May  14,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
441 
weak  ones  of  his  own .  He  is  morally  a  strong  man  who  does  this 
with  Spartan  impartiality,  and  though  but  a  young  exhibitor,  who 
may  for  the  nonce  be  defeated,  such  defeats  can  pave  the  way  to 
future  success. — Ex-Exhibitor. 
GRAPE  CULTURE  IN  ITS  COMMERCIAL 
ASPECT. 
( Continued  from  page  413.) 
The  drainage  of  a  border  is  very  important,  and  it  must  be  of 
such  nature  as  not  to  allow  stagnation,  or  so  free  as  to  permit 
the  substance  of  the  border  to  be  too  much  drawn.  A  Vine  during 
its  growing  season  can  hardly  be  afforded  too  much  water,  provided 
the  drainage  is  good.  How  very  often  in  moving  old  Vines  the 
border  which  has  received  every  attention  is  found  to  be  almost 
devoid  of  roots,  and  they  have  been  found  far  away  roaming  in  the 
kitchen  garden.  The  practice  of  the  future  will  probably  lean  to 
more  shallow  borders — that  is,  not  exceeding  2  feet  6  inches  in 
depth. 
There  have  scarcely  ever  been  places  established  from  their 
beginning  depending  upon  the  Vine  alone,  but  nearly  always  other 
crops  are  grown  in  the  houses  until  the  Vines  come  into  bearing, 
and  at  the  present  day  Tomato  growing  is  the  usual  practice.  The 
grower  must,  therefore,  as  well  as  raising  his  young  Vines  ready 
for  the  spring,  arrange  for  having  Tomato  plants  ready  also.  It  is 
of  the  first  moment  that  a  variety  of  Tomato  should  be  chosen 
that  is  good  for  market.  It  must  be  of  hardy  constitution, 
growing  fruit  not  too  large,  running  from  four  to  six  to  a  pound, 
as  perfectly  round  a  shape  as  possible,  of  good  colour,  and  firm 
texture.  But  I  must  not  dwell  on  the  Tomato,  but  keep  to  our 
subject — the  Vine. 
If  it  were  not  possible  to  tide  over  the  first  two  years  while  the 
Vines  are  growing  the  bearing  wood,  with  other  crops  in  the  houses, 
it  would  be  much  more  difficult  than  it  is  to  establish  a  vineyard 
under  glass.  The  young  Vines  properly  grown  should  be,  say  about 
2  feet  high  by  the  middle  of  May,  and  then  is  a  good  time  to  plant 
them  in  the  border  which  has  been  prepared  for  them.  At  the 
time  of  planting  bonemeal  is  a  good  dressing  to  mix  with  the  soil, 
and  short  manure  should  be  used  as  a  mulching  on  the  top.  They 
will  require  careful  and  constant  little  attentions  until  they  throw 
out  new  roots,  and  abundance  of  clear  water  during  the  growing 
season  through  June,  July,  and  August.  By  the  end  of  August 
growth  ought  to  be  discouraged  and  the  Vine  led  more  to  develop 
and  ripen  the  wood  already  made. 
Where  Vines  are  strong  at  planting  time,  and  given  liberal 
treatment  through  their  first  year,  they  sometimes  grow  20  and 
even  25  feet  long.  Indeed,  I  have  seen  Vines  cropped  the  first 
year  after  planting  from  the  eyes,  and  bearing  10  lbs.  of  fruit.  But 
this  is  not  wise  where  the  establishment  of  permanent  Vines  is 
intended,  as  the  loss  of  constitution  can  be  noted  in  such  Vines  for 
years  afterwards. 
There  is  one  aspect  in  Vine  culture  that  requires  carefully 
weighing  from  its  commercial  side,  and  that  is  the  question  of 
extension  v.  restriction.  I  am  bound  to  say  that  the  extension 
system  of  culture  affords  in  the  end  by  far  the  best  results,  and 
these  are  arrived  at  simply  on  account  of  the  capabilities  of  Nature 
herself. 
It  is  more  rational,  and  predisposes  to  strength  of  constitution, 
but  whether  it  is  right  from  a  mere  commercial  point  of  view  is  a 
different  question.  It  is  necessary  to  have  a  quick  return,  and  a 
number  of  Vines  planted  from  2  feet  to  3  feet  apart  will,  the 
second  season,  produce  all  along  the  length  of  the  house  some 
drapes,  whereas  of  course  when  planted  wide  apart  there  will  not 
be  so  much  return  for  some  years  later.  And  that  advantage  in 
the  restrictive  system  extends  to  the  third  and  fourth  years.  By 
the  fourth  season,  at  any  rate,  the  extension-treated  Vine  will  be 
equal  to  the  several  Vines  henceforward  in  producing  powers,  of 
stronger  constitution,  and  much  more  likely  to  resist  the  ravages 
of  red  spider  and  other  foes. 
How  often  it  occurs  to  one  that  our  mechanically  constructed 
houses  impose  restriction  even  upon  Vines  treated  under  what  is 
called  the  extension  system.  When  a  Vine  attains  the  age  of  four 
years  it  easily,  with  benefit  to  its  health  and  weallh,  would  double 
itself  in  one  season  if  the  structure  which  covers  it  could  be 
enlarged  there  and  then.  This  presents  an  idea  to  the  ingenious 
which  if  solved  would  be  of  immense  value  to  Vine  growers  ;  but 
I  am  afraid  it  is  outside  the  realms  of  practice,  and  we  must  own 
that  man’s  mechanical  arrangements  limit  the  plain  will  of  bounti¬ 
ful  Nature. 
Constitution,  which  embraces  powers  of  assimilation,  is  the 
chief  thing  to  strive  for  in  cultivating  the  Vine,  and  this  leads  to 
the  thought  of  fertilisers  for  the  Vine.  First  get  constitution,  and 
then  we  may  proceed  to  intense  culture.  The  many  artificially 
compounded  mixtures  recommended  as  concentrated  food  for  the 
Vine  are  mostly  very  well  suited  for  it,  and  for  some  localities  they 
may  even  be  perfect ;  but  where  localities  differ  so  much  in  the 
character  of  their  soil  and  other  conditions  to  universally  apply  one 
formula  of  mixture  would  be  adding  equals  to  unequals,  and  so 
be  unscientific. 
A  grower  of  the  Vine  for  profit  must  be  careful  to  know  the 
natural  characteristics  of  his  own  locality,  and  endeavour  to  coun¬ 
teract  any  too  predominant  features  and  to  add  to  those  that  are 
deficient.  The  elements  of  manurial  value  are  known  facts,  and 
do  not  vary  by  being  distributed  over  areas  ;  but  localities  of  areas 
vary,  and  it  is  when  proceeding  on  that  foundation  that  the  best 
commercial  results  are  obtained  by  the  application  of  potash,  lime, 
or  ammonia.  One  thing  we  have  progressed  in  is  our  humane 
treatment  of  the  Vine  by  presenting  to  it  food  nourishing  and 
invigorating  in  quite  appetising  forms,  widely  different  from  the 
practice  of  burying  dead  horses  in  Vine  borders. 
After  the  first  summer  of  the  young  Vines’  growth  and  crop  of 
Tomatoes  the  borders  will  require  special  attention  during  the 
winter  to  enrich  them,  and  also  to  provide  room  for  the  Vines  the 
following  season.  The  trellis  will  have  to  be  put  up,  and  should 
the  houses  not  have  been  fully  heated  at  the  commencement  of 
operations  then  the  boilers  will  have  to  be  seen  to,  and  pipes  added, 
up  to  the  necessary  power  for  a  vinery.  A  Vine  or  fruit  grower 
for  profit  under  glass  requires  to  have  a  capability  of  turning  his 
hand  to  many  trades,  for  I  can  imagine,  even  under  the  best 
circumstances,  that  unless  the  necessary  staff  can  be  employed  in 
boiler  setting,  pipe  fixing,  and  glazing  during  the  dull  time,  the 
unknown  quantity  of  profit  may  be  very  small. 
The  mention  of  boilers  opens  up  to  the  gardener  and  market 
gardener  a  vast  subject  of  discussion.  From  our  earliest  days  we 
can  remember  the  boiler  controversies.  Every  gardener  had,  and 
the  same  thing  prevails  now,  his  favourite  boiler.  Boilers  have 
been  made  of  every  conceivable  form,  and  in  every  case  the  idea 
aimed  at  was  the  utmost  extraction  of  heat  from  the  fuel  consumed 
before  the  draught  necessary  to  burn  it  passed  it  up  the  chimney  ; 
and  at  the  present  day  we  are  far  from  perfect,  for  with  the  very 
best  boilers  more  heat  escapes  than  is  captured  for  use. 
The  market  grower  geneially,  like  all  the  brotherhood,  has  his 
pet  ideas  about  boilers.  But  a  market  grower  is  safer  to  follow  as 
a  rule,  for  necessity  makes  him  less  faddish,  and  he  nearly  always 
adopts  a  type  of  boiler  as  simple  as  possible,  generally  nowadays 
taking  the  form  of  a  longitudinal  tubular  of  heavy  cast-iron  pipes 
put  together  on  the  premises.  Where  the  length  of  piping  to  be 
heated  is  only,  say,  1000  feet,  probably  the  old-fashioned  cast-iron 
saddle  is  still  the  best,  but  beyond  a  size  capable  of  heating  that 
length  of  pipe,  on  account  of  contraction  and  expansion  of  the 
metal,  they  would  be  unsafe. 
It  seems  to  me  that  in  establishing  a  vineyard  under  glass  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  a  system  of  progression  should  be  set  out, 
which  allows  a  development  of  the  producing  powers  keeping  pace 
with  the  outlay,  and  with  all  favourable  advantages  on  the  grower’s 
side,  it  will  be  some  few  years  befoie  he  has  produce  to  send  to 
market  to  show  a  living  profit,  bevond  the  necessary  interest  and 
the  adjustment  of  his  capital.  When  that  time  arrives,  and  a 
foundation  is  laid  for  making  a  yearly  revenue  with  some  amount 
of  certainty,  then  the  grower  may  launch  out  into  larger  additions, 
but  should  the  progression  of  increase  be  allowed  to  go  beyond 
his  financial  management,  then  the  concern  will  not  give  the  best 
results. — Peter  Kay. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
PASSING  THE  RUBICON. 
Truly  the  woes  and  wants  of  a  gardener  are  manifold,  yet 
the  joys,  the  triumphs  which  invest  the  quiet  life  are  sufficiently 
numerous  to  preserve  the  equilibrium  till  such  time  as  one  question 
with  its  added  weight  for  age  is  brought  into  the  scale,  then  is  a 
perceptible  impetus  given  to  the  balance  of  disagreeables.  We 
gardeners  find  it  difficult  to  locate  this  dividing  line,  and  from  its 
unpleasant  nature  it  is  apt  to  be  made  a  shifting  quantity,  but  from 
the  other  view,  that  of  private  or  public  employers,  a  more  fixed 
definition  prevails,  and  in  competition  for  some  vacant  situation, 
what  the  candidate  strives  to  ignore  the  powers  that  be  hesitate 
not  to  declaim  that  “  he  is  too  old  then  is  he  forced  to  feel,  if 
not  to  admit,  that  he  has  passed  the  Rubicon. 
In  endeavouring  to  localise  this  boundary  line  it  may,  I  think, 
be  a  fairly  correct  estimate  in  placing  it  at  the  age  of  forty- five, 
although  this  is  probably  stretching  it  to  its  extreme  limit,  this 
appearing  to  be  the  limit  fixed  in  competition  for  a  public  post 
as  gardener.  Here,  for  special  reasons,  has  this  dividing  line  been 
thus  stretched,  because  the  ripeness  of  experience  is  a  sine  qua  non 
