124 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Round, Hardy Hainuiersinith, Black Seeded 

 Cos, ice. &c. 



Planting. — Broccoli and spring sown Cabbages 

 should be planted in the ground previously 

 occupied by Peas, Beans and Onions. The 

 former is an exceedingly valuable vegetable, but, 

 as it occupies the ground until so late in the 

 spring, it often interferes with the cultivation of 

 spring and sununer vegetables. It should, 

 therefore, be planted discriniinately. The ground 

 if previously well manured, as for Onions, will not 

 need digging again, as this crop does well on firm 

 ground. The final planting of Leeks should al^io 

 be made on well manured ground. 



Earthing up. — Towards the end of the month 

 give Celery and the early batch of Leeks a little 

 moulding up with soil, in order to commence the 

 blanching process, which begins as soon as the 

 light is kept away from the plants. Commence 

 operations by forking over the soil in the ridges, 

 so as to break it into fine particles. Then remove 

 the side shoots from the bases of the Celery plants, 

 also the outside leaves which are turning yellow. 

 Then tie around the leaves of each plant with 

 Raffia or soft strin<z, so that there is no space 

 for the soil to drop into the centre of the plant. 

 Then take a little of the pulverised soil and place 

 it gently against the leaf stalks of the plants 

 until a Vidge about five inches high is formed, 

 then later on — in about a month — give a further 

 application. This blanching process should not 

 commence before the plants have grown well, 

 otherwise the stems will be w^eak and the plants 

 more susceptible to leaf spot disease, which has 

 become very prevalent of late years. This 

 disease can be kept in check by the use of dilute 

 Potato Spray Mixture. Care should be taken to 

 thoroughly wash the plants before using or 

 disposing of them. A little soil should be drawn 

 towards the stents of Brussels Sprouts and 

 Cabbages, &c., this will act as a partial support 

 and fertiliser. 



Ripening off. — The various Onion crops, such 

 as Shallots, Potato Onions, autumn and spring 

 sown Onions, should be ripened off, if this has 

 not been done already. Lift all those whose tops 

 have turned yellow and place on a sunny path or 

 pavement, or suspend on wire netting in a sunny 

 position. Bend over the necks of those which are 

 still green and lift in a fortnight or three weeks' 

 time, treating them similarly. This ripening of 

 the Bulbs considerably improves their keeping 

 qualities. 



Flowers. — Continue to pick off the seed pods 

 on Sweet Pea and other plants as soon as they 

 begin to develop. By so doing a longer supply 

 of flowers will be obtained, wiiich can be further 

 increased by giving the plants applications of 

 liquid manure at intervals. Stake Dahlias, 

 Chrysanthemums and such other plants as may 

 need support, hiding the stakes as much as 

 possible. Take cuttings of Pinks, Carnations 

 and Pansies early in the month inserting them 

 in sandy soil in a cold frame or on a warm border. 

 Wallflowers and other biennial flowers can still 

 be transplanted ; some of the ground which was 

 previously occupied by early Potatoes will be 

 quite suitable for this purpose. 



Fruit. — Complete the summer pruning of 

 Apples, Pears and Plums, &c. 



W. H. J. 



Seeds for Autumn Sowing, 



Cabbage. 



Despite the scarcity of Cabbages during the last 

 spring due to the exceptionally cold winter, there 

 is no question as to the value of a sowing in 

 August. In many gai'dens a sowing is made in 

 the middle of July, and often with quite satis- 

 factory results, but occasionally if the autumn 

 and early winter ]irove mild the plants from this 

 early sowing get too big and do not winter well, 

 or, if they come through, proceed to "•boll " with 

 the first hint of warmer weather in early spring. 

 The August sowing, however, being a month or so 

 later, grows more slowly and has not reached so 

 large a size when cold weather begins. If sown 

 thinly in the middle of August the young plants 

 will be fit for planting by the middle of October, 

 Some gardeners advise pricking out the seedlings 

 into a nursery bed for a few weeks prior to plant- 

 ing where they are to mature, but if thin sowing 

 is practised this is not necessary. 



If the plot to be planted has been well manured 

 for a previous crop none need be dug in for the 

 Cabbages, but this is a matter which must be 

 decided by the nature of the ground : if dry and 

 naturally poor manure may be necessary. One 

 thing should be made absolutely certain, and that 

 is, the soil must be made as firm as possible to 

 induce sturdy growth as opposed to the produc- 

 tion of large soft leaves, which will surely be 

 killed before the plants can " turn in " in spring. 



It is worth going to some trouble to have a nice 

 batch of firm youn Cabbages fit to cut at the end 

 of March and through April. There are many 

 varieties favoured by different growers in different 

 districts, but the following will generally be found 

 satisfactory : — Harbinger, Sutton's April, Hurst's 

 first and best, Ellam's Early, Flower of Spring 

 and Mein's No. 1. 



Onions. 



Those mo.st favoured for autumn sowing are 

 Giant Rocca, Tripoli in variety and White Lisbon. 

 August is a good month to sow, as germination is 

 usually quick at this time, and the young plants 

 may be transplanted to their permanent beds in 

 October. In some districts it may be found 

 better to leave the transplanting till spring, thie 

 applies particularly to heavy cold soils, which ars 

 not so favoui'able to a late transplanted crop. 

 The Onions mentioned above reqviire a long 

 .season to mature, hence the necessity of giving 

 them a start by sowing in autumn. The ground 

 for Onions should be deeply dvig and manured, 

 according to its quality — if light, then a good 

 dressing will be beneficial ; if heavy and retentive, 

 less will suffice. It is usiial when sowing the 

 seeds to sow in lines, transplanting as many as are 

 required, leaving those remaining in the seed bed 

 to be used or sold as Scallions in spring. When 

 transplantinsr, either in autumn or spring, nine 

 inches should be allowed between the plants and 

 one foot between the rows. 



In these times of scarcity of manure the v^alue 

 of deep digging cannot be over emphasised. Tt 

 is usual to place great reliance on heavy applica- 

 tions of manure in the production of crops, but 

 deep cultivation is more important, A soil made 

 friable and sweetened by deep digging, which 

 allows the air to permeate it, will produce good 

 crops over a longer period than a shallow dug- 

 soil, heavily manured. Gardener, 



