722 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 10, 1904. 
Vine Culture. 
VI.—Early Stages of Growth. 
(Continued from page 666.) 
After allowing a minimum, temperature of 15 deg. for about 
a fortnight, let it be increased to 50 deg. by night and 55 deg. 
by day. The temperature may remain at this figure until the 
buds have well plumped up 1 and are on the. point of bursting, 
when it may be further increased by 5 deg. Continue to damp 
the border freely, and syringe daily. In. a tight-fitting house 
less syringing will be required than in one abounding in aper¬ 
tures through which thei moisture escapes and the outside diy 
air enters. I have known some excellent. Grapesi which would 
do. credit to any grower produced from Vines which weie 
syringed but once a day, viz., the afternoon, damping-down 
being thoroughly performed at the .same time, and then only 
■—but co-existent with that method wasi great danger of scald- 
in 0, if some air was not admitted to the house asi soon as : the 
sun. struck upon it. For this reason also; I would especially 
advise that in a tight house the evaporating- pans be not usied 
when the first leaves are shown. 
Secure the rods when it is seen, that an even break has taken 
place, and remove superfluous shoots at each spur, leaving 
only the strongest and most promising. There: is; little advan¬ 
tage and much waste of energy in allowing several growths at 
a spur to grow to a. great length before removal. Where there 
are vacancies; ini an old Vine, it is often an advantage to allow 
two- growths at a spur, taking on© to fill up the gap and the 
other to take its appointed place; but be it remembered that 
in good cultivation the necessity of such a. course is to a great 
extent done away with. 
Before the points of the growths reach the glass they should 
be tied down, but in this operation especial care is needed, for 
if they are drawn all the way down at once they will inevitably 
break at the; junction with the old wood, and this, besides de¬ 
priving the grower of a useful shoot during that year, will also 
spoil the spur for the next season. Draw the shoot slightly at 
first, and having tied it, leave it for a day or two, when it 
may be; brought still lower. Muscats especially are very 
troublesome in this respect. Use thei syringe less: forcibly on 
such occasions, as this often causes otherwise sound growths 
to snap.. 
The next important consideration is the stopping of the 
laterals 1 , as they are termed. Ini this no. hard or fast rules can 
be laid down;, for the work is largely governed by the require¬ 
ments of the health of the Vine and other local circumstances. 
The general laws of Vine culture will not make a man a suc¬ 
cessful grower unless he-' brings intelligence to bear on the 
subject as to the way he. directs them to suit local require¬ 
ments. It is a usual plan; to(pinch the point of the shoot when 
two leaves- are formed above the bunch, but if there be suffi¬ 
cient space for their development there is every reason in 
theory and practice to believe that three or four leaves beyond 
the bunch may with benefit remain,. At each leaf a sub-lateral 
will spring. Those below the bunch may be entirely removed, 
whilst those beyond should be stopped beyond the first leaf. 
It. should -be remembered that the production of large, dark- 
coloured substantial and leathery foliage goes a long way 
towards ensuring a good crop 1 of Grapes, and these primary 
leaves should be, jealously guarded from injury by scalding, red 
spider, etc. 
Scalding of these leaves in their young stages, or, indeed, at 
any time, will do- irreparable injury, and it is only by early 
attention to the ventilators that thei danger can be thwarted. 
The slightest crack of air on the top; of the; house will allow 
the escape of the rising moisture and thus 1 prevent scalding, 
and if it is feared that this cannot be put on sufficiently early 
in the morning, then by all means leave it on all night. The 
berries are also subject to the same danger, the- most critical 
time for them in this respect being the stoning period. 
Furcraea longaeva. 
The flowering of the above plant is by no means of common 
occurrence ini this country, and few can give it, house room 
outside botanical gardens. Still, it is too tender to leave out 
of doors unprotected, except in the more favoured parts of 
the south and west of England and the islands round the 
southern, coast. The specimen exhibited by Dorrien Smith, 
Esq., Tresco Abbey, Scilly, at the Holland House exhibition 
of the B.H.S., attracted the attention of a large number of 
visitors, owing to its unusual appearance as an exhibition 
plant. Those who saw it for the first time, with its drooping 
leaves and flower branches, were of opinion that the plant 
was; flagging, but we have reason 1 to believe that this isi the 
natural habit of the plant when it reaches the flowering stage. 
A very similar plant to that exhibited at Holland House 
flowered at, Springlands, near Blenheim, New Zealand, in the 
garden of John Connolly, Esq. The New Zealand plant was 
a finer specimen, however, as it stood 27 ft,, high. This gentle¬ 
man received it as a vonng specimen from the Botanical 
Gardens, Wellington, and the plant was photographed when 
it bloomed. The photograph was exhibited at the meeting 
of the New Zealand Institute on November 25th, 1895. The 
Furcraea;, after it has. once flowered and perfected the seeds, 
has completed its mission and dies. 
{To be continued.) 
