We are so accustomed at this period to hear it stated that preconceived ideas of every kind are being sifted for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of truth and fallacy contained in them, that it seems a mere truism to apply the same remarks to the discussions which have lately taken place in the gardening periodicals upon Vine Culture. In what is confessedly an age of transition, it is incumbent upon those who really desire improvement to see that what was good in former systems is not rashly cast aside, though some deficiencies may have become apparent.

Amateur cultivators, who look mainly to these publications for cultural directions, must be greatly distracted by the extreme diversity of opinion which exists among those whose names deservedly rank high in the gardening world. So also must many young practitioners like myself, who are anxiously striving to keep their qualifications apace with the progress both of science and practice, be puzzled to account for the apparently endless variety of opinions and methods of cultivation prevalent among practical men. Experienced Grape-growers have the results of their practice by which to test the new theories advanced. Young practitioners, seeking a knowledge of the best and surest method, are bewildered as they see accredited systems of culture openly censured or covertly undermined.

Amid this chaos of opinion, the article on Grape-Growing in your April Number must have been hailed with intense satisfaction by a large number of your readers, especially as it is so difficult, from the one-sided intimations and incomplete details which are too frequently given in articles on special cultivation, to discriminate accurately between the merits of particular systems and the principles involved in their application.

I am not sure I can furnish anything that has not already been presented in one shape or another, but my own experience has furnished a few facts which tend to corroborate the statements of "D. T." and others.

The question as to whether the presence of lime in the soil is injurious or beneficial to the roots of the Vine seems to be one of prime importance. Lime is so efficient an agent in disintegrating the turf, which is the main constituent of so many Vine-borders (and more especially when this is of an adhesive nature), and so effective in destroying the numerous larvae which it frequently contains, that it would seriously affect the cultivation of the Vine in many districts where it is much used, if it were proved to be injurious to the roots. An instance bearing upon this point recently came under my own observation. In the gardens at present under my charge, a Vine-border was laid down some five or six years ago, composed of the parings of roadside ditches - a generous and friable material. This was still further enriched by being saturated with blood at the shambles, and to insure porosity, a quantity of lime hot or newly slaked (which I presume to be the caustic state alluded to by Mr Cramb) was applied, but, as the result showed, very partially.

For three years the Vines throve and bore well, but during the two succeeding years the fruit shanked considerably, although in all other respects the Vines appeared to be in excellent health. Last year it was resolved to remove the vinery and erect one larger on the same site. On lifting the Vines with the intention of replanting them in the new house, it was found that the compost had become so solidified as to be almost impervious to the roots; but here and there throughout the border were patches where the unslaked lime was found in lumps, and these were thoroughly matted with fine healthy rootlets. One or two roots had made their way through the border into a walk composed of furnace ashes and beach gravel, and were found spreading in every direction. The conclusion drawn from the appearance of the border was, that the lime had preserved the lives of the Vines by preserving a few spots of penetrable soil in the border through which the roots could operate. In a less retentive soil, I do not suppose that its action would have been so helpful, unless with copious and frequent applications of water.

The ultimate shanking of the fruit I attribute to the exhaustion of the extremely limited space in the border to which the roots found access.

With reference to the dispute upon the relative merits of the restrictive and extension systems of Vine-growing, I would submit one question for consideration which I have not yet seen mooted. Under which of the two methods can the Vines be most speedily brought into their maximum bearing condition? I presume that there can be but one answer, and that in favour of the single-rod system, either for early forcing or ordinary culture. Under no other method can the Vine be said to be so completely under the control of the cultivator, as to the proportion of foliage and light, both matters of the first importance in successful cultivation.

The advocates of extension boast of the facility which their system affords for promoting a luxuriant development of roots, but I have failed to observe in all their speculations any gain which cannot also be obtained by the single rods spurred. With these, the greatest amount of foliage upon which light and heat can advantageously act may easily be produced. Whatever may be said in favour of allowing shoots of fruiting Vines to ramble unrestricted with the view of encouraging root-growth, I confess I have but little faith in the fruit-producing powers of either roots or canes of such crude growths. The system which most equally maintains the balance between root and branch, must in the end prove of the highest advantage in cultivation.

It must also be allowed that system is worthy of general acceptation which yields the most satisfying results from the confined space necessarily contained in borders of artificial construction, for under such a condition an immense majority of Vines must exist. There can be little doubt that Vines under the restrictive system may attain a very respectable longevity, provided that a sufficient quantity of nutritious food be furnished them. "Quodcunque gratum est palato nutrit," is an old maxim which may be applied with advantage in rearing specimens of the genus Vitis as well as the genus Homo.

I wished to have made a few remarks upon the "cowhorn" system of pruning, as "D. T." not inaptly terms it. I consider it a hybrid between extension and restriction, with some of the disadvantages of both, and with the merits of neither; but I have trespassed already too long on your patience, and must beg leave to recur to it at another time.

A Young Practical Gardener.