122 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
Oct. 25th, 1884. 
The Early Forcing cf Vines. —Vines from 
which ripe Grapes are expected to be cut at the 
end of April or early in May next should now be 
pruned back to a good plump bud, as close to the 
main stem as it can be obtained, taking care that 
the half-inch of wood left beyond the bud is not split 
in so doing. The wounds should afterwards be 
dressed with Thomson’s Vine Styptic to prevent 
them from bleeding, and the house be thoroughly 
cleansed by having the wood-work and glass washed 
—the former with soft soap and warm water, the 
latter with clear water only—and the brickwork and 
plaster washed with hot lime having a couple of 
handfuls of sulphur stirred into it. The Vine canes 
should then have any loose bark that may happen to 
be on them rubbed off with the hand, and afterwards 
be well washed with a solution consisting of about 
4 ozs. of Gishurst’s compound, the same quantity of 
flowers of sulphur, and 2 ozs. of soft soap dissolved 
in a gallon of warm water. This, having been well 
mixed, should be applied to the Vines with a stiff 
brush, and be well rubbed into the crevices about 
the spurs as the work proceeds, so as to destroy any 
red spider or 6ther insects that may happen to be 
located there, but be careful, however, not to injure 
the buds in doing so. The Vines being thus cleansed, 
should be tied horizontally to the wires over the front 
pipes until they begin to burst their buds, when they 
must be untied and trained up under the roof in the 
ordinary way, care being taken not to damage the 
buds in the operation. 
The surface of the border will next require attention. 
This should be pricked over with a four or five-pronged 
fork, but not deep enough to injure the roots, which, 
if in a satisfactory condition, will form a network a 
couple of inches under the surface. Then, if neces¬ 
sary, lay on a couple of inches thick of suitable soil, 
consisting, say, of three parts of calcareous loam and 
one of lime-rubble, as a top-dressing, and cover the 
same afterwards with a like thickness of horse- 
droppings. Subsequently give the whole a good 
soaking of tepid water, which, with after applications, 
will wash the substance of the droppings down to the 
roots; the application of the former, moreover, will 
be the means of conserving the heat and moisture in 
the border. 
Should the border that we have thus far been 
treating of be an outside one, short rotten dung 
might be substituted for horse-droppings, and over 
this 18 ins. to 20 ins. thick of fermenting manure, 
and leaves (about three parts of the latter to one of 
the former) should be laid on. This, by heating the 
surface of the border, will have the effect of attracting 
the roots thither, and in the top dressing and mulching 
they will form a network of feeders. This bed of 
dung and leaves should, according to circumstances, 
be freshened up once or twice during the interval 
from the middle of November to the middle of 
February by removing a portion of the old and 
replacing it with fresh fermenting materials. About 
the middle of April, when the sun is gaining in power, 
half the thickness of this outside-border covering 
should be removed, and the other half a month 
later, by which time the Vines will have perfected 
their crop. 
As soon as the internal arrangements of the house 
have been completed the ventilators should be kept 
closed at night, and the process of forcing be com¬ 
menced in the first or second week in November by 
applying sufficient fire-heat to maintain a night 
temperature of 50 degs., and 55 degs. to 60 degs. by 
day, running up 10 degs. higher with sun-heat. With 
these temperatures and syringing with tepid water 
two or three times daily—more or less frequently 
according to circumstances—the Vines will soon 
show signs of bursting their buds, and as soon as it 
can be seen that there are two shoots starting from 
one eye or spur, the weakest should be rubbed off 
forthwith, and the syringing of the Vine rods be 
discontinued. 
Moisture, however, should be carefully distri¬ 
buted in the house both mornings and afternoons 
in sufficient quantities to maintain a humid rather 
than an arid atmosphere. As soon as the bunches 
appear the heat should be increased to the extent 
of 5 degs. at night, and the same during the day, 
raising the day and night temperatures 5 degs. more 
when the shoots have attained to a length of three 
or four inches, and from this stage of growth gradu¬ 
ally upwards until it reaches 65 degs. at night, when 
the Grapes are in flower, 70 degs. by day, running the 
temperature up to 80 degs. with sun-heat. While the 
Grapes are in this interesting stage of growth a rather 
dry atmosphere should be aimed at, and the rods be 
tapped two or three times a day with the hand to 
distribute the pollen with a view to securing a good 
set. 
As soon as the bunches show, all but one on each 
shoot should be relnoved, and after those left have 
set their fruit the number should be reduced to 
seven or eight bunches on each rod, leaving more 
or less according to the length and strength of the 
individual Vines; of course the largest and best 
shaped bunches should be left, and these as equally 
distributed over the rods as possible. The shoots 
should be stopped a couple of joints beyond the 
bunches, and all sub-laterals be removed at the first 
joint. Those which may afterwards be produced 
should be pinched close back, as the foliage thus 
produced will be sufficient to perfect the crop, and 
be as much as can be properly exposed to the 
influence of light, assuming the main stems of the 
Vines to be 3 ft. apart. As soon as the Grapes have 
set, the syringe should be made use of again in 
damping the surface of the border, walls, and path, 
morning and afternoon on bright days, so as to 
maintain a genial, but not too moist, atmosphere, 
until the berries begin colouring, when it should be 
gradually reduced to a minimum, and air be admitted 
to the house more liberally as the crop approaches 
maturity, to give finish as well as flavour to the 
Grapes. 
The process of thinning the bunches should be 
proceeded with as soon as the berries are set, so 
that there may be no needless exhaustion of the 
Vine’s energies in swelling berries, and bunches too, 
which have to be removed a few weeks later, as is the 
case when the operation of thinning is deferred to a 
more convenient time. In thinning the bunches, 
the crown berries should be left, and at rather 
more than one inch apart, care being taken not to 
injure those left by touching them with the hand or 
scissors. 
The border having had a good soaking before the 
Vines were started, ought not, under ordinary circum¬ 
stances, to require water again until after the Grapes 
are set, and about twice between then and the 
colouring period. But the condition of the weather, 
formation of the border (including the drainage), and 
strength of the Vines and the stages of growth 
at which they have arrived, must guide the appli¬ 
cation of water, to the Vine border, as well as the 
distribution of atmospheric moisture in the house.— 
H. W. IF. 
Late Peaches. —A question is asked, in last week’s 
issue, “As compared with a respectable Pear, how 
stands the merits of an October Peach?” in reply to 
which I should say that much depends on the season 
and the kind of Peach grown. This year, as everyone 
knows, we have had quite summer weather all 
through the autumn, and the result has been that 
the fruit of Walburton Admirable was richly coloured, 
and almost, if not quite, as good flavoured as Noblesse, 
which is high praise, as that sterling variety is the 
standard of excellence among Peaches, and Walburton 
Admirable is its twin brother, and only wants the 
same amount of sun and warmth to make it as rich 
in the juice. Lord Palmerston, Prince, and Princess 
of Wales are apparently all seedlings from it, but, 
except in size and appearance, neither are equal to 
the Walburton; and as to Salway, that is but an 
apology for a Peach, and is only grown on account of 
its lateness, as when under glass it is but little better 
than it is ripened out-of-doors. Late Admirable is 
perhaps larger, and carries more colour than the 
Walburton, but it is not so good, and therefore as 
matters stand, I would advise all who want fine late 
Peaches to plant the Walburton Admirable, and to 
give the trees a south wall, that they may have the 
full benefit of all the sun we get at the time the fruit 
comes into use, as it is only the solar rays that can 
give it high flavour.— Alpha. 
Autu m n Propagation of Dahlias,— Whether 
or no the plan will apply to double Dahlias that it 
may be thought desirable to propagate rapidly, at 
least it is certain the single kinds will strike readily 
from cuttings of small side shoots taken off and put 
into gentle heat in September; indeed they seem as 
if they will root freely enough without heat. This 
fact opens up the wider one as to the possibility of 
having autumn struck plants established in pits to 
bloom in temperate houses during the winter and 
early spring. In any case it is evident that any 
seedling form may in the autumn of its first year 
be thus substantially propagated without waiting for 
the usual spring propagation from young shoots. The 
Dahlia is treated as an herbaceous plant because it 
will not live through our winters. Outdoor and old 
plants will not answer to lift into big pots. If we 
can propagate them with Pelargoniums in the 
autumn, however, there is no reason wiry we may 
not class the Dahlia with greenhouse perennials. 
Sehizostylis coccinea _I was glad to see the 
Schizostylis coccinea so favourably noticed at p. 101 
as it deserves all the good that is said of it, for a 
brighter coloured, more hardy and useful plant for 
winter does not exist, and yet it is not grown half so 
much as it should be. For cutting and the decoration 
of greenhouses it is quite unrivalled, as all through the 
winter it keeps on sending up its spikes of Gladiolus¬ 
like flowers in the greatest profusion, which open and 
last well in water. We pot ours very early in the 
spring, after shaking them out and dividing them, 
when we give them light rich soil and keep them close 
for a time in a cold frame to give them a start, after 
W'hich they are plunged out in the open. The best 
plants, however, which we get are those from seed 
raised by sowing in heat during March, as they grow 
very strong and have long flag-like leaves and crowns, 
much like some of the smaller Gladiolus. As both 
belong to the order Iridacea, I have tried several times 
to cross them, but without success; and that is how 
and why I began with the seedlings, a lot of which I 
now have just showing for bloom.— Alpha. 
Large Lily Bulbs. —W T e have had our attention 
called to the fact that Messrs. Collins Brothers & 
Gabriel are not the sole possessors of large home¬ 
grown bulbs of Lilium auratum as noted at p. 91. 
Messrs. Watkins & Simpson, of Exeter Street, Strand, 
also possess a fine sample of these monster bulbs; 
averaging over 1 lb. each in weight,.some of them 
turning the scale at 1 lb. 5 ozs., and 1 lb. 6 ozs. Large, 
perfectly sound and well-formed as these bulbs are, 
they should give something out of the common in 
the way of flowers next season. 
Lilium longiflorum. —We note the fact, as 
being one of much interest to Lily growers, that the 
home-grown bulbs of this Lily, obtained from the 
same source as the L. auratums above alluded to, are 
double the size of those obtained from Holland, a 
circumstance that we should scarcely have credited 
had we not seen the specimens in the possession of 
Messrs. Watkins & Simpson. While on the subject 
of L. longiflorum, we may mention that the same firm 
who introduced Lilium Harrisii three years ago, have 
again imported a considerable number of bulbs, the 
variety finding much favour among market-growers 
for forcing. It is not recommended as a hardy Lily 
for outdoor cultivation, but for greenhouse cultivation 
or forcing, it is better than L. longiflorum, being 
dwarfer, and producing flowers that are more reflexed 
than those of the latter. It is no doubt a well selected 
variety of L. longiflorum, and sufficiently distinct for 
garden purposes. 
Impatiens Sultard. —Although the Impatiens 
Sultani is a very floriferous plant, as most Balsams 
are, I do not at all think it will be of any use for 
winter work unless it can be grown close up to the 
glass in a very light house, as, being of a succulent 
