IRISH GARDENING. 



155 



Suburban and Allotment 

 Gardens. 



October in the garden is pernaps rightly called 

 the nxonth of indecision. Rubbish of various 

 icinds will be accumulating, and the question 

 often arises as to whether time sliould be 

 spent on cleaning vip, or whether digging and 

 trenching sliould be proceeded with, burying the 

 softer types of i-efuse in the trenches and bvirning 

 woody material and perennial weeds. 



Where thex-e are weeds beginning to seed thex-e 

 need be no doubt as to what ought to be done, 

 as seeds dropped now will prove extremely 

 troublesome in spx'ing. The lower leaves of 

 Cabbages and Brussels Spr,)uts should be twisted 

 off as they begin to get yellow. 



Harvesting Root Crops. — Potatoes, if not 

 previously lifted, should be treated as recom- 

 mended recently. Carxv)ts and Beet Roots should 

 be lifted as soon as there are any signs of frost. 

 The Beet should be lifted carefully Avith a digging 

 fork, so as not to damage the root in any way, 

 otherwise the sap will escape thx'ough the injured 

 pax't, leaving the root with less food material, 

 and of poor colour. The toj^s should be twisted 

 off and not cut acx'oss close to the root, as in the 

 case of Carrots. If there is a shed, cellar or out- 

 house available in which there is no danger of 

 severe frost entering, place a layer of sand, which 

 should not be wet, about 2 inches deep, on a 

 selected spot, forming a semicircle if near a wall, 

 or a circle if in the centre of the shed. Then place 

 a layer of roots on the sand so that their tips 

 point towards their centre and their crown or 

 leaves on the outside, then place a further layer 

 of sand over the roots, and again, another row of 

 roots, and so on until the heap is about 3 feet 

 high, or the roots a^e all accommodated : finishing 

 off with a layer of sand about 3 inches deep over 

 the lot. This method is applicable to both Beet 

 and Carrots. Pax'snips ax"e best, left in the ground 

 until wanted, as they shrivel badly if lifted and 

 stored early. 



If no shed or shelter is available the roots can 

 be stored similarly to Potatoes, or by digging a 

 trench about 2 feet deep and piling soil on top of 

 the roots after they have been laid in the trench 

 or clamp, putting on sufficient to keep out the 

 frost,, and giving further protection by means of 

 straw , bracken, leaves, &c., during severe weather. 

 Turnips can be treated similarly. Onions should 

 have been harvested by this time ; if not, they 

 should be taken up without further delay and 

 placed in a dry aix'y room to store, and if not 

 thoroughly ripe, placed where they will get full 

 sunshine — as in a gai'den frame or greenhouse, 

 or in a warm airy room. Onions which are not 

 propedy ripened seldom keep well, commencing 

 to sprout as a rule quite early in the season. 



MouLDixo OR Earthing up.^ — Celery and Leeks 

 should be earthed up for the last time (choosing a 

 dry day towards the middle or end of the month 

 for this operation). The soil should be placed so 

 as to nearly cover the topmost leaves in those 

 districts where there is any danger of severe 

 frosts, and in other cases to within about 8 inches 

 of the leaf tips in the case of Celery. Leeks need 

 not be earthed up quite as high. 



Planting. ^ — Continue to plant on well-manured 

 ground, rendered sweet by the use of lime — 



which should be applied at the x*ate of 4 to 6 ozs. 

 per square yard — Cabbages of the July and 

 August sowings, at 1 foot apart in the X'ows, with 

 the rows 2 feet apart, cutting out alternate plants 

 in the early sj)ring months, before they get at all 

 large. 



Those who possess frames or other means of 

 px'otecting plants during severe weather would 

 clo ^^■ell to pot up or plant out Cauliflowers and 

 Lettuces ; these will be valuable if all goes well, 

 as they mature earlier than these sown in the 

 spi'ing. 



Soil Operations. — As soon as the ground 

 becomes vacant dig deeply or trench the soil, 

 leaving it in a X'ough or lumpy condition : whex'e 

 the subsoil is of a sticky nature or of dubious 

 quality it should be nxixed with vegetable refuse 

 and left at the bottom until another season. On 

 heavy lands also it will pay to incorporate the 

 manuX'e \\ith the soil at this season, but in the 

 case of sandy soils it usually pays to wait a few 

 months befox'e putting in the manure, unless un- 

 limited quantities are available. 



Flow^ers. — Those who wish to plant out the 

 usual spring bedding plaixts should do so without 

 delay, .so that the plants become X'ooted before 

 the winter. 



Fruits, such as Apples and Pears, should be 

 harv^ested as X'ecommended in the last issue. 

 This is a good tinxe to take cuttings of Goose- 

 berries and Currants, and also to plant new 

 plants, trees and bushes (Strawberries, Apples, 

 Pears, Plums, Gooseberries, <S:c.) commencing 

 about the last week of the month. Loganberry 

 aixd Raspberry canes which have fiTjited should 

 be cut out if not done already and this season's 

 shoots tied into position. W. H. J. 



Native Dogwood, 



(Cornus Nuttallii.) 



2'he British Columbia Dogtcood — Vamonver's 

 favourite and suggested as her emblematic tree 

 and blossom, by Mr. H. M. Eddie. F.B.H.S. 

 It is a matter of much surprise to thinking people 

 that this beaxxtiful native tree has been practically 

 overlooked by home beautifiers and street 

 planters alike. Its presence in a garden or 

 boulevard is about as rare a sight as an eclipse 

 of the sun, and while hundreds of (miles of native 

 majjles have been planted, this immensely more 

 beautiful and very often more suitable tree, has 

 been neglected. The chief reason, perhaps, has 

 been that the tree is hard to detect by the un- 

 initiated when out of flower. 



The tree is too well known to require much 

 description here, the compact heads of flowers 

 surrounded by pure white involucral bi'acts, gives 

 one the impi^ession at first that it is a tree form 

 of white Clematis. The flo\\ers are succeeded by 

 clusters of bright scarlet fruit, and with the 

 orange to scarlet foliage in the fall, the tree pro- 

 duces a most pleasing blend of colours. Dui'ing 

 favourable falls the tree seldom fails to produce 

 a second crop of flowers in nearly as great abund- 

 ance as the summer crop. 



So many people look upon the Dogwood simply 

 as a wild shrub, because so few speciixiens have 

 been " civilized " and planted on lawn or boule- 

 vard. They do not even regard it as a tree.— 

 B. C. Fruit and Farm Magazine. 



