270 
TUB GARDENING WORLD. 
starch 26. 1904. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should he 
put as bi is iy as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
a separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
o+ their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped , addressed 
envelope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications are treated m the usual editorial manner . 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World. 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Hampton Court Vine. 
Can you please oblige me with any information regarding the 
large Vine at Hampton Court ? It is, I believe, much infeiioi 
to the one at Kinnell, in Perthshire, of which you have a notice 
in your No. 42, new series. I should like to have the age of 
the Vine at Hampton Court, the amount of glazing which covers 
it, and the average crop. (A. A.) 
The age of the Vine at Hampton Court, according to records, 
would be 129 years. The house is 66ft. long by 30ft, wide, but 
the exact amount of glazing we do not remember, as we have 
not seen the Vine for some years. Some years ago it bore an 
annual crop of 1,700 bunches of Grapes. These were of small 
size, but within recent years the Vine has not appeared so 
vigorous, and the crop was reduced to 1,200 bunches. These 
are more likely to be still further reduced in years to come, 
as we heard it mooted that some attempts were to he made to 
renovate the Vine in the same way as has been done for the 
great Vine at Cumberland Lodge. This later is near Windsor, 
and the number of bunches has been greatly reduced with the 
object of getting larger ones, and in this the cultivator has been 
very successful. Should that method of renovation be applied 
to the Hampton Court Vine the number of bunches will he greatly 
reduced, to the advantage of the remaining bunches and berries. 
The Hampton Court Vine, when we last sarw it, although in good 
health, was very inferior to the Vine at Auchmore, on the Kinnell 
estate, Perthshire. It had not been treated in the same expert 
way as the Kinnell Vine. 
Manuring Rhododendrons. 
We have some very line beds of Rhododendrons in the grounds 
here. My employer has taken it into his head that they require 
some manure. As far as I can see, they are in perfect health and 
flowering splendidly. I am therefore very unwilling to use any 
kind of artificial stimulant without proper advice. I will, there¬ 
fore, take it as a .great favour if you can tell me of anything 
that would likely be of benefit. I may say that from their posi¬ 
tion near the mansion it is not desirable to use farmyard manures, 
so if you know of anything that I could apply that would not 
he unsightly I would be very glad. Expense will be of no* conse¬ 
quence. (C. B.) 
As farmyard manure is about the best stimulant that you can 
give Rhododendrons we think you cannot do- better than apply 
it. We should advise you, however, to employ that which is 
well decayed. Chop it up fine and mix it with a good propor¬ 
tion of leaf soil or peat, and that will have the effect of com¬ 
pletely obscuring the manure. If not fresh, which it should not 
be, it will cause no smell in the neighbourhood of the mansion. 
Usually Rhododendrons root pretty near the surface, and it 
would' Ire difficult to dig in the manure, but by adoptiug the 
above means you can simply use it as a igojod heavy top-dressing, 
and the Rhododendrons will get all the benefit of it without 
any ill effect of fresh manure or digging about their roots. What¬ 
ever you do be careful to use no lime or chalk in the soil, as these 
ingredients are very detrimental to the welfare of Rhododen¬ 
drons. You can mix wood ashes with the top-dressing, and that 
will also be of service, though rather late in the season, as it 
should have been applied at least, by February. 
R.H.S. Examination. 
For the benefit of “ Progress ” and any others whom it may con 
cern, toll you allow me to say that Mr. Colville Browne, nes¬ 
table, Swanley, Kent, prepares candidates for the above? 1 
can personally testify to the excellence of Mr. Browne’s system, 
as I studied under him two years ago, and came out well up in 
the first class. (S. Brown.) 
Aquatics for a Pond. 
I am making a pond 26ft. by 10ft,, with 2ft. larger on the 
top for water in very dry times, and 1ft. deeper, making a total 
depth of 4ft., permanent depth 3ft. after using some. Mould 
you kindly mention two or three hardy Water Lilies for the 
bottom, and how to begin planting them when I receive them 
regarding the depth and pots for them? I have some Arum 
Lilies. Would they be hardy for this?—Also I have mane some 
pits by the sides 1ft. 6in. square, in the concrete, not in the 
permanent water depth. What would look nice in these ? Would 
Arum Lilies foliage die down in autumn as they do in pots? (G. 
Hill.) 
There are now numerous varieties and hybrids of W ater Lilies 
that would be perfectly hardy in your district, or even m mud: 
colder parts. We shall mention a few varieties which you ought 
to get, though there are many others equally fine and easily 
procurable. For instance, you ought to get Nymphae i msrliaceu 
albida (white), N. m. chromatella (primrose), N. m. ignea (bril¬ 
liant rose), N. Robinsoni (violet purple shaded with red), N. 
ellisiana (glowing rose), N. Laydekeri purpurata (blood ci Mson). 
and N. gladstoniana. The latter is notable for the great size 
of its flowers and breadth of its pure white petals. If you inten 1 
growing them in pots they need not be placed deeper :n tiie water 
than 1ft. below the surface during the first year until they get 
strong. After this the surface of the pots should be 2ft. or 3ft. 
below the surface of the water to make the leaves lie flat on the 
surface of the water. After they get strong the laves have a 
tendency to stand upright out of the water, and thus lnde tk< 
flowers when grown in shallow water. Arum Lilies, if placed 
Iff . under the water, would be hardy in your county, but although 
they live out of doors in tliis fashion, we think it would be highly 
advantageous to take them out of the water in the autumn and 
keep them in a greenhouse. Repot them into lich. well-manured 
soil just as they are recommencing to grow. By keeping them 
indoors till the weather becomes fine, hardening them off, and 
then standing them in the pits by the sides of the pond, they 
will bloom much earlier than if they had stood in the water al! 
the year round, and make more vigorous growth. The pit6 will 
afford shelter for the foliage, and also serve to bring the plant- 
more directly under the eye. The Arum Lilies would die down 
in autumn or even earlier, but we think it might be worth youi 
while to try the plan we recommend. Other very good subjects 
for planting in these recesses^would be the Flowering Rush 
(Butomus umbellatue), the yellow Flag (Iris Pscudacorus fol. 
variegatis), the Japanese Arrow Head (Sagittaria variabills, also 
known as S. japonica), the water Hyacinth (Pontederia cordatai)), 
and the giant Spear wort (Ranunculus Lingua). 
Communications Received. 
British Fern.—Trevor.—A. J. Clear.—J. W. J. Win. Jas. 
Ponton.—J. C.—Herb.—C. Blair.—Kewita—F. M. Verrall.— 
J W. M.— Carnations.— H. Ruff.—Walter Smyth.—D. B.—W. T. 
—A. R.— B. J. W.—R. E. S—H. D.—M. W.—T. A, L, 
Trade Catalogues Received. 
Barr and Sons, 11, 12, and 13, King Street, Covent Garden 
London.—Barr’s Hardy Perennials, Alpines, Aquatics, etc.; alsc 
Barr’s Anemones, Begonias, Oannas, Dahlias, Lilies, etc. 
Dicksons, Royal Seed Warehouses, Chester.—Abridged List 
of Select Vegetable and Flower Seeds, Seed Potatos, etc.; alsc 
High-class Fertilisers; and Dicksons’ Guaranteed Farm Seeds. 
CONTENTS OF THIS WEEK. 
PAGE 
Albert Embankment, the 
planting of. 257 
Bertolonia liirsuta marmo- 
.. 257 
Bothy chimney, the. 257 
Bothy, the... 262 
Charlock, destruction of. 251 
Cyanide, the use of . 256 
Cypripediums, hardy . 255 
Dollery, Mr. T. W. 261 
Fruit Growers’ Federation, 
National. 251 
Fruit under glass. 253 
Gardener as a man, the ...... 259 
Gardeners, a national regis¬ 
try for. 261 
Herbst, Mr. Hermann. 268 
Iris sindjarensis. 260 
Kitchen garden, the. 252 
Literary notes . 251 
Lobelia tenuior. 256 
News of the aveek... 268 
PAGI 
Obituu-y. 261 
Orchids, among the. 251 
Parsley . 251 
Plant food, something about 251 
Questions and answers . 27t 
Societies : 
Grass sndale . 26- 
Royal Botanic . 261 
Royal Horticultural......... 26- 
Society and association 
notes . 26( 
Stove and greenhouse, the-, to; 
Success, practical hints to ... 26; 
Trees and shrubs, hardy. -o: 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Bertolonia liirsuta marmo- 
rata. 
Cypripedium Calceolus . -o<- 
Dollery, Mr. T. W.. 261: 
Iris sindjarensis (see Supple* 
ment). 
