January 2, 1904. 
THE HARDENING WORLD. 
15' 
those that are too rank, taking those that are sturdy and 
short-jointed. Sucker cuttings, as a, rule, make the best 
plants, as those that come from the stems usually show pre- 
maturei biuds. Some varieties, however, are very shy in pro¬ 
ducing suckers, and where this occurs, of course, resource must 
be had to the stem cuttings. Use a sharp knife in making, 
and cut straight across just below a. joint; 2 in. or 3 in. will 
be found long enough. A blunt-pointed dibber is best for 
inserting with, and make sure that the base of the cutting 
touches the soil. One variety should be done at a. time and 
carefully labelled. When the cuttings are in, give a good 
watering with a tine rose can, and place them, as soon as 
finished, where it is decided to strike them. 
A shallow frame is a very good place, and some finely-sifted 
coal ashes should be spread on the bottom to, the depth of 
1 in. Stand the pots level, and keep the frame at a tem¬ 
perature of 45 deg. or 50 deg., until they are rooted, when 
air should be carefully admitted on favourable occasions. 
Cold draughts should be especially avoided. Shade the plants 
from bright sunshine until rooted, as this will make them 
flag. Some growers strike their plants in a hand-light placed 
on the stages in a cool house. Tins plan has much to re¬ 
commend it, as when it is necessary to examine the plants for 14 
water, etc., they are not so liable to be hurt by cold, cutting 
winds, as when, placed in a frame, especially so if it be in an 
exposed position. 
Admit air sparingly as the cuttings show signs of growth, 
and a reserve frame should, if possible, be near the pro¬ 
pagating frame toi place those in that are rooted. Some 
varieties root much, faster than others, and will need shifting 
sooner, soi that the cutting-frame may be kept close. Give 
the plants more: room a,si growth continues, as, if crowded 
at all during this stage, they are liable to damp off. I might 
say that where thumb pots are not used and the cuttings 
struck singly, three or four may be placed round the edges 
of a, 60-sized pot. Many would, perhaps, prefer this, but great 
care must be taken when potting off not to break the young 
roots. This is where the advantage comes in using thumbs 
and striking one cutting by itself. R- Thatcher. 
Wistow Gardens, Leicester. 
Notes on the Keeping of Grapes. 
Much has been written anent this subject, some contending 
that it is necessary to have their roots inside, and others be- 
lieving in covering the borders to keep off 'the rain. In fact, 
some consider it necessary to. go to much expense with the roots, 
but where this is done I could see no advantage from the outlay. 
After a summer like, the past., one may have expected them 
to hang badly, and this, especially in our own garden, .seeing 
our situation is low and damp. This isi not. so, and we have 
never had them keep* better, and now, at the end of December, 
Alicante®, Downes, Lady Hutt, and some black Hamburghs are 
in capital condition, having lost but. few berries. Out of nearly 
100 bunches there is scarcely a ragged one. These will be cut 
and bottled early in the new year. We make a point to select 
bunches from \ lb. to \\ lb., according bo the sort. These are 
all hanging in one house. The Hamburghs were ripe early 
in September; the late kinds a month later. From these 
we generally have a supply till early in April. 
Regarding the roots, these are outside; the border has a 
sharp pitch, and never receives the least covering or protection, 
except, a mulching of long dung at the commencement of the 
spring. The Vines are started early into growth and brought 
on slowly, giving fire heat all through the season. This is 
the secret of their hanging, thoroughly ripened. The house 
is heated by a flue. * J. C., F., Chard. 
Tomato Culture in the South of England. —According to 
Mr. Morgan in the Nineteenth Century, the home output of forced 
Tomatos annually is between 12,500 and 15,000 tons, or 28,000,000 
lbs. The imports of Tomatos from abroad were 833,000 cwt. in 
1900. and 783,000 cwt. in 1902. 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 
Concerning Chrysanthemums. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
With reference to the remarks of your correspondents on 
page 1049 concerning Chrysanthemums, I may state that I do 
not allow myself to be carried away with the impression that 
the moneyed amateur is the only class of unprofessional culti¬ 
vator who can hope to grow Chrysanthemums successfully, as. 
I know from personal experience that very creditable examples 
can be produced without the aid and assistance of a greenhouse 
at all. During two summers in succession I grew a few plants 
merely by way of experiment, which were simply taken into a 
wooden shed at night, instead of the greenhouse, and, of course, 
they were always brought outside again in the morning, so 
that they gained advantage of the light and sunshine, and the 
blooms which they produced at Christmas were really surpris¬ 
ing. The achievements of that class of .amateur to whom cor¬ 
respondent “ Cal ” refers are never very much in evidence at 
any of the autumn exhibitions', so therefore I fancy it must be 
at some local shows in some rural districts, where professional 
gardeners are not very numerous, that the professional gets 
such a shameful walloping. 
In response to the interrogative paragraph of your Aberdeen¬ 
shire correspondent, I unostentatiously affirm that the varieties 
which he names are all high-class, up-to-date kinds, neither of 
them being of the easiest culture. The fastidious nature of 
Florence Molyneux is no secret to expert enthusiasts,and indeed 
it baffles the efforts of a good many skilful gardeners to produce 
a satisfactory bloom of this variety; hence the reason why it 
is so seldom seen in fine condition at many of the autumn exhi¬ 
bitions. Cuttings ought to be struck in November or Decem¬ 
ber, and the plants stopped in February, and the “ first ” crown 
buds taken ; otherwise the blooms will not be of a high order 
of merit. Indeed, some growers recommend blooming it on 
the “ break ” bud, which they affirm develops very freely. I 
have no recollection of having stated that Madam Cadbury, 
Mrs. Weeks, Donald McLeod, and numerous, similar varieties 
coming within the same category ought to be stopped during 
the first week of June. I opine an exhibition in February had 
been anticipated when these notes were taken. 
In growing for the. autumn exhibitions, “ G. 13." asks if I 
should be in favour of stopping these varieties during the first 
week of June; and my answer is “No,” most, emphatically 
“ No.” If “ G. 13.” in Aberdeenshire does not have his plants 
of these varieties sufficiently advanced and stopped during the 
first week of April—not June—then I would have no. hesitation 
in asserting that his chances of gaining first honours at the 
autumn exhibitions would be remote indeed. 
My suggestions with regard to timing the amateurs were 
ominous and wild; nevertheless, each synchronises pretty 
closely with the periods chosen by a certain class of the com¬ 
munity, and Aberdeenshire is no exception to this rule. In 
reading the paragraph in question, “ G. B.” acknowledges he 
was struck with the conviction that I, in common with a 
number of potflring nobodies of his intimate connection and 
acquaintance, pinch my plants indiscriminately, and have them 
flowering irregularly from October till January. I have yet to, 
learn if there is anything flaunting and dishonourable in this 
indiscriminate procedure and flagrant, annihilation of Chrysan¬ 
themum floral laws. 
Judging from the nature of “ G. B.’si ” interrogatory commu¬ 
nication, he must bean exhibitor, so therefore in that, capacity 
I beg respectfully to direct his attention to the problems being 
expounded on Chrysanthemums on page 1040, and at no distant 
date we shall probably know all about them. Meanwhile, 
I rest with the assurance that, the most skilful and successful 
Chrysanthemum growers in the south, with all the advantages 
of a milder climate and brighter sunshine, do. not make any 
attempt to lay down hard-and-fast lines, whereby the stopping 
of certain varieties on any given date from February onwards 
would ensure the unfolding of a massive, high-coloured bloom 
on any fixed day in November, because the variable charac¬ 
teristics of the individual varieties render this 1 practically im- 
