THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 17, 1857. 
96 
was obliged to make an extra coal cellar immediately 
over the roots of my best Vine. Since then there have 
been four feet deep of coals over eight feet in front of 
that Grape Vine every summer. Mr. Kidd, who is as 
well known in our line as the writer, has seen this 
arrangement, aud knows that my Grapes were quite as 
good last year as those he saw from me at Williss 
Rooms. . _ _ ~ 
The best account we have in The Cottage Gar- 
dener of a Vine border for outdoor Grapes is from a 
gardener who signs himself “ Upwards and Onwards,^ 
Vol. XVII., under the title “ Grapes for the Million.” 
not leaves ?” Yes; but babes do not work by reason of 
their tender age; they add nothing to rent days and pay 
nights, but suck and suck all the time; and as for 
noise, there is rustling among the leaves when anything 
is in the wind. Besides, a leaf feeds in two very different 
ways: first, through the tubes in the footstalk, it sucks 
from the roots; and, secondly, when it arrives at maturity, 
not before, it feeds from the air by many mouths on its 
own skin, and an evil-disposed person might poison it 
from that moment by poisoning the air it breathes, but 
without “ intent/' Unfortunate accidents have poisoned 
m voi avil uuuci LUC __ the air over and over again during the different stages 
But I* am the nune^ aboutTmy'border," because j of a leaf’s infancy ; but the leaf not being yet able to 
I am going to make a declaration, as if it were on oath, breathe or imbibe the poison through its breathing 
after nearly forty years’ experience, to the effect that | pores escaped death. At last, on the very evening of its 
it is entirely and altogether wrong in practice and in j first respiration it died in these very hands of mine, 
principle to stir fork or disturb the surface of a Vine Free ammonia was the deadly agent; and to prove my 
border in any part of the world, if that part happens to words you have only to charge the air of a plant house 
be on the confines or limits of Vine cultivation in the with it, aud every ripe leaf m it will perish in one night, 
open air • but as you move to the meridian from either and all the young leaves will escape the dose. I have 
side of the line this rule must be relaxed till you reach seen this proved repeatedly. A man perishes at the 
the ultimatum, where it may be sound practice to make bottom of a well by breathing “ foul air;” a leaf is killed 
borders for outdoor Vines just as good as we in England in the same way, but not until it begins to breathe, and 
make for them under glass; and my reason is this—that until it does breathe it has no power to secrete for the 
O 
in 
good 
the nature of the Yine is so excitable that the least 
degree of artificial stimulus pushes the roots beyond 
the power of the leaves, and merely stirring the 
surface of a border is the lowest degree of cultivation. 
This declaration, however, is on the supposition that 
there is a balance of power between the roots and the 
leaves—a very significant expression, which is used by 
all good writers on fruit trees; but if the roots are in 
bad soil, or seem to lose that essential balance in any 
other way, cultivation must be resorted to in order to 
restore the balance, 
particularly, should 
engineer would say; that is, a less crop than the Vine thirty-five joints above my largest bunch v 
could bear should be aimed at in order to keep the tree ounce, a very poor return in Grapes; but the 
of the system. But there is another side to this 
question: we may stop the Vine at the very joint which 
is most profitable to the tree, and yet be a good many 
joints beyond what is profitable for the Grapes. When 
we grow on the long-rod system, which is the best out 
of doors, and is that which I practise, but is not the 
best under glass, we are safe if we stop the long shoot 
from the 10th to the 20th of August; but on the spur 
system out of doors the spur ought to be stopped just 
when the Vine is in and out of bloom, for it is at that 
m 
All fruit trees, and the Vine more moment that rivalry begins between the berries and the 
be worked under power, as an extending shoots, and all that I gained by the last 
was one 
Vine is 
in powerful health. A practised eye can perceive, at 
the time of swelling, whether the roots are sufficiently 
active to carry out the crop, and if they are not so 
recourse must be had to watering the border, say in 
June and July, or perhaps a little later, according to 
the season. 
After the Grapes come to their full size the rest of the good Cabbages, not more than twenty inches deep; stop 
process depends on the action of the leaves, not on the \ every shoot on the 15th of August, or not later than the 
activity of the roots. The delicate point is to ascertain 20th, nor earlier than the 10th till you come to fruit. The 
how late in August it is profitable to allow the growth 
of new leaves. The time it takes for a leaf to organise 
itself before it can add anything to the secretions from 
the old leaves depends upon the weather more than the 
roots. Every leaf, from beginning to end, draws on the 
resources of the tree for a given time without affording 
the smallest assistance to the tree or fruit; therefore, if ! hothouse Grapes, at the first, second, third, or fourth joint 
leaves come so late in the season that they have only , before the bunch, according to your room, and if you have 
sufficient time to make good their own strength, they j more room do not stop till the Vine is in bloom. Laterals 
only rob the tree, and it is bad practice to allow them. ■ do as much harm as they do good by shading the wall. 
There is a very great and a very general error among 
some of our very best practical gardeners at this very 
point. They say these late growths, which we all know 
very well can add nothing to the secretions, do good by 
encouraging the extension and activity of the roots; that 
is, just doing so much harm at both ends of the system. 
The activity of the roots is in proportion to the demand 
on them by the extent of leaf surface actively secreting 
matter for the fruit aud general system of the tree, say 
some day in August; increase that activity by a larger 
surface of leaves that can do no good, and it comes to 
what I say—exerting roots and leaves to no purpose. 
“ But how can you prove that leaves do not act as soon as 
they are expanded? ” they will ask. “ Leaves, you say, are 
the lungs of plants, and the very babes make use of 
their lungs as soon as they perceive the fuss which is 
made about them on coming into this world, and why 
much strengthened by the large surface of working 
leaves. Pei haps, also, the other bunches near received 
weight from the long shoot, but that is too deep and 
speculative to enter upon here. 
To sum up in a few words, what I recommend is 
this:—Plant Vines in good sandy soil, such as would grow 
fourth year is time enough to crop, but prove your sorts 
by a bunch or two as soon as they offer. Stop all spurs 
on the spur system when the Vine is in bloom, and not 
till then; but choose the long rod if you can manage it, 
as being a much better system out of doors, and with 
the long rod you may stop before the bunches as they do 
I never allow a lateral leaf out of doors, but I only take 
off the leaf and the growing point after two joints are 
made. Laterals are indispensable in forcing. Prune 
any day in October—the sooner the better. Tread your 
Vine border very hard, aud rake it over and keep it 
raked in summer to save the ground from cracking. A 
coat of gravel would be better. See “ Vines ” or “ Grapes 
for the Million.”—D. Beaton. 
P.S. I hereby tender my public and most hearty 
thanks to Mr. Fenn, the author of the following very 
practical views on the cultivation of outdoor Grapes, 
and to his employer, the Rev. Mr. St. John, for the 
trouble and expense of sending me samples of their 
beautiful and most delicious Grapes from all the modes 
of pruning described below, which tell their own tale, 
leaving me no more to say than that the Grapes might 
pass anywhere as “ hothouse Grapes.” 
