82 



IRISH GARDENING. 



at breaking a butterfly on the wheel. This che ip, 

 unpretentious and exhaustive little treatise may 

 be warmly recommended as most useful to the 

 l)otanical tyro. Such works have this high value 

 that they lead the young student to tlie svudy of 

 the living plant in the open Held- to the puisuit 

 of true botany, in fact. For the laboratory study 

 of cell-structure and plant-physiology, however 

 important and absorbing it may be, is quite 

 consistent with total ignorance of the plant as 

 a whole and in its complex relations as a member 

 of the great vegetable conniionwealth. 



Tree Planting in Newry. 



An interesting ceremony took place in Nev.ry 

 on Saturday, 3rd ult., the occasion being ths 

 planting of trees ou the left-ha/nd side of Kildare 

 Street and Trevor Hill, between the Town Hall 

 and the Orange Hall. The trees were the gift of 

 Mr. Thomas Smith, of the Daisy Hili Nurseries, 

 and the planting was done under the personal 

 supervision of his son, Mr. Cieorge Norman 

 Smith, the sites having been previously laid out 

 under the direction of Mr. Charles Blaney, Town 

 Surveyor of Newry. In all. twenty-four trees 

 were laid down. 



Four of the trees were British Columbian 

 Thorn (the one next the Town Hali, one on 

 either side of the Stone Bridge, and one next 

 the Orange Hall), and all the others are Copper 

 Beech. The trees will be an ornament to the 

 thoroughfares in wliich they are located, and it 

 is hoped that the scheme which was so success- 

 fully carried out on Saturday is but the beginning 

 of a larger undertaking in the same direction. 



At the Newry Urban Council yesterday, the 

 Chairman said that the latest generous gift of 

 Mr. Thomas Smith, of the Daisy Hill Nursery, 

 to the town, deserved recognition by the Council. 

 Since he had come to Newry ]Mr. Smith had niade 

 Daisy Hill one of the most beautiful spots in 

 Ireland, and he had been most liberal in response 

 to appeals made to him for the good of the town 

 in many ways. On this occasion iie had pre- 

 sented twenty-four beautiful trees and sent his 

 men on Saturday to put tiiem down. All the 

 expense that the Council had been at in the 

 matter was that of opening up the roadway. 

 He was also told that Mr. Smith had actually 

 haTided over eleven girders for the protection of 

 the trees. Tliat was only in keeping with his 

 previous actions, and it was their duty to jjass 

 him a hearty vote of thanks, which he had now 

 great pleasure in moving. They were very sorry 

 that Mr. Smith himself could not be witli them on 

 Saturday on the occasion of the planting of the 

 trees, because he had been laid up with a serious 

 illness, from which he was sure they all hoped he 

 would soon recover. But Mr. Smith's son, Mr. 

 George N. Smith, who was a very capable and 

 efficient gentleman, was there, and discharged his 

 father's duties in the most satisfactory manner. 



Mr. Dowdall, who cordially seconded the 

 jiiotion, s;nd that Mr. Smith was worthy of all 

 recognition and praise for the manner in which 

 he had helped the town on all occasions, and his 



latest gift would, in due course, make the locality 

 in which the trees had been planted one of the 

 beauty spots of the town. 



Mr. Willis heartily associated himself with the 

 vote of thanks to -Mr. Smith and witli the expres- 

 sion of sympathy with iiim in his illness. Mr. 

 Smith was a well-known figure in the town of 

 Newry, and far beyond it, and they sincerely- 

 trusted that he would soon be restored to his 

 usual health and strength. He recollected Mr. 

 Smith for a considerable length of time, and he had 

 done a wonderful work in his lifetime. He had 

 done very inucli to beautify the town. Daisy 

 Hill was a monument to the aljility and applica- 

 tion of Mr. Smith. It was well-known throughout 

 the United Kingdom, where it was almost a house- 

 hold word in horticulture, and even in Japan and 

 America. It was certainly an example to the 

 joung men of any country. Beginning life with- 

 out any very great assistance INlr. Smith, by his 

 intelligence and assiduous labour, had built up a 

 magnificent business that would undoubtedly 

 live after him and relied on him the greatest 

 possible credit. His latest gift would beautify 

 and make an avenue of that portion of the town 

 in which the trees had been planted. This was not 

 tile first planting that had been done by JMr. 

 Smith in the town, for he had made a very nice 

 avenue of the roadway in the direction of Daisy 

 Hill. He was sure they were all grateful to Mr. 

 Smith and to his son for the interest he had taken 

 in carrying out the work that his father wished 

 done. 



31 r. l{udd> said thai they were all very soriy 

 indeed to hear of Mr. Smith's indisposition, and 

 hoped that he would soon be restored to his usual 

 health. 



The motion, on being put to the meeting, was 

 passed by acclamation. 



]Mr. Buddy raised the question of planting trees 

 in the South Waid of the town, particularly 

 between the Abattoir and Dublin Bridge Station, 

 which, he said, would be a great impiovement 

 to that part of the town. 



The Surveyor said that since the ma iter was 

 last before the council it had been discussed by 

 the Street Committee, and he thought the idea 

 was to include something in next year's estimate 

 for extending the scheme of tree-planting. 



Mr. Willis : At present it can only be done by 

 contributions on the iiart of the people. The 

 Local Covernment Board has advised all councils 

 to economise during the war. 



The Surveyor said that he had tried to induce 

 the residents of Kildare Street and Trevor Hill 

 to contribute towards the planting of the other 

 sides of those streets. Some were quite pre- 

 pared to do so, but others did not view the 

 matter so favourably, and as it did not meet 

 with unanimity lie did not push it. One gentle- 

 man ill the South Ward had offered to bear the 

 cost of i^lanting two or three trees, but he had 

 not approached other residents of that ward on 

 the subject. 



It was agreed that the Town Surveyor should 

 subinit to the next meeting an estimate of the 

 cost of planting the thoroughfare referred to by 

 Mr. Ruddy, and the hope was expressed that in 

 the meantime any residents of that locality 

 desirous of assisting in the matter would kindly 

 notify their willingness to contribute. 



