122 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GABBENEE. 
February  5,  1903. 
ripened  canes.  I  prefer  -what  are  known  as  cut-backs, 
although  many  rely  on  one-year-old  canes.  In  the  case  of 
the  former,  two  or  three  bunches  may  be  taken  from  each 
Vine  the  following  year  after  planting  ;  but  it  is  not  wise  to 
do  this  when  one-year-old  canes  are  planted. 
After  having  tinned  the  Vines  out  of  their  pots  and  shaken 
the  bulk  of  the  soil  from  the  roots,  any  damaged  or  unduly 
long  ones  should  be  cut  away,  and  those  remaining  spread  out 
evenly  and  covered  with  the  finer  portions  of  the  compost, 
a  few  extra  fibrous  pieces  of  turf  being  introduced  here  and 
there.  Tread  or  ram  the  surface  firmly ;  see  that  the  roots 
are  not  covered  with  more  than  Sin  or  4in  of  soil,  and  that 
there  is  a  slight  mound  around  the  stem  of  each  Vine  to 
allow  for  sinking.  The  rafters  of  many  houses  are  arranged 
4ft  apart,  and  that  represents  a  suitable  distance  at  which  to 
plant  Muscats  for  ordinary  purposes  ;  but  for  the  production 
of  large  bunches  an  extra  2ft  is  an  advantage.  When  the 
one-to-each  rafter  plan  is  adopted,  immediately  under  the 
rafter  is  a  good  position  ;  but  the  stem  of  the  Vine  should 
be  Gin  from  the  front  wall  instead  of  close  to  it.  The  latter 
is  a  mistake  often  made,  with  the  result  that  the  stem  is 
crushed  against  the  wall  after  a  few  years. 
One-year-old  canes  should  be  shortened  to  within  a  foot 
of  the  ground,  and  cut-backs  about  3ft  from  it.  It  is  not, 
however,  advisable  to  do  the  pruning  for  some  time  after 
planting,  or  bleeding  is  almost  sure  to  occur  thus  late  in  the 
s.eason.  An  excellent  plan  to  follow  is  to  rub  out  the  buds 
back  to  a  point  at  which  it  is  intended  to  shorten,  the  cutting 
back  of  the  cane  being  done  when  the  buds  left  have  started 
freely  into  growth.  There  is  then  no  danger  of  bleeding. 
A  strong  cane  will  often  send  a  shoot  to  the  top  of  the  house 
in  one  season  ;  but,  with  the  object  of  thickening  the  lower 
part,  I  like  to  stop  the  leader  when  it  has  made  4ft  of  growth. 
At  the  same  time,  rub.  out  the  small  laterals  which  can  be 
discerned  at  the  point  of  stopping.  This  will  cause  the  main 
bud  to  burst,  which  will  give  a  better  leader  than  that 
obtained  from  the  lateral  if  left. 
Some  cultivators  allow  the  laterals  on  a  young  Vine  to 
ramble  at  will  during  the  first  season,  with  the  object  of 
encouraging  root  action  ;  but  with  a  good  leader  I  think 
root  action  is  sufficiently  encouraged  by  stopping  the  laterals 
at  three  leaves  and  subsequent  shoots  closely,  and  this 
practice  generally  se'cures  a  stronger  cane  in  one  season  than 
by  the  rambling  method.  At  the  autumn  pruning  cut  the 
cane  to  within  4ft  or  5ft  of  the  previous  point  of  shorten¬ 
ing.  The  following  year  at  spring  time  leave  the  leader  an 
additional  foot  longer,  and  the  next  year  shorten  to  within 
15in  of  the  apex  of  the  house.  Such  methods  of  shortening 
may  not  allow  a  roof  to  be  covered  so  rapidly  as  some  recom¬ 
mend,  but  it  will  ensure  strong  and  sturdy  rods. 
In  order  to  get  a  very  quick  return  in  a  newly-planted 
house,  supernumerary  Vines  may  be  planted  midway  betw'een 
the  permanent  ones,  these  to  be  cropped  heavily  for  four  or 
five  years,  and  then  be  uprooted.  If  this  is  done,  I  strongly 
advise  the  “  supers  ”  to  be  planted  in  a  bricked  space,  which 
can  be  cleared  out  when  the  Vines  are  uprooted,  because  if 
they  are  cut  down  and  left  to  die  by  constantly  denuding  them 
of  growth,  the  roots  in  the  soil  decay  and  cause  the  spread 
of  a  fungus  to  the  roots  of  the  permanent  Vines.  Remarks 
on  established  Muscats  I  hope  to  supply  in  due  season. — 
OXWARI). 
- - 
American  Traders  and  “Imported”  Grapes. 
The  subjoined  paragraph  from  “  The  American  Agriculturist  ” 
iuoiishes  an  insiglit  of  the  ways  of  certain  traders  there,  which 
it  is  well  to  know  of.  The  paragraph  begins  thus  :  “  ‘  The  Phila¬ 
delphia  Record’  say.s  that  a  New  Jersey  man  boasted  at  lunch 
the  other  day  that  he  was  making  a  good  thing  by  raising  and 
selling  ‘  imported  ’  Grapes.  He  has  one  grapery  100ft  long, 
33ft  wide,  and  20ft  high.  Half  of  it  is  devoted  to  Muscats, 
which  are  set  6ft  apart.,  and  are  now'  six  years  old.  They 
average  501b  to  the  Vine.  The  bunches  average  2jlb  each,  ft 
would  be  no  trouble  to  grow  51b  bunches,  but  the  dealers  prefer 
^  weighing  about  a  pound  each.  Many  a  handsome  bunch 
of  Black  Hamburghs  sold  in  Philadelphia  is  grown  no  farther 
away  than  Germantown,  within  the  city  limits.  They  bring 
a  dollar  (4s.  2d.)  a  pound  now\  A  number  of  Connecticut  and 
r  "i  graperies  cater  to  the  New  York  market,  and  many 
01  those  who.  handle  tliese  Grapes  pile  it  on  heavy  to  their  cus¬ 
tomers  about  the  ‘rich  and  luscious  clusters  that  could  only 
grow'  m  an  English  hothouse.’  Grapes  in  the  hothouse  need 
jilenty  of  water,  and  mildew'  is  avoided  by  means  of  ventilation 
and  using  sulphur  on  the  Vines.” 
The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. 
The  annual  general  meeting  of  the  .subscribers  to  this  fund 
will  be  held  at  the  Cannon  Street  Hotel,  London,  E.C.,  on 
Friday,  February  13.  The  chair  will  be  taken  at  4  p.m. 
Fixtures  for  1903. 
Under  our  list  of  fixtures  for  1903,  on  a  back  page,  will  be 
found  the  dates  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  meetings 
for  the  year,  together  with  those  of  other  special  floricultural 
and  general  horticultural  societies. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
The  next  meeting  of  the  committees  of  this  Society  will  take 
place  on  Tuesday,  February  10,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  Buckingham 
Gate,  S.W.  The  annual  general  meeting  of  the  Fellow's  of  the 
Society  will  also  be  held  in  the  Drill  Hall  at  3  p.m.  on  the 
same  date.  At  a.  general  meeting  held  on  Tuesday,  January  27, 
forty-eight  new'  Fellows  w'ere  elected,  amongst  them  being  the 
Countess  Fitzwilliam  and  Baron  de  Tessier,  making  a  total  of 
138  elected  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  year. 
Legal  Notes:  Fife  Potato  Merchants’  Claim. 
In  the  Court  of  Session  recently.  Lord  Kincairnej^  disposed 
of  an  action  by  Robert  Gold,  wholesale  Potato  merchant,  Leven, 
Fife,  against  James  M'Call,  Ferniehill,  for  payment  of 
£132  16s.  lid.,  the  balance  said  to  be  due  upon  goods  supplied 
by  the  pursuer  to  the  defender.  The  defender  averred  that  on 
October  23,  1901,  he  paid  £50  to  account,  for  which  he  had  not 
received  credit,  and  that  all  that  was  due  was  £87  19s.  5d., 
which  he  w'as  willing  to  pay.  The  pursuer  denied  that  the 
defender  had  paid  £50  on  October  23.  Lord  Kincairney  said 
the  onus  was  upon  the  defender  to  prove  that  the  £50  had  been 
paid  to  account,  and  his  lordship  was  of  opinion  that  he  had  not 
jiroved  his  case.  His  judgment,  therefore,  was  for  the  pursuer — ■ 
decree  as  concluded  for,  with  expenses. 
Veltch  Memorial  Fund. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  held  on  the  27th  ult.,  it  was 
decided  to  offer  to  the  Roj'al  Horticultural  Society  two  medals 
and  prizes  of  £5  each  for  competition  at  the  Chisw’ick  Show'  to 
be  held  on  September  29  and  two  following  days,  one  medal  and 
prize  to  be  awarded  to  fruit,  and  one  medal  and  prize  to 
vegetables.  It  was  also  decided  to  offer  the  Birmingham  and 
Midland  Counties  Fruit  and  Floricultural  Society  a  medal  and 
inlze  of  £5,  to  be  aw'arded  to  fruit;  also  to  Mr.  Hollard,  of  Clay- 
Cross,  Derbyshire,  a  Silver  Medal  in  recognition  of  his  long 
and  faithful  services  to  horticulture,  extending  over  a  period  of 
sixty  years,  as  secretary  of  the.  Clay  Cross  Horticultural  Society. 
It  W'as  further  resolved  to  contribute  the  sum  of  fifty  guineas 
towards  the  fund  being  raised  by  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  for  the  erection  of  a:  new'  hall  and  offices. 
Amendment  of  the  Pharmacy  Act 
A  change  in  the  law  as  to  the  sale  of  poisons  is  contemplated, 
which,  while  safeguarding  the  public  interest,  will  meet  the 
convenience  of  large  numbers  of  persons  who  make  use  of 
poisonous  compounds  for  horticultural  purposes.  Hitherto  the 
law  has  required  that  such  compounds  should  be  sold  only  by 
properly  qualified  chemists ;  but  it  w'ould  be  manifestly  more  . 
convenient  that  articles  such  as  insecticides  and  w'eed  killers 
should  bo  readily  obtainable  from  nurserymen,  seedsmen,  and 
oil  and  colourmen,  as  w'ell  as  chemists.  It  is  understood  that 
the  departmental  committee  on  poisons  wdll  report  to  the 
Privy  Council  and  to  Parliament  in  favour  of  an  alteration  in 
the  law,  and  that  the  Government  will  shortly  bring  in  a  Bill 
amending  the  Pharmacy  Act  on  the  lines  .suggested  by  the 
poisons  committee,  providing  for  the  sale  by  licensed  traders,  in 
properly  labelled  and  sealed  bottles  or  packages.  The  time  i.s 
now  ripe,  therefore,  for  action  by  the  traders,  who  should  com¬ 
municate  with  either  Mr.  Thos.  G.  Dobbs,  24,  Sansome  Sti-eet, 
Worcester,  or  Mr.  G.  H.  Richards,  234,  Borough  High  Street, 
London,  S.E. 
