Februiry 20, igog. 
THE QARDENINQ WORLD. 
with these loose fringes or strips of bark. 
The operation is not a difficult one for 
those engaged in gardening. 
The joints or spurs from which the 
laterals arise would be a little more 
troublesome, but one can with a blunt 
knife readily scrape off all loose pieces 
without injuring the inner bark. Par¬ 
ticular care should be exercised not to in¬ 
jure the dormant or resting buds on this 
spur. Nothing should be scraped off the 
buds. 
The next operation is shown in Fig. 5, 
where a rod has been taken down to be 
within easy reach of the operator stand¬ 
ing on the border. . It will be noticed that 
the Vine is looped up loosely to the wires 
by means of two pieces of’ twine which 
prevent the rod from falling down too far 
or in getting broken in this unnatural 
position. The gardener is now supposed 
to be dressing the A ine itself in order to 
destroy any insect eggs which may have 
escaped the previous rubbing and scrap¬ 
ing. 
Opinions differ greatly as to what 
should be used for dressing. Many old 
gardeners were fond of using a mixture 
of lime, clay, soft soap,, sulphur and pos¬ 
sibly other ingredients in water so as to 
make a rather thick paint with which to 
paint the A ines. Good growers avoid 
that old-fashioned remedy, and employ 
some simpler wash which may consist 
entirely of soft soap and sulphur or Gis- 
hurst compound, using a fairly strong 
solution of it, so that it may act upon anv 
insects or eggs that may still be present. 
This, instead of being in the form of a 
paint, should be merelv rather a thick 
creamy liquid, somewhat like milk. A 
half worn brush should be used, and with 
this every crack and corner of the rod can 
be reached. A\ hile the buds at the spurs 
may be washed over, the operator should, 
of course, avoid injury to the buds by 
pressing too hard upon them. 
After the rods have all been washed in 
this way, a good plan is to take them all 
down horizontally and lay in regular order 
overlapping one another in a horizontal 
position. Here they are left until they 
Pig- 3. Wlnle-washing the back wall of 
he vi nery. 
have started into fresh growth. When 
bent down in this fashion the buds start 
more regularly all along the whole length 
of the rod. They should, of course, be 
lifted up and tied in their proper posi¬ 
tions one by one before the lateral shoots 
have attained any length or there is anv 
danger of them being broken in the opera¬ 
tion. In the meantime, after the rods 
have been tied down horizontally, the 
border should have a few inches of the 
top soil taken off to carry away any in¬ 
sects, or their eggs, which may have 
fallen upon it during the operation of 
cleaning. The border should then be 
top dressed with some fresh soil cont'aining 
some well-rotted cow manure, or else an 
application of some artificial manure, 
such as ground bones or super-phosphate 
of lime and kainit. Usually, however, 
there are many good preparations of 
manures suitable for Vines as our adver¬ 
tising pages will indicate. 
Shropshire H.S. 
In connection with the Shropshire Hor¬ 
ticultural Society's 35th great annual 
floral fete, to be held in the Quarry, 
Shrewsbury, on August iSth and 19th, 
over ;£i>ooo is offered in cash prizes, in 
addition to a 25-guinea silver Challenge 
Vase for the best display of fruit, Silver 
cups, gold and silver medals and other 
valuable prizes. The schedule of prizes 
of this important horticultural event may 
now be obtained from the hon. secre¬ 
taries, Messrs. Adnitt and Naunton, The 
Square, Shrewsbury. 
“ Murray’s Bubble Fountain.” 
In the seed catalogue of Messrs. James 
Murray and Son, Deptford, are particu¬ 
lars of a novelty styled “Murray’s Bubble 
Fountain,” of which they are the paten¬ 
tees. “These fountains,” it is stated, 
“ can be constructed to form and discharge 
up to 20,000 bubbles per minute. If the 
atmosphere be calm, the bubbles, being 
inflated rvith gas, rise in a huge column 
in the air and form a very imposing and 
beautiful spectacle.” They comprise a 
charming series of tints and colours, and 
a most fairy-1 ike effect can be. produced 
at night time with artificial illumination. 
Fig- 5- Washing a Vine rod. 
Grafting the Lilac on the Privet. 
It appears thaf there has been some dis¬ 
cussion in a German gardening paper 
with regard to the advantage, or other¬ 
wise, of grafting the Lilac upon the .stems 
or roots of the Privet. This is often 
done in France. It has been found, how¬ 
ever, that when grafted on the Privet it is 
not so useful for forcing purposes. , The 
stem at the point of the union is liable 
to break away when put under these con¬ 
ditions. This appears to be the only ob¬ 
jection made against the multiplication 
or increase of fine varieties of the Lilac 
in this particular way. In this country 
fine varieties of the Lilac are usually- 
layered to increase them so that the plants 
can be used for forcing or for planting in 
the shrubbery. 
- *++ - 
Which are the Best Lettuces? 
Having to supply a large number of 
Lettuces for as long a season as possible, 
and these having -to be of the very -best 
quality and always blanched, I have been 
compelled to experiment, for a number 
of years, with most of the best sorts 
offered by- different seed merchants, and 
have at last got what I want. As all 
Lettuces, when sent to table here, must 
be perfectly blanched, I have practically 
given up the cultivation of the Cos varie¬ 
ties, as they- usually bolt before being 
quite fit for use. Among the numerous 
Cabbage varieties I now grow only about 
four sorts, and these having proved e»- 
c-ellent during several seasons, I intend 
to stick to them for some time. 
My favourite is the American sort, 
named New \ork Giant. This gives extra 
large, tender heads, that do not readily 
bolt. The flavour is first rate. Carters’ 
Holborn Standard, a smaller Lettuce and 
entirely distinct, is also a great favourite 
here. Nearly every head is fit for use. 
Dickson's Pearl is another fine sort, - and 
is quite distinct from the other two above 
named, while Sutton's Standwell is very 
appropriately named and is really a fine 
variety. These are the four best varieties 
grown here, while Iceberg is also worth 
attention, but seems best in a cool season. 
C. Blair, 
Preston House, Linlithgow. 
