July  28,  1896, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
89 
A?march:up  Shaddon  Hill  soon  brought  into  view  lovely  Torquay . 
After  tea  most  of  the  party  visited  public  gardens  upwards  of  70  acres 
in  extent,  scattered  over  various  parts  of  the  borough.  Torquay  is  said 
to  cover  more  ground  than  any  town  in  England  of  equal  population, 
the  reason  being  that  it  mainly  consists  of  detached  residences  standing 
in  their  own  grounds.  When  Napoleon  Bonaparte  arrived  at  Torquay, 
he  exclaimed,  “  What  a  beautiful  country  1  How  much  it  resembles 
Porto  Ferrago  in  Elbal”  When  the  party  returned  to  Exeter  another 
day  had  begun  to  dawn,  and  brought  its  work  to  the  active  gardener. 
Mr  Andrew  Hope,  the  excellent  Secretary  of  the  Society,  proved 
himself  a  splendid  manager  of  the  outing,  just  the  man  for  the  work. — 
WoEK  AND  Wait. 
STANDS  FOR  BXHIRfTING  GRAPES. 
We  have  been  requested  by  “  T.  0.”  to  publish  some  information 
regarding. stands  for  exhibiting  Grapes,  and  the  following,  supplied  by 
Mr.  Inglis  some  years  ago,  will  be  of  assistance  to  him.  As  the  number 
FIG,  15. 
containing  them  is  out  of  print  they  are  reproduced  with  the  notes  per¬ 
taining  to  them. 
“  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  promoters  of  fruit  shows  do  not  name 
the  size  and  shape  of  boards  or  boxes  upon  which  Grapes  are  exhibited. 
Nothing  that  we  can  place  on  exhibition  tables  creates  so  much  interest 
as  Grapes,  yet  how  often  do  we  see  them  indifferently  staged  ?  Boxes 
and  boards  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  and  of  many  angles,  presenting  when 
placed  in  a  row  a  grotesque  appearance  when  compared  with  uniform 
rows  of  Dahlia  and  other  boxes  which  have  been  reduced  to  some  sort  of 
a  standard. 
“  Some  time  ago  I  was  much  interested  in  watching  the  unpacking 
and  staging  of  Grapes  at  a  local  show  where  they  were  well  represented. 
The  Grapes  were  a  very  good  lot,  and  the  majority  of  them  were  well 
staged,  but  owing  to  the  different  angles  of  the  boards,  some  of  which 
could  not  well  be  altered,  they  did  not  look  so  well  as  they  might  have 
done. 
“  I  think  the  best  and  simplest  form  of  box  is  that  represented  at 
fig.  15.  The  angle  is  45°,  and  anyone  can  make  one  by  the  following 
directions;  Get  a  piece  of  f-inch  deal  10  inches  wide  by  12  inches  long, 
cut  it  perfectly  square  at  both  ends,  draw  a  pencil  mark  to  correspond 
with  the  dotted  lines  in  fig.  16,  each  1  inch  from  the  ends  and  parallel 
PIG.  16. 
with  them.  This  leaves  the  spaces,  A  b  c  D,  a  square  10  inches  each 
way,  and  if  cut  through  with  the  saw  from  B  to  D,  and  each  set  on  its 
square,  they  will  be  of  the  desired  angle.  Upon  these  fix  the  board 
(three-eighths  of  an  inch  thick)  for  the  Grapes  tp  lest  upon,  which  for 
this  size  will  have  to  be  about  14  inches  wide.  Another  piece  of  deal 
(half  inch  thick)  6  inches  wide  is  fixed  at  the  back  of  the  stand,  and 
rising  2  J  or  3  inches  above  it,  pierced  with  two  holes  opposite  where  each 
bunch  is  to  be  placed,  by  which  means  they  are  secured  to  the  board 
with  twine  or  tape.  A  very  thin  lath  about  2  inches  wide  is  fixed  along 
the  front,  its  upper  edge  rounded  off  and  standing  a  little  above  the 
board,  and  similar  pieces  at  each  end  forming  a  narrow  beading  all 
round,  makes  the  stand  look  neat.  As  to  length,  each  bunch  should 
have  8  or  9  inches  of  board ;  thus  a  box  for  three  bunches  should  be 
27  inches, 
“Fig.  17  shows  the  Grape  stand  in  a  box  ready  for  travelling.  It 
should  be  just  large  enough  to  hold  the  stand,  should  be  light,  and  have 
a  handle  fixed  in  the  centre  of  the  top  to  carry  it  by. 
“  Fig.  18  is  a  simple  form  of  board,  supported  behind  by  two  legs, 
connected  by  a  lath  and  generally  held  in  position  by  a  piece  of  twine, 
but  instead  of  that  it  would  be  preferable  to  have  short  spikes  as  at  A  A, 
so  that  when  on  the  table  it  can  be  placed  at  any  desired  angle,  the 
spikes  keeping  it  from  slipping  about.  This  can  be  placed  in  a  box  the 
same  as  at  fig.  17,  the  legs  of  the  stand  being  laid  parallel  with  the 
board. 
“  Some  exhibitors  place  their  Grapes  on  the  bare  boards.  A  better 
plan,  I  think,  is  to  place  a  covering  of  cotton  wool  all  over  the  board, 
leaving  about  an  inch  clear  all  round  the  outside.  With  a  small  brush 
apply  some  gum  or  paste  just  inside  the  beading,  and  have  a  sheet  of 
white  tissue  paper  ready  to  cover  the  whole  of  the  cotton  wool,  and 
adhere  to  the  stand  round  the  edges.  Examine  each  bunch  before 
laying  it  on  the  board  and  place  it  on  its  flattest  side,  and  secure  it  by 
means  of  string  or  tape,  as  shown  at  fig.  15  ;  or  if  the  bunches  are  large 
the  tape  may  be  placed  round  the  junction  of  the  shoulders  of  the  bunch, 
placing  the  bunch  higher  on  the  stand  than  is  here  shown,  at  the  same 
time  twisting  the  stems  of  the  bunches  along  the  face  of  the  upright 
board,  so  that  they  do  not  come  in  the  way  when  placed  in  a  box.  When 
large  bunches  have  to  travel  some  distance  it  is  desirable  to  have  them 
secured  to  the  board  about  the  middle  of  the  bunch.  Two  small  holes 
should  be  made  in  the  board  under  each  bunch,  and  by  means  of  a  small 
packing  needle  carefully  p,),8s  a  piece  of  narrow  tape  up  from  below 
through  the  bunch  and  down  again  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  main 
stem  of  the  bunch,  using  a  pencil  to  guide  the  needle  amongst  the 
berries,  which  must  not  be  touched  with  the  hands.  This  should  be  tied 
just  tight  enough  to  steady  the  bunch.  The  figures  added  to  fig.  17  are 
the  measurements  of  stand  15  in  section.  If  some  such  standard  were 
given  in  our  fruit  schedules  it  would  be  better  than  leaving  everyone  tg 
make  their  own  standards.” 
