i66 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Some Good Conifers for Present 

 Planting, 



Arboriculture is a subject closely akin to — 

 in fact, hardly to be separated from — horti- 

 culture, and, now that the planting season has 

 come round once more, space may be found in 

 Irish Gardening for a few notes on some of the 

 worthy (!onifers that, I am sure, a good many 

 people must be anxious to plant ; and in order 

 not to take up too much space in this number, 

 I shall confine my remarks to members of the 

 two great families — Firs (abies) and Spruces 

 (Picea). 



Many varieties of both have proved them- 

 selves, in different localities, siutable — and 

 desirable — -in our Irish soil and climate, more 

 es2:>ecially in the maritime counties from north- 

 east to south-west. 



Of course, there are places where, from its 

 basic formation, such as— for instance — in a 

 limestone district, or one where there is a super- 

 abundance of mineral matter — iron, or, again, 

 heavy clay in much depth, that the soil is not so 

 suitable, and one can hardly expect to find such 

 fine specimens as may be seen growing on a 

 naturally cool and well drained soil, made rich 

 at the time of planting by the addition of 

 suitable material. 



I think the ideal soil for most, or all, of the 

 great family Conifer* is that with a soft gravel 

 subsoil, beneath which again Avi^l be found the 

 granite or broken whinstone rock. 



Such a soil is, in nearly all cases, naturally 

 drained, cool and moist in summer, and keeps 

 warm, comparatively, in winter, especially when 

 a liberal supply of peat mould has been added 

 to the soil at planting time. 



On other soils, not so well adapted to tree 

 growth, one ought to try by artificial means to 

 get it as near to the ideal as possible. 



In planting large growing trees that it is 

 desired will grow into fine specimens, furnished 

 with rich, luxuriant foliage from the ground up- 

 wards, better siiccess might sometimes be 

 attained if the planter would take a little more 

 time and trouble — first in selecting the site for 

 the tree and afterwards in the careful planting 

 of the same. 



First, then, as to site, let me say here that 

 in all cases some shelter (but not at too close 

 c^uarters) from the storms and cold cutting 

 winds of winter will be found beneficial. 



I know of cases where trees have come safely 

 through a spell of severe frost only to get cut 

 back and injured by the withering east winds of 

 early spring. 



Consider for a minute the size the tree is likely 

 to grow to in course of time, perhaps sixty feet in 

 lieight, with a spread of branches that may be 

 anything from ten to thirty feet through, accord- 

 ing to variety. Therefore do not select a site 

 too near to a \Aall, a walk, in the line of a good 

 view, or to another good tree or shrub, where, 

 in the end, both must suffer by overgrowing 

 each other. 



When a satisfactory position has been selected, 

 no pains should be spared to make operation of 

 planting as thorough and complete as possible. 



Such trees, it is hoped, are going to mark the 

 time of years, and the work of the planter, 

 perha])s long after he has gone beyond the ken 

 of such things. And it is surely a great pleasure 

 to look on the good results of work well done, as, 

 from year to year, the little plant develops into 

 a noble tree. 



In proceeding, make a good large hole, 

 according to the size of the ball of earth and 

 roots of the plant — deep and wide enough to 

 give room to work in plenty of good rich soil as 

 the work goes on. Coarse leaf soil, peat mould, 

 and old mushroom dii,ng in equal quantities is 

 a capital and lasting mixture, along with the 

 good soil that comes out in digging the hole. 

 If the soil is shallow it iswell to pick and shovel 

 out some of the subsoil, placing a good layer, say 

 six inches to a foot in depth, of the prepared 

 soil in the bottom of the hole, then place in the 

 ball of the jDlant, keeping it at about the same 

 depth, or a few inches deeper than it had been 

 in its previous ])osition in the nursery,- or 

 elsewhere. 



There ought to be a clear space of a foot and 

 a half, or two feet, all around for filling up with 

 the good sail, treading all in firmly as the filling 

 up proceeds. Of course, care will be taken to see 

 that the plant is perfectly upright in position, 

 and, if the branches, as often hoppens, are 

 lighter and more thinly grown on one side of the 

 plant than another, keep the lightest side 

 towards the sun — that is, the south. 



I think it is a mistake to put small plants out 

 in permanent positions. It is better to groAV 

 them on in nursery quarters for a year or two 

 until they are foi^r or five feet high and have 

 been carefully transplanted once or twice. 



Having said so much about planting, I should 

 like to mention some of those Firs and Spruces 

 that have been found to do well in Ireland. 



Abies Webbiana, the Indian Silver Fir, in 

 shelter from winds, will grow to about forty feet 

 high, perhaps more, with a fine spread of 

 branches ; the foliage is large, of a lovely dark 

 green colour, and when the tree bears cones they 

 are very handsome ; the bark on the trunk of 



