IRISH GARDENING. 



Carrots. — For frames on a mild hot-bed 

 choose an early variety such as Sutton's Ininait- 

 able Forcing:, and sow in drills six inches apart. 

 Sown thinly tliey may be gradually thinned after- 

 wards as re(|uired for kitchen use. A thin 

 scattering- of radisli can also be made. Admit 

 air cautiously, and always on the leeward side, 

 and water with a fine rose-can when the weather 

 is fine. These remakrs apply to all early crops. 



A sowing of turnips made in a cold frame 

 facing south will produce choice young root?, 

 without the aid of any fermenting material. 



Peas. — Various methods ai'e practised of raising 

 seeds of this important vegetable under glass for 

 subsequent jjlanting out, such as in pots, boxes 

 and turves. Practically the same remarks apply 

 as to those given for broad beans, excepting that 

 they need not have quite so much room. A 

 practice I adopted last year, and which I hope to 

 repeat this year, was as follows : The first 

 opportunity in the new year, when the ground 

 was workable, I pegged out a narrow south 

 border for peas at ten feet apart, drawing fairly 

 wide but shallow drills and sowed thickly with 

 Early Marvel — a pea that I consider is hard to 

 beat — coating the seeds well with red lead. I 

 then covered each row with some old lights. 

 Germination took place in about a fortnight, and 

 a week or so later, according to the weather, a 

 little soil was drawn to the rows, short bushj^ 

 stakes put to them, and on the exposed easterly 

 side a few spruce branches in addition. Between 

 the rows I afterwards planted five rows of 

 potatoes. 



The Flower Garden. 



Much will depend upon the weather as to what 

 can be practised ; but. as in other departments, 

 as much as can be possibly done to ease the work 

 later should be put forward as speedily as 

 possible. There is a vast variety of work comes 

 under this heading, and a great deal peculiar to 

 its own particular place. Any alterations of 

 ground work, forming of new beds, planting of 

 trees and shi'ubs-', relaying of or levelling lawn,-, or 

 repairing edges to walks where the latter have 

 become too wide, should be carried out. If not 

 already done the shrubberies may be forked over 

 and ali fallen leaves buried, and any top-dressings 

 of manure applied to flowering subjects and 

 others that need it, such as Hydrangeas and 

 Bamboos, as examples. On fine days admit 

 abundance of air, or, better still, remove the 

 lights entirely from frann s containing cuttings 

 of practically hardy plants, and stir the soil with 

 a pointed stick. 



Hardy Fruit Garden. 



The principal work now claiming attention will 

 be the pruning, tying or nailing of wall trees, and 

 every comfoi'table opportunity afforded should 

 be taken advantage of. The sooner this work on 

 walls can be done the better before the buds 

 begin to expand. Trees that have covered the 

 wall space allocated to them need little pruning 

 besides the shortening back of the spurs and. tying 

 in of any young growths required for extension, 

 such as on plums, sweet cherries, pears and 

 apples, that come imder this system. Peaches 

 and nectarines and Morello cherries are practi- 

 cally the only exceptions, aiid these three require 

 similar attention, removing as much of the old 



wood and laying in young growths of the previous 

 season's. Overcrowding should be avoided in 

 both cases, and especially with the first two 

 named. Lay in tlie wood as straight and evenly 

 as jjossible, remove any tight ties. Any stubborn 

 growths on Morello cherries that were not tied 

 down during the summer months and so brought 

 into shape may be spurred back. It is a capital 

 plan with young trees that are being trained to 

 make a few chalk marks on the wall radiating 

 from the base of the tree to guide the pex'son 

 tying, and so lay in a good foundation. 



Plants under (Ilass. — There are two popular 

 classes of plants that need attention this month 

 with regard to propagating, viz. — Chrysanthe- 

 mums and the popular Tree or Winter Flowering 

 Carnations. The former naay be successfully 

 struck in boxes of soU in a cold frame, placing 

 cuttings preferably from the roots of the old 

 plants in rows 2 inches apart, and when well 

 rooted, lifted and placed three in a 5-inch pot, 

 and later into flowering size. This applies to 

 decorative varieties. 



Hints on Watering in Greenhouses. 



Amateurs are sometimes apt to overlook the 

 importance of careful watering, and even some 

 of those who realise it as one of the essentials in 

 the life of a plant have no definite knowledge of 

 the matter. 



As in every art in life it is only practice which 

 brings perfection, but with a few rules kept 

 constantly in mind the careful amateur can take 

 a good step along the path towards perfection. 



First of all, bear in mind that over-watering is 

 quite as harmful as under-watering — ^in fact at 

 this time of the year, when drying out takes so 

 much longer, the former would probably cause 

 more harm to the plant than the latter. There- 

 fore do not water a plant until certain that it is 

 dry, as the roots if kept in a perpetually wet state 

 will rot. There are three ways of finding out if 

 the plant is thoroughly dry : 



First. — Tap the pot with the knuckles, and, if 

 dry, it will give a hollow ring. If the roots are 

 still damp the sound will be a muffled one. 



Second. — Lift the pots, and the dry ones will be 

 found to be much lighter than the wet ones. 



Third. — By the appearance of the surface soil 

 in the pot, but judgment in this way will only 

 be reliable after some months of careful observa- 

 tion. 



Sometimes when the soil is quite damp, the pot 

 will give a hollow ring. This occurs when the 

 13ot is cracked, or when the soil does not adhere to 

 the side, as it sometimes fails to do when the 

 plant has been potted up with damp soil. 



The appearance of the weather must also be 

 taken into consideration in watering. If the day 

 promises to be very sunny more watering will be 

 required than on a damp, gloomy morning, when 

 there will be very little drying out during the day. 

 A good time to water is between 10 a.m. and 12 

 mid-day, and during the summer season it is well 

 to give the plants a look over during the afternoon. 

 Hothouses require very similar treatment to cool- 

 houses, but it is necessary to damiJ the shelves of 

 the former to keep the atmosphere moist. 



If all these points are borne in mind and added 

 to careful observation there is no reason why an 

 amateur should lose any of his cherished plants 

 through mistaken watering. J. F. R. 



