• October 24, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
113 
Fruit Hotes. 
Mrs. Pince’s Black Muscat Grape. 
Allow me to enter a protest against the opprobrious 
observations periodically levelled at Mrs. Pince's 
Black Muscat Grape by a writer in one of your con¬ 
temporaries. The said writer may be, and I believe 
is, sincere in all he says on this subject—but it was 
sincere bigotry of this type that declared that the 
earth was flat. Apparently no allowance is made for 
the fact that there are gardeners and gardeners; and, 
to quote the contents in the abstract of a note from 
my friend Dr. Woodman, " It is too bad for those 
who fail to succeed with Mrs. Pince’s Black Muscat, 
to run it down. We know it to be a heavy cropper, 
and a sort that will keep longer than others; more¬ 
over it is a Grape that 
has such a flavour and 
consistency that it is worth 
eating, which cannot be 
said of some of the late 
sorts.” 
Most folks know that 
this high-class variety is 
an English raised Grape, 
for about a year ago I 
wrote its history (vide Gar¬ 
dening World, vol. vii., 
p."36), which I will sum up 
briefly:—In 1859 a bunch 
of the old Muscatel was 
given to Mr. Pince by the 
gardener at Pitt, Chud- 
leigh, and two stones or 
seeds were found in the 
fruit by Mrs. Pince, which 
were perfectly round, and 
different from the others. 
These were sown at the 
Exeter Nursery, and from 
them sprang awhite Grape 
and a black Grape, the 
latter being the one under 
notice, and to which was 
awarded a First-class Cer¬ 
tificate by the Fruit Com¬ 
mittee at South Kensing¬ 
ton in 1863. The mother- 
plant was therefore the 
old Muscatel which grew 
in the vinery at Pitt, be¬ 
tween a Black Prince and 
A Black Frontignan. It 
was naturally fertilized, 
and probably by the pol¬ 
len of the Black Prince, as 
the bunches of Mrs Pince's 
Black Muscat have a stri¬ 
king resemblance to those 
of that kind, the most per¬ 
fect coming from the older 
vines — a circumstance 
which, perhaps, explains 
away the sport theory, 
now set afloat by Mr. Ig- 
gulden ; at any rate of the 
existence of a sport I never 
heard before, and it ap¬ 
pears rather problemati¬ 
cal, because Mrs. Pince’s 
Black Muscat is not in 
need of any improve¬ 
ment. It is simply a matter of correct cultivation. 
There are many gardeners who grow Mrs. Pince’s 
Black Muscat successfully, and all the leading nur¬ 
serymen throughout the land still offer it, so how 
can it be said that it is fast going out of cultivation ? 
On the contrary, my belief is, now that its culture is 
freely ventilated, there will be more successful growers 
than heretofore. 
' The best results are obtainable when the treat¬ 
ment is similar to that usually given to the Muscat 
of Alexandria, and I have seen splendid work when 
a.whole bouse or compartment has been given up 
entirely to Mrs. Pince. Artificial fecundation is also 
necessary, limiting the number of bunches and ber¬ 
ries, and these, if ripened by October, will keep from 
damp or shrivelling for several months. 
Last season the veteran gardener at Eridge Castle, 
kindly gave his views and experience of Mrs. Pince 
in most eulogistic terms, saying that he had just 
tested its flavour against all the kinds grown at 
Eridge, and the ladies preferred Mrs. Pince. He 
recommends heat at setting time, and that the shoots 
should be allowed to run more freely than is usual. 
He condemns overcropping, considering this the 
cause of failure in colouring. And no doubt he is 
right. He further remarks that Lady Downes was 
growing in the same house, but his intention was to 
fill the whole house with Mrs. Pince. I can pause 
here. — W. Napper, Chelsea. 
Yellow Tomatos. 
In the past history of Tomato culture, the red varie¬ 
ties have undoubtedly been more extensively grown 
than the yellow ones. Now, however, that the latter 
are considered by some to have superior dessert 
qualities, there is a likelihood of these coming to the 
front for that purpose. So far as appearance is con¬ 
The 
Rockery at Lamport Hall.—The Quarrymen on Strike ! 
(See page 116.) 
cerned, a mixture of the two varieties is very effective 
when set up on a dish, or in contrast to each other 
separately. Our first trial of yellow Tomatos was 
made this year, the variety grown being Sutton’s 
Golden Queen. The plants were restricted to pot 
culture, and only moderately rich soil used in grow¬ 
ing them. When the fruits began to swell, I applied a 
slight mixture of Thomson’s Vine and Plant Manure 
to the soil, and with the usual routine management 
the result has been a grand crop of fruit, of good size 
and highly spoken of for their quality, which was 
thought superior to Red Perfection of the same 
raisers.— D. MAyrshire. 
Dahlias.—There is no necessity for lifting the 
roots until frost blackens the stems and destroys the 
flowers, but all should be in readines forgetting them 
into safe quarters whenever that event happens. 
Should the autumn remain open many kinds would 
remain gay till the end of the month. 
WHAT IS A HARDY 
PERENNIAL ? 
This question has often been asked and answered 
in various ways, but it is evident, by the action of the 
judges at the recent meeting of the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society at Chiswick, that we are yet a long 
way from an unanimous decision upon the point. 
Botanically, a perennial is described as a plant of 
more than two years' duration. This would, of 
course, include trees and shrubs as well as herbaceous 
plants. One exhibitor was disqualified for having 
a bunch of Lilium auratum in his stand, and another 
(the chairman of the Floral Committee, of all 
men) for having a bunch of flowers of Colchicum 
variegatum, both plants being strictly herbaceous, 
perennial, and°hardy. On the labels attached to 
the plants in question, a 
statement was made that 
they were "not hardy per¬ 
ennials in agarden sense.” 
A bunch of Pentstemons 
in a third exhibit was 
passed over without any 
comment. Now,every gar¬ 
dener knows that Pentste¬ 
mons are very far from 
being hardy even in the 
south of England, that is, 
when we refer to the gar¬ 
den varieties of P. Hart- 
wegi (P. gentianoides), 
which are more tender 
than the unimproved wild 
form. What a hardy per¬ 
ennial might be " in agar¬ 
den sense ” has never 
been properly defined, 
and until that is done 
and practised by some 
authoritative body, mis¬ 
takes will continue to 
be made by the smaller 
local societies. Individual 
opinion differs greatly up¬ 
on the point, and different 
societies look upon the 
matter in very different 
lights. Naturally enough, 
they look to the larger and. 
more authoritative socie¬ 
ties for guidance in cases 
of this kind,and the matter, 
should certainly be settled 
upon a broad basis. There 
is no general understand¬ 
ing amongst gardeners 
even in this country as to 
what should or should not 
be considered a hardy per¬ 
ennial, consequently such 
a definition as “ hardy 
perennials in the garden 
sense” falls to the ground. 
Some gardeners would, 
and do actually include 
shrubs amongst hardyper- 
ennials, and when a sche¬ 
dule is so worded they are 
perfectly correct in doing 
so, whetherthe plants are 
herbaceous or shrubby. 
Judges should also stand 
by the wording offthe schedule, whether the exhibits 
correspond with what they expected or not. An old 
judge recently read the rule very plainly when he said 
that everything which is not actually forbidden by the 
schedule, should be admitted in an exhibit. If the 
words " hardy perennials ” are used, the definition is 
so wide that anything excepting annuals and biennials 
should pass muster as long as the subjects are hardy. 
The word hardy can only apply to given districts for 
certain plants, because the hardiness of different 
subjects is only a thing of degrees, and many things 
which are perfectly hardy in Cornwall or Kent, 
might not be so in Northumberland or Inverness. 
Then again, if the framers of schedules use such 
a wide definition as " hardy perennials,” and wish 
at the same time to limit its application to a narrow 
but undefined group or class of plants, a great deal 
of circumlocution must be used in the wording of 
the schedule which might well be avoided. On the 
