300 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  26,  1886. 
MODERN  GRAPE  GROWING— THINNING. 
(^Continued  from  jyage  222^ 
In  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  for  December  27tb,  1883,  the  follow¬ 
ing  appears  from  my  pen,  which  is  an  abstract  from  my  diary,  and 
relates  to  a  house  of  Black  Hamburgh  closed  cn  the  previous  New  Year’s 
Day.  Under  date  of  March  28th  we  read,  '•  This  is  the  tenth  day  since 
the  first  flower  opened,  and  thinning  is  commenced.  Some  berries  on 
the  most  forward  bunches  already  measure  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch 
in  diameter and  on  the  Slst,  ‘‘A  few  of  the  most  forward  bunches  are 
thinned  each  day.  Some  berries  on  two  or  three  of  them  measure  a 
quarter  inch  through,  and  this  is  only  the  thirteenth  day  since  the  first 
flower  opened.  Think  of  this,  you  who  allow  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks 
to  pass  before  commencing  thinning,  and  judge  how  much  you  lose  in 
size  of  berry.  One  point  lost  now  means  many  lost  by  the  time  the  fruit 
is  fully  grown.”  On  April  4th  it  is  stated,  “  The  berries  now  measure 
three-eighths  of  an  inch,”  and  on  April  6th  "The  berries  continue  to 
swell  at  the  rate  of  one-thirty-second  part  of  an  inch  in  twenty-four 
hours,  and  now  measure  seven-sixteenths  in  diameter .  The 
measurements  of  the  berries  till  the  stones  hardened  were  taken  by 
cutting  through  the  centre,  and  placing  a  thin  steel  rule  across.  When 
the  stones  hardened  the  measurements  were  taken  with  callipers.” 
Many  other  measurements  were  taken  daring  the  season,  but  they  were 
not  published,  and  unfortunately  I  cannot  now  lay  my  hands  on  them, 
but  sufficient  has  been  said  to  show  the  absolute  necessity  of  thinning 
as  early  as  possible. 
The  modus  ojurandiis  thus  described  in  my  former  treatise  published 
in  ihQ  Journal  of  Horticulture  during  1882.  "All  the  small  berries  and 
unfertilised  flowers  are  removed  first  from  a  hunch  ;  next  the  remaining 
berries,  if  they  are  so  close  that  the  thick  end  of  a  pencil  cannot  be 
pushed  in  between  them,  are  thinned  out  sufficient  for  that,  and  the 
whole  crop  is  examined  in  this  way,  by  which  time  it  can  be  seen  which 
are  likely  to  be  the  best  berries,  and  the  regular  thinning  is  commenced 
in  earnest.  Preference  is  always  given  to  the  upper  berries  on  a 
branchlet,  and  of  those  on  the  top  of  a  bunch  nearly  all  are  left ;  others 
are  thinned  so  that  they  average  about  half  an  inch  from  berry ^o  berry. 
"  It  is  not  a  good  plan,  however,  to  insist  on  their  being  all  at  regular 
distances  apart.  The  best  berries  should  be  chosen,  and  if  sometimes 
there  should  be  an  inch  of  space  and  then  two  or  three  berries  closer 
together,  they  will  as  they  grow  generally  push  one  another  into  their 
proper  places.  I  find  that  with  young  hands  there  is  a  great  anxiety  to 
have  the  berries  regularly  placed  on  every  bunch,  and  to  secure  this 
many  berries  are  left  which  are  not  likely  to  swell  to  the  largest 
size.  The  bunches  I  thin  myself  often  look  very  imperfect  at 
first,  but  they  alter  before  the  season  is  over.  The  thinning  of  the 
late  Grapes  comes  next  to  the  Hamburghs,  that  of  the  Muscats  being  left 
to  the  last,  and  1  do  not  think  there  is  any  advantage  in  thinning  them 
till  they  reach  the  size  of  a  Pea.  Large  bunches  of  all  varieties  are  tied 
out  in  preference  to  cutting  them  down  to  half  their  size. 
“After  all  have  been  thinned  once  they  will  require  looking  over 
again,  and  nothing  but  practice  will  teach  exactly  how  much  to  thin 
them,  as  some  Vines  will  make  much  longer  berry-stalks  or  larger 
shoulders  than  others,  and  of  course  the  longer  the  footstalks  the  lp^8 
need  of  thinning.  Late  Grapes  which  have  to  be  kept  till  the  following 
spring  are  thinned  considerably  more  than  those  which  are  to  be  used 
in  the  autumn,  but  no  bunch  should  ever  be  so  much  thinned  that  when 
it  is  cut  and  laid  on  one  side  the  berries  will  roll  out  of  their  places.” 
This  was  written  thirteen  years  ago,  and  as  I  cannot  now  improve  on 
it  I  have  copied  it  rerhatim.  I  had  not  then  had  any  practice  with 
those  large-berried  varieties  now  so  popular,  Gros  Colman  and  Gros 
Maroc,  the  former  of  which  especially  needs  a  great  deal  of  experience 
and  a  considerable  amount  of  nerve  to  thin  properly  in  its  early  stages, 
and  as  the  berries  are  expected  to  reach  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter 
and  the  stems  are  not  so  accommodating  as  some  other  varieties,  it  is 
plain  that  all  parts  of  the  bunch,  including  the  tops  of  the  shoulders, 
must  be  thinned  severely.  But  still  the  thinning,  when  one  has  learned 
to  be  an  adept  at  it,  is  an  easy  matter.  The  berries  generally  all  set 
nearly  about  the  same  time,  and  there  is  no  dirt  or  dead  flowers  hanging 
about  them.  You  need  not  be  afraid  to  cut  two-thirds  of  them  out  at 
the  first  operation,  and  instead  of  being  tedious  work,  as  many  people 
say  it  is,  thinning  of  this  variety  ought  to  be  a  real  pleasure. 
For  my  own  part,  I  know  of  no  greater  happiness,  and  I  wish  for 
none  greater,  than  is  experienced  after  a  good  night’s  rest  and  a  hearty 
breakfast  sitting  on  a  pair  of  steps  in  one  of  our  roomy  vineries  at  four 
o’clock  on  a  May  morning  thinning  Colmans,  enjoying  the  music  of  the 
songsters  who  are  never  out  of  tune,  and  dreaming  of  the  monster  berries 
that  are  to  put  so  many  handsomq.  faces  out  of  shape  when  the  owners 
of  those  faces  are  squeezing  the  huge  morsels  into  their  pretty  mouths. 
The  year’s  troubles  in  the  Grape-growing  line  have  hardly  yet 
commenced  in  earnest.  It  is  true  we  have  had  the  annual  scare  about 
the  non-setting  of  Muscats;  but  that,  though  it  never  misses  altogether, 
and  is  sometimes  rather  severe,  is  generally  short-lived.  We  have  not 
yet  caught  a  glimpse  of  that  which  is  at  once  one  of  the  least,  and  yet 
the  very  greatest  of  all  our  mortal  enemies — the  red  spider — and  we 
fondly  hope  the  detestable  little  insect  is  for  ever  banished. 
In  our  love  for  the  Colmans  we  must  not  forget  the  Alicantes  and 
the  Lady  Downe’s,  for  these,  though  troublesome  to  thin  even  at  the 
proper  time,  are  ten  times  more  so  if  they  are  left  to  become  crowded. 
Where  Alicante  is  uncertain  as  to  its  stoning  it  is  better  not  to  thin  too 
much  at  fiist,  but  the  little  that  has  to  be  done  should  be  commenced  on 
the  tenth  day  after  the  first  flower  has  opened,  then  by  the  time  the 
berries  have  attained  the  size  of  Peas,  the  faulty  ones  can  be  picked  out 
by  their  round  shape,  or  the  learner  may  cut  some  of  them  through  with 
a  sharp  knife,  when  it  will  be  easily  seen  which  sort  of  berries  are  going 
to  form  seeds. 
Muscats  are  generally  thinned  more  than  is  necessary.  It  is  astonish¬ 
ing  how  the  stems  of  these  will  accommodate  the  berries  by  lengthening 
and  shifting.  This  is  a  great  advantage,  as  the  Muscat  is  liable  to  some 
mishaps  unknown  to  other  varieties,  one  of  which  I  have  never  heard  a 
name  for,  and  I  know  no  cure.  A  berry  here  and  there,  sometimes 
several  together,  when  about  the  size  of  Peas,  will  turn  dark  green, 
become  soft,  and  if  left  will  dry  off  black.  I  have  seldom  seen  a  bouse 
without  a  few  berries  turning  in  this  mysterious  way. — Wm.  Taylob. 
Vanda  Sanderiana. 
Mr.  Bedford  of  Straffan  Gardens,  Kildare,  writes  : — "  I  wish 
you  could  see  the  king  of  Vandas  (V.  Sanderiana).  It  is  now  in 
flower  here  for  the  first  time,  and  I  think  it  is  the  first  time  in 
Ireland,  but  am  not  quite  certain.  It  is  a  beauty.  The  past  few 
warm  dry  days  have  made  the  garden  look  quite  bright.  The 
long  continued  rain  did  much  barm  to  our  farm  crops,  with 
serious  damage  to  the  hay.” — K.,  Duhlin. 
Odontoglossum  (Miltonia)  vexillarium. 
The  beauty  of  this  charming  Orchid  and  its  general  utility  are 
now  so  well  known  as  to  need  no  special  remarks  here,  but  it  is 
seldom  that  it  is  seen  so  well  grown  as  at  Sunningdale  Park,  the 
Berkshire  seat  of  Major  W.  J.  Joicey.  As  a  result  of  the  admirable 
cultivation  adopted,  we  give  an  illustration  (fig.  49),  engraved 
from  a  photograph  of  one  of  the  best  plants  in  the  collection,  and 
readers  will  agree  with  us  in  calling  it  a  magnificent  example. 
The  plant  under  notice  produced  thirty-nine  spikes  of  flowerSy 
each  averaging  seven  blooms,  thus  producing  a  total  number 
of  273.  This  noble  specimen  was  grown  in  an  S-inch  pot,  and 
Mr.  F.  J.  Thorne,  the  gardener,  has  kindly  favoured  us  with  his 
system  of  culture,  which  is  as  follows  : — 
“  The  essential  points  in  the  growing  of  this  useful  and  showy 
Orchid  are  careful  attention  to  compost,  heat,  air,  and  water.  As 
soon  as  our  plants  have  done  flowering  we  repot  them  in  a  mixture 
of  fibrous  peat  with  live  sphagnum  moss  chopped  rather  fine,, 
a  good  portion  of  small  potsherds  or  pieces  of  charcoal,  and  a 
slight  sprinkling  of  coarse  sand.  If  necessary  the  plants  will  at  this 
period  bear  dividing  without  injury,  and  we  remove  nearly  all  the 
old  compost.  The  roots  are  fresh  and  ready  to  start  at  once  in  the 
new  material,  but  care  must  be  exercised  not  to  overwater,  giving 
just  enough  to  keep  the  moss  alive  until  the  pots  are  again  full  of 
roots.  The  house  must  be  kept  moist  and  at  a  temperature  about  5“ 
lower  than  the  Cattleya  house  all  the  year  round.  When  in  flower, 
however,  we  afford  less  moisture  and  cover  the  spikes  at  night 
with  tissue  paper  to  prevent  damping,  and  by  this  little  extra 
trouble  we  keep  the  flowers  fresh  and  clean  for  four  or  five  weeks. 
We  are  seldom  troubled  with  thrips,  but  as  a  preventive  we 
fumigate  about  once  a  month  with  XL  All  vapourising  fumigator. 
Stimulants  I  do  not  believe  in,  placing  reliance  on  fresh  sweet 
compost,  which  is  renewed  every  year.  Other  kinds,  such  as  Candida 
Clowesi  and  its  hybrid  Joiceyana,  are  perfectly  at  home  under  the 
above  treatment,  as  also  are  Warscewiczi  and  cuneata.” 
Cypripedidm  Sedeni. 
Amongst  all  the  genera  of  Orchids  to  which  bybridista  have 
turned  their  attention,  none  have  given  such  splendid  results  as 
Cypripediums.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  plants  can  be 
propagated  and  the  simple  character  of  their  cultural  needs  has  also 
made  the  earlier  raised  kinds  very  cheaply  obtainable.  C.  Sedeni 
is  a  case  in  point,  for  though  of  hybrid  origin  it  is  quite  a  popular 
Orchid  and  cheap  enough  to  be  in  everyone’s  collection. 
As  a  garden  plant  it  compares  favourably  with  any  in  the 
genus,  being  pretty  and  bright  in  colour,  and  an  almost  continuous 
blcomer.  It  has  long  green  leaves  with  pointed  ends  ;  it  grows 
in  tufts,  and  from  the  centre  of  each  growth  proceeds  a  tali  erect 
scape,  producing  in  succession  a  number  of  flowers,  thus  keeping 
up  a  show  over  a  very  long  period,  as  the  individual  blossoms  last 
well  in  good  condition.  These  are  about  4  inches  across,  the 
petals  deep  rose  margined  with  white,  the  dorsal  and  lower  sepals 
being  white  suffused  with  pink.  The  pouch  is  large  and  rounded, 
rosy  white  and  crimson,  with  rr.any  spots  alout  the  throat. 
C.  Sedeni  does  not  requite  so  much  heat  as  some  species,  and 
