.December  18,  1902. 
567 
JOURNAL  GF  HORTICULTURE 
Muscat  Grapes. 
As  civilisation  advances,  the  needs  of  individuals  be¬ 
come  more  numerous,  and  their  tastes  more  critical.  What 
v.as  looked  upon  as  a  luxury  yesterday  soon  becomes  an 
apparent  necessity.  In  regard  to  the  products  of  the 
garden  a  marked  feature  of  recent  years — in  private 
gardens — has  been  the  demand  for  "fruit,  vegetables, 
or  flowers  of  high  quality.  By  an  inexorable  law  of  nature 
the  choicest  and  most  delicately  flavoured  fruits  are  more 
difficult  to  cultivate  than  others  which  may  be  in  some 
respects  more  showy,  and  although  those  which  appeal  to 
the  eye  by  reason  of  their  beauty  quickly  become  popular, 
they  do  not  retain  their  popularity  like  those  which  have  the 
“  hall  mark  ”  of  fine  flavour. 
Turning  to  Grapes  in  particular,  how  splendidly  those 
fine  varieties,  such  as  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  Mrs.  Pince, 
and  Madresfield  Court  maintain  their  high  positions  among 
Grape  connoisseurs.  The  former  was  perhaps  never  more 
popular  than  to-day,  and  the  majority  of  gardeners  in  pri¬ 
vate  places  know  pretty  well  that  there  is  an  increasing 
desire  on  the  part  of  employers  to  be  supplied  with  Muscats 
during  as  long  a  season  as  possible.  This,  of  course,  adds 
to  the  difficulties  of  gardeners,  as  it  is  not  everywhere  that 
the  conveniences  at  command  are  suitable  for  growing  this 
fine  Grape  largely,  and  even  when  cultivators  have  every 
advantage  in  this  respect,  very  skilful  attention  is  necessary 
to  secure  good  crops  regularly,  for  unless  the  Yines  are  kept 
up  to  what  I  will  term  the  “  high  water  mark  ”  in  regard 
to  health,  their  cropping  capabilities  quickly  deteriorate. 
At  the  present  time  that  serious  item,  viz.,  the  fuel  bill, 
has  to  be  considered  in  the  above  connection,  because  if 
Muscats  are  largely  grown  in  preference  to  other  varieties, 
considerably  more  heat  will  be  required.  Employers  ought 
therefore  to  remember  that  if  this  best  of  all  Grapes  is  to 
displace  others  in  their  houses,  the  expenses  will  be  in¬ 
creased,  and  the  high  quality  of  the  produce  should  there¬ 
fore  be  considered  as  an  asset  of  the  garden. 
Those  who  contemplate  increasing  their  supply  of  Mus¬ 
cats  will  do  well  to  consider  the  advisability  of  grafting  or 
inarching  that  variety  on  their  established  Vines,  rather 
than  uproot  them  and  replant,  as  Muscats  succeed  splen¬ 
didly  when  grafted  on  other  varieties  ;  and  although  I  have 
had  many  Yines  so  grafted  to  deal  with,  I  could  never  detect 
any  difference  in  the  flavour  of  the  produce  than  when  the 
Vines  were  on  their  own  roots.  On  the  other  hand,  I  am 
inclined  to  think  there  is  an  advantage  in  having  a  Muscat 
on  a  more  vigorous  rooting  stock,  as  the  principal  reason 
why  this  fine  Grape  so  often  gets  into  an  unsatisfactory 
condition  is  that  the  roots  become  inactive  through  mistakes 
in  watering,  or  from  other  causes  which  are  sometimes 
unavoidable.  The  rooting  system  of  a  Muscat  seems  to 
get  out  of  order  more  quickly  than  that  of  other  kinds. 
There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  a  far  better  rod  is 
obtained  in  one  season  by  grafting  than  by  inarching,  as  I 
have  tried  both  on  Vines  growing  side  by  side  ;  but  when 
grafting  is  practised  the  old  rod  is,  of  course,  sacrificed,  and 
therefore  no  Grapes  are  obtained  the  first  season.  When, 
therefore,  it  is  not  convenient  to  sacrifice  a  year’s  crop,  the 
following  plan  is  an  excellent  one  to  pursue.  Cut  every 
alternate  Vine  down  to  within  a  foot  or  18in  of  the  ground 
in  January,  and  as  soon  as  the  sap  is  moving  freely  graft 
them.  It  is  surprising  what  grand  canes  can  be  produced 
in  one  season  from  dormant  grafts  inserted  in  early  spring. 
The  remaining  Arines  should  be  inarched  wThen  the  leaves  are 
freely  expanding.  For  this  purpose  it  is  necessary  to  have 
Muscat  Vines  in  pots  to  inarch  on  the  old  rods.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  to  tongue  the  stock  and  the  scion,  fit  them 
together  carefully,  bind  firmly,  and  cover  with  moss,  which 
should  be  moistened  daily.  In  a  couple  of  months  the 
union  should  be  complete,  then  the  pot  Vine  can  be  cut 
away.' 
If  a  young  shoot  has  been  retained  on  this  below  the 
point  of  union,  it  will  form  a  moderate  sized  cane  during  the 
season,  and  the  Vine  will  be  useful  for  planting  the  follow¬ 
ing  season.  The  old  inarched  Vine  will,  of  course,  be  Able 
to  carry  a  fair  crop  during  the  season,  and  the  young  Vine 
worked  upon  it  should  produce  a  good  cane,  which  can  be 
trained  in  a  position  where  it  gets  plenty  of  light.  In  the 
autumn  the  old  Vines  should  be  cut  away  and  the  inarched 
AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
canes  shortened  severely  or  moderately,  according  to  their 
strength.  The  following  season  the  grafted  Vines  may  be 
allowed  to  carry  a  moderate  crop,  and  the  second  year  the 
whole  of  the  rods  should  be  cropped  according  to  their  size 
and  strength. 
.Before  work  of  the  above  description  is  begun  a  little 
extra  attention  ought  to  be  given  to  the  border  in  the  way 
of  removing  the  surface  soil  down  to  a  point  where  active 
roots  are  found,  and  adding  fresh  compost,  in  order  to 
secure  as  far  as  possible  vigorous  growth.  The  advantage 
of  employing  grafting  and  inarching  in  changing  the  variety 
of  Grape  grown  is  that  it  is  less  expensive  and  quicker  than 
by  remaking  the  border  and  replanting,  but  it  is  only  wise 
to  adopt  it  when  the  Vines  are  already  established,  are 
healthy,  and  not  very  old.  The  above  method,  however, 
provides  an  excellent  way  of  getting  over  a  difficulty  when 
a  gardener  who  has  Vines  of  other  varieties  in  excellent  con¬ 
dition,  is  requested  to  largely  increase  his  supply  of  Mus¬ 
cats  because  they  are  preferred  to  all  other  Grapes.  Other 
remarks  on  the  culture  of  this  “king”  of  Grapes  I  hope  to 
advance  for  another  issue. — Onward. 
The  Bees’  Hum. 
A  man  who  l£ads  a  busy  life  in  our  large  towns,  and 
lives  in  the  suburbs,  could  not  do  better  than  commence 
bee-keeping  as  a  paying  hobby,  and  one  which  will  provide 
a  healthful  occupation.  Many  years  ago  I  met  a  gentle¬ 
man  who  was  storm-bound,  like  myself,  and  got  into 
conversation  with  him.  We  conversed  on  many  topics,  and 
at  last  admired  the  beauty  of  a  field  of  Clover,  and  he 
remarked  how  thousands  of  pounds  were  lost  to  this  country 
annually  because  people  would  not  take  the  trouble  to  keep 
and  understand  bees.  This  is  perfectly  true.  V  hen  I  lived 
in  London  a  friend  of  mine  came  to  see  me,  and  one  even¬ 
ing  he  told  me  many  things  about  these  wonderful  insects, 
and  concluded  by  saying  he  had  cleared  £6  from  six  bar¬ 
framed  hives  that  year.  From  that  day  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  keep  bees  so  soon  as  an  opportunity  presented  itself. 
What  is  Needed.  . 
(1)  Purchase  a  piece  of  black  net  l^yds  long  and  fyd 
deep,  sew  the  ends  together,  and  put  a  piece  of  elastic 
round  the  top,  so  that  you  can  slip  the  veil  tightly  over  a 
broad-brimmed  hat.  This  will  give  you  confidence  when 
handling  the  bees.  By  way  of  warning,  let  me  add,  always 
wear  the  veil  when  performing  any  simple  manipulation  of 
the  bees.  (2)  A  good  smoker  is  indispensable.  (3)  Buy  a 
hive  of  any  good  maker,  and  then,  as  you  gain  experience 
and  skill  in  the  art  of  bee-keeping,  make  your  own  on  the 
same  pattern  as  the  one  you  have  purchased. 
How  to  Start. — The  question  often  asked  is,  W  hen 
ought  we  to  commence  bee-keeping  %  This  is  an  easy  ques¬ 
tion  to  put,  but  rather  difficult  to  answer,  as  much  depends 
upon  circumstances,  and  the  state  of  one’s  finances.  Bees 
may  in  autumn  be  obtained  for  the  driving,  because,  most 
unfortunately,  the  cottagers  destroy  the  bees  over  the  cruel 
sulphur  fumes  [?]  in  ord-r  to  take  the  honey. 
How  to  Drive. 
When  the  bees  have  been  flying  freely  during  the  day, 
and  if  the  evening  be  fine,  then  they  may  be  driven  with 
little  fear  of  stings.  Give  the  bees  to  be  driven  a  puff  of 
smoke,  and  rap  the  sides  of  the  hive  a  little  to  frighten  them 
and  cause  them  to  rush  to  the  honey  to  gorge  themselves. 
Wait  a  few  seconds  and  then  give  them  another  puff.  Over¬ 
turn  the  skep  and  give  a  third  puff  to  drive  them  down, 
place  the  overturned  hive  in  a  bucket,  and  if  you  have  not 
seen  the  operation  performed,  put  another  skep  of  the  same 
size  over  it,  so  that  the  rims  coincide.  Tap  the  sides  of  the 
hive  with  your  hands  or  light  stick,  and  in  about  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes  the  bees  will  be  in  the  top  skep.  It  is  best 
to  drive  two  or  more  stocks,  <md  mix  the  lots  togethei. 
Take  them  to  their  new  home,  overturn  them  on  the  frames, 
which  have  previously  been  fitted  with  brood  foundation 
eight  sheets  to  the  pound— and  cover  snugly  with  quilts. 
Hybla. 
