June  6,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
479 
characteristic  of  English  people,  could  scarcely  have  been  maintained, 
nor  could  so  high  a  standard  of  excellence  have  been  attained  in  regard 
to  garden  products  generally.  The  majority  of  successful  exhibitors 
make  a  speciality  of  a  few  things,  and  close  observation  soon  teaches 
them  many  necessary  details  of  culture  which  are  not  noticed  by 
those  who  give  each  crop  less  concentrated  attention.  To  me  the 
growing  and  exhibiting  of  fruits  has  always  had  a  peculiar  fascination, 
and  I  look  back  with  pleasure  to  many  contests  in  the  “  days  of  yore,” 
and  to  the  friendships  begun  amid  the  bustle  of  the  show  tent. 
I  will  firat  deal  with  Grapes,  and  assume  that  the  borders  have  been 
well  made,  or  renovated  if  necessary,  as  these  are  matters  upon  which 
sound  information  is  easily  obtained.  Neither  should  there  be  much 
difficulty  in  regard  to  thinning,  as  experience  soon  teaches  the  right 
distance  apart  at  which  the  berries  should  be  left.  The  great  points 
to  bear  constantly  in  mind  are,  that  when  ripe  the  berries  should 
just  touch  each  other  without  being  so  crowded  as  to  cause  deformity  ; 
on  the  other  hand  they  should  not  be  so  thinly  disposed  as  to  show 
the  footstalks.  Remember  also  that  it  is  on  the  tops  of  the  bunches 
mulch  with  fresh  horse  droppings  or  partially  decayed  cow  manure, 
and  water  thoroughly.  I  never  like  using  the  latter  manure  in  a  fresh 
state,  because  being  so  sticky  it  seals  the  border  from  air,  preventing 
the  sun  from  acting  beneficially  upon  it,  and  leaves  the  soil  sour. 
Chemical  manures  are  of  immense  advantage  to  the  grower  for 
exhibition,  as  they  act  quickly  upon  fruits  of  all  kinds,  and  are  great 
aids  in  securing  fine  colour  and  high  finish.  If  borders  have  been 
dressed  with  bonemeal  before  starting  the  Vines,  a  manure  formed  of 
the  following  ingredients  will  be  found  an  excellent  one  to  use 
throughout  the  growing  and  ripening  period.  Fish  guano,  four  parts  ; 
superphosphate,  four  parts;  sulphate  of  potash,  one  part ;  and  sulphate 
of  ammonia  half  part.  Use  at  the  rate  of  4  ozs.  per  square  yard, 
whenj  no  bonemeal  has  been  used  add  two  extra  parts  of  super¬ 
phosphate.  I  have  also  used  Ichthemic  guano  for  Vines  during  the 
growing  season  with  splendid  results.  Exhibitors  usually  experience 
a  difficulty  in  getting  white  Grapes  well  coloured  for  early  shows. 
Buckland  Sweetwater  and  Foster’s  Seedling  are  the  varieties  usually 
depended  upon  until  Muscats  can  be  had  in  fairly  good  condition. 
Webster,  Taplow. 
HITCHAM 
that  looseness  is  the  most  likely  to  occur,  and  it  is  just  at  such  points 
that  the  weakness  is  seen  the  most  when  the  bunches  are  staged.  For 
such  reasons  always  thin  sparingly  on  the  shoulders  of  the  bunches,  as 
a  berry  or  two  can  easily  be  removed  if  necessary  later  on.  When  the 
shoulders  are  loose  matters  may  be  considerably  improved  bv  coiling 
some  of  them  round  the  main  stem  of  the  bunch  and  tying  them  in 
position.  Beautiful  shapely  bunches  may  thus  be  formed — examples 
which  look  most  unpromising  before  they  have  been  “  handled,”  but 
such  work  must  be  begun  at  thinning  time,  and  have  regular 
attention  throughout  the  growing  season. 
In  moulding  large  bunches  tie  up  the  main  shoulders  at  two  or 
three  points,  and  if  necessary  every  small  cluster  containing  three 
or  four  berries.  Treated  in  this  way  bunches  which  appear  loose 
at  thinning  time  will  grow  into  a  solid  shapely  mass.  After  thinniDg 
I  like  to  give  a  thorough  watering  as  soon  as  possible,  provided  the 
soil  is  fairly  dry,  because  if  fine  berfies  are  to  be  obtained  the 
foundation  must  be  laid  by  inducing  them  to  enlarge  as  much  as 
possible  during  the  first  swelling.  It  is,  however,  quite  useless 
to  water  with  liquid  manure  and  feed  in  other  ways  if  the  border 
is  in  a  sodden  condition,  or  if  the  roots  are  inactive  from  other 
causes.  Keep  the  border  free  from  plants  or  manure  until  it  is  in 
the  right  condition  for  watering,  then  dress  with  chemical  manure, 
GRANGE. 
Either  of  the  two  former  kinds  should  be  planted  in  the  lightest  part 
of  an  early  house,  each  Vine  having  a  space  of  4  feet  allowed  for  it, 
and  the  main  laterals  arranged  15  inches  apart.  A  good  amount  of 
light  will  then  reach  the  bunches  throughout  the  growing  season  (if 
sub-laterals  are  kept  regularly  removed),  and  the  berries  will  show  a 
tinge  of  colour  before  they  have  swelled  to  their  full  size.  When 
ripening  has  fairly  commenced  it  is  then  an  easy  matter  to  tie  back 
a  few  leaves  to  expose  the  bunches  to  fuller  light.  This  must, 
however,  be  done  by  degrees,  or  the  berries  will  become  “  browned  ” 
and  disfigured  on  the  most  exposed  side.  In  the  case  of  Foster’s 
Seedling  I  never  like  to  give  full  exposure,  as  it  has  the  effect  of 
causing  the  berries  to  become  dull  and  clouded  in  appearance  instead 
of  bright  and  transparent.  A  lew  leaves  can,  however,  be  tied  back, 
leaving  a  thin  canopy  above  the  bunch.  To  get  Muscats  ripe  early 
it  is  necessary  to  fully  expose  the  berries,  and  if  slates  or  pieces 
of  black  board  are  fixed  at  the  back,  the  process  is  hastened  by 
providing  an  attraction  for  the  sun’s  rays.  All  white  Grapes,  how¬ 
ever,  which  are  hastened  by  such  means,  show  a  bright  tinge  of 
colour  on  the  upper  surface  and  a  greenness  at  the  base  of  the 
berries.  Those  coloured  more  slowly  by  partial  exposure  are  evenly 
coloured  throughout  and  clear. — H.  D. 
(To  be  continued.) 
