THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 17, 1857. 
07 
I may mention, however, that the experiment of cutting 
out the buds from the shoots of the Vine was first recom¬ 
mended by Mr. Roberts, in his treatise on the Vine, 
about fifteen or sixteen years back. I tried it to some 
extent for three or four years, and wrote something about 
it, but where I cannot just now recollect.—D. Beaton. 
“ When one considers the millions of square yards of blank 
walls that could be made available for the growing of the 
Grape, I consider our subject of the present mooting of 
almost national importance. I send you some specimen 
bunches attached to their spurs, grown on the open walls of 
old England, for your occular and palatable judgment. 
Why the flavour is not so good in the long-rod berries I 
take to be because nature has so many buds to mature, 
that a compromise of the essence of the sap, so to speak, is 
made between them, and the fruit thus proves inferior, 
comparatively, to those bunches on the spurs that are 
shortened to three or four eyes, which must ot necessity 
prove monopolisers of all the good things that arrive to 
them. If I should live till next year I intend to remove 
every bud from the axils of the leaves of some long rods, 
and so try and find out if my theory is correct. 
“ Out of twenty examples growing before me I find the 
longer the branch the less the bunch, and No. 11 is a 
specimen bunch grown on a rod stopped at thirty buds 
before the fruit for you to compare with the other samples 
sent. On the other hand, a plurality of infant leaves proves 
antagonistic for the fruit, and in half the cases that we 
witness for open air Grape culture, and, in fact, other fruits 
as well, is it not a failure entirely through encouraging too 
much growth and leaf ? 
“ The Grapes sent must compare themselves with them¬ 
selves, and not with the Grapes at Surbiton, which fare far 
better for climate than those of this latitude, for I would 
almost venture to undertake to ripen Grapes in the College 
garden at Elgin, N.B., taking the majority of seasons, quite 
as successfully as I can here (Woodstock). There, as 
probably you are aware, is to be found a soil like unto that 
which Mr. Robson lately mentioned for growing Grapes 
j Under peculiar circumstances. 
“ The tale of the tub reconciles itself into this. The 
j notches cut on the spurs mean— 
“No. 1. Sweetwater, stopped at twelve buds before the 
j fruit, and from which, as you can perceive, I cut a brother 
I bunch, mentioned on the 21st of September. 
“No. 2. Ditto, stopped at three buds. Ripened under a 
glass, under cover of which they have been ensconced since 
they were no larger than early Peas. The cover admitted 
! both bunches at once. 
“ No. 3. Ditto, stopped at four eyes before the fruit. One 
of the bunches on the spur has been protected with a cover 
since the 18th of last month ; the benefit clearly perceptible. 
“ No. 4. Black Esperiones , stopped at four buds. Ripened 
under a glass, under cover of which they have been since 
they attained to the size of Marrowfat Peas. 
“ No. 5. Ditto, stopped at twenty buds. Ripened in the 
open air. 
“ No. 0. Ditto, stopped at one bud. Ripened in the open 
air. 
“ No. 7. Ditto, stopped at four buds. Ripened in the 
open air. 
“ No. 8. Ditto. This bunch was allowed to fruit on an 
eye which burst from the old wood on the stem of the 
Vine, viz., a bud which was not in existence, not matured 
on the previous season. This I consider a great wrinkle 
towards outdoor culture. There is at least a fortnight lost 
from that circumstance in the ripening. 
“I was obliged to cut the rods in order to accommodate 
them for packing, but Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 9, are one and the 
same branch to match. No. 10 is the continuation of No. 1. 
My vintage takes place to-day. It grieves me to gather the 
Grapes, they look so handsome against the walls of this old 
house that good Bishop Fell built. One or two consolations 
remain, however, and a wash-keller full of Grapes forebodes 
a curtailment of the wine merchant’s bill. I manufactured 
a barrel of rhubarb wine this spring: it goes on very well, 
and I intend to make champagne of it.”— Robert Fenn. 
SHRUBLAND PARK. 
{Continued from page 82.) 
In the fruit department, between rows of Gooseberries 
grown in the usual way, with stems above the ground a 
foot or so in height before they branched out in the 
bush form, were rows of standard Red and Black 
Currants, with clear stems from three to four feet in 
height. When the heads get large I should imagine 
strong supports would be necessary to secure them 
against wind. Altogether I should deem such high 
standarding of fruit bushes more desirable for variety 
and novelty than mere utility. By the sides of a wa]k 
Gooseberries [Warrington 1 suspect) were trained to a 
trellis formed of stakes, and were protected from wasps, 
&c., with mats. Fine late fruit may also be obtained by 
growing the trees on a north wall, or on a north border, 
and protecting them with Nottingham lace‘netting. 
Along the borders were a number of fine, healthy, 
young standard Pear trees that had made shoots ot 
great length and vigour. Some ot these had been 
moved and replanted the previous year, and now were 
everything that could be desired. The strong, healthy- 
growing ones were to be operated upon the first 
opportunity. When so very vigorous such replanting is 
preferable to root pruning, as sometimes a strong tap 
root will escape. 
The walls of the garden looked very neat, being all 
j coloured of a light stone colour. I do not think it was 
anticorrosion, and if mere lime colouring it would be 
worth knowing how often the process had to be repeated, 
i The walls were all studded with nails, previously heated 
and thrown into oil I suspect, and to these nails the j 
shoots were tied, and, consequently, there were neither j 
| glaring shreds, reminding one of a tailor’s shop, nor j 
| unsightly holes in the wall—the best of all harbouis j 
I for insects and their eggs. Some Peach trees were 
| netted to keep out the wasps, but the fruit left on the 
i walls was chiefly Pears, and they a heavy crop. 
As preparatory to forcing I noticed what I calculated 
to be nigh* upon 3000 Strawberry pots in excellent 
order, chiefly Keens Seedling and British Queen , but so 
I far as I recollect a good number ot Cuthills Black 
j Prince, Ingrams Prince of Wales, Alice Maud, and 
Sir Harry. Two facts I would wdsh to record, because, 
in addition to their importance, they are so corroborative 
of the teachings of this serial. The first is, that the 
pots were all standing on a hard bottom, not too close 
together, in an open sheltered place, exposed to almost 
every possible ray of sunshine, and showing that the 
runners had been potted early, but no runners allowed 
to grow afterwards. Some people will continue to shade 
their plants, and continue to wonder that from such a 
large unripened bud they can get but such a small 
modicum of fruit. The second tact is, that whilst the 
great bulk of the plants were in six-inch pots, or 32 s, 
a great number of the Black Prince and Keens Seedling 
were in four-inch or 48-sized pots, these being intended 
for forcing early. 
In a lean-to Fig house, the plants against the wall, Mr. 
Foggo had cut down a trench through the roots about 
three feet from the wall, and built a wall under ground 
j to prevent the roots having so much feeding ground, for 
the purpose of checking their luxuriance and making 
j them more fruitful. Even this has not been quite 
I sufficient, and, in addition to a thorough thinning ot 
! the present shoots, he proposes cutting down at the back 
: of the wall, thinking the roots must have an outlet in 
that direction. The more stumpy and short jointed a 
Fig shoot, provided it is vigorous enough and well j 
ripened, the better will it bear, and the higher flavoured j 
will be the fruit. 
Orchard House. —This is a very nice building as a , 
lean-to house with a half-span roof. The length is 100 
