666 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 20, 1904. 
Vine Culture. 
V.—STARTING. 
( Continued from page 614.) 
The period at which a vinery should be started depends 
entirely on when ripe fruit is wanted, and this being known, 
it, will only be necessary to allow sufficient time for healthy 
growth, say, a good five months, and an, approximate date 
can be ascertained. 
Pruning should have been done quite a mouth before start- 
in o- time, and the primary consideration will be to get [the 
house and its occupants' thoroughly cleansed by the plentiful 
employment of hot water and soft soap. 
The reasons for cleanliness are patent to all, and need not 
be enumerated. A\ hen the shell of the house has been, scrubbed 
.—glass : , wood, walls', wires, paths, trellis-boards, hot-water 
pipes, and troughs!, etc.—point the walls with cement, search 
for rat-holes from inside and out, and fill with broken glass, 
and cover with cement, whitewash the walls, repair the glass, 
and fill up' all cracks and holes in woodwork with putty. 
Let the Vine rods have most of the rough bark rubbed off, and 
after being well washed with hot soapy water, putty upf the 
cracks, and dress with a, well-proved insecticide at a strength 
known to be safe, but be not too profuse in its application 
around the buds'. 
Especially in the case of early forcing it will be necessary 
to tie down the rodlsi in such a Avay that the point is below 
greater 1 part, of the rod; this in. order that the sharp' upward 
How of isap', consequent on forcing into untimely growth, 
should be checked and more evenly distributed, thus resulting 
in, the eyes all along the rod breaking more or lesis simulta¬ 
neously. Moist growers, in my opinion, niakei an error in 
choosing a. particular date for starting, and, irrespective of 
weather, close up the house, turn on heat, syringe thei rods, 
and damp heavily. Although it would be difficult for anyone 
to point out the ill results of the error in. the crop, that follows, 
I am nevertheless) convinced that it is a wrong method; for 
no such lesson is found in, the book of Nature, from which our 
practice should by observation be drawn, and it, moreover, 
lacks the extenuating excuses of being necessary or economical. 
The plan should be to lessen the admission, of air for 1 a, few 
weeks beforehand, and on cold nights not to allow the tem¬ 
perature of the house to fall below 40 deg., using a little fire- 
heat if heavy frost renders it necessary. During the first ten 
days of starting, let the minimum, of the house at night, he 45 
deg., and damp. down, once in the middle of the day, or if dull 
and wet do not damp at all. 
A large amount, of moisture should never be tolerated in a 
vinery devoid of heat, for it clings long to the Vines and is 
liable to. be productive of harm. A skilful grower judges' of the 
correctness of the atmosphere of a vinery by his sensei of smell, 
which seldom plays him false. 
The border will need attention, especially in, the case of old 
Vines. It should be lightly forked over, and if roots are not 
found near the surface, take away the soil until they are 
reached, making up for the extraction by the addition of a 
substantial top-dressing. 
The aim of the grower, in the manipulation of ways and 
means directed to successful culture, should bei to have the 
root system of 'the Vine almost as completely under his control 
as are the super-terrene portions', and this, can only be effected 
by affording such top-dressings as will attract to the surface 
in countless! numbers those invaluable fibrous feeding roots. 
The basis of the top-dressing material should consist of good 
fibrous brown, loam cut from an ancient pasture and stacked 
for a.t least three months before use. No grower will, I think 
complain that the loam becomes bereft, of its fibre by a few 
months’ stacking, whilst he must.allow that much of the vegeta¬ 
tion will thereby be stifled. 
The turf should be cut about 3 in. square, and added to it 
should be mortar-rubble, wood ashes, charcoal, some 1-in. bones 
and some recognised Vine manure. Spread on the surface 
evenly, and water well with chilled water. W. It. 
Perennial Phloxes. 
There are not many, comparatively speaking, who grow 
Phloxes of the early-flowering sortsi, viz., those belonging to 
the suffrutioosa. section:, which commences to- bloom in June 
and the reason for this is probably because there is a suffi¬ 
ciency of other blossoms, in the garden about that time, but 
the. more popular section-—-the decussata—have many adher¬ 
ents amongst those who 1 grow herbaceous subjects, and where 
flowers are wanted to brighten a garden in, autumn, when, a 
falling off is apparent in. those that a short time previously 
enhanced the borders', none in our opinion .amongst those of 
a. herbaceous character contribute a greater beauty than do- 
the Phloxes. There isi this also to be said of them, that, 
although, like most other plants 1 , their best qualities obtain 
when they are grown ini good soil, and in, a pure atmosphere, 
it is a fact which one is glad to note, that they bloom with 
remarkable freedom almost within, the environment of a, town, 
and therefore are to be recommended to tboisei whose gardens 
are situated where the best facilities for gardening do not 
■always 1 exist. Like many another old-fashioned blossom, these 
are fast coming to the front again, and I have seen, within the 
last few years a marked interest being displayed in them. 
V bat, Phloxes most like is a mellow loam and a situation cool 
and moist, where the buds are not unduly hurried, and so the 
flowers a,re more perfectly produced. In, an open sunny situa¬ 
tion one is not always able to give them the attention they 
require as regards mulching, and consequently in a spell of 
hot weather, with no means of shading the panicles, the flowers 
languish and are quickly over for 1 want of moisture; often, too, 
is thisi to be: observed in old clumps, the centre shoots being 
too crowded to enable them to. develop properly. 
The value of mulching the plants ought not to be under¬ 
estimated, as, should a period of drought ensue about the time 
of their blooming, it, helps them considerably, and no better 
opportunity than the present could be taken- to proceed with 
the work. Where the plants are in beds by themselves, some 
rotted cow or horse-dung should be spread over the surface, 
and lor the sake of neatness, if desired, a sprinkling of soil 
may folio,w ; this will do much towards improving the quality 
of the flowers, and assist the roots which are now near the 
surface. As, in other things, the best blossoms, are those pro¬ 
duced from plants possessing few shoots, and tins is best 
brought about by dividing the clumps, every two years; but 
for my own part, I would rather increase them by cuttings, 
which may be taken: from the young wood, placed' in pots of 
sandy soil and kept in. a frame; these I.find, although ne¬ 
cessitating more trouble, make the finest clumps. Another 
mode of raising plants is from seed sown in spring, but this is 
not largely practised, and to the one who has only room for 
a limited number either cuttings or division of roots, is, per¬ 
haps, to be preferred. Some of the panicle® are bright in 
colour; some convey a, sense of coolness by their delicate,tints, 
lend an attraction to. the garden, and are a decided acquisition 
wherever flowers are valued for cutting. W. F. 
Caltha data. 
The Marsh Marigolds, with which most, peopleware familiar, 
are spring-flowering subjects', but the above subject coming 
from the Himalayas' blooms, in July in thisi country. The 
specific name means tall, and refers to the unusual height of 
the stems, which vary from 18 in,, to 2-J ft. The leaves are, 
on an average, larger than those of our native species, and 
while similar in shape are more regularly and evenly toothed, 
the teeth being triangular, and black in the upper portion, 
tipped with white. - The stamens have short, orange filaments 
and black anthers. Tire flowers are smaller than, those of the 
European plant, and consist of five orbicular golden-yellow 
sepals. It was sent, to the Royal Gardens, Ivew, from the 
Sakaraupur Botanical Gardens in 1900, and kept flowering 
for the first, half of July on tbe rockery. It is chiefly in¬ 
teresting for tbe height of the flower stems and the late 
period of the- year at which it blooms. 
