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■Iil ■■
7 8 4 PEACTICE OF GAEDENING. P a r t III.
for which 1 Imd a prize awai'Uoa at umswicK weigneu -».u,., .. '"w — - - -
fmit, although not so large as some of them. The other pines averaged Gibs. Ih o
crowns of the whole of them were remarkably sm all; and this should be taken mto consideration
when weighing pines, for I havo seen some at tho London exliibitions wluch
have had crotvns and stalk more than half tho weight of the pme. The whole of my
plants fruited during the summer, and autumn, and again threw up strong suckers, wlncli
fruited w d l in 1848. In the autumn, I took off some of tho strongest suckers, and
destroyed tho rest of the plant, as I found the qneeiis threw np too many suckers and
were in every respect inferior to the Jamaica, which I believe is the Montscnat to the
North of England. Eor the future I intend to lot the plants fmit in the same beds but
two years, ns I am coiiviitced superior fruit may be grown, and as great weight, m the
same space. Whore there are two houses, or a house and a pit, this may bo done without
in any degree intorforing with the supply of fruit. I did not leave more th.an two
suckers to a plant for the second crop; none of the leaves of the parent / a n t s weio
removed, as I have proved they ai-e of the greatest benefit to the suckers. ^ Ih is / a n ot
growing tho pine-apple is thouglit by some persons to detemrate the frm t; but I have
not found it so. Of course water must not be used so hberally when the frmt is about to
ripen as when it is swelling ; flavour should not be sacrificed to size; it frequently is
done in the pot-system of culture, and I can affirm th.at I have tasted frait /o d u c e d
by plants grown in pots far inferior in flavour to those grown on plants planted m btols
of soil. I t may be well to mention that if any of the plants have not fruited in tho
autumn at tho time I wish to empty the pit, I take them up, pot them, and place t e r n
on the pathway at the ends of the house, whore they produce nice frmt for winter.
This system is so simple whore a house is properly adapted for it, thto I believe, eie
long, it wiU be the rule to grow them thus, rather than the exception. (IJ. C. Ogle,
^ Z w Z j j m h e r i c heat, and nwisture. “ Throngh tho winter I mamt.ain an artiflcial
heat of 60° at night, with a ris e of from 5° to 10° in the day. The beginmng of l e -
bruary, and through the summer, I iiicreiiso it to 65° at mght, and a l lo '/« to rise from
10° to 30° higher in the day, dcpoiiding on the state of tho weather. 1 / pliints aio
svi’ino’cd every fine afternoon throughout the summer, between two and three oclock;
and vT-ater is frequently thrown on tho pathway until the fruit is npenmg, when it is
discoiitiiiuod. There is also a considerable amount of atmospheric moisture dcnved
from the oiitters wliich supply the bottom heat to tho p lan ts ; this can be increased or
diminished at pleasure, by removing or closing slate slides, which iwc placcd at the ends,
front and back, beneath the slate flooring of the pit contammg the soil. {Idem.)
309° Bottom watering. “ About once a week while fire-hcat is used, two or three
pots of water of the temperature of the bottom heat is poured down the spout which
passes through the soil. This keeps a regular moisture at the bottom. The soil itse t is
kept moderately moist, but never w e t; a little manure water is ocasionally given whfie
the plants are growing, and the early fruits ai-e swelling ; but this is discontinued as the
fruit approaches maturity.” (Idem.)
S u b s e c t . 7 . Insects.
3093. Various hothouse insects ai'o injurious to the pine-apple, but more particnlarly
those of tho coccus g en u s; among wliich the white scaly species is the most destructive.
Wc have no evidence to show whether this species of coccus has been examined by naturalists
or whether it is the same that infests the vine and other greenhouse p la n ts ;
neither has any writer entered farther into its history than to point out the mjiuy it
occasions and to project schemes for its destruction. Two other very distmct spccicra
likewise infest the pine. One is the brown or turtle coccus (Coccus hespendum L.),
so called from its colour, and the oval enlargement of the back, which resembles the
shell of the turtle. The other is white and meidy, tinged with crimson, and is supposed
by some to be the same as the white scale first mentioned. This, however, appeara .
very doubtful; or, if coiTCCt, it may be the gravid female.^ According to Speechly, it
wedges itself between the protuberances of the fruit, rendering it unsightly, robbing it ot
its iuiccs, and spoiling its flavour. (T r . on the Pine, p. 133.) _
3094. Destroying the coccus. The natural history of these insects never having been
thoroughly investigated, the remedies that have been_ recommended mnst be considered
more as palliative than as efficient processes. A recipe that might, at a certain season,
prove efficacious for one species, will be totally unavailing when applied to another, or
even to the same in a different state of existence. Every insect has an economy peculiar
to itself, and that economy we must first study, before we can possibly devise any certain
method’ of conquering the evil. Until this subject has been more thoroughly mvesti-
B o o k III. CULTURE OF THE VINERY., 7 8 5
gated wc shall content ourselves with giving tliosc reccijits most in use among modern
gardeners.
3095. NicoVs recipe. Take soft soap, I lb. ; flowers of sulphur, 1 Ib. ; tobacco, i lb. : nux vomica, 1 oz •
soit water, 4 galls.: boil all these together till tlie liquor is reduced to 3 galls., and set it aside to cool’
hi this_!iquor immerse the whole plant, after the roots and leaves have been trimmed for pottinir
Plants m any other state, and which are placed in the bark-bed, may safely be watered over head with
the liquor reduced in strength by the addition of a third part water. As the bug harbours most in the
angles of the leaves, there is the better chance that the medicated water will be effectual, because it will
there remain the longest, and there its sediment will settle. The above is a remedy for every species of
the coccus ; and ior most insects, on account of its strength and glutinous nature. Its application will
make the plants look dirty ; therefore, as soon as th e intended effect may be supposed to be produced,
whatever remains of the liquor on the leaves should be washed off with clean water. It would be improper
to pour a decoction charged with such offensive materials over fruiting plants. F u rth e r this
peculiar dose for a tenacious insect is not to be applied indiscriminately to exotics in a treneral stove as
It might make th e more delicate leaves of shrubs drop off.
309G. M'PhaWs mode consists in the application of a powerful moist heat ; and we shall only here
observe, that it proceeds on th e fact, experimentally proved, that a degree of heat and moisture, which
IS speedily fatal to animals, will not immediately destroy or injure vegetable life, and this the more especially
of plants of such a robust n atu re as the pine.
3097. Miller's recipe. Miller recommends turmng th e plants out of the pots, and cleaning the roots :
then keepmg them immersed for four and twenty hours in water in which tobacco-stalks have been in fused:
the bugs are then to be rubbed off with a sponge, and the plants, after being washed in clean water
and dripped, are to be repotted. Muirhead, a gardener a t Invermay, in Perthshire, has described a similar
mode {Caled. Uort. Soc. Mem., vol.i. p. 209.), only, in the place of tobacco-juice he directs flowers of
sulphur to be mixed with the water. With a bit of bast mat fixed on a small stick, and dipped in water,
he displaces as many of the insects as he can see. He then immerses the plants in a tub of water, containing
about 1 lb. of flowers of sulphur to each garden-potful. They remain covered with the water for
twenty-four hours, as described by Miller. They are then laid with their top downwards to dry and are
repotted m the usual manner. Wha t share of the cure in either of these ways may be due to the sulphur
or to the tobacco-liquor does not clearly appear : the rubbing off or loosening the insects is evidently
important ; and it is not unlikely th a t immersion in simple water, so long continued, may alone be sufficient
to destroy them. Indeed, the experience of one o fth e best practical gardeners in Scotland (Hay)
loads him to conclude, that even moderate moisture is destructive to these insects. During many years
he regularly watered his pine-plants over head with the squirt, during the summer-months : this was
done only m the evening; it never injured the p lan ts ; and th e bug never appeared upon them. (Ed.
Encyc. art. Hort.)
Hamilton'srccipe. Sulphur, 8oz.; Scotch snuff, 8oz.; hellebore powder, Goz.; nux vomica, 6 oz.-
soft soap, 6 oz. ; Cayenne pepper, I oz. ; and 1 qrt. of tobacco liquor : add 1 gail. of boilmg wa te r; stir
th e mixture well, breaking the lumps ; when cool, strain through a rough cloth. “ Having provided a
brush of sufficient length, let the plants be washed with the mixture on both sides of their leaves, allowing
a portion of the liquor to run down to the bottom of each leaf.” The insects should be removed
■while washing. After th e leaves have been all well washed and tied up, the plants must be turned out
of their pocs, and the balls reduced. The tru n k and roots must also be well washed. “ W hen washed
th e plants are to be laid to drain a short time, with their tops downwards, and then they may be potted
in small pots.” {T r . on ih e Pine.p.CtO.)
3099. Steam. One of th e simplest and, at th e same time, most effectual modes of destroying the pine
bug. without disturbing the plants, or in the slightest degree deranging the house, is to keep it.inces-
santly filled with steam for several days together, thus raising the temperature considerably above 100° ;
which, though in the shade it will not injure the pine-apple, is yet found to be destructive to every
3100. Cleansing and refitting the house. Eveiy department of the pineiy must be
kept at all times sweet and clean. A t the period of removing sets of plants that have
completed speciiic stages (or oftener, if necessaiy), purify the house thoroughly, and
have the flues swept, or the pipes painted, the plaster whitewashed, the woodwork and
glass washed at all events, and the latter painted if necessaiy, all broken glass mended,
and every other substantial or casual reparation effected, i f insects are supposed to bo
harboured in the building, the following wash is to be introduced witli a brush into the
cracks and joints of the woodwork, and the crevices of the w a ll: “ Of sulpliur vivum,
take 2 o z .; soft soap, 4 oz. Make these into a lather, mixed with a gaUon of water
that has been poui-ed in a boiling state upon a pound of mercury. The mercuiy w l Q
last to medicate fresh quantities of water almost pei-petually.” (Abercrombie.)
S e c t . H . Culture o f the Vinery.
3101. On the culture o f so important a fr u it as the grape, it is not surprising that there
should be a greiU variety of opinions. Without quoting those of the eailicr and of
foreig-n authors, neither of which arc of much value as to the hothouse culture of tliis
plant, we shall give those of the best modern British gardeners, on the prmcipal points
connected with i t ; viz., on the general modes of culture adopted in ordinaiy vineries;
with regard to particular modes of cu ltu re; as to gathering and preserving the fru it;
and as to insects and diseases.
S u b s e c t . 1. General Culture o f the Grape in Vineries.
3102. The culture o f the grape in ordinary vineries embraces the subject of soil, sort of
grapes, sort of plants, pruning, training, bleeding of the shoot, culture of the borders,
time of beginning to force, temperature, air, water, ripening, and resting of tlie wood.
3103. Soil. The kind of compost Speechly m ade use of for th e vine border of the hothouse a t Welbeck
was as follows; viz. “ one fourth part of garden mould (a strong lo am ); one fourth of the swavth or
tu rf from a pasture where the soil is a sandy loam ; one fourth of the sweepings and scrapings of pavements
and hard roads ; one eighth of rotten cow and stable-yard dung, m ixed; and one eighth of vegetable
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