H 



IRISH GARDENING. 



lifting Heakale crowns for forcing, prepare the 

 best rootlets for cuttings, tie in bundles and 

 plunge in ashes till time for planting. Of the sea- 

 kale that is to remain in the ground, cover half of 

 it with strawy manure and leaves, the other half 

 with ashes, then all will not be coming in at once. 

 If you have plenty of house room make a sowing 

 of French beans in pots — Osborne's early forcing 

 I find reliable — but unless you have enough heat 

 to force these well, they should not be attempted 

 meanwhile. Blanch endive and chicory according 

 to the demand you have for these delicious salads : 

 at this season of the year they are much appre- 

 ciated by all. It is usual to force a few early 

 potatoes, and the sooner we get them in the 

 better this year by the reports we hear. Get your 

 seeds nicely placed end up in seed boxes, sprout 

 them in some nice warm house by keeping them 

 damp, and rub out weak eyes. 



Horse Radish is usually a neglected crop ; it 

 should be lifted annually and the roots stored, 

 and a fresh plantation made in trenched ground. 

 This is a good month for the job ; it will repay 

 you for the trouble both by nice straight young 

 roots and the general appearance of the plot. 



Winter Spravixg should be done in every 

 garden, to every fruit tre , even though you see 

 no visible enemy ; prevention is better than cure 

 any day. I use (he lime and sulphur wash, which 

 is non-poisonous and very effective. Ohoose a 

 nice calm day for the operation. 



Inside Fruit. — Peach houses will have been 

 thoroughly washed, and the trees pruned and 

 retied, if not they should be done at once, as the 

 buds are easily knocked off after this month. 

 Vines should be cleaned and pruned by now. 

 loose bark scraped and rods w^ashed (if mealy bug 

 is prevalent they will need to be more than 

 scraped, as it is very hard to get rid of that pest), 

 and the whole house thoroughly cleansed ; the 

 borders ai'e sure to be dry if we have been trying 

 to keep grapes hanging, so, after giving a liberal 

 dressing of loam, wood ashes and bone meal, give 

 the whole border a good soaking of weak liquid 

 nianure, open all ventilators and give plenty of 

 air till ready for starting. If forcing sti"awberries 

 is contemplated bring in a batch after washing 

 the parts and scraping top soil ; give them a nice 

 top dressing and put them on a shelf near the 

 glass and let them start away quietly at first. 



Fruit Garden. 



Planting operations should be completed 

 if the weather conditions are favourable. The 

 ground should be prepared in early autumn 

 to allow time for the soil to settle. Good 

 drainage is essential to the successful cultivation 

 of all fruits and should be given special attention. 

 When planting fruit trees care should be taken 

 not to plant too deep or too shallow\ as is often 

 done now in light soil, but try and strike the 

 happy medium. After the hole is opened and 

 before planting your tree drive a stake (a good 

 stout one) first into the middle of the hole, then 

 place your tree alongside of the stake, spread out 

 the roots, then tread in your nice dry soil firmly 

 and well, finishing up with tying your tree to the 

 stake not too tight, but just tight enough to keep 

 it from wobbling. Often one sees young tre3S 

 ruined, by driving in stakes after the trees have been 

 planted. If any young trees require root- 

 pruning — that ii:, growing all to tiniber — this 

 month is not too late, but I prefer, if possible, 

 to do it just before the fall of the leaf. 



Pruning. — If the pruning of gooseberries and 

 curi'ants is finished, rake up and burn branches, 

 then proceed with forking between them and give 

 a nice dressing of rotten manure round each bu, h ; 

 take advantage of the middle of the rows, where 

 there are few roots, to dig deeply and get any 

 annual weeds well down. Prvxning and nailing of 

 wall trees should be completed as early as possible, 

 but avoid pruning if frost is very severe, for much 

 damage may be done which will not be apparent 

 till later. 



Strawberries. — Established beds should be 

 scuffled and cleaned, very lightly forked, and a 

 good dusting of wood ashes between and round 

 the plants, and over that a good dressing of farm- 

 yard manure should be given. 



Raspberries should be thinned out and tied 

 to wires or stakes ; a good liberal dressing of 

 farmyard manure should be given, as raspberries 

 soon deteriorate if not liberally treated in that 

 way. 



Flower Garden. 



The present time is suitable to examine 

 laurel and other common shrubs ; cut out 

 any rotten branches and trim back any 

 branches coming too far out on to the w^alk or 

 grass. The bordeis cons'sting of flowering shrubs, 

 such as Azalea Mollis and Rhododendrons, &c., 

 should get a nice topdressing of leaf- mould or 

 rotten manure, if available, for after the various 

 rakmgs and surface cleanings it is bound to leave 

 the borders exhausted ; fork the border over, 

 leaving it rough ; it can be fined down later when 

 dry. 



Turfing. — Complete any necessary alteration 

 to turf on lawn and repair grass verges where they 

 are worn or damaged by the absence of light or 

 the drip of trees. Use the roller after rain, for the 

 more a roller is used the more satisfactory the 

 lawn becomes. 



Give a liberal coating of manure to herbaceous 

 borders, and if there are not many bulbs use the 

 spade when digging, and as you proceed any 

 rearranging can be done, unless the border wants 

 to be lifted, trenched and replanted- -Make the 

 clumps in your herbaceous border a good size, as 

 nothing looks better (to my way of thinking) than 

 good bold clumps of each variety. 



Seeds. — Sow East Lothian Stocks now if you 

 want a good show of them this year ; sow in 

 boxes or pans, and bring them on slowly in nice 

 quiet bottom heat, be sparing with the water, as 

 they are very liable to damp. A sowing of Sweet 

 Pea should be made this month ; sow m pots, 

 three seeds in 3-inch pots. Look after the cuttings 

 in frames, such as Calceolarias, Pentstemons, and 

 Violas. Pick them over, and give them plenty of 

 air on mild days. Early flowering Chrysanthe- 

 mums which have been lifted and placed in 

 frames or peach Iiouse have developed plenty of 

 shoots suitable for cuttings. They may be taken 

 off now and inserted in boxes of nice sandy sod ; 

 place in a cool house and shade with, paper from 

 the bright sun till they begin to take root. 



