December  23  I.S97. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
590 
most  popular,  and  invariably  flower  well  throughout  the  winter  months. 
Uf  Violets,  Marie  Louise  is  the  only  variety  grown.  One  house  contains 
over  6000  plants,  from  which  great  quantities  are  gathered  daily,  which 
hnd  a  ready  sale  at  the  above  price. 
Chrysanthemums  are  grown  in  6-inch  pots,  and  average  eight  to 
twenty  blooms  to  a  plant,  one  flower  to  each  stem.  The  majority  of  the 
plants  made  from  50  to  75  cents  each.  Cyclamens  are  well  grown  in 
this  country.  We  had  grand  plants,  well  flowered  in  6-inch  pots  ;  they 
were  two-year-old  corms.  The  retail  price  of  these  was  from  3s.  to  5s. 
per  plant.  They  are  grown  on  a  different  system  from  what  I  was  used 
to  in  the  old  country.  We  never  allow  the  old  corms  to  dry  off  at  all, 
but  keep  them  moist  and  growing  throughout  the  season.  My  experience 
ot  Cyclamens  treated  in  this  manner  is  that  they  are  much  better  than  if 
kept  on  the  dry  side  and  allowed  to  rest.  It  may  not  be  all  in  the  treat- 
^^w'th^t  different  climate  probably  having  something  to 
3''’®  S'd  heated  by  steam  ;  30,000  feet  of  1-inch  piping  is 
all  heated  by  one  boiler.  Another  little  boiler  is  used  for  pumping  and 
watering  purposes.  All  the  watering  is  done  with  the  hose.  There  is  a 
labour,  the  water  is  always  warm.  I  like  this  country 
and  the  commercial  business,  but  there  is  a  great  deal  of  competition. 
It  is  very  hot  in  summer  and  cold  in  winter.  February  is  the  coldest 
month  ;  24®  below  zero  is  the  most  severe  frost  we  have  registered.” 
“  C.’  wrote,  after  he  had  been  in  Canada  nine  months,  “I  am  getting 
on  well  in  this  country.  I  obtained  a  situation  in  a  commercial  garden 
at  Alontreal  the  first  day  of  my  arrival.  I  am  getting  7  dollars  per  week, 
and  do  not  doubt  but  that  I  shall  be  able  to  command  more  wages  next 
year.  The  chief  things  grown  are  Roses,  Carnations,  plants  for  decora¬ 
tion,  and  bedding  plants  in  the  spring.  There  is  a  great  demand  for 
flowers  in  this  part,  which  command  good  prices.  Roses  are  grown  to 
perfection,  and  are  managed  so  as  to  begin  blooming  the  first  week  in 
beptember  right  on  to  the  end  of  May,  when  they  are  replaced  by  young 
plants  that  are  rooted  from  cuttings  of  the  flowering  shoots  and  grown  in 
pots  until  the  end  of  June.  They  are  then  planted  out  in  the  beds, 
whic^h  are  4  feet  wide  by  4  inches  in  depth,  and  run  the  entire  length  of 
the  house.  Cow  manure  is  extensively  used  for  growing  Roses,  and  the 
temperature  of  the  houses  is  maintained  as  near  60°  as  possible,  which 
keeps  them  growing  and  blooming  freely  the  whole  of  the  time.  As  each 
bloom  opens  the  shoot  with  the  bud  is  cut  back  to  the  second  bud,  as 
might  be  the  case  with  pruning  Vines.  Every  shoot  that  breaks  never 
tails  to  bring  good  blooms.  That  is  what  they  caU  pruning. 
•I  place  is  on  the  banks  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  and  about  four 
mi  es  frorn  the  city.  The  scenery  is  grand.  Although  we  have  the  two 
extremes  in  heat  and  cold  the  atmosphere  is  dry  and  clear.” 
•  above  letters  were  written  I  have  had  further  communication 
with  the  writers  as  to  the  advisability  of  young  gardeners  going  to 
Canada,  and  the  reply  is  nearly  the  same  in  each  instance.  “  There  is 
plenty  of  employment  for  young  men  in  market  establishments,  and 
wages  are  an  advance  on  the  old  country.  There  are  few  private 
gardens  in  which  young  gardeners  are  employed.  Clothes  and  boots  are 
sirnilar  in  price  to  what  they  are  at  home,  but  rent  and  fuel  is  dear,  and 
the  excessive  cold  a  fire  has  to  be  kept  burning  throughout  the 
night.”  os 
In  answer  to  my  query  as  to  their  future  prospects  I  find  they  are  not 
very  good  unless  they  can  save  sufficient  money  to  commence  business  on 
thmr  own  account.  They  do  not  advise  others  to  follow  their  example, 
although  they  own  they  would  not  like  to  come  back  to  this  country  and 
work  under  the  old  conditions.  They  are  loud  in  their  praises  of  their 
adopted  country.  In  the  States,  they  observe,  better  wag^es  may  be 
obtained,  but  the  hours  of  labour  are  longer,  as  Sunday  is  very  much  the 
same  as  other  days  of  the  week.  They  therefore  remain  loyal  to  the 
British  Flag.-S.,  Forfo. 
ORAPES  AT  TILEHURST. 
I  SEE  on  page  552  that  “  A.  D.”  does  not  credit  my  statement  as 
regards  the  vinery  at  the  Tilehurst  Nurseries.  I  advise  him  to  read  the 
paragraph  again  more  carefully  than  he  did  before,  ere  he  makes  another 
calculation,  for  in  my  Journal,  at  page  521,  the  statement  reads  thus  : — 
The  Vines  are  planted  5  feet  apart  at  the  back  of  the  pipes,  each  Vine 
consisting  of  two  fruiting  rods,  and  one-rod  Vines  were  planted  in  front 
of  the  pipes  to  get  a  crop  of  Grapes  at  the  top  of  the  house.”  These 
Vines  have  not  been  removed,  but  are  still  in  the  position  in  which  they 
were  planted,  just  2  feet  in  front  of  the  back  Vines,  and  had  Grapes  on 
them  this  season. 
Now  if  Mr.  “  A.  D.”  will  add  fifty-eight  rods  more  to  his  calculations 
he  will  then  be  able  to  see  that  it  is  not  so  very  wonderful  that  a  house  of 
Grapes,  grown  for  market,  should  have  that  number  of  bunches, 
representing,  as  they  do,  3  tons  or  more  of  Grapes. 
I  suppose  Mr.  “  A.  I).  ’  noticed  the  Editor’s  remark.  If  your  corre¬ 
spondent  ca,nnot  see  the  photograph  that  was  sent  with  the  sample  of 
Grapes  I  will  send  him  one  by  return  of  post  if  he  will  send  2s.  worth  of 
stamps  ;  if  he  cannot  see  his  way  to  do  that,  if  he  will  let  me  have  his 
address,  I  will  send  him  one  gratis. 
If  he  would  take  a  trip  down  the  Lee  valley  in  Middlesex  and  Herts,  he 
may  see  many  such  vineries,  also  in  other  districts  ;  but  it  is  rather  late 
for  that  now,  as  the  weather  has  been  too  warm  for  keeping  Grapes  back. 
We  could  not  keep  the  houses  cool  enough  for  Grapes  that  were  ripe  at 
the  beginning  of  September. 
If  I  am  spared  till  another  September,  and  Mr.  “.\.  D.”  is  willing  to 
pay  me  a  visit,  I  may  be  able  to  let  him  see  another  good  show  of  Grapes. 
If  we  do  not  get  all  the  bunches  to  average  lb.,  we  can  always  find  a 
corner  in  the  basket  for  a  smaller  bunch  that  will  just  make  the  weight 
right  and  the  basket  full.  I  did  not  say"^  that  1  lb.  was  the  average 
weight,  but  “  not  less  than  1  lb.” 
I  thank  “A.  D.”  for  the  compliment  he  pays  me  of  being  a  Grape 
producer.  This  is  exactly  what  I  want  to  be — namely,  able  to  supply 
the  masses  with  Grapes.— John  Bradley,  Tilehurst  Nurseries. 
[The  facts  of  the  case  would  have  been  clearer  if  the  sentence  had 
read,  “One-rod  Vines  were  also  planted  in  front  of  the  pipes.”  Mr. 
“A.  D.”  shall  see  the  photo,  and  he  may  just  be  able  to  discern  a  row 
of  Vines  between  the  pipes  and  two  side  walls  of  the  span-roof,  also 
another  row  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  pipes,  or  between  them  and  the 
central  path,  but,  of  course,  near  the  pipes,  seeing  there  is  only  a  distance 
of  2  feet  between  the  two  rows  of  Vines.  Such  a  dense,  dark  mass,  with 
Air.  Bradley  and  his  men,  about  the  same  colour  as  the  Black  Alicantes, 
could  not  be  reproduced  with  justice  to  either  the  Grapes  or  the  men,  and 
we  should  be  sorry  to  spoil  either  one  or  the  other.] 
REST  IN  PLANT  LIFE. 
“  A.  D.  ’  in  his  note  on  page  553  has,  we  may  hope,  set  many  culti¬ 
vators  thinking,  for  his  subject  is  a  very  wide  one.  It  is  quite  true,  as 
he  says,  that  rest  is  a  relative  term,  Imt  he  appears  to  have  overlooked 
the  fact  that  it  is  also  a  variable  quantity.  Because  the  tropical  vege¬ 
tation  he  speaks  of  rests  in  a  different  way  from  that  of  cooler  climes,  is 
“  A.  D,”  right  in  saying  that  “  There  is  in  the  case  of  all  this  tropical 
vegetation  absolutely  no  proof  that  what  is  empirically  termed  rest  is 
necessary  ?  ”  As  a  matter  of  fact  some  at  least  of  the  plants  he  mentions 
take  a  decided  period  of  rest,  both  in  their  habitats  and  also  under 
cultivation,  without  the  temperature  being  reduced  beyond  natural 
requirements. 
During  the  natural  period  of  apparent  inactivity  that  may  be  noticed  in 
almost  every  plant  known,  Nature  is  still  alive,  and  the  forces  of  the  plant 
are  fulfilling  their  proper  functions,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
to  keep  any  of  these  in  a  continual  state  of  growth,  were  it  possible, 
would  eventually  weaken  and  ultimately  kill  the  plant.  It  would  take 
longer  with  some  than  others,  no  doubt,  but  the  end  would  be  the  same 
in  all. 
I  cannot  think  “  A.  1).”  in  earnest  when  he  asks  if  deciduous  trees 
really  remain  inactive  above  and  below  ground.  If  he  is  he  may  easily 
satisfy  himself  by  keeping,  say,  a  Peach  tree,  absolutely  dry  from  the  time 
the  leaf  falls  until  the  proper  time  for  it  to  start  growing  naturally.  If 
he  find  at  the  end  of  it  that  no  harm  has  been  done  to  the  tree,  then  it 
will  be  sufficiently  demonstrated  that  the  roots  and  branches  pass  into  a 
comatose  condition,  have  nothing  to  do,  and  do  it.  But  of  course  “  A.  D.” 
knows  perfectly  well  that  it  is  not  so,  and  he  also  knows,  I  take  it,  that 
what  we  call  rest  is  “  an  indispensable  part  of  the  great  plan,”  just  as 
much  as  growth  is,  but  that  absolute  “rest ’’comes  to  plants  as  to  animals 
only  when  they  cease  to  exist. — H.  R.  R, 
I  ventured  to  allow  the  brief  article  upon  this  subject  to  be  con¬ 
cluded  ere  replying  to  “A.  D.’s  ”  criticisms  (page  553)  upon  it — a  reply 
which  common  courtesy  not  only/demands,  but  from  the  apparent  interest 
taken  by  my  able  critic  in  the  matter,  with  his  pertinent  questions  still 
unanswered,  judgment  would  go  by  default,  and  I  am  guilty  of  setting 
“  an  empirical  theory  ”  upon  a  foundation  of  “  egotism  ”  rather  than  that 
of  observation. 
Firstly,  the  conclusion  of  the  article  has,  perhaps,  in  some  measure 
shown  the  broad  view  taken  by  me — the  writer  of  it.  Perhaps  not. 
In  either  case  the  fact  remains,  and  no  endeavour  shall  be  made  to  ignore 
it,  that  either  an  assertion  has  been  made,  “  an  unquestionable  dictum  ” 
constituted,  or  an  “  empirical  theory  ”  set  up,  and  this  is  the  crux  of  the 
critique.  Whilst  wishing  “  A.  D.’  to  know  that  it  was  no  hastily  penned 
paper,  being  indeed  the  endeavour  to  express  such  knowledge  as  the 
observation  of  a  lifetime  in  the  great  garden  of  Nature  affords,  with  the 
benefits  generally  conferred  by  the  laliours  of  our  great  leaders  in  the 
botanical  field  of  research,  I  must  confess  that  his  critical  pen  has  led 
me  to  review  the  subject,  and  this  has  strengthened  (in  my  own  mind) 
the  original  assertion,  dictum,  or  theory.  This,  I  am  aware,  is  rather 
self-comforting  than  critic-convincing ;  and,  however  one  may  wish  to 
eliminate  all  bias  from  a  broad  question,  our  subject  being  too  broad  to 
admit  of  narrowing  down  into  a  matter  of  personal  opinion,  I,  at  least, 
while  sticking  to  my  guns,  would  rather  hear  a  little  independent  firing 
settle  the  matter  pro  tern.  This  advisedly,  having  not  a  shadow  of  doubt 
but  what  in  a  century  hence  (and  probably  long  before)  the  now  con¬ 
tentious  dictum— it  is  an  indispensable  part  of  the  great  plan  that  all 
life  should  have  rest— will  be  duly  recognised  and  fully  established. 
Obviously  rest  in  plant  life  does  not  necessarily  insist  upon  a  total 
suspension  of  the  functions  of  life  any  more  than  in  the  animal  kingdom  ; 
frost  alone,  to  repeat  what  has  been  already  advanced,  being  the  sole 
agent  whereby  vitality  is  completely  arrested.  Upon  the  similarity 
existing  between  life  of  the  vegetable  and  of  the  animal  kingdom  sufficient 
evidence  exists,  from  the  observations  of  some  of  our  most  eminent  men, 
to  warrant  the  thought  that  it  is  worthy  of  another  paper,  which,  with 
permission,  will  be  given.  All  of  such  evidence  as  can  be  adduced  is,  at 
least,  interesting,  some  of  it  has  a  distinct  bearing  upon  our  practical 
work,  and  in  one  particular  instance  the  similaritv  is  startling. — 
Invicta. 
