468 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  80,  1899. 
vation  and  maintaining  a  contented  and  healthy  population,  now  laid 
down  to  grass,  and  we  ask  ourselves  the  question,  Whence  are  our 
great  towns  and  cities  to  receive  fresh  blood  and  sinew,  whence  shall 
come  our  future  stalwart  soldiers  ?  I  know  not,  unless  it  be  by  the 
help  of  fruit  growing,  market  gardening,  and  all  kinds  of  small 
culture,  and  this  is  why  I  say  this  is  a  question  of  national  importance. 
— {Paper  read  at  the  Horticultural  Club  by  Mb.  A.  H.  Pearson, 
Chilwell.) 
PLANTING  TIME. 
Happy  is  the  man  who  plants  while  early  winter  is  still  tempered 
with  the  kindliness  of  autumn;  yet,  unfortunately,  such  things  are 
with  some  more  a  mattor  of  opportunity  than  of  choice,  and  perchance 
may  have  to  be  postponed  to  a  more  convenient  if  less  propitious 
season.  Henceforth  from  now,  when  the  great  harvest  of  leaves  is 
waiting  to  be  gathered,  till  such  time  as  bursting  buds  renew  the 
promise  of  spring,  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  planting  will  be  in 
evidence — good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  Good,  when  done  at  the  right 
time  and  in  the  right  way  ;  bad,  when  it  is  regarded  by  busy  men  as 
a  bother,  interfering  with  ordinary  routine,  and  trees,  shrubs,  or  what 
not  are  heeled  in,  instead  of  being  promptly  set  on  their  feet  to  give 
them  a  good  start  in  life;  indifferent,  whenever  done  if  done  in  a 
slovenly  manner. 
Yet,  again,  there  is  a  nervous  energy  (it  is  very  infectious  too) 
which  will  not — cannot  wait ;  must  hurry  things  out  of  the  ground 
and  hurry  them  in  while  autumn  suns  are  strong  in  summer  power. 
It  will  tell  you  of  warmth  in  the  ground  which  must  be  caught  ere  it 
evaporates,  and  it  will  not  forget  to  repeat  the  old  saying  “  Plant  a 
Laurel  in  autumn  and  command  it  to  grow,  plant  it  in  spring  and 
beg  it  to  live.”  If  only  extremes  would  meet  on  the  border  line  of 
common  sense  this  feverish  anxiety  would  not  have  furnished  an 
instance  lately  seen,  where  some  large  evergreens  were  transplanted 
early  in  October  and  are  now  suffering  severely,  to  point  a  moral. 
How  often,  too,  are  those  planters  of  the  early  bird  type  aided  and 
abetted  by  the  nurseryman  in  his  haste  to  execute  orders  which  have 
been  previously  booked.  Some  years  since  an  order  for  Roses  given 
by  the  writer,  at  a  Rose  show,  resulted  in  their  coming  to  hand  in 
warm  autumnal  weather,  and,  although  promptly  attended  to,  shrivelled 
wood  was  already  apparent,  and  an  after-crop  of  trouble  was  raised 
about  “  those  Roses.” 
If  more  haste  means  less  speed  in  commencing  the  planting  season, 
most  will  admit  that  delay  is  doubly  dangerous  when  near  its  close  in 
the  spring,  and,  given  congenial  weather,  the  bulk  of  all  planting 
may  well  receive  that  consideration  it  deserves  on  the  old -year  side  of 
Christmas.  Doubtless  unsatisfactory  results  may  not  infrequently  be 
traced  to  slovenly  planting,  at  whatever  time  it  is  done.  For  the  first 
year  bad  effects  on  tree  or  shrub  mav  not  be  so  apparent  as  afterwards, 
w’hen  the  roots  meet  a  chilly  rebuff  in  the  uncongenial  outlines  of  a 
hard  shallow  basin  in  which  they  have  been  set.  Apropos  of  this,  an 
old  gardener  remarked,  “it’s  not  planting,  it’s  shoving  'em  in.” 
Two  neighbouring  estates  have  lately  afforded  examples  of  planting 
v.  “  shoving  ’em  in.”  The  bad  example  consists  of  a  mixed  plantation 
made  some  ten  years  since  to  shut  out  the  view  of  a  public  road.  The 
plants  used  were  chiefly  evergreens,  aud  mainly  consisted  of  Pinus 
austriaca,  which  generally  does  well  in  the  locality.  There  is  now, 
and  has  been  for  several  years,  sufficient  evidence  to  prove  that  some¬ 
thing  is  wrong,  and  radically  wrong,  inspection  showing  that  the 
unhealthy  plants  had  been  set  in  shallow  basins,  which,  owing  to  the 
hard  texture  of  the  soil,  confined  the  roots  from  the  start,  and  offered 
no  encouragement  for  them  to  permeate  further.  They  were,  indeed, 
“  shoved  in,’’  and  loss  of  money,  time,  and  temper  is  the  result. 
Conspicuous  failure  as  the  above  was  and  is,  no  wonder  that  a 
neighbouring  proprietor,  who  was  anxious  to  have  a  plantation  in  a 
similar  position,  should  hesitate,  said  in  fact,  that  Mr. - ’s  trees 
were  the  wrong  Bort  for  the  place,  which  was  easily  refuted  in 
pointing  to  the  many  fine  isolated  specimens  of  Pinus  austriaca 
visible  in  the  surroundings.  However,  three  years  ago  the  plantation 
was  made  and  is  now  a  flourishing  witness  to  sound  initial  work. 
Owing  to  the  hard  nature  of  the  soil,  as  previously  remarked,  a  good 
deal  of  labour  was  expended  in  taking  out  the  holes,  and  it  may  be 
added  all  were  prepared  ready  for  the  trees  ere  they  were  allowed  to 
be  sent  from  the  nursery.  These  holes  were  excavated  2  feet  deep 
and  2  feet  across  the  top,  but  it  was  insisted  upon  that  they  should 
be  made  somewhat  broader  at  the  bottom,  like  tan  inverted  basin  in 
fact,  and  much  of  the  spade  work,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground, 
had  to  be  supplemented  by  an  iron  bar.  The  top  spit,  consisting  of 
old  pasture,  was  placed  in  the  bottom  of  each  hole,  grass  side  down, 
every  hole  being  guaged  prior  to  this,  the  entire  job  of  excavating 
being  let  to  labourers  by  task.  It  is  admitted  that  the  preparations 
were  both  tedious  and  laborious  to  what  generally  obtains,  but  it  was 
considered  that  the  end  in  view  justified  the  means,  and  of  a  thousand 
Pines  which  formed  the  backbone  of  this  planting,  ninety-nine  out  of 
the  hundred  are  in  vigorous  health,  the  small  percentage  of  failures 
occurring  among  P.  insignia,  which  is  not  so  tractable  a  kind  under 
removal. 
A  word  in  season  may  be  added  respecting  the  removal  of  larger 
specimens  with  balls  of  soil.  The  desirable  object  of  retaining  a  ball 
is  often  frustrated  by  attempting  too  much,  and  during  the  shifting,  in 
spite  of  the  use  of  mats  or  sacking,  a  vertical  split  will  sever  many  of 
the  fibrous  roots.  Far  better  is  it  to  reduce  the  ball  with  a  fork  as  far 
as  appears  to  be  consistent  with  easy  removal  by  the  means  at  command. 
Success  in  this  kind  of  transplanting  depends,  of  course,  very  much 
upon  the  nature  of  the  soil  as  well  as  the  size  and  habit  of  the  speci¬ 
men.  Instances  occur  in  which  work  of  this  kind  would  have  been 
better  never  attempted,  for  trees  which  have  been  growing  undisturbed, 
for  some  years,  maybe,  in  a  shallow  soil  with  their  roots  ramifying  over  a 
considerable  surface  area,  are  apt  to  remove  very  badiy,  and  the  question 
is  often  forced  upon  one  that  the  game  is  not  worth  the  candle. 
Remarkable  successes  are,  of  course,  pointed  to  with  pride;  of  the 
failures  little  is  heard,  an  opinion  apparently  obtaining  that  the  least 
said  about  them  the  better. — Westerner. 
VINES  ON  OPEN  WALLS. 
What  very  interesting  articles  on  Grapes  and  Vines  there  have 
been  in  the  Journal  this  jear;  but  outdoor  Vine  planting  against 
walls  is  much  neglected.  This  may  be  owing  to  the  popular 
Ampelopsis  Veitchi  and  the  many  beautiful  varieties  of  Clematis  for 
covering  walls,  and  yet  I  think  the  Vine  is  the  most  beautiful  hardy 
climber  in  cultivation.  I  am  very  much  inclined  to  put  in  a  plea  for 
its  more  extended  culture  in  the  open  air,  particularly  against  walls 
having  a  south  aspect. 
Enclosed  I  am  sending  two  varieties  of  Grapes  for  identification 
grown  on  open  wall ;  they  do  not  quite  ripen  so  far  north,  but  the 
larger  berried  variety  is  a  splendid  cropper  and  a  distinct  flavour,  and 
fairly  good  when  nearly  ripe.  I  am  anxious  to  know  its  name. 
The  white  variety  is  also  very  prolific,  and  gets  nearly  ripe,  but 
berries  are  always  small  and  flavour  moderate.  It  seems  different 
from  the  Sweetwater,  which  I  also  grow. 
The  Black  Cluster  growing  by  the  side  of  the  oihers  ripens,  and  I 
enclose  two  or  three  bunches  for  yon  to  taste.  You  will  fee  by  the 
photos  one  showing  the  Vines  in  their  summer  dress,  the  other,  now 
all  the  foliage  has  fallen,  showing  the  fruit  which  I  am  now  gathering, 
the  third  week  in  November.  They  were  very  late  in  blooming  this 
vear — namely,  July,  and,  although  a  fite  summer,  too  late  to  riper. 
Can  you  suggest  a  use  for  the  unripe  fruit  through  the  Journal,  of 
which  I  am  a  rather  old  subscriber,  having  commenced  just  fo'ty 
years  ago. — W.  B.,  Lincoln. 
[The  photographs  are  very  go*  d.  Vines  kept  in  order,  as  shown  in 
their  summer  dress,  are  handsome  wall-covering  plants  ;  while,  as  the 
autumn  view  makes  clear,  they  are  not  less  interesting  when  the  wall 
is  dappled  with  bunches  of  purple  Iruit.  Had  the  small  black  Grapes 
b<en  thinned  they  would  be  excellent  for  dessert.  In  mixture  with 
th'  huger  but  h  es  ripe  bunches,  better  wine  might  be  made  than  is 
found  in  much  of  the  cheap  brands  imported.  The  Vine  is  one  of 
the  best  of  town  plants,  clothing  walls  near  London  with  restful 
greenery,  and  we  have  seen  them  bear  a  profusion  of  bunches  within 
two  miles  of  Westminster  Abbey.  The  fruit  would  have  ripened  well 
if  less  crowded  with  a  tangled  mass  of  growth. 
The  best  white  Grape,  as  far  as  we  know,  for  ripening  against 
south  walls,  if  not  the  best  of  all  Graces  for  such  positions,  is  the 
Chasselas  Vibert ;  the  next  best  white  is  perhaps  Royal  Muscadine. 
This,  under  one  or  other  of  its  many  names,  is  much  grown  around 
Paris.  Some  years  ago  a  first-class  certificate  was  awarded  by  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  for  properly  thinned  bunches  and  fine 
well  ripened  berries  grown  by  Mr.  Thomas  Record  against  a  south 
wall  in  Kent.  Early  Saumur  Frontignan  is  also  very  good.  Some  of 
the  earliest  black  Grapes  for  walls  are  Black  Cluster,  Black  July, 
Miller’s  Burgundy,  and  Espiran. 
There  is  an  interesting  article  on  “Vines  in  the  Open  Air”  in  the 
November  issue  of  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  HorticuLural  Society,  by 
Mr.  H.  M.  Todd,  F.R.H.S.,  but  we  do  not  advise  our  readers  to  do 
what  the  author  did — grow  the  Trebbiano  for  sixteen,  and  the  Syrian 
for  thirteen  years,  and  then  find  them  failures.  They  are  among  the 
worst  to  be  chosen,  and  Mr.  Todd  intends  to  “  clear  them  out  ”  in 
favour  of  Moore’s  Early  (which  we  do  not  know)  and  Chasselas  Rose 
(Chasselas  de  Falloux),  which  is  by  no  means  equal  to  the  true 
Chasselas  Vibert.  He  will  perhaps  grow  this  and  others  in  his  garden 
near  London. 
We  suspect  there  are  many  sunny  slopes  in  Surrey  at  least  as 
favourable  for  open  air  Grape  culture  as  the  sites  in  South  Wales  from 
which  Mr.  Pettigrew  is  expecting  a  fine  vintage  this  year.  Grown 
against  south  walls,  early  varieties  of  Grapes  will,  when  intelligently 
managed,  ripen  during  most  seasons  in  the  south  of  England  and 
sufficiently  so  fpr  wine  making  over  a  great  extent  of  the  country.  If 
the  growers,  like  “  A.  D.”  are  not  winely  inclined,  they  can,  like  Mr. 
Todd,  put  the  Grapes  “  under  piecrust  as  if  they  were  Gooseberries.”] 
