188 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
March.  7,  1901. 
season,  readily  grown,  and  wonderful  in  its  variety.  I  do  not  think 
the  secret  is  primarily  contained  in  any  of  these  qualities.  Is  it 
not  rather  in  the  possibilities  of  the  flower  ?  And  the  growth  of 
its  remarkable  popularity  can  be  traced  to  the  time  when  its 
adaptability  for  the  increase  of  its  proportions  was  revealed.  What 
is  the  chief  aim  of  Chrysanthemum  growers  of  all  classes?  Size. 
Say  what  you  like  about  colour,  form,  and  character,  they  all  have 
their  parts  to  play,  but  the  flower  that  has  all  these  to  commend  it 
will  never  hit  public  taste  and  enjoy  wide  popularity  unless  it  is 
amenable  to  size.  There  are  some  who  predict  the  decline  of  the 
Chrysanthemum,  and  their  pessimistic  gaze  fancies  that  it  can  reveal 
the  signs  looming  into  shape  ;  but  I  do  not  think  the  flower  will  lose 
its  hold  until  its  possibilities  are  exhausted. 
Apart  from  the  question  of  usefulness,  perhaps  the  Onion  is  the 
most  fascinating  vegetable  in  the  kitchen  garden,  and  why  ?  Because 
of  its  possibilities  of  course.  I  cannot  name  the  exact  date  when  the 
new  era  opened,  but  of  late  years  the  Onion  has  enjoyed  a  popularity 
of  its  own.  Hitherto  it  was  an  ordinary  vegetable  commodity  with  its 
capacities  undeveloped.  But  it  was  found  that  by  following  a  certain 
method  of  treatment,  which  consists  of  high  cultivation  and 
lengthening  the  season  of  the  plant’s  growth,  that  the  size  and  weight 
of  the  bulb  could  be  largely  increased,  and  since  then  the  culture  of 
the  Onion  has  risen  to  a  fine  art.  It  is  a  source  of  open  gratification 
to  a  grower  to  obtain  bulbs  a  pound  weight,  but  it  does  not  satisfy 
him.  Visions  of  two  round  Onions  rise  before  him,  and  even  when 
they  become  realities  he  is  not  content.  Size  lures  him  on,  and  the 
plant  responds  readily  to  his  efforts.  Records  are  to  be  made  only  to 
be  broken,  and  the  three-pounder,  which  creates  a  sensation  this  year, 
sinks  to  obscurity  next,  when  the  weight  is  topped  by  a  few  more  ounces. 
And  the  future  is  a  great  unknown  for  Onion  growers.  We  may 
foolishly  predict  what  the  bulb  may  yet  be  grown  to,  and  get  laughed 
at  for  our  pains.  But  who  can  tell,  with  the  evidence  of  the  past  before 
us  ?  With  the  loadstone  of  size  to  attract  them,  the  men  will  be 
forthcoming  to  develop  the  possibilities  of  the  Onion  to  its  utmost. 
And  amidst  it  all,  the  cry  is  re-echoed  from  the  kitchen  that  size  is 
not  the  sum  and  substance  of  a  good  Onion.  The  eight-ounce  specimens 
of  the  old  days  were  as  good  as  the  monsters  of  the  present  time,  says 
the  cook,  and  more  economical  to  use,  but  what  matters  that  to  the 
gardener  ?  The  fascinations  of  size  are  too  much  for  him,  and  in 
obtaining  it  constant  work  and  endless  trouble  are  only  details. 
The  man  who  writes  essays  on  Grape  culture  emphasises  the 
prime  importance  of  colour  and  finish,  but  in  his  own  quiet  moments 
in  the  vinery  he  will  linger  fondly  near  the  bunch  that  bids  fair 
to  be  the  heaviest  he  has  ever  grown,  and  overlook  little  perfections 
that  a  disinterested  party  would  not  be  slow  to  observe.  If  it  is  not 
in  bunch,  then  the  size  worship  is  directed  to  berry,  and  in  com¬ 
mercial  Grape  culture  we  know  that  certain  varieties  accommodating 
in  this  respect  are  more  profitable  than  some  of  infinitely  better 
quality.  And  at  the  fruit  show  you  see  the  public  linger  round  the 
massive  bunches  and  confine  their  praises  to  those  with  giant  berries. 
You  may  not  value  their  opinions,  because  they  are  not  experts, 
but  it  shows  the  national  tendency,  and  the  attractiveness  of  great 
things. 
It  is  very  easy  to  write  about  the  shortcomings  of  Peasgood’s 
Nonesuch  and  other  of  our  largest  Apples,  and  to  compare  their  flavour 
with  that  of  less  attractive  varieties,  but  their  popularity  remains. 
Only  recently  a  paragraph  has  been  going  the  rounds  of  the  papers, 
telling  of  some  enormous  Apples  that  have  been  grown  in  America. 
Nothing  was  said  about  the  quality.  It  was  all  size.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  a  large  Apple  is  necessarily  of  inferior  quality  to  a  small 
one,  but  I  only  draw  attention  to  the  fruits  of  such  varieties  as  the 
one  mentioned,  which  always  come  in  for  a  great  share  of  attention  at 
the  shows,  and  the  man  in  the  street  rarely  fails  to  direct  a  second 
glance  at  the  fruiterer’s  window  when  there  is  something  big  and 
attractive  there.  You  may  talk  about  Pitmaston  Duchess  being 
only  a  second-rate  quality  Pear  without  fear  of  contradiction,  but 
from  a  commercial  point  of  view  it  has  few  superiors,  and  size  is  its 
recommendation.  In  fairness  it  must  be  said  that  the  buyer  of  fruit 
is  not  the  only  person  attracted  by  size.  The  grower  has  a  touch  of 
the  complaint  in  most  cases,  and  the  variety  of  Apple,  Pear,  or  any 
other  fruit  that  has  the  capacity  for  breaking  records  on  the  scales  has 
a  peculiar  fascination  of  its  own. 
In  opening  this  question  at  all  I  feel  that  I  am  treading  on 
dangerous  ground,  and  shall  not  be  surprised  if  attempts  are  made  to 
prove  that  I  am  altogether  wrong  in  my  views.  It  is  so  comfortable 
to  persuade  ourselves  that  the  main  object  is  to  get  the  best,  and  to 
shut  out  the  fact  that  in  reality  it  is  the  biggest  we  want.  I  do  not 
agree  with  those  who  contend  that  the  latter  object  is  entirely  wrong, 
because  in  certain  cases  size  and  quality  may  be  found  in  happy 
combination.  It  is  when  the  latter  is  sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  the 
former  that  we  are  on  the  wrong  track.  Some  surmises  have  been 
made  as  to  what  flowers  are  to  become  crazes  in  the  future.  I  do  not 
pretend  to  know,  but  judging  from  what  one  can  see  the  chances  are 
in  favour  of  those  things  that  hold  out  possibilities  for  size. — G.  H.  H. 
Some  Grapes  Tl\at  are]vFickle. 
Under  this  heading  may  be  enumerated  those  Grapes  well  known 
to  private  as  well  as  market  growers,  which,  while  possessed  of  fickle¬ 
ness,  are  nevertheless  more  or  less  popular.  Who  will  be  prepared  to 
say  that  the  black  Madresfield  Court  is  not  popular  with  almost 
everyone  ?  Growers  and  consumers  are  alike  unanimous  in  its  praise  ; 
yet,  while  this  is  true,  wbat  a  comparatively  small  percentage  among 
so  many  growers  can  claim  complete  success  in  their  treatment  of  it  ? 
Circumstances  vary  so  much,  as  do  the  summer  seasons,  that  it  does 
not  come  to  the  lot  of  everyone  to  produce  first-class  well-finished 
Madresfields.  Those  who  are  able  to  completely  master  the  traits  of 
uncertainty  to  which  it  is  heir  obtain  a  due  compliment  and  envy. 
Many  persons  may  grow  them  well  up  to  a  certain  point,  or  rather 
to  one  of  two  points.  In  one  case  the  bunches  may  be  well  set  and 
perfectly  shaped,  the  berries  swell  up  to  or  above  the  average  in  size, 
when  suddenly  there  may  be  a  change  of  weather,  rain  succeeding 
sunshine,  and  the  grower’s  expectations  are  shattered.  Keeping  the 
borders  dry  is  an  oit-repeated  remedy,  also  the  atmosphere  maintained 
in  a  buoyant  state  by  the  judicious  use  of  ventilation  and  fire  heat. 
The  latter  is  by  no  means  an  easy  matter  when  the  roof  divides  the 
rainfall  between  the  eaves  gutter  and  the  interior  of  the  house  ;  nor  is 
it  easily  avoided  when  the  roots  are  in  an  outside  border,  and  subject 
to  the  fluctuations  of  soil  moisture. 
While  splitting  of  the  berries  becomes  the  uncertainty  of  one  case, 
perfect  finish  is  equally  as  much  so  in  another,  and  the  more  luxuriant 
the  Vine  and  large  the  size  of  the  berries  may  be,  the  more  difficult  is 
it  to  “  put  on  ”  the  perfect  finish.  There  is  a  greenness  or  redness 
about  the  stalk  that  is  not  easily  changed  into  a  sloe  black.  Madresfield 
therefore,  though  one  of  the  best  summer  and  autumn  Grapes,  is 
almost  universally  adjudged  a  fickle  one. 
The  Muscat  Hamburgh  is  none  the  less  so,  although  I  know  there 
are  cases  where  no  more  trouble  is  given  with  this  than  with  Black 
Hamburgh  itself.  The  trouble  is  not  so  much  the  colour  as  the 
perfect  fertilisation  of  the  bunches,  although  both  are  sometimes  at 
fault.  By  some  cultivators  Buckland  Sweetwater  can  be  grown  in  the 
most  magnificent  form — colour,  size  of  berries  and  weight  of  bunches 
leaving  nothing  to  be  desired.  With  another  just  the  opposite 
extreme  obtains — poor  crop,  small  bunches,  and  indifferent  colour. 
Gros  Guillaume  if  not  carefully  pruned  will  be  rendered  fruitless,  and 
is  usually  better  inarched  or  grafted  on  another,  Black  Hamburgh 
being  as  good  as  any.  Gros  Maroc  is  also  known  to  be  fickle,  so  much 
so  that  it  has  often  been  discarded,  and  many  of  those  who  plant 
secure  what  they  consider  a  good  stock.  This  frequently  does  better 
worked  on  the  Hamburgh  as  a  foster  parent. 
Gros  Oolman,  which  for  market  pu> poses  is  such  an  universal 
favourite,  is  not  devoid  of  fickleness,  but  this  comes  not  so  much  from 
inherent  disability,  perhaps,  as  from  soil  deficiency.  There  are  soils 
in  which  it  is  just  such  a  signal  failure  as  it  is  a  success  in  others,  and 
unless  a  suitable  ioamy  medium  can  be  provided,  nothing  one  may 
mix  with  it  can  supply  the  soil’s  deficiency.  In  one  vinery  several 
varieties  may  sometimes  be  found  growing  together  with  equal  success, 
in  another  Gros  Colman  will  prove  a  “  black  sheep,”  which  clearly 
shows  that  while  there  are  many  classes  of  soil  that  provide  the 
necessary  constituents,  there  are  a  few  that  do  not,  for  this  one 
particular  Grape.  Much  better  results  have  been  obtained  by  simply 
trenching  and  manuring  the  native  soil  in  some  gardens  than  by 
incurring  the  expense  of  turf-made  borders. 
Lady  Downe’s  possesses  one  weakness,  and  perhaps  only  one — that 
is  found  in  the  scalding  of  the  berries  in  early  summer.  Various  causes 
are  assigned  for  this,  but  the  attendant  remedies  are  not  uniformly 
successful.  Alnwick  Seedling  many  know  to  their  cost  to  be  a  fickle 
Grape,  and  if  not  properly  fertilised  at  flowering  time  there  will  be 
plenty  of  berries  of  Currant  size  later  on.  Mrs.  Pearson  and  Golden 
Queen  are  not  without  their  faults,  nor  is  that  fine  Scotch  raised  Grape 
Duke  of  Buccleuch.  Golden  Champion  is  rarely  cultivated  nowadays 
by  reason  of  its  pneertainty,  nor  is  Trentham  Black,  both  good  Grapes 
when  well  grown.  Thus  it  happens  that  Grapes  which  possess  no  fads 
have  a  small  majority  among  the  many  grown.  Alicante  is  one  that 
culturally  speaking  few  can  find  fault  with,  and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  Foster’s  Seedling,  Black  Hamburgh,  and  Appley  Towers.  The 
characters  of  Lady  Hutt  and  the  newer  Diamond  Jubilee  remain  to  be 
proved. 
In  few  gardens  can  Mrs.  Pince’s  Muscat  be  successfully  pro¬ 
duced,  the  absence  of  full  colour,  perhaps,  providing  the  greater 
fault.  Black  Morocco,  like  Alnwick  Seedling,  sets  indifferently 
unaided,  and  as  a  consequence  is  seldom  planted.  Given  suitable 
surroundings  and  intelligent  treatment,  no  fault  can  be  found  with 
Muscat  of  Alexandria,  but  how  few  find  no  fickleness  in  Canon  Hall 
Muscat  ? — W.  S. 
