178 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  23,  IDOO. 
Poisoned  Vine  Borders. 
Healthy  Vines  growing  in  well  drained  borders,  and  having 
abundance  of  active  roots,  require  large  quantities  of  water  and  high 
feeding  to  enable  them  to  perfect  heavy  crops.  Conditions,  however, 
often  arise  which  make  it  necessary  to  exercise  extreme  caution  in 
watering,  and  especially  in  giving  liquid  manure.  Shanking,  especially 
in  the  case  of  Muscats,  is  often  caused  by  saturating  the  borders  with 
liquid  manure,  at  a  time  when  the  roots  are  not  very  active,  and 
before  the  soil  is  dry  enough  to  need  water.  During  seasons  when 
the  weather  is  uniformly  bright  throughout  the  summer,  it  is  not 
often  that  mistakes  are  made  in  watering  Vine  borders;  but  when  we 
get  wet,  or  very  dull  weather,  for  successive  weeks,  not  a  fewiculti- 
vators  in  their  anxiety  to  achieve  distinction  in  Grape  growing  are 
led  to  overwater  with  disastrous  results.  It  is  a  matter  which  needs 
thinking  about,and  a  very  little  thought  should  show  that  intheabsence 
of  sunshine  the  supply  of  moisture  drawn  up  by  the  roots  of  Vines  to 
make  good  the  loss  by  evaporation  and  transpiration  is  “  infinitely 
little”  when  compared  with  the  amount  drawn  up  when  powerful 
sunshine  sets  the  machinery  of  plant  life  iu  motion. 
The  only  safe  rule  to  follow  is  to  test  the  borders  to  ascertain  the 
exact  condition  of  the  soil  in  regard  to  moisture.  For  this  purpose  the 
instrument  invented  by  Mr.  A.  Kirk,  Alloa,  N.B,,  is  of  great  service, 
and  where  used  should  prevent  mistakes  from  being  made.  When 
Vine  borders  are  kept  clear  of  plants  their  management  is  com¬ 
paratively  simple,  but  unfortunately  there  are  not  many  private 
establishments  where  this  can  be  done,  and  in  nurseries  where  plant 
and  fruit  culture  is  carried  on,  it  does  not  do  to  depend  upon  the 
Grape  crop  alone  to  supply  the  needful  profit  from  a  vinery. 
Successional  stocks  of  plants  are  usually  arranged  over  the  borders 
till  the  foliage  gets  too  dense  tor  their  welfare,  and  this  often  causes 
the  borders  to  get  wetter  than  is  desirable  during  the  winter  and  early 
spring  months. 
To  illustrate  my  meaning  let  me  give  the  following  example.  I 
have  a  lean-to  vinery  in  which  the  Grapes  ^re  cleared  by  the  beginning 
of  September,  and  during  that  month  last  year  the  border  was  packed 
with  early-flowering  Chrysanthemums;  as  soon  as  these  weie  over 
out  they  went,  the;  space  being  then  devoted  to  late- flowering  Chrys¬ 
anthemums.  When  the  blooms  from  these  were  cut  the  Vines  were 
pruned,  and  the  house  received  its  annual  cleaning.  A  few  inches  of 
soil  was  removed  from  the  bord'.r  and  fr<sh  compost  substituted.  All 
the  available  space  was  tnen  filled  with  Callas,  and  as  soon  as  the  first 
crop  of  flowers  had  been  gathered  from  them  the  border  was  covered 
with  Spiraeas  in  pots,  which  formed  the  last  plant  crop  of  the  season  in 
that  vinery. 
Considering  that  the  whole  of  the  plants  arranged  above  the 
border  were  gross  feeder.s,  and  received  liberal  applications  of  liquid 
manure,  I  think  cultivators  generally  will  agree  with  me  that  the 
Vines  were  not  grown  under  quite  ideal  conditions,  and  the  border 
might  be  correctly  described  as  a  “  poisoned  one.”  When  the  Spiraeas 
were  removed  the  soil  was  completely  saturated,  and  I  was  surprised 
to  note  that  the  Vine  shoots  were  growing  freely,  and  showed  every 
sign  of  health.  I  thought,  however,  that  extra  caution  in  watering 
would  be  needed  to  bring  the  crop  through  satisfactorily.  A  little 
lime  was  scattered  upon  the  s  dl,  and  lightly  pointed  in  with  a  fork. 
Shortly  after  this  we  experienced  a  long  period  of  wet  weather,  and 
the  soil  in  consequence  dried  very  slowly,  still  the  Vines  made  good 
progress ;  and  although  I  tested  the  border  several  times,  I  found  it 
wet  enough  quite  down  to  the  drainage.  That  Vine  border  has  not 
been  watered  once  this  season,  but  the  berries  have  swelled  to  a  large 
size,  and  have  c  floured  well.  I  feel  convinced  that  if  I  had  been 
tempted  to  water  the  border  as  in  former  years  (it  usually. required 
watering  three  or  four  times)  the  result  would  not  have  been 
satisfactory.  I  did  not,  however,  dispense  with  feedi.  g  altogether, 
but  as  soon  as  the  earliest  berries  began  to  colour,  chemical  manure 
was  scattered  upon  the  border  ;  this  was  moistened  whenever  the 
house  was  damped,  and  it  soon  brought  white  fleshy  roots  to  the 
surface. 
In  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  I  have  frequently  dwelt  upon  the 
necessity  of  giving  Vines  abund  mce  of  water  and  stimulating  food,  as 
It  is  sad  to  see  Vine  foliage  infested  with  insects  and  Grapes  with  small 
badly  coloured  berries,  solely  because  feeding  at  the  right  time  is  not 
practiced ;  but  in  all  these  matters  judgment  is  needed  to  prevent 
mistakes  from  being  made  in  the  ofiposite  direction.  Tne  present 
season  has  been  a  peculiar  one,  and  I  doubt  not  that  many  Grape 
growers  have  found  their  borders  have  required  less  water  than  usual 
this  year.  In  the  instance  above  cited  the  circumstances  were  of 
cour-e  exceptional,  but  in  two  other  vineries  I  have  found  that 
comparatively  little  water  has  been  needed  so  far  this  season. — H.  D. 
Escrlck  Park. 
The  seat  of  Lord  Wenlock  is  situated  in  the  Plain  of  Xork,  seven 
miles  from  that  ancient  and  historic  city,  with  its  venerable  minster 
and  other  archaeological  features.  In  comp  iny  with  a  gardener  friend 
I  visited  this  beautiful  place  on  a  glorious  day  in  early  June.  The 
stately  mansion  is  partly  Elizabethan  and  partly  Palladian.  It  stands 
in  the  midst  of  an  extensive  deer  park,  and  at  the  time  of  my  visit 
the  Hawthorns — old  isolated  trees  scattered  about — were  clothed  with 
a  garment  of  snowy  white,  and  the  scarlet-flowered  Chestnuts  imparted 
warmth  of  tone  to  the  vernal  surroundings. 
The  Vineries  and  Peach  Houses. 
The  gardens  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Stanton  are  in  excellent 
keeping.  A  range  of  four  vineries  was  erected  last  autumn  by  Messrs. 
Richardson  &  Son  of  Darlington ;  each  division  is  60  feet  long  by 
25  feet  in  width.  One  is  planted  with  Black  Hamburgh  and  Madres- 
lield  Court  Muscat,  another  with  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  and  a  third 
with  Gros  Col  man,  and  the  fourth  with  Progmore  Selected  and  Duke 
of  York  Tomatoes.  Figs  occupy  the  back  walls,  and  all  are  thriving 
splendidly.  In  a  somewhat  similar  range  Black  Hamburghs  were 
colouring  well ;  Black  Hamburghs  and  Madresfield  Court  in  association 
were  just  set,  and  Alnwick  Seedling,  which  sets  well  at  Escrick,  and  is 
found  an  excellent  keeping  Grape,  has  a  division  exclusively  for  it.  A 
large  number  of  Clivias  have  a  permanent  position  on  the  back  borders 
of  the  vineries,  where  they  produce  thousands  of  flowers  in  the  early 
spring.  In  a  Fig  house  70  feet  long  there  remained  a  remnant  only 
of  the  first  crop,  but  that  was  sufiioient  to  show  the  excellence  of  the 
crop;  Brown  Turkey,  White  Marseilles,  and  other  varieties  were  bearing 
splendid  fruits.  The  .^second  crop  was  a  full  one  and  advancing  well. 
One  45  feet  long  division  was  filled  with  a  tree  of  Lord  Napier 
Nectarine,  bearing  a  grand  crop  approaching  the  ripening.  This 
variety,  with  Rivers’  Orange  and  Violette  Hative,  and  two  Royal 
George  Peach  trees  in  another  position,  were  past  the  stoning  period, 
and  were  swelling  satisfactorily.  In  a  further  set  of  three  Peach 
houses  the  fruit  was  stoning. 
The  Greenhouses  and  Stoves. 
Gladiolus  The  Bride  was  observed  throwing  strong  spikes  in  one 
of  the  Peach  houses.  A  span-roofed  structure  was  full  of  about  300 
Malmaison  Carnations ;  the  chief  varieties  in  bloom  were  the  old  blush 
and  pink.  A  useful  stove  was  filled  principally  with  Palms,  Crotons, 
Dracaenas,  Pandanus,  and  similar  plants  for  room  decoration;  a  fine 
Stephanotis  on  the  roof  was  full  of  flower.  In  an  80  feet  divided 
range  were  respectively  Cucumbers  on  one  hand,  and  with  Eucharis 
aiuazonica  and  Hymenocallis  littoralis  on  the  other,  while  the  next  was 
utilised  for  purposes  of  propagation.  Collections  of  plants  for  winter 
flowering  were  observed ;  they  included  Begonia  Gloire  de  Lorraine, 
Thyrsacanthus  rutilans,  Eranthemum  pulchellum.  Euphorbia  jacquinige- 
flora,  Reinwafdtia  tetragynum  (fig.  49,  page  183),  and  Bouvardias,  with 
small  Crotons  and  sporeling  Ferns  in  variety.  Another  span-roofed 
range  of  three  50-feet  divisions  had  a  very  sharply  sloped  roof,  which 
permitted  only  two  rows  of  Tomatoes  on  each  side  of  the  pathway.  The 
favourite  varieties  were  Veitch’s  Perfection,  Duke  of  York,  Haokwood 
Park,  and  Sutton’s  Earliest  of  All.  The  plants,  robust  and  the  picture 
of  health,  were  carrying  three  or  four  clusters  of  large  fruit  each, 
which  was  commencing  to  colour.  Tomatoes  in  5-inch  pots  for  planting 
against  south  walls  took  up  the  remaining  space.  In  a  narrow  three- 
quarter  span-roofed  house  500  healthy  hybrid  Amaryllis  were  seen,  and 
these  prove  invaluable  every  year.  One  thousand  Royal  Sovereign 
Strawberries  are  forced  yearly.  French  Beans  are  grown  in  succession, 
and  the  latest  plants  of  Fulmer’sJForcing  were  in  crop  on  the  occasion 
of  my  visit.  Melons  are  only  grown  as  late  crops,  and  usually  succeed 
frame  Potatoes.  Streptosolen  Jamesoni  was  represented  by  a  score  of 
plants  in  5-inch  pots,  which  looked  really  attractive  with  their  orange- 
scarlet  flowers. 
The  Vegetable  Garden. 
The  kitchen  gardens  are  about  seven  acres  in  extent.  Peach  trees 
on  a  south  wall  had  set  a  full  crop,  but  Apricots  were  somewhat  sparse. 
Early  Peas  were  in  flower,  and  successional  second  sowings  were 
progressing  well  ;  Strawberries  were  setting  freely.  A  grand  breadth 
of  Spring  sown  Ouions  caught  the  eye,  in  fact  the  entire  kitchen  garden 
was  in  excellent  order  and  fully  cropped.  Mushrooms  are  grown  on  ridge 
beds  to  produce  a  continuous  supply  throughout  the  year.  Asparagus 
luxuriates,  and  was  particularly  noticeable  in  the  form  of  a  large  breadth 
