148 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Herbs at Abbeyleix House* 



About the cultivation of Medicinal Herb?, thf re 

 is almost an " odour of sanctity' " and an in- 

 fluence of far gone times, therefore, in the Church 

 Walk of the Abbeyleix House gardens they 

 seem most suitably placed. 



There is a vtry interesting collection of a great 

 many kinds (of which I give a list), and, in 

 addition, a good collection of the culinary and 

 sweet herbs. Each variety of herb is planted in 

 a triangular-shaped patch, and the whole effect 

 is very pleasing. On a bright August morning 

 the contrast of Borage and Margiold was very 

 charming, but herbs, as a rule, are not gay in 

 blossom and their foliage is rather of the more 

 greyish green tyjje. In the Blue Garden, the two 

 mp«t valuable herbs have been interned — Atropa 

 BeUa^ama^ ajuL Hyoscyamus Niger (Henbane). 

 The former has doi>e very well and yielded a 

 reasonable first crop of leaves for this season. 



The Henbane has not yet appeared, but no 

 herb-grower would be daunted by that, knowing 

 that the seed has lain dormant in some cases for 

 over 50 years. 



On the Terrace, some of the beds are filled 

 with Camomile, Marigold, Mullein, Aconite, 

 Black Pansies, Thyme, Marjoram, &c. ; and its 

 sunny open situation should suit most herbs 

 well. There are two field crops in the demesne — 

 Datura and Blessed Thistle. The former — with 

 everyone — suffered in the early part of the year 

 from slugs and snails, and had in many instances 

 to be replanted ; but now, though late, it pro- 

 mises to be a good crop. The Blessed Thistle, 

 also, saw trouble in its early days, and a great 

 proportion of it was grubbed up and eaten by 

 mice, pheasants and pigeons, and a portion of 

 the field is quite bare, but where it has taken 

 hold, the Thistle growth fiercely — plant jostling 

 plant for elbow room. 



As will be seen in the picture, the individual 

 plants are very large, and are, I should think, 

 2^ feet high, or more, and about 3 feet from 

 tip to tip of the branches. 



Mr. McGlashan has taken a great interest in 

 this new line of horticultiire, and has now in 

 his care a very large and representative collec- 

 tion, which should prove of much use to students. 



He also has careful notes of sowings and 

 germination, and of any difficulties he has had. 



One most useful thing he has discovered is 

 that Belladonna leaves can be quite successfully 

 dried without heat. 



This of course needs care and time, but some 

 of his dried stuff was examined by Miss 

 Geoghegan, the Leinster Herb Association 

 Drying Expert, and she said that it was excellent, 



both in colour and texture, and was quite as good 

 as some that she had dried at a high temperature. 



Though the herbs in the garden art more 

 pleasing, the field crops are in a way more in- 

 striictive and helpful, as so few people have had 

 the courage to grow a large cpiantity of herbs. 

 It is undoubtedly that form of herb culture 

 which may be made profitable, and we owe a 

 debt of gratitude to anyone who will pioneer a 

 new industry in this way, hoping meantime that 

 those who have started on the larger lines will 

 continue to help, and show us the way. 



The following is a list of the herbs grown in 

 field anel garelen at Abbeyleix House : — ^ 

 Belladonna, Henbane (sown). Hyssop, Camomile, 

 Artemisia, Thyme, Pennyroyal, Hollyhock, 

 Mallow, Solanum nigrum. Lavender (Vera). 

 Coriander, Rampion, Poison Hemlock, Inula 

 Helenium, Balm, Horehound, Catmint, Rue, 

 White Deael Nettle. Parsley. Teucrium Chamse- 

 drys. Aconite, Fennel, Dill, Aniseed, Angelica, 

 Datura, Blessed Thistle, Verbena, Mullein, 

 Borage, Nicotian a 



August, 1917. Muriel E. Bland. 



Notes. 



A Good Apple. 



There is probably not a finer flavoured dessert 

 Apple in existence than Cox's Orange Pippin ; 

 the pity is, therefore, that it cannot be grown 

 everywhere in the open. It is useless on heavj^ 

 cold soils, for although it will grow, the crop will 

 be wretched and the few apples of miserable 

 cpiality. On warm light soils, however, it does 

 well, the fruit being of medium size, colouring 

 well, and the flavour unique. The object of thi;-. 

 note, however, is to suggest to private growers, 

 Avho love a Cox's and who cannot grow it in the 

 open, to obtain horizontal or fan -shaped speci- 

 mens and i^lant against a wall, facing south or 

 west. There, with shelter from north and eart, 

 anel comparatively elry warm soil at the base of 

 the wall, splendiel fruit for home consumption 

 can be grown. 



Crab Apples. 



Pyrus malu.s Neidwetzkiana is this year 

 fruiting for the first time in my recollection on 

 trees fuUy a dozen years planted. This varietj' 

 has very dark wood, foliage and flowers ; the 

 fruit is very elark purple-brown, of larger size 

 than any other Crab Apple, but sparsely pro- 

 duced, only a few fruits on each tree. Other 

 varieties are very heavily loaded with fruit this 



