116 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  10.  1899. 
VENTILATING  VINERIES  IN  HOT  WEATHER. 
During  the  frequent  spells  of  tropical  weather  which  we  have 
experienced  within  the  last  few  years  the  Vine  giower  has  to  be  on 
the  alert  to  turn  such  times  to  good  account,  for  with  proper 
management  the  broiling  sunshine,  which  some  are  inclined  to  regard 
as  an  evil,  is  a  great  aid  to  the  cultivator,  who  knows  full  well  that 
with  abundant  moisture  at  the  roo's,  clean  foliage, and  ample  veutilation, 
the  berries  swell  rapidly,  or,  in  the  later  stages,  colour  as  if  by  magic. 
It  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  majority  of  gardeners  during  the  course  of 
their  career  to  have  to  deal  with  houses  having  widely  different 
characteristics,  and  it  takes  time  to  find  out  the  best  way  to  deal  with 
each.  It  is  not  often  that  one  meets  with  vineries  having  an  aspect 
due  east,  but  I  once  had  to  manage  a  range  so  situated,  and  the 
ventilation  required  the  sharpest  attendance  in  early  morning  of  any 
vinery  it  has  been  my  fate  to  handle.  On  mornings  which  preceded 
a  hot  day  the  sun  was  glaring  on  the  roof  long  before  six  o’clock,  and 
although  a  little  air  was  left  on  all  night,  I  found  it  necessary  to 
increase  the  amount  soon  after  five  in  hot  weather.  By  doing  that, 
and  taking  care  to  keep  well  in  advance  of  the  increasing  power  of  the 
sunshine,  the  inside  of  the  house  was  kept  comparatively  cool  and 
pleasant,  and  the  Vine  foliage  at  no  time  showed  any  great  distress. 
When  the  man  in  charge  of  such  a  house  falls  in  the  least  behind 
with  ventilation  it  takes  hours  to  get  the  temperature  to  feel  comfort¬ 
able  and  cool.  Air  may  be  rushed  on  quickly  to  make  up  for  a  late 
start,  but  it  does  not  deceive  an  experienced  man  who  may  enter  the 
house  an  hour  after,  for  the  feeling  of  “stuffiness”  remains,  even  if 
scalded  berries  do  not  proclaim  neglect.  Vineries  having  an  east  or 
south-east  aspect  are  well  adapted  for  black  Grapes,  as  they  can  be 
closed  early  in  the  afternoon  with  plenty  of  moisture  to  insure  berries  of 
large  size,  and  this  early  closing,  when  the  Grapes  are  beginning  to 
colour,  is  a  great  aid  towards  securing  high  finish.  Muscats,  however, 
do  not  succeed  well  in  houses  facing  due  east,  as  they  get  too  short  a 
period  of  sunshine  to  secure  the  “golden  ”  tint. 
At  the  present  time  I  have  to  deal  with  a  span-roofed  vinery, 
having  a  very  steep  roof,  and  it  is  necessary  early  in  the  day  to  work 
the  top  ventilators  very  freely  in  proportion  to  the  bottom  ones,  for 
although  the  temperature  may  feel  quite  cool  when  walking  along  the 
central  path,  at  the  apex  of  the  roof  it  gets  terribly  hot  if  air  is  given  in 
the  way  adapted  for  houses  of  ordinary  description  ;  a  thermometer 
in  such  a  house  is  absolutely  no  guide  in  maintaining  a  suitable 
temperature,  and  in  bright  weather  it  is  never  safe  to  close  this  house 
so  early  in  the  afternoon  as  in  the  case  of  an  ordinary  span-roofed 
structure.  Still  the  Vines  succeed  remarkably  well,  and  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  many  vineries  would  be  better  adapted  for  Grape 
growing  were  the  roofs  steeper,  for  a  comparatively  flat  roofed  house 
is  always  hotter  at  mid-day  than  one  having  a  more  acute  angle, 
because  the  sun  shines  straight  down  upon  it.  In  private  gardens 
the  glass  structures  are  often  situated  in  an  enclosure,  bounded  by 
high  walls  backed  up  by  trees,  which  shut  out  sunshine  early  in  the 
morning,  but  when  “  King  Sol  ”  rises  above  the  tree  tops  he  strikes 
the  houses  suddenly  and  fiercely.  In  such  cases  an  observant  man 
will  soon  learn  to  know  the  time  to  increase  the  ventilation,  so  as  to 
prevent  a  rapid  rise  in  temperature,  a  state  of  affairs  wrhich  all  plants 
growing  under  glass  do  not  relish. 
When  Vines  are  trained  close  to  the  glass  it  is  always  better  to 
err  on  the  side  of  giving  too  liberal  ventilation  in  early  morning  than 
in  the  opposite  direction  throughout  the  summer  months,  but  during 
the  prevalence  of  cold  winds  in  spring,  a  great  deal  ol  watching  is 
needed,  or  the  lender  foliage  receives  a  check.  In  all  instances  the 
air  should  be  gradually  reduced  during  the  afternoon,  as  the  sun  loses 
power,  instead  of  suddenly  closing  the  whole  of  the  ventilators,  which 
is  another  frequent  cause  of  scald  in  the  berries.  When  black  Grapes  are 
in  the  early  stages  of  colouring,  the  management  of  the  ventdation 
should  be  almost  the  same  as  while  the  berries  are  swelling,  except 
that  a  little  air  must  be  left  on  both  at  the  top  and  bottom  of  the 
house ;  but  by  the  time  the  berries  are  about  three  parts  coloured,  that  is 
quite  black  at  the  points  with  a  tinge  of  red  or  gieen  around  the  foot¬ 
stalks,  air  should  be  much  more  freely  admitted. 
In  very  hot  weather  the  best  advice  1  can  give  is,  “Save 
unnecessary  labour,  and  secure  perfectly  black  Grapes  by  leaving  the 
bottom  ventilators  wide  open  night  and  day,  and  just  lowering  the 
top  ones  sufficiently  to  allow  rain  to  run  off  in  the  right  direction,  or 
in  the  case  of  the  old-fashioned  sliding  sashes,  draw  them  up  far 
enough  to  prevent  min  from  falling  upon  the  bunches.  There.is,  how¬ 
ever,  <  ne  exception  to  this  bold  procedure — viz.,  houses  which  contain 
Madresfield  Court  Grapes.  In  their  case  it  is  never  safe  to  leave  much 
bottom  air  on  at  night,  as  a  dewy  night  or  an  unexpected  shower  will 
cause  the  berries  to  crack  wholesale.  Muscats  require  quite  different 
treatment,  and  need  little  it  any  night  ventilation,  except  when  the 
weather  is  very  hot,  or  the  houses  situated  in  a  sunny  position  on  the 
slope  of  a  hill.  Urder  ordinary  conditions  this  fine  Grape  will  colour 
perfectly  without  having  the  time  honoured  chink  of  air  left  on  all  night, 
provided  air-giving  receives  due  attention  throughout  the  day. — H.D. 
The  Dell. 
As  year  succeeds  year  and  Baron  Schroder’s  collection  of  Orchids 
increases  in  extent  and  value,  one  is  constrained  to  surmise  on  what 
the  eventual  result  will  be.  Crowded  as  it  now  is  with  some  of  the 
rarest  plants  in  the  Orchidae,  many  of  which  are  absolutely  unique,  it 
is  impossible  for  anyone  who  cannot  pay  at  least  a  weekly  visit  for  a 
year  to  thoroughly  appreciate  its  remarkable  extent.  Each  time  one 
calls  at  The  Dell  one  is  sure  to  find  either  an  Odontoglossum,  a 
Cattleya,  a  Cypripedium,  a  Laelia,  a  Dendrobium,  or  other  Orchid 
that  is  of  its  type  superior  to  anything  one  has  seen  elsewhere  The 
interest  is  thus  more  than  maintained,  for  it  becomes  greater  with  each 
visit  in  speculating  what  the  next  glory  will  be.  Then  constant 
additions  are  being  made  of  the  choicest  pdants  that  are  introduced* 
either  from  distant  climes  or  as  results  of  the  hybridist’s  art,  and  these 
alone  naturally  increase  the  attractions  of  a  visit,  lor  there  is  always 
the  hope  that  one  or  another  will  be  in  flower. 
On  several  occasions  I  have  been  to  The  Dell,  and  under  the  skilled 
guidance  of  Mr.  Clark,  the  Orchid  grower,  have  made  a  tour  of  the 
numerous  houses.  Not  only'  are  the  plants  in  flower  called  attention 
to,  but  also  plants  of  some  of  the  choicest  hybrids  and  bigeners,  all  of 
which  are  characterised  by  splendid  health.  Several  of  these  that 
went  as  single  specimens  are  growing  in  numbers,  and  the  juveniles 
have  not  yet  all  flowered,  but  will  later  add  to  the  laurels  of  their 
parents.  The  peerless  Odontoglossum  crispnm  nobilius  has  grown  in 
numbers  and  in  beauty,  and,  despite  the  newer  varieties,  is  still,  in  the 
opinion  of  some  of  the  greatest  experts,  the  foremost  crispum  in  culti¬ 
vation.  Not  only  does  it  produce  superb  flowers,  but  these  are  on 
perfect  s|  ikes.  Numerous  are  the  types  of  crispum  and  other  Odonto- 
glossums;  they  are  all  thoroughly  well  grown,  and  representative  of 
what  a  collection  ought  to  be. 
The  Cattleya  house  was  at  the  time  of  my  visit  a  most  beautiful 
sight,  and  included  in  perfection  some  lovely  flowers  of  Cattleyas  and 
Lselias.  Of  these  C.  Warneri,  Gaskelliana  alba  and  dolosa,  with 
L.  purpurata  Schrodeise,  were  particularly  conspicuous.  Then  in 
another  house  was  a  peculiarly  charming  picture  in  the  foim  of 
splendid  plants  of  Vanda  teres  rising  from  a  groundwork  of  Maiden¬ 
hair  Ferns.  As  the  Vandas  are  all  of  the  best  varieties,  this  proved  a 
most  interesting  sight,  as  the  delicate  hues  of  the  flowers  were  beauti¬ 
fully  shown  up  by  the  green  fronds  of  the  Ferns.  Scores  of  plants  of 
Miltonias  were  producing  spikes  of  fine  flowers  in  a  cool  house,  and 
amongst  them  were  one  or  two  varieties  decidedly  above  the  average 
of  meiit. 
The  magnificent  Coelogynes,  which  alone  are  sufficient  to  make  tho 
reputation  of  any  collection  of  Orchids,  were  not  flowering,  but  their 
condition  told  tales  of  past  glories  and  of  future  triumphs.  Several  are 
in  immense  baskets,  upwards  of  3  feet  across,  but  some  of  the  largest 
have  been  divided  to  increase  the  number  of  plants.  All  the  choicest 
are  at  home.  Masdevallias  made  a  more  brilliant  artay  in  one  of  the 
smaller  houses,  some  of  the  flowers  being  exceptionally  rich  in  colour, 
while  others  were  characterised  by  the  quaintness  of  their  hues.  In 
one  of  the  large  span-roofed  structures  the  Thunias  were  in  perfect 
condition,  the  splendid  plants  carrying  perfectly  developed  flowers. 
T.  Bensoniae  was  most  conspicuous,  and  richer  coloured  bloon.s  could 
scarcely  be  desired  by  anyone. 
It  is  well  within  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  many  visitors  would, 
have  consideied  the  most  beautiful  sight  to  be  the  collection  of 
Dendrobium  Deari,  which  is  known  to  be  somewhat  difficult  of 
successful  cultivation.  The  Dell  specimens  were  simply  loaded  with 
flowers  pure  in  colour,  of  great  substance,  and  exceptionally  large 
size.  They  adorned  the  houses  in  which  they  were  luxuriating  in  a 
manner  that  could  scarcely  be  rivalled,  and  certainly  not  excelled. 
Two  other  Dendrobiums  that  were  particularly  observed  were  Lowi,. 
with  its  spurred  yellow  flowers,  and  MacCarthiie,  whose  pinkish  rose 
and  white  flowers  received  much  admiration. 
Perhaps,  however,  at  the  particular  moment  of  this  visit  the 
Cypripediums  were  in  the  finest  lorm,  for  the  species,  hybrids,  and 
varieties  were  very  numerous.  This  genus  is  one  of  the  most  useful  in 
the  entire  Orchid  family,  as  by  judicious  selection  flowers  may  be  had 
throughout  the  whole  year,  and  these,  as  is  well  known,  last  a  very, 
long  time,  either  on  the  plants,  or  cut  and  placed  in  water.  They  are- 
