JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  Ll,  1902. 
534 
the  effect  that  gardeners  formed  a  part  of  the  establishment  of 
country  gentlemen.  The  gardener  had  charge  of  trees,  as  well 
as  subjects  more  closely  connected  with  his  calling,  and  he  was 
also  bee-master.  Whatever  beyond  what  wTas  required  for  the  _ 
use  of  the  proprietor  and  bis  family,  it  would  appear,  went  to 
the  gardener,  not  as  a  right,  liow'cver,  but  as  a  mark  of  appre¬ 
ciation.  Lawson’s  charming  book  depicts  the  orchard  and 
garden  of  his  day  as  a  very  delightful  appendage  to  the  bouse, 
the  chief  window's  of  which  looked  out  on  its  flowers  and  fruits. 
“  The  Fruiterers’  Secrets,”  a  small  pamphlet,  shows  how  far 
advanced  some,  at  least,  of  these  old-time  worthies  were  in  the 
matter  of  gathering,  preserving,  and  packing  for  transmission 
from  one  place  to  another  the  various  fruits  then  in  cultivatiou. 
It  is  the  simple  truth  that  in  some  things  we  kuow  no  more  now 
than  was  published  then.  At  this  time  a  garden,  no  douht  a 
small  one,  was  attached  to  every  gentleman’s  house  throughout 
the  country  ;  nurserymen  were  established  where  fruit  trees, 
seeds,  &c.,  could  be  purchased. 
It  was  about  this  time  that  John  Tradescaut,  then  gardener 
to  the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  made  a  tour  of  the  Continent  in  order 
to  purchase  the  best  productions  of  these  countries.  He  intro¬ 
duced  many  kinds  of  fruits  and  also  flowers — the  double  Stock, 
for  example.  Tradescaut  wTas  the  first  gardener  who  assumed 
the  role  of  introducer,  and  it  may  be  said  with  at  least  a  degree 
of  truth  that  he  did  much  to  separate  the  calling  of  the  gardener 
from  that  of  the  physician,  as  the  latter  at  an  earlier  date  had 
taken  the  place  of  the  lay  monk. 
I  think  it  is  not  unlikely,  too,  that  the  florist  pure  and  simple 
became  part  of  the  body  politic  at  this  period.  It  is  clear  from 
what  Parkinson  states,  that  the  cultivation  of  certain  flowers, 
which  had  nothing  but  their  beauty  to  recommend  them,  or 
which  were  cultivated  solely  for  their  beauty,  had  already  when 
lie  wrote  become  crystallised  into  a  section,  and  several  names 
have  descended  to  posterity  as  cultivators  of  Carnations,  Tulips, 
Auriculas,  Anemones,  and  such-like.  The  florist  of  the  seven¬ 
teenth  century  had  a  whole-hearted  contempt  for  persons  who 
cultivated  any  other  flowers  than  those  he  had  marked  as  Flora’s 
choicest;  he  occupied  a  niche  of  his  own,  aucl  would  allow  it  to 
be  decorated  after  his  own  fashion  only. 
At  the  time  we  take  leave  of  the  old-time  garden  it  contained 
almost  all  the  vegetables  we  now  cultivate,  and  a  few  more. 
Parsley  was  cultivated  for  its  roots  as  well  as  its  leaves.  The 
use  of  Nettle  tops,  Apium  graveolens  or  Smallache,  Leeks,  the 
leaves  onl}’,  and  Skirrits  still  continued.  Violet  flowers,  Straw¬ 
berry  leaves,  and  some  others  used  in  pottage  were  beginning  to 
cease  to  be  used.  Celery,  “  Sweet  Parsley  ”  it  was  called,  was 
brought  from  Venice  and  cultivated  in  London.  Potatoes  were 
only  a  curiosity  ;  but  they  had  no  Broccoli  as  yet,  no  Scarlet 
Runners,  Kidney  Beans  taking  their  place,  and  were  trained  to 
stakes,  and,  as  would  appear,  used  ripe,  more  as  Haricots,  than 
as  we  use  them  now,  green. 
Among  tender  plants,  we  may  be  certain  that  the  Orange  had 
commenced  its  long  career.  It  was  at  first  planted  against 
walls,  and  was  protected  by  means  of  boards  during  the  winter. 
Later  this  was  supplemented  by  glowing  charcoal  introduced 
during  frost.  There  were  as  yet  no  greenhouses.  Melons, 
Musk  Melons  as  they  were  called,  wTere  cultivated,  the  necessary 
heat  being  produced  by  heated  horse  manure  and  litter,  or  by 
means  of  Barley  straw,  which  was  said  to  keep  its  heat  longer. 
There  was  no  glass  to  place  over  the  plants,  but  they  were 
covered  with  mats  and  with  oiled  paper  laid  on  cross  sticks. 
Though  we  find  these  details,  it  is  certain  that  they  were  a  crop 
that  was  difficult  to  succeed  with,  and  very  few  attempted  their 
cultivation. 
At  this  period  the  first  mention  occurs  of  syringing  trees, 
which  was  effected  by  what  is  called  a  “  Dutch  Engine.”  It  was 
carried  by  two  men,  and  is  said  to  have  been  effective  for  the 
purpose  for  which  it  was  used.  Shortly  after  this  date  we 
discover  the  ordinary  watering-pot,  with  rose,  which  was  made 
removeable  as  now;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  the  water-pot  in  use  at 
the  beginning  of  the  century  was  other  than  the  old-fashioned 
one  with  a  wide  bottom  pierced  with  holes,  which  narrowed  to 
the  top.  where  the  orifice  could  be  stopped  with  the  thumb.  It 
was  filled  by  dipping  the  vessel  into  water,  and  when  full  the 
thumb  was  used  to  stop  the  upper  hole  ;  when  in  use  the  thumb 
was  removed,  and  the  water  was  sprinkled  automatically  over 
the  plants  to  be  watered.  We  learn,  moreover,  of  the  use  of 
manure-water  for  the  first  time;  it  was  applied  in  a  very  simple 
manner.  The  vessel  containing  the  liquor  was  placed  close  to 
the  plant  to  be  fed,  to  which  it  was  conveyed  by  means  of  a 
piece  of  rag,  one  end  of  which  was  soaked  in  the  liquor  and 
the  other  laid  close  to  the  base  of  the  plant,  a  slow,  but  doubt¬ 
less  a  sure  process,  as  we  read  of  large  fStrawberries  being 
produced  by  this  means.  The  early  gardener  had  a  wholesome 
dread  of  manure- water  or  manure  in  any  form  “burning-”  his 
plants,  hence,  no  doubt,  the  care  bestowed  in  its  application. 
These  as  a  whole  may  seem  poor  advances,  but  they  meant 
much  in  those  days,  and  are  really  the  precursors  of  the  better 
means  we  have  at  hand  now. — B. 
[In  the  instalment  preceding  this  Staphylea  colchica  should 
be  S.  pinnafa.] 
Unsatisfactory  Vines. 
During  recent  years  questions  of  economy  have  had  to  bo 
seriously  considered  in  connection  with  the  management  of 
hosts  of  gardens,  and  in  some  of  them  such  considerations  have 
induced  cultivators  to  plant  Vines  in  the  natural  soil  where  this 
has  been  fairly  suitable,  instead  of  incurring  the  expense  of 
borders  made  in  the  orthodox  way.  Such  cultivators  have  often 
been  able  to  point  to  fiue  results  achieved  under  this  simple 
system  of  trenching  the  soil  deeply,  and  adding  bonemeal  and 
horse  droppings  before  planting.  Well,  the  truth  of  the  matter 
is  that  when  Vines  are  grown  to  produce  bunches  of  a  suitable 
size  for  table,  they  will  often  thrive  remarkably  well  for  a  time 
under  what  may  be  termed  rough-and-ready  kind  of  treatment, 
and  when  decadence  begins  some  cultivators  seem  somewhat 
puzzled.  There  should,  however,  not  be  much  mystery  about 
the  matter,  as  the  fault  invariably  lies  at  the  roots.  Vines  have 
a  natural  tendency  to  produce  long  rambling  shoots,  and  the 
roots  possess  similar  characteristics.  Even  when  good  borders 
have  been  made,  unless  they  are  constructed  piecemeal,  the 
roots  quickly  run  through  the  soil  and  exhaust  much  of  its 
fertility.  Then  the  older  portions  of  the  roots  decay,  and  the 
soil  gets  sour.  Partially  lifting  the  Yiues  and  relaying  the  roots 
in  fresh  soil  is  the  remedy  in  such  cases. 
In  those  instances  in  which  proper  borders  have  not  been 
made,  the  roots  follow  their  natural  bent,  and  ramble  in  all 
directions,  sometimes  going  down  to  a  cold  clay  subsoil,  at  others 
pushing  through  poor  and  unsuitable  materials  nearer  the 
sin  face.  A  good  method  of  dealing  with  such  ramblers  is  to 
take  out  a  deep  trench  6  or  8ft  from  the  point  where  the  \  ines 
were  planted,  cut  off  all  roots  found,  place  some  concrete  or 
rough  rubble  in  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  and  build  a  wall  to 
confine  the  roots  within. 
In  those  iustances  in  which  the  borders  wTere  originally  well 
made  and  the  roots  confined  to  the  border,  a  somewhat  different 
method  of  procedure  should  be  practised.  Take  out  a  trench  at 
the  front,  quite  down  to  the  drainage,  then  gradually  work  out 
the  soil  from  between  the  roots,  and  clear  it  away  up  to  within 
2  or  8ft  of  the  Vine  stems.  As  the  work  proceeds,  the  liberated 
roots  can  be  tied  to  stakes  and  covered  with  mats  to  preveut 
them  from  getting  very  dry.  It  is  always  wise  to  have  plenty 
of  hands  employed  on  work  of  this  description,  so  as  to  «et  it 
done  quickly.  As  soon  as  the  intended  amount  of  soil  has' been 
removed,  re  arrange  the  drainage,  and  fill  in  the  border  with 
fresh  soil,  placing  a  layer  of  roots  about  1  foot  from  the  bottom, 
but  bringing  the  bulk  of  them  to  within  a  foot  of  the  surface.. 
Of  course  all  damaged  roots  should  be  cut  away,  aud  the 
ends  of  the  others  also  removed.  When  this  is  completed,  a 
few  inches  of  the  surface  soil  of  the  hitherto  undisturbed  part 
of  the  border  should  be  removed,  and  fresh  soil  added,  the 
whole  surface  of  the  border  being  then  dressed  with  a  6iu  layer 
of  sweet,  fresh  manure  or  half-decayed  leaves. 
Some  cultivators  in  renovating  Vines  lift  them  completely 
out  of  the  old  soil  and  entirely  remake  the  border.  L  uder 
careful  management,  when  the  Vines  are  not  very  old,  this  olten 
answers  well;  but  it  is  not  a  practice  which  can  be  generally 
recommended,  as  I  have  seen  iustances  in  which  it  would  have 
been  far  more  satisfactory  to  plant  young  Vines  than  spend  so 
much  labour  on  old  ones  which  were  a  year  or  two  in  recovering 
from  the  effect  of  such  drastic  measures. 
To  keep  Vines  successfully  year  after  year  it  is  necessary  to 
be  continually  doing  something  to  the  roots,  instead  of  neglectiog 
them  for  years,  and  then  doing  too  much  at  once.  The 
following  compost  is  one  which  I  have  used  frequently  in  reno¬ 
vating  Vine  borders,  with  the  best  results.  Good  fibrous  loam, 
eight  parts  ;  fresh  horse  droppings,  one  part ;  burnt  refuse,  one 
part;  lime,  half  part;  soot,  half  part;  bonemeal,  half  part ; 
turn  the  whole  two  or  three  times  before  use.  In  dealing  with 
Vines  which  have  long  spurs  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  leave 
three  or  four  eyes  on  each  spur  at  pruning  time,  and  select  the 
strongest  shoot  from  each  at  disbudding  time.  If  a  yoimg  rod  is 
also  taken  up  between  each  old  one,  the  extra  growth  produced 
will  do  much  to  promote  vigorous  root  action,  aud  the  old  rods 
can  be  partially  or  entirely  cut  array  the  following  year.  — H.  D. 
