Septeml.er  10,  1903.  JOUHNAL  OF.  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
239 
Lime,  Sulphur,  aud  Softsoap  Wash  for  Gooseberries. 
If  this  note  reaches  the  eye  of  the  writer  of  a  letter  which 
recently  appeared  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  or  some  other 
paper,  recommending  a  wash  of  lime,  sulphur,  and  softsoap  on 
Goo.^eberry  birshes,  to  prevent  birds  from  destroying  the  buds, 
a  brief  repetition  of  the  recipe  will  greatlv  oblige. — Fruit 
Grower. 
Inarching  Vines. 
D.  C.”  writes  further  in  reference  to  inarching  varieties  of 
Grapes,  that  hi.s  object  ‘‘  is  simply  to  extend  the  Muscat  of 
Alexandria  by  inarching  them  on  Gros  C'olman,  which  do  not 
thrive  under  the  treatnient  for  Muscats.”  Continuing :  To  .save 
time,  I  tried  the  inarching ;  but  someone  told  me  it  was  doubtful 
if  Muscats  would  succeed  on  Gros  C’olman  stocks.  If  that  is  so, 
my  little  transaction  is  abortive.” 
- - 
Shrivelling  of  Muscats. 
If  my  theory  is  correct,  shrivelling  will  be  more  than  usually 
prevalent  this  season.  It  arises  from  a  lack  of  solid  material  in 
the  berries,  and  more  especially  in  the  early  stages  of  their 
growth.  The  want  of  sunshine  this  season  will  considerably 
aggravate  the  evil.  It  is  not  at  all  too  early  now  to  begin  taking 
precautions  to  prevent  the  same  thing  occurring  next  year. 
I  will  presume  that  the  borders  have  been  fed  with  all  that 
is  desirable  for  them.  If  not,  they  must  not  how  have  anything 
in  the  shape  of  nitrogenous  feeding  till  the  fruit  is  cut.  Potash 
and  superphosphate  would  not  be  likely  to  do  any  harm,  and 
nitrates,  which  are;  quicker  in  action,  can  be  added  later,  so  long 
as'  there  is  healthy  foliage  remaining.  Every  effort  should  be 
made  to  keep  the  foliage  healthj',  especially  the  older  portion  of 
it  near  the  base  of  the  .stems  where  the  buds  are  situated  for 
fruiting  next  year. 
There  are  still  some  people  who  keep  up  high  night  tempera¬ 
tures,  and  this  in  my  opinion  is  one  of  the  great  causes  of 
shrivelling.  Muscat.s  do  not  want  it  any  more  than  other  Grapes. 
If  they  are  required  early,  start  them  early,  for  you  cannot  make 
up  lost  time  by  roasting  them.  The  beginning  of  February  is 
not  too  early  to  close  the  house  if  you  want  Muscats  coloured  in 
August.  In  order  to  secure  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  root 
action  in  proportion  to  the  top,  one  should  proceed  very  gently 
till  the  flowers  open,  which  will  be  about  the  middle  of  April, 
and  even  then  there  is  no  need  for  high  temperatures,  Sodeg 
minimum  is  quite  high  enough.  I  have  nothing  to  say  against 
high  sun  temperatures  with  ample  ventilation  at  this  stage,  and 
when  there  is  no  sun,  fire  heat  should  be  used  sufficiently  to  dry 
the  pollen  by  the.  middle  of  the  day. 
Now,  if  you  would  prevent  shrivelling,  and  secure  eaidy 
colouring,  the  bunches  must  be  exposed  to  the  light  as  soon  as 
they  are  formed.  In  the  first  place  the  rods  should  not  be  less 
than  4ft  apart,  the  side  branches  should  not  be  less  than  1ft  apart, 
and  18in  would  be  better.  Any  branches  which  have  the  fruit 
removed  from  them  might  be  lowered  somewhat  by  tying  them 
to  stakes  inserted  in  the  border  or  other  ways  which  suggest 
themselves,  and  sometimes  the  bearing  branches  can  be  raised 
by  putting  a  tack  in  a  rafter  and  slinging  them  up.  Treated  thus 
the  berries  will  never  assume  that  very  dark  green  we  often  see 
when  they  are  grown  in  the  shade. 
Of  course  there  is  some  risk  of  scalding  when  the  fruit  is  thus 
exposed,  but  this  can  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  by  keeping  the 
temperature  down  to  80deg  during  the  latter  portion  of  the 
stoning  period.  A  little  shade  may  be  necessary  for  about  a  fort¬ 
night  at  this  .stage,  but  this  .season  none  at  all  was  wanted. 
When  the  .second  shrivelling  commences  a  higher  sun  tempera¬ 
ture  is  very  beneficial. 
As  the  Grapes  shown  by  me  at  Bath  were  favourably  com¬ 
mented  on  by  your  reporter,  and  many  questions  were  asked  as 
to  how  Muscats  could  be  coloured  in  such  a  season,  I  state  here 
as  much  as  I  can  think  of  wherein  my  treatment  is  likely  to 
differ  from  that  of  other  growers.  My  Muscats  were  below 
50deg  more  than  once  when  flowering,  not  for  a  want  of  heating 
power,  but  it  was  difficult  to  regulate  it  in  a  small  house,  27ft  by 
l.'jft,  with  a  powerful  boiler,  and  I  had  rather  have  it  at  SOdeg 
at  night  than  70deg.  That  a  high  temperature  was  not  employed 
at  any  time  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  Madresfield  Court,  coloured 
jet  black  to  the  footstalk,  was  shown  from  the  same  house  at  the 
same  time. — Wm.  Taylor,  Bath. 
- - 
Floral  Arrangements. 
The  note  on  this  subject  on  page  214,  together  with  the 
illustration  in  another  column,  will,  '!  trust,  tempt  .some  of  our 
exhibitors  to  forward  notes  upon  the  arrangement  of  bouquets 
in  their  several  forms.  I  have  no  doubt  information  would  also 
be  acceptable  to  many  anent  sprays  and  buttonlioles.  ^  One  can¬ 
not  help  remarking  in  this  connection  that  no  amount  of  infor¬ 
mation  nor  practice  will  avail  in  making  some  per.son.s  expert  in 
the  art  of  bouquet  making;  but  nearly  everyone  can  greatly  im¬ 
prove  upon  first  efforts  if  care  and  attention  only  be  given,  added 
to  observance  of  the  best  specimens  of  the  work  of  some  of  our 
leading  exhibitors. 
Generally  speaking  there  has  been  an  advancement  in  the 
cUrection  of  greater  looseness  and  freedom  in  the  building  of 
bouquets.  At  one  period  I  thought  the  shower  arrangement  in 
danger  of  developing  into  a  faggot  of  ribbons  and  blo.ssoms,  but 
there  appears  to  have  been  latterly  a  sensible  check  to  mere 
“  largeness.”  The  old  practitioner  felt  compelled  to  have  his  stick 
for  the  centre  of  his  bunch  of  flowers,  with  moss  or  wadding  to  pad 
them  in  position,  with  these  and  wire  constructing  a  semi- 
globular  head  more  or  less  stiff.  Matters  are  better  nowadays, 
it  is  true,  but  even  in  the  illustration  mentioned  above,  which 
at  first  sight  appears  light  and  graceful  enough,  there  seems  on 
closer  scrutiny  a  tendency  to  central  “  massing.” 
It  may  be  my  fastidious  fancy,  but  to  me  a  bouquet  of  flowers 
appeals  best  as  a  niere  handful  of  blossoms,  each  as  choice  as 
possible  of  its  kind  arranged  without  jostling  its  neighbour,  with 
(and  here  we  have  a  matter  for  the  exercise  of  some  judgmentV 
jiist  a  sufficient  dressing  of  foliage  and  no  more.  Wires  we  shall 
never  be  able  wholly  to  dispense  with,  as  scarcely  any  flowers  can 
be  made  to  stand  in  the  required  position  without  support ;  be- 
side-^i^wheii  wired,  each  cau  be  manipulated  by  the  operator  with 
greater  ease. — -Decorator. 
The  Fruit  Crop  in  Ireland. 
Our  occasional  correspondent,  Mr.  W.  J.  Murphy,  Clonmel, 
has  sent  the  subjoined  note  to  the  Dublin  “Freeman’s  Journal, 
2nd  inst.  :  —  _  . 
“I  read  your  sub-leader  referring  to  Mr.  Morgans  views  on 
fruit  culture  and  modern  methods  to  ensure  success  in  this  day  .s 
“  Freeman,”  and  as  I  take  much  interest  therein,  I  ask  your  per¬ 
mission  to'^raw  attention  to  this  year’s  deficient  supply,  and  to 
ask  the  cause  thereof.  I  have  carefully  read  Mr.  Morgans  articles 
in  the  Limerick  “  Mun-ster  News,”  and  can  find  no  elucidation  ot 
the  abnormal  .state  of  the  outdoor  fruit  crop  this  year.  I  liave 
a  walled-in  town  garden  fairly  stocked  with  Apples,  Pears,  Plums, 
Cherries,  Peaches,  Apricots,  and  Nectarines  on  south  wall.  Iho 
crops,  especially  of  Apples,  have  been  uniformly  good  for  the  past 
eight’years  ;  the  trees  are  young  dwarfs,  and  have  been  regularly 
pruned  and  carefully  washed  with  the  garden  hose,  while  the  soil 
is  of  that  calcareous  formation  that  suits  Apples  specially,  let 
the  crop  this  year  is  only  a  fraction  of  all  former  years — practi¬ 
cally  no  Plums  or  Pears.  Mr.  Morgan  might  urge  tliat  it  the, 
trees  were  grown  in  the  open,  and  in  loamy  soil,  with  a  gqoct 
aspect  success  would  be  more  certain.  Well,  I  cannot  agree  with, 
that  The  hon  secretary  of  the  Kilkenny  Agricultural  bociet.v: 
has  an  orchard  of  several  acres,  just  such  a  soil  and  aspect  and 
for  w'hich  he  obtained  a  special  prize— the  varieties  being  ot  the 
choicest— and  this  year  the  result  is  no  better  than  mine.  I  have 
just  been  through  the  Cork  district  as  far  as  Clonakilty,  and  to  find 
the  same  result  general— no  fruit  this  year.  It  would  be  very 
important  if  you  invited  expert  opinion  as  to  wdiy  there  has  been 
a  general  failure  of  the  fruit  crop  this  year.  From  what  I  have 
said  you  will  see  it  is  not  soil,  location,  varieties,  nor  w-ant  of 
proper  treatment.  I  have  thought  over  the  loatter  myse  f,  and 
without  pretending  I  can  elucidate  the  result  I  think  the  un¬ 
satisfactory  state  of  things  is  greatly  owing  to  the  absence  of 
sunshine,  and  the  consequent  imperfect  npening  of  the  wood.  Jf 
this  be  so,  next  year’s  crop  will  be  no  better.— W  .  J.  Mirphy, 
Clonmel.” 
 - - 
Public ATiOT^s  Received. — “Purification  of  Residuary  Mhters. 
Automatic  Epuration  by  Vial’s  System.”  38,  Rue  de  Treves, 
Rriissels  *  *  “Holidays  in  North  Germany,  including  the 
Hartz  Mountains.”  *  *  “The  Journal  of  the  Department  of 
Sdculfure  S  Victoria,”  July,  1903.  *  “Co-operative 
Forage  Experiments  in  Southern  Victoria.”  by  E  J.  Hovve.h 
Ph  D  Dept,  of  Agriculture,  Victoria,  Bulletin  No.  u. 
“Tivo  Years’  Field  Work  of  the  Chemical  Branch  of  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Agriculture,  Victoria.”  *  "  “Woburn  Fruit  Farm 
Experiments,  Third  Report,  1903,”,  Eyre  and  Spottiswoode, 
Is.  (3d.-  i 
