Jiiiy  18S6. 
27 
JottmAL  OP  troRTiontTnnp  aistd  cottaoe  gardppier 
it  anperbly  fiaisbed  when  cool  treatment  ia  given.  Some  years 
ago  I  had  charge  of  a  vinery  principally  occupied  by  Muscats.  One 
Tine  of  Colman,  however,  found  a  place  there,  and  surprisingly 
well  It  iucoeeded  in  the  matter  of  pro  lucing  fine  bunches  and 
berries  ;  but  although  the  berries  began  to  colour  as  soon  as  any  in 
the  house,  by  the  time  the  Muscats  were  ripe  the  Colman  berries 
were  only  grizzly  in  colour.  But  as  soon  as  the  heat  was  turned 
off,  and  the  honse  kept  cool  and  airy,  they  invariably  began  to 
improve  in  colour,  and  sometimes  succeeded  in  getting  qhite  black. 
These  facts  caused  me  to  think  cool  treatment  during  the  ripening 
st^e  was  necessary  for  this  fine  Grape,  and  I  have  proved  since 
that  the  idea  was  correct.  When  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  Trebbiano, 
Golden  Queen,  and  Duke  of  Buccleuoh  are  ripening  I  like  to  keep 
fire  heat  in  the  hot-water  pipes  constantly,  except  during  the  middle 
of  very  bright  days,  and  give  sufficient  air  to  reguhte  the  tempera¬ 
ture.  A  strict  regard  to  the  night  temperature  is  quite  unnecessary  ; 
it  may  range  between  60°  and  75°  with  air  on. 
Thousands  of  Tines  throughout  the  country  will  shortly  be 
entering  upon  the  ripening  stage,  and  cultivators  generally  will  do 
well  to  keep  the  following  pithy  words  ringing  in  their  ears — viz., 
“  White  Grapes  require  more  fire  heat  than  black  ones.”  Some 
may,  perhaps,  regard  this  as  quite  a  simple  matter  ;  others  will  look 
upon  it  merely  as  an  assertion,  but  I  fancy  there  are  many  who,  if 
they  note  and  apply  its  meaning,  will  find  the  key  to  unravel  many 
a  past  mystery. 
Daring  bright  weather  houses  in  which  black  Grapes  are  growing 
should  be  damped  freely  twice  daily  till  the  berries  are  almost  ripe, 
a  mere  sprinkling  is  not  enough  ;  damp  as  heavily  as  in  the  growing 
season,  only  not  so  often.  On  the  other  hand,  in  dealing  with  white 
Grapes,  a  sprinkling  lightly  and  often  should  take  the  place  of 
heavy  damping,  otherwise  spotted  berries  will  be  the  result. — 
Exhibitor. 
SUMMERTIDE. 
July,  the  moed-monath  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors,  finds  us 
this  year  well  up  to  date,  for  there  are  scenes,  and  sounds,  and 
scents  sufficiently  pronounced  and  distinctive  in  character  to  tell 
us  that  summer  is  here.  With  “  a'  the  variorum  ”  of  work  filling 
in  the  long  days,  the  longest,  we  gardeners  are,  I  think,  at  this 
season  least  disposed  to  mentally  survey  the  year’s  future,  or 
retrospectively  glance  at  its  past.  In  the  midseason,  twixt  seed¬ 
time  and  harvest,  there  is,  indeed,  but  scant  time  to  pause  and 
consider.  Earlier  have  we  looked  ahead,  later  on  shall  we  look 
back,  and  we  are  apt  to  take  this  season  probably  in  a  more  pro¬ 
sodic  manner  than  either  the  preceding  or  the  following.  Yes, 
we  are  undoubtedly  well  up  to  date  in  the  matter  of  vegetation, 
not  alone  due  to  an  early  season  of  growth,  but  to  a  curtailment 
of  it  contingent  on  a  deficient  rainfall,  and  there  are,  perhaps,  some 
anxious  thoughts  given  to  the  near  future  even  under  a  pressure 
of  work. 
Late  Potatoes  look  well,  lacking  in  exuberance  of  foliage,  but 
more  than  compensated  by  a  sturdy  growth  and  depth  of  colour. 
Cautious  growers  have  in  some  instances  missed  the  mark  and  the 
market  with  early  varieties  by  somewhat  late  planting  in  a  localitj 
where  spring  frosts,  this  season,  gave  no  trouble.  Early  planting, 
which  is  speculative,  perhaps  pays,  perhaps  not.  It  depends  on 
the  frost. 
Diffiiculties  are  now  experienced  in  planting  out  winter  greens. 
One  who  plants  for  market  purposes  has  a  plan  which  is  not 
unworthy  of  recording — that  is,  as  the  plants  of  Broccoli,  Brussels 
Sprouts,  or  what  not,  are  drawn  from  the  seed  beds  each  root  stem 
is  dipped  into  a  tub  of  creamy  compound  made  by  stirring  up  fresh 
cow  manure  with  water.  This  is  protective  and  sustaining  to  the 
tender  rootlets,  and  I  have  neither  seen  nor  heard  of  the  method 
before. 
Day  by  day  and  all  day  long  the  women  are  pulling  field  Peas 
for  market,  for  the  “  busy  man  ”  has  made  a  good  hit  this  summer. 
Prices  are  good,  and  as  the  pickers  are  turned  into  each  successional 
break  a  sharp  eye  is  kept  on  the  initial  pulling,  because  he,  “  the 
busy  man,”  says  “  they  will  sit  on  their  hunkers,”  sit  on  one  row  to 
pull  the  next,  and  that  “  won’t  pay.”  Scarlet  Runners  and  French 
Beans  are  in  good  blossom,  promising  to  meet  an  unusual  demand 
likely  to  ensue  as  Peas  get  scarce. 
The  Lime  trees  are  heavy  and  fragrant  with  bloom,  amongst 
which  the  bees  are  as  busy  as  bees  can  be.  Oar  wild  bees  appear 
to  favour  more  lowly  things,  although  they  have,  indeed,  but  little 
choice  over  a  large  stretch  of  pasture  where  the  drought-resisting 
Buglewort,  Ajaga  reptans,  and  the  humble  meadow  Potentilla  are 
the  chief  blossoms.  I  notice  that  a  colony  of  handsome  fellows  in 
velvety  black  and  brown  diligently  search  each  blue  throat  of  the 
Ajuga  heads,  but  the  golden  cups  of  the  Potentilla  are  unvisited. 
How  beautiful  are,  and  have  been,  the  Water  Lilies  this  season. 
Certainly  Nymphrea  alba  is  a  sun-lover.  They  are  rather  flowers  to 
be  enjoyed  in  their  habitat.  Our  young  boatman,  who  cannot 
resist  their  charms  and  pull  them  by  handfuls,  find  themselves 
disillusioned  on  reaching  home. 
From  the  hedgerows  comes  a  scent  of  summertide.  The 
graceful  and  insinuative  Woodbine  comes  through  the  thickest  of 
undergrowth  to  greet  the  summer  sun,  and  rank  Elder  with  its 
refreshing  heads  now  quickly  berrying  is  a  good  break  to  monotony 
but  a  bad  hedgemaker.  Nearer  home  bedding  plants,  poor  things, 
are  having  a  bad  time  of  it.  W.  A.  Richardson  Rose  has  proved 
itself  the  survivor  of  the  fittest  amongst  the  standards.  Previous 
experience  of  this  charming  Rose  in  other  localities  has  been 
the  reverse.  La  France  as  a  standard,  where  it  succeeds,  is  a 
worthy  companion  to  the  former.  Standard  Roses  are  not  gene¬ 
rally  so  much  favoured  as  of  yore,  nor  is  there  any  ground  for 
regret  at  the  change,  but  in  lines  to  relieve  the  flatness  of  a  formal 
flower  garden,  with  not  too  closely  cropped  heads,  they  add  much, 
I  think,  to  the  beauty  and  interest  of  that  garden  during  summer- 
tide.  Some  low  hedges  of  Berberis  (Mahonia)  have  been  very 
beautiful  in  their  lustrous,  metallic  tinted  young  growth,  but  the 
shears  have,  alas  !  been  over  them,  and  their  glory  has  departed. — 
Observer. 
AVENUES. 
It  does  not  now  seem  to  be  the  fashion  to  plant  avenues  of 
trees  in  parks  in  the  same  way  that  was  common  in  the  Georgian 
era.  Whilst  there  is  some  charm  in  a  noble  avenue,  it  is  perhaps 
on  the  whole  rather  to  be  regarded  with  satisfaction  than  otherwise 
that  the  fashion  has  fallen  into  desuetude.  We  have  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  of  Kingston  some  fine  examples  of  both  forms  of 
planting — avenues,  and  their  absence.  Of  the  latter  Richmond 
Great  Park  is  a  very  grand  one,  for  I  do  not  know  over  its  entire 
area  of  any  actual  example  of  the  tree  avenue.  I  did  notice  a  few 
years  since  that  one  of  Horse  Chestnut  running  from  the  small 
gate  on  the  top  of  Kingston  Hill  towards  Ham  had  been  planted 
to  form  what  was  probably  meant  to  be  a  broad  grass  ride,  but 
more  recently  I  have  observed  that  these  trees  have  been  lifted  and 
replanted  in  clumps.  Bichmond  Park  has  such  wide  expanse,  many 
noble  single  trees  and  grand  clumps,  as  well  as  woods,  all  in 
delightful  keeping  with  the  contour  and  general  aspect  of  the 
park,  but  the  avenue  as  a  distinctive  feature  seems  absent. 
Over  in  the  extensive  but  very  flat  Home  Park  at  Hampton 
Court  avenues  are  the  dominating  feature.  They  have  a  base  like 
the  handle  of  a  fan  at  the  Palace  end,  and  radiate  from  there 
in  three  broad  avenues  of  four  rows  of  trees  each,  one  towards 
Kingston  ;  the  middle  one,  including  also  the  noble  Long  Water, 
towards  Surbiton  ;  and  the  third,  or  right  one,  towards  Thames 
Ditton.  Then  there  is  a  cross  avenue  intersecting  the  extreme 
points  of  the  two  former.  The  trees  are  almost  exclnsively  of 
Pine,  and  are  now  getting  into  a  state  of  decay,  so  that  they 
will  never  again  look  so  well  as  they  have,  and  once  destroyed 
never  can  be  effectually  replaced.  Had  these  trees  been  beheaded 
some  30  feet  from  the  ground  thirty  years  ago,  and  thus  encouraged 
to  make  entirely  new  life,  no  doubt  they  would  now  have  been  in  a 
much  more  robust  condition.  As  it  is  we  see,  because  the  trees  are 
somewhat  densely  planted,  that  they  are  literally  starving  each 
other,  and  during  the  next  twenty  years  large  gapi  will  be 
made.  No  doubt  with  many  these  avenues  are  highly  favoured, 
but  it  is  but  the  few  who  regard  trees  as  ornamental  or  picturesque 
objects  in  the  landscape  ;  whilst  it  is  the  many  who  look  to  them 
for  coolness  and  for  shade,  or  to  furnish  in  summer  pleasant  walks. 
But  in  planting  avenues  some  regard  should  be  shown  to  the  future 
of  the  trees,  and  it  is  so  certain  that  when  planted  closely  in  avenues 
the  chances  of  old  age  are  reduced  one-half.  But  not  only  so  ;  for 
what  more  lamentable  objects  than  are  avenues  in  a  state  of 
decay  ? 
When  clumps  or  individual  trees  fail  others  can  be  planted  near 
by  to  replace  them.  When  trees  in  avenues  die  it  is  useless  to 
hope  that  young  trees  planted  in  others’  places  and  with  snoh 
crowded  snrroundings  can  ever  thrive  and  fill  the  voids.  They 
may  do  for  a  few  years,  but  as  to  filling  the  gaps  they  never  will. 
Again,  avenues  have  the  objection  that  they  present  in  parks  or 
expanses  purely  straight  lines  that  are  ever  objectionable.  Nature 
never  produces  trees  in  straight  lines  as  planting  artificially  does. 
Then  avenues  limit  the  range  of  vision.  Wborevcr  they  interpose 
in  the  landscape  they  cut  off  from  view  all  that  is  beyond.  That 
is  wrong.  True,  landscape  planting  should  be  specially  applied  to 
the  preservation  of  contour,  of  views,  of  glades,  and  of  distance, 
because  in  landscapes  especially  distance  lends  enchantment. 
Apart  from  these  things  avenues  in  a  state  of  decay,  or  what 
might  be  termed  tree  senility,  are  objects  which  should  be  ever 
guarded  against,  and  the  best  way  to  do  so  is  to  avoid  planting 
them.  There  is  the  famous  Chestnut  avenue  in  Bushy  Park  that 
in  the  spring  attracts  so  much  attention,  yet  it  is  now  fast  getting 
