454 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE -AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
November  12,  1903. 
moisture  at  the  roots  and  in  the  atmosphere;  indeed,  moderate 
moisture  in  the  atmosphere  is  necessai-y  to  prevent  undue 
evaporation  and  the  shrinking  of  the  Grapes.  A  slight  warinth 
in  the  hot-wates  pipes  will  be  required  almost  constantly  to 
maintain  an  equable  temperature,  but  this  must  not  be  too 
high,  or  it  will  di-y  the  atmosphere  and  cause  the  Grapes  to 
shrivel  prematurely"  A  temperature  of  40deg  to  45deg  at  night 
and  50deg  by  day,  will  be  sufficient,  ventilating  freely  and  early 
in  bright  weather,  so  as  to  prevent  moisture  being  deposited  on 
the  berries.  Outside  borders  should  be  covered  with  lights  or 
tarpaulin  to  throw  off  heavy  rains.  Remove  all  fallen  or  matuiad 
leaves,  practising  every  precaution  against  damp  and  moull. 
LATE  GRAPES. — These  do  not  always  finish  well,  and  this 
usually  arises  from  three  primary  causes,  namely,  star'-ing  ehe 
Vines  too  late,  and  not  accelerating  thorough  growth  during  the 
spring  and  early  summer  months,  so  as  to  give  the  Graoes  lLe 
full  benefit  of  the  summer  sun  to  swell  and  ripen.  Overcropping, 
too,  not  only  prejudices  the  current  crop,  but  militates  considei- 
ably  against  the  succeeding  jmar’s  bearing  of  the  Vines.  A  bad 
condition  of  the  roots  is,  however,  the  most  disastrous  cause  of 
all,  for  improper  food  is  attended  with  many  evils,  and  the.se 
hinder  the  perfection  of  the  crop.  If  the  defect  is  due  to  tver- 
cropping,  some  relief  may  be  afforded  by  cutting  a  portion  of  the 
crop  at  the  earliest  convenience,  and  though  nothing  will  r, e 
gained  by  pushing  the  fire  now,  the  temperature  maintained  at 
GOdeg  to  Godeg,  with  lOdeg  to  lodeg  advance  from  sun  Imat,  so 
as  to  secure  the  thorough  ripening  of  the  wood,  admitting  air 
freely  when  the  weather  is  favonrable,  and  leaving  a  bttle  on 
constantly.  Where  the  cause  can  be  traced  to  imperfect  drainage 
or  bad  borders  no  time  should  be  lost  after  the  wo  >:l  becomes 
sufficiently  ripened,  or  when  the  leaves  give  indications  of  falling, 
in  getting  out  the  old  soil,  rectifying  the  drainage,  and  relaying 
the  roots  in  fresh  compost. 
Where  the  Vines  are  in  proper  condition  the  timely  attention 
to  fallen  leaves,  in  clearing  away  and  looking  over  the  bunches 
for  decayed  berries,  will  keep  matter-s  straight.  Air  is  the  best 
preventive  of  mculdiness.  A  temperature  of  4.5deg  to  -"iOdeg 
suits  the  vinous  Grapes,  such  as  Gros  Colman,  and  oOdeg  to  oG«i«g 
the  Mu-scats,  as  both  improve  considerably  after  apparently 
ripe. — St.  Albans. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  he  directed 
to  “The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chamber.s,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  pur  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifi¬ 
able  trouble  and  expense.  In  naming  plants  we  only  undertake 
to  name  species,  or  well-marked  varieties,  and  only  six  on  any 
one  occasion.  Florists’  flowrrs  we  do  not  name. 
STREPTOCARPUS  SEEDLING,  TREATMENT  (F.  G.).— 
The  plant.s  now  flowering  should  be  kept  moderately  moist  until 
the  flowering  is  mainly  over,  and  in  an  intermediate  house  or 
cool  Stove  :  when  the  flowering  is  over  they  should  be  kept  some¬ 
what  drier  ;  indeed,  be  gradually  ripened  off  by  diminishing  the 
supplies  of  water,  and  when  the  foliage  has  mainly  decayed 
water  may  be  entirely  withheld.  The  plants  can  then  be  stood 
CD.  a  damp  base  with  no  danger  of  drip  falling  on  them,  and  the 
roots  will  then  keep  sound  until  the  spring,  when  they  should 
be  shaken  out,  repotted,  and  started  in  gentle  heat. 
BANKSIAN  ROSES  NOT  FLOWERING  (Idem).— The  most 
common  cause  of  this  is  non-maturity  of  the  wood,  often  aggra¬ 
vated  by  keeping  or  allowing  too  much  growth,  so  that  the 
shoots  have  not  full  exposure  to  light  and  air,  and  in  conse¬ 
quence  are  soft  and  unripe.  Another  cause  is  severe  or  close 
pruning,  whereby  a  number  of  soft  growths  are  made,  and  the 
consequent  crowding  results  in  weakly  and  immature  shoots. 
This  Rose  requires  very  little  pruning,  merely  cutting  out  the  old 
growth  in  favour  of  young,  and  training  the  shoots  rather  thinly, 
so  as  to  secuip  thoroughly  solidified  growth  and  well-ripened 
wood.  Then  it  blooms  freely  under  favourable  coiniitions,  as 
against  a  south  wall,  only  the  immature  points  of  the  long  shoots 
being  shortened  to  sound,  well-ripened  woodi 
DRE.SSING  FOR  CUTTING  BOXES  (X.  Y.  Z.)..— The  usual 
dressing  for  Hop  poles  is  creosote.  This  is  an  excellent  preserva¬ 
tive  of  wood  in  or  out  of  the  ground,  but  it  is  not  suitable  for 
the  purpose  you  require,  nor  for  dreissing  the  woodwork  of 
plant  or  fruit  houses.  A  safe  and  excellent  dressing  for  wood¬ 
work  used  for  horticultural  purposes  is  Stockholm  tar,  thinned 
to  the  .consi.stency  of  paint  with  paraffin  oil.  The  woodwork, 
boxes,  stages,  Ac.,  should  be  thoroughh’  dry,  .and  the. dressing 
applied  with  an  ordinary  paint  brush,  apply  as  a  priming  coat 
to  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  boxes.  Three  coats  may  bo 
given  to  the  outside,  allowing  the  first  coat  to  become  dry  before 
applying  the  .second,  and  so  on  between  the  second  and  third. 
The  woodwork  so  treated  has  a  brown  colour,  and  when  dry  may 
be  painted  any  colour  required  if  so  desired,  as  for  stages,  Ac., 
though  for  boxes  this  may  not  be  coirsidered  necessarju 
PORTABLE  PEACH-TREE  WALL  C’OPING.-^If  tender 
Peaches  and  refined  Pears  cannot  be  sheltered  by  meahs“of  a  full 
glass-case  (the  Peach-case  as  usually  spoken  of)  the  next  best 
thing  as  a  means  of  protection,-  is  the  wall  coping.  These  copings 
are- useful  in  this,  that  they  prevent  a  certain  amount  of  Vertical 
heat  radiation,  which  if 
uninterrupted,  results 
in  such  cooling  of  the 
exposed  surfaces  of 
growth,  that  harm  en¬ 
sues.  Frost  is  said  to 
be  due  to  loss  of  heat  by 
radiation.  If  a  glass 
coping  can  prevent  a 
certain  amount  of  radia¬ 
tion,  say  to  the  extent 
that  would  register  two 
or  three  degrees  of 
frost,  then  it  serves  a  very  u.seful  purpose.  When  trees  are  in 
blossom  we  do  not  expect  many  hard  frosts,  though  sudden 
“  snaps  ”  are  not  uncommon  ;  and  these  often  destroy  a  seiasdn’s 
promise  of  fruit.  A  little  extra  outlay  then,  in  providing  copings 
or  cases,  is  desirable.  Our  illustration  here  is  from  Mr.  Duncan 
Tucker,  the  horticultural  builder,  of  Tottenham,  N.  In  these 
portable  copings  the  glass  is  removable,  and  can  be  stored  away 
all  summer  and  winter,  being  mainly  of  u.se  in  the  spring. 
DRAINING  A  FIELD  (S.  S.  W.). — The  first  point  to  be 
determined  is  the  outlet.  This  should  always  be  at  the  lowe.st 
point  of  the  land,  or  such  as  will  afford  a  sufficient  fall  for  the 
water  ;  the  outlet  pipe  should  not  be  at  the  immediate  bottom 
of  a  ditch,  but  above  the  water  ordinarily  running  in  it.  The 
main  drain,  or  drains,  must  be  at  the  lowest  part  in  the  line 
of  the  greatest  .slope,  and  all  the  minor  drains  must  enter  the 
mains  diagonally  in  the  same  direction  as  the  run  of  the  water, 
and  not  at  right  angles.  A  4-inch  main  drain  is  usually  .suffi¬ 
cient  to  carry  off  the  water  from  five  or  seven  acres ;  but  where 
the  land  is  springy  larger  mains  or  more  of  them  are  requireeJ. 
The  drains  should  nob  be  less  than  3ft  deep,  and  where  there  is 
.sufficient  fall  they  are  better  Sjft  to  4ft  deep.  A  smooth  and 
even  fall  and  certain  outlet  must  be  provided.  A  sharp  fall  is 
not  necessary.  The  di.stance  of  the  drains  will  be  determined 
by  the  nature  of  the  soil.  Sandy,  gravelly,  or  silty  subsoils 
draw  well,  and  the  drains  should  be  24ft  apart  ;  for  medium  tex- 
tui'ed  subsoils,  2Ift ;  for  stiff  loams,  18ft  ;  and  for  retentive 
clay  subsoils,  15ft  apart.  In  tenacious  soils  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  fill  the  trench  with  stones  up  to  the  level  of  the  disturbed 
soil,  or,  say,  2ft  from  the  surface;  but  in  soils  that  are  springy, 
as  hapiiens  in  sand,  a  little  straw  on  which  to  lay  the  pipes  is 
necessary,  covering  them  lightly  with  the  softer  portions  of 
hedge  brushings,  to  prevent  their  being  choked  with  quicksand. 
All  outlets  must  be  secured  with  iron  grating  sufficiently  small 
between  the  bars  to  exclude  animals  of  the  size  of  rats,  or  less. 
This  work  of  draining  mu.st  be  done  carefully  and  thoroughly,  it 
being  essential  that  the  trench  be  examined  before  the  pipes  are 
laid,  in  order  that  any  faults  may  be  discovered  and  rectified. 
NAMES  OF  PLANTS.  —  Correspondents  tuhose  queries  are 
unanswered  in  the  present  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  consult 
the  following  number.  (.1.  F.  N.). — 1,  Abies  pindrow;  2,  Cedrus  Libani, 
probably  ;  3.  Fitzroya  patagoniea  ;  4,  Cupressus  cashineriana  pendida. 
(F.  L.). — I.  Daedalacanthus  nervosus  ;  2,  Erica  byeinalis  ;  3,  E.  gracilis  ;; 
4.  .lasminuin  graeillimuin.  (S.  J.  B.). — 1.  Tillandsia  zebrina ;  2,  ^Eehmea 
fulgens;  3,  Asparagus  yei’ticillatus.  (N.  A.). — 1,  Polygonum  molle  ;  2, 
P.  polystaehyon. 
PuBLic.XTiONS  Received. — “  Bulletin  of  Miscellaneous  Informa¬ 
tion  ”  ;  New  Garden  Plants  of  the  year  1902.  Royal  Gardens, 
Kew,  price  4d.  *  *  Annual  Report  of  Proceedings  under  the 
various  Agricultural  Department  Acts,  for  the  year  1902,  price 
Gd.  *  *  “The  Tropical  Agriculturist,”  September  1.  The 
articles  include ;  The  Latest  in  Fibres,  History  of  the  Intro¬ 
duction  of  Para  Rubber  into  the  Malay  Peninsula,  Mango,  its 
Culture  and  Varieties,  The  Invention  of  a  new  Artificial  Fer¬ 
tiliser,  The  Supposed  new  Substitute  for  Rubber,  Ac.  *  * 
“  Bibby’s  Quarterly,”  autumn  number,  1903.  The  price  of  this 
most  beautifully  illustrated  C|Uarterly  is  9d.,  post  free,  from  J. 
Bibby  and  Sons,  Formby  Street,  Liverpool.  There  are  twenty- 
two  coloured  illustrations  throughout  the  issue.,  many  of  them 
portraying  agricultural. subjects.  Purchasers  will  find  lolenty  to 
interest  them  in  “  Bibby’s  Quarterly,”  dealing  as  it  does  with 
the  country,  and  also  home  life.  *  *  <'•  TPe  Indian  Agricul¬ 
turist,”  Offiober,  J903.  Agriculture.  Mineralogy.  Statistics. 
*  *  Agricultural  Returns,"  1903  (Acreage  and  Live  Stock), 
price  ..  ir-  ;  .  ■  ... 
