I know it 
must be founded on sound practical reasoning, for 
which the head Commissioner is well noted, and there¬ 
fore will be of much practical value to country readers 
who may think that London and Londoners are “ every¬ 
thing.” 
With respect to the question as to the theory and 
practice of Vine pruning being at variance (see page 
392), I am told already that I may be considered by 
some people as leaning to one side of the question unless 
I take all the shoots and bunches to the Meeting of the 
Horticultural Society. No. 4, which is fifty-twm joints long 
before the bunch, I intended to keep, and take the bunch 
only, and this is, or might be, called a one-sided proceeding; 
but I have no wish except for clearing up the truth as 
far as the experiment goes, and I should not feel satisfied 
if a loop hole was left for the advocate of practice against 
theory, or of theory as opposed to practice, to creep out 
at; therefore, at a great sacrifice to my Vine, I shall 
cut last year’s shoot, and take to the Meeting the four 
spurs, perhaps five, all growing on the parent branch, 
and with the bunches attached. 
I had several answers before the notice appeared in 
The Cottage Gardener. Three good practical gar¬ 
deners have given their opinion in favour of No. 2, or 
the shoot stopped two joints before the bunch; and one 
nurseryman, who takes prizes at all the London ex¬ 
hibitions, says decidedly that No. 4 ought to be the best. 
Now, the spur of that number was not stopped till the 
beginning of September, and at the fifty-second joint. 
The Grape is the Esperione. It has been suggested, 
also, that we should have the reasons for the different 
answers, to which there is no objection; indeed, it would 
be more satisfactory that way if the writer allowed or 
wished his name to be given; but then the trouble of 
going into the reasoning or theory might deter some of 
the best judges from answering the simple question 
“ this” or “ that.” Any Grape grower may send in his 
answer addressed to me at “ Surbiton, near London,” 
which is enough for the post office. 
A third subject which is forced on my attention this 
week is of universal interest, or rather, universal use, 
and, unless I mention it thus early, it may cause some 
bother by and by. The Horticultural Society of London 
has proved this season which of all the Vegetable 
Marrows is the best for use while in the young state. I 
saw it in the Chiswick Garden last August, and I 
recognised it as a kind which I had cultivated many 
years as “ the best kind.” I gave seeds of it to many 
gardeners, and recommended it to others. When I 
came to Surbiton in 1851 I took three specimens of it 
with me, two of which I broke up to give away the 
seeds, and the third I gave to a grocer here, who hung 
it up in his window as a curiosity. I do not grow this 
kind of “fruit,” owing to want of room, nor have I 
any seeds of it left on hand. Sir W. Middleton used to 
be fond of it, and while it could be supplied no other 
kind of “Marrow” would he allow at table. Sir 
j William received the seeds of it from Dr. Beck, of 
Ipswich, the best grower and the best authority in 
Suffolk on Marrows, Squashes, and best kinds of Melons, 
and I think Dr. Beck once told me that this kind 
was much used in Languedoc, or somewhere there¬ 
abouts, in France. He would add to many other favours 
if he were to send us a full and particular account of it, 
and how they cook it in France and in Ipswich. At all 
events my hands are clean of it now, and my plate too, 
the worse luck, for I was very fond of it when well 
cooked. When I was man cook the best way to cook 
any kind of Marrow was like the best way of cooking 
Potatoes, namely, in their “jackets;” we would never 
cut or quarter them till they were “ done” or boiled soft. 
Then put them on a plate, and cut each in two, scoop 
out the core, if any, and mash the fleshy parts only, 
just like mashing Potatoes into a perfect custard-like 
dish, which could then be flavoured or sauced to one’s 
liking. 
Talking about the Horticultural, I never told that 
they, of all the Londoners, have the most useful Cabbage 
for private use. I never use any other Cabbage; but, 
not liking to mix them up with flowers and bedding 
plants, I seldom have an opportunity in the Cabbage 
way. This is a very dwarf kind from Germany I think, 
which cabbages, or “ hearts,” as hard as a bullet, and 
is then just as tender and as delicate in flavour as our 
best April early kinds. The name has never got into 
our seed-lists, and I am not quite sure of the spelling, but 
I think it is Jaunette. Three years since the Society did 
not have any of it over; and, if you believe me, the 
people hereabouts to whom I had given plants of it 
were well nigh running out my patience about it. The 
same at our rectory ; and the gardener there, Mr. Jones, 
told me that “ so and so ” of our neighbours failed this 
season to hunt it out in Paris. Fearing a dearth of it, 
and not knowing if the Society would continue intro¬ 
ducing it, I took to the good old plan of making sure of 
it by cuttings like the scarlet Geraniums. I plant the 
young sprouts at eighteen inches row from row, and 
fifteen inches apart in the row ; but I suppose the plants 
from the cuttings may be put in at fifteen inches every 
way. Every one ought to have a few rows of it, especially 
for autumn use, on account of its mildness. 
D. Beaton. 
GRAPES GROWN UNDER PECULIAR 
CIRCUMSTANCES. 
When we meet with anything growing under cir¬ 
cumstances differing widely from our preconceived 
notions of what it ought to do we are led to pause and 
inquire whether our own ideas may not have been erro¬ 
neous, and consequently we begin to retrace our steps, 
and take a more accurate view of the matter—endeavour 
to find out the cause whereby a result was obtained 
by going to work in two ways so diametrically opposite 
to each other. I confess being placed in this position a 
short time ago, and have not yet satisfied myself as to 
the cause of the inconsistencies of the case in hand, 
which was one bearing on one of the most important 
departments of gardening, and one which, above all 
others, has had most attention; I mean Grape growing. 
Plaving paid a visit some time ago to the Manchester 
Art Treasures Exhibition, I took advantage of the 
opportunity, and visited some of the excellent gardens 
in Lancashire and adjoining counties. I saw many 
things to admire—good Peach trees at one place, good 
Pines at another, a well-managed flower garden at a 
third, and good Grapes mostly at all; but these things, 
being all produced by the ordinary way I had been 
accustomed to look at as being the valid one, had less 
interest with me than some Grapes I saw growing at a 
market gardener’s near Manchester, under circum- 
