22 



IRISH GARDENING. 



The Allotments and how to Cuhivate 

 them. 



Now thai lh(^ allotim'ni scliciiie is in ftill swiii^ 



it may hi;lp tliosc^ who liave taken, or aro jihout 



to take, plots to read and study tln^se few bints. 



On lakin^ over an allotment, witli the olijec.t oT 



transforming it into a Hourisliiiif:' and food- 

 producing space, the in(!xperienced are apt to 



feel bewildered, havint;- no clear idea, of what 



should be done or of how to set about putting the 



ground in order ; but one need not hesitate. In 



the first place one has only to consider whether h(^ 



will trench the ground or merely dig it. Let us 



suppose that the prospective allotnuMit is in grass. 



In event of the ground not being ploughed, as has 



been suggested, my ad^nce is to 



cultivate the ground by " bastard 



trenching" — that is. transposing 



the first spit and in forking up 



the next, but not removing it. 



To begin operations a trench 



should be taken out across the 



whole length of the plot, say. 



two feet wide ; this shouhl l)e 



wheeled to the exti'emc; end to 



fill in the last trench. Into the 



first trench dig the sod from the 



next two feet, chopping it finely, 



and placing the next " spade " 



or spit of soil on top of this. 



Pork up the bottom of this 



trench; but leave the soil tliere : 



this will assist drainage. Some 



people dig in leaves, manuri? and 



many other things, but tt> thos(! 



wishing to get their crops in 



early I would suggest opening 



drills after the trenching has 



been completed. The manure 



can be then put into tin; drills. 



Land which has been untilled 



for some time — more especially 



grazing land — will be fou'ul to 



contain wire-\\ onus: this is the 



wox'st pest the allotment holder 



will have to contend with, but if 



plenty of soot and lime is Well 



worked in, this pest may be 



somewhat abated. 1'Iie best 



crops for the allotment holder 



to grow will require considera- 

 tion. If space can possibly be 

 spared one shoidd grow at 

 least ]i(ill of the plot in poUihtcs, and tlie 

 remaining ground could be croijped by beans, 

 peas, parsnips, carrots and onions : a good sowing 

 of leeks could also be made, so that when potatoes 

 are lifted such ground coidd be planted with leeks. 

 Brussels sprouts, cabbage and others of tlie 

 Brassica family can also be grown with success. 

 One hears on all sides now m hich is the best 

 potato to gro»v, but one must take into con- 

 sideration soil, aspect and climate. I grow 

 Puritan, an extra early variety, and it is one of 

 the best early potatoes I grow : I can have it by 

 the end of ^May, and when about half grown it is 

 really as dry as some varieties are A\lien fiiUy 

 grown. For second early I advise allotment- 

 holders to grow British ()ueen, either as a 

 second early or a main crop. I find no easier 

 potato to cultivate ; it succeeds here in the North 



I'huto hij] 



Sax. (■oTvr.KDoN 



(.soe p. 



wlien most varieties fail : some say Arran 

 C;hi<!f is better. For a late crop for winter use 

 there is no ]iotato in the market can equal the 

 Skerry, its cropping and keepijig qualities are 

 so well known as to need very little description. 

 There ai'(! many varieties too numerous to mention, 

 bn t 1 ha\(' enumerated thice of the verv best. 



W.A. ^\. 

 Banbridge, Co. Ikmn. 



Herbaceous and Alpine Plants. 



With the advent of Febiuar>- tlierc^ is a fc'eling 

 that spring is approaching, tliough no doubt 

 much bad and treacherous weather li(\s befoi-e us. 

 There is more strengtji in tlie sun, howevcu', and 

 svith every day it increas<"s. (loaxing eai'ly plants 

 into growth and bringing addi- 

 tional work to an already ov(;r- 

 crowded day. 



Herbaceous borders will now 

 requii'e attention at the first 

 I'aA'ourable opportunity. Where 

 l>ulbs are gro^^ n between the 

 o'he;' phuits it is im]>ossible to 

 do muoli or any digging before 

 the leaves have jjushed Ihi'ough 

 the surface. N'ery soon now it 

 will be possible to see the posi- 

 tion of each group, and digging 

 can proceed whenever the soil is 

 ia suita))le (condition, but avoid 

 working <ni it while it is wet. 



A good deal of nonsense is 

 w^ritten about, giving up flower 

 growing and substituting vege- 

 tables ; this is mostly w ritten 

 by people who evidently know 

 nothing whatever about vege- 

 table gi'owi ng, and need not be 

 too seriously noticed. There is 

 no need to sacrifice perennial 

 flower borders for this purpose 

 while oilier land exists in an 

 uncultivated state. It is .'i very 

 much wiser and juoie reasonable 

 l)roceeding to plough up a 

 private deer park, as we read of 

 several gentlemen doing, and 

 leave the flower gardens to make 

 tin* best of it. In the case of 

 those gardens u hich required 

 replanting annually there is 

 some excuse for departing from 

 this practice for the ijresent, but 

 with the perennial border it is different. Neces- 

 sity will enforc(! a great deal of the annual 

 lifting and repl.inting being omitted for this year, 

 but hap})ily perennial hei'baceous plants will not 

 suffer greatly on this account, providing the shoots 

 are well thinned out when a few inches high — 

 work that with a little iiistruction can be well 

 done by men over military age or by girls and 

 women. Lose no opportunity, then, of lightly 

 forking over the borders, and if farmyard manure 

 be scarce and re(pured for vegiitables, fork in any 

 decayed refuse available, and if possible give a 

 dressing of basic slag or superphosphate at tin; 

 rate of about 2 ozs. to the square yard. Even if 

 no manure be a])plied the forking over will be of 

 service in aerating the soil and providing a loose 

 surface in which the lioe can be easily worked 

 until the plants are tall enough to shade the soil 



[J . harper Scai/e 

 LUir. ICELANmC.V 



r.') 



