634 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
June 6th, 1885. 
Fruit Culture under Glass.— Vines : That 
Vines growing in outside borders, however imperfectly 
drained, suffer more frequently from an insufficiency 
of water at the roots during a dry summer than 
they do from the reverse during a wet one, goes 
without saying, as the fact has been demonstrated 
time after time to the satisfaction of all practical 
fruit-growers whenever a wet summer follows a dry 
one. In the latter case, in many places the leaves 
and bunches present a starved appearance in 
comparison with the large leathery leaves and 
compact well-finished bunches produced by the same 
Vines when the summer happens to be a wet one. 
Bearing this fact in mind, Vines growing in inside, 
and presumedly well-drained borders, should have 
liberal supplies of clear tepid water given at the 
roots every week or ten days, following this with a 
good soaking of tepid liquid manure. The latter we 
frequently obtain at a temperature of 90 degs. direct 
from the manure-tank, which is situate in close 
proximity to the different heaps of manure, by 
watering the freshly-thrown-together masses of 
fermenting stable-yard dung with one of Owen’s 
PatentDouble-barrel Irrigating Engines, and conveying 
the drainage in two-wheel swing-tubs for immediate 
use on the ^ine and Peach borders before the 
temperature has time to go much below the point 
indicated. Vines in outside borders should, in the 
absence of heavy rains, also have attention in this 
direction. 
The pinching of lateral and sub-lateral growths will 
require being done a couple of times a week. In 
order to promote a growing atmosphere in houses in 
which the Grapes are swelling, as much as with a 
view to keeping the leaves free from the attacks of 
red-spider, the surface of the borders, walls, and 
pathways should be well damped over morning and 
afternoon, at closing time, and about mid-day during 
bright sunny weather. Close the houses, except those 
in which the Grapes are ripe or ripening (which 
should have a constant circulation of dry rather than 
humid' fresh air in them), sufficiently early in the 
afternoon to run the temperature up to 85 degs. or 
90 degs., with plenty of atmospheric moisture at the 
same time. The top and bottom ventilators should, 
however, be opened a little late in the evening and 
closed for about an hour and a half the first thing (six 
o’clock) in the morning, when the houses, as indicated 
above, should be damped over with the syringe and 
clear water. In addition to this distribution of 
atmospheric moisture in the houses, the evaporating 
troughs on the hot-water pipes should be kept filled 
with liquid manure. 
During bright sunshiny weather ventilate freely 
between the hours of opening the houses in the 
morning and closing them in the afternoon. Those 
having ripe and ripening Grapes in them should have 
an abundance of air throughout the day, to give 
flavour and finish to the berries. Should red-spider 
attack any of the leaves, wash the latter carefully with 
a sponge and soft-soapy water as soon as the enemy 
puts in an appearance. This, though a somewhat 
tedious way of dealing with this troublesome and 
very destructive pest, is the best and, at the same 
time, the safest way, as regards the condition of the 
Vines, of eradicating it. 
Peaches. —The thinning, stopping, and tying down 
to the trellis of the young shoots should be duly 
attended to, and the trees should have an abundance of 
water at the roots when necessary, and be syringed 
overhead morning and afternoon at closing time. 
In other respects the houses should be treated as 
advised for vineries in their varying stages of growth. 
— H. TF. Ward , Longford Castle. 
Burying Bead Animals in Vine Borders.— 
A difference of opinion on this question has arisen 
here between two parties, and on asking five different 
gardeners for their opinions on the subject, two were 
against the practice and three for it; the latter 
saying, “ send us all the animals you can get, we shall 
be only too pleased to bury them.” One of the three had 
a horse killed last spring and has buried it in his border. 
I do not know what size his borders are, but I believe 
he grows first-class Grapes. I took charge of three 
vineries some years ago, which had then been planted 
only two years. After the Vines had made a little 
growth the leading shoots became sickly and rusty in 
appearance, with the leaves curled. We trained up 
another leader, which was a little better. On ex¬ 
amining the borders, I found some large bones, 
nearly as large as a man’s arm and half as long, which 
had been used in a fresh state, with the flesh adhering 
to them, and the roots were partly dead where they 
came in contact with them. The soil was taken out, 
and fresh compost introduced, with the result that 
the Vines have not shown any more signs of leaf¬ 
curling, and have grown good Grapes since. I may 
state that the borders where renewed in the autumn 
—that of the first house as soon as the crop was 
gathered. The house was kept close and syringed 
well for a week or two after the replanting, and the 
Vines were started again about the 1st of January. 
They broke -weakly, but bore some Grapes, and the 
next year were all that I could desire. The Vines in 
the second house were lifted before any Grapes were 
cut, which I thought at the time a great risk. All the 
roots in the inside borders -were lifted and tied up to 
the Vine stems, well syringed, and covered with mats 
till the fresh soil was got in, which took two daj T s. 
The Grapes kept for a few weeks after, and were none 
the worse for the process.—C. J. 
gj- ^ V) <> crr - 9 — 
Work in the Plant-houses. —Presuming that 
the bedding-plants are now out of the way, many 
plants that are to be grown on for the winter may be 
transferred to the pits and frames. Bouvardias will 
do better in the pits now, and will not be so liable 
to attacks of red-spider while standing on a moist 
cool bottom. 
Cyclamens. —As soon as these are ready for potting 
on into their flowering pots, they should have atten¬ 
tion, and after potting they will do well in a pit where 
a little heat can be given in case we get wet, or dull, 
cold weather. To succeed well with Cyclamens, it is 
essential that they should have plenty of room, and 
be grown where they can get plenty of light and air; 
at the same time they do not like a dry atmosphere. 
Plumbago capensis. —This makes a very pretty pot- 
plant if well managed. Where cuttings have already 
been struck, they should be potted off singly, and be 
kept stopped from time to time until they have made 
bushy plants, and then be allowed to grow on to 
flower. If cuttings have to be qiut in now they should 
be grown on tlwee plants in a pot; cuttings should be 
taken from plants that have just started into fresh 
growth; the young shoots will strike very freely if 
placed where there is a little bottom-heat, and kept 
quite close. Where this plant is used as a climber, it 
is better to grow on a few young plants to take the 
place of those that have outgrown the space, as where 
space is limited young plants will succeed best. 
Chrysanthemums. — Most of these will now be ready 
for potting into their flowering-pots. Where plants 
are grown on for cut-flowers, many growers recommend 
planting out, and taking the plants up in the autumn, 
just before we are likely to get frosty nights. We, 
however, prefer growing the plants in pots, which may 
be sunk into the ground; if done this way a few 
roots will get astray, which will help the plants 
through the growing season, and the plants will not 
suffer much after they are taken up if the watering is 
properly attended to. 
Herbaceous Calceolarias. —These have been 
singularly beautiful this last week or two at Cross¬ 
land Hall, Huddersfield. This flower is a special 
favourite of the able head gardener, Mr. Neill, who 
is, moreover, considered an expert in its cultivation. 
Mr. Neill’s strain is, in fact, considered by gardeners 
in this district to be unsurpassed, comprising, as it 
does, beautiful and varied flowers of excellent form 
and substance, of many shades of colour, exquisitely 
spotted, blotched, and self-coloured. Passing along 
the stage on which are the plants grown for seed, 
we noticed a few especially striking flowers amongst 
the seifs, of several shades of crimson, whilst the 
spotted and blotched kinds are exceedingly fine. The 
trusses of blooms are of good size, and the individual 
flowers large, while in habit the plants are robust, 
dwarf, and compact, and the foliage of good size and 
substance. Most of them are in 5-in. and 6-in. pots, 
but there are some splendidly-grown specimens in 
larger pots in the conservatory, which, with Pelargo¬ 
niums, a splendid example of Clerodendron Balfouri- 
anum, Palms, Tree Ferns, and a host of other things, 
make the house very gay.— B. L., Lindley, Hudders¬ 
field. 
Souvenir de la Malmaison Carnation at 
Tring- Park. —A grand houseful of this beautiful 
flower is just now coming into bloom at Sir Nathaniel 
de Rothschild’s, where some hundreds of sturdy plants 
are well furnished with immense blooms and countless 
buds. Mr. Hill’s successful culture of these plants 
is the only instance of a rival to Mr. Jennings’s great 
display at Mr. Leopold de Rothschild’s (illustrated 
at p. 201) which we have seen. The show house of 
perpetual-blooming Carnations, too, at Tring Park is 
as gay as ever with finely-bloomed plants of most of the 
best kinds, prominent among them being,Prideof Pens- 
hurst, the best bright yellow ; Empress of Germany, 
a large snow-white, with occasional faint red line; 
Miss Jolliffe,' everybody’s favourite, blush ; Mrs. Keen, 
immense velvety crimson ; Valentia, fringed crimson; 
Sir Evelyn Wood, mauve-tinted purple, very much 
inclined to sport into pink, and pink and crimson 
flake, but in every form so beautiful that some would 
fancy one form and some another. The large stock of 
young Carnations for next winter’s blooming are now 
in 4-in. pots in the span frames outside. Soon they 
will be potted into their 8-in. pots for flowering, and 
in September they will be brought into the house. The 
many varieties of Pinks in pots grown by Mr. Hill 
are very handsome, useful, and delightfully fragrant. 
— J. B. 
Marguerites.—I agree with all Mr. H. Dunkin 
says respecting these useful decorative plants, except 
his recommendation to plant them out in rich soil 
Such a practice would, in my opinion, result in an 
abundance of sappy, soft growth, the very reverse of 
what we should desire for winter flowering, viz., 
firm, well-ripened wood. Those who desire a good 
show of Marguerites in the winter should grow their 
plants in pots during the summer, precisely the same 
as Chrysanthemums, and house them at the same 
time with those plants. It has been our practice to 
plant out these plants in beds and borders without 
turning them out of their pots, which in a great 
measure restricts their growth and increases their 
floriferousness. To those who anticipate planting out 
for summer show and who do not care to see their 
plants grow too rampant, I can recommend the plan 
of planting or plunging them in then - pots a few inches 
under the surface.— Beilis. 
-- 
Arbutus Milleri.—We have been favoured by a 
Malvern correspondent, “ J. S. T.,” with a panicle of 
flowers of Miller’s Strawberry-tree, a very ornamental 
shrub, not so common in gardens as Arbutus Unedo, 
but well deserving of wider cultivation. Our corres¬ 
pondent writes :—“ There are upwards of twenty such 
panicles in bloom on our bush at the present time, 
which renders it a very conspicuous object on the 
lawn, and it is greatly admired. The individual 
flowers so much resemble those of the Lily of the 
Valley, that it may aptly be called the Lily of the 
Valley-tree. The bark is of a dark brown colour, and 
very smooth, and is thrown off annually, so that 
once a year it has a new coat. Our bush is about 
8 ft. high and 5 ft. in diameter.” Arbutus Milleri is 
a very handsome shrub, and stated to be a hybrid 
between A. Unedo and A. Audrachne (the parents 
of the beautiful A. hybrids) raised in the Bristol 
Nursery. It forms quite as large a bush or tree as 
A. Unedo, and its white flowers are produced in larger 
panicles than are those of the species named. 
Wistaria sinensis. —The fine plants in the Knap 
Hill Nursery which have been allowed to climb 
naturally amongst some of the large trees are now a 
glorious sight, as also are the Azaleas and Rhododen¬ 
drons. They should be seen at once,— V. 
