IRISH GARDENING. 



53 



Well if not subject to Hooding in Avinter ; in thi;i 

 event they are apt to rot in the centre. Given a 

 retentive soil, however, which remains moist 

 without being water-logged, they start awa}- 

 strong'y every spring. The flowers should be cut 

 before they are fully o])ei\cd, and, arranged as 

 shown fn tlie illustration, they will continue in 

 good condition for several weeks. 



After flowering the plants should be lifted and 

 divicled into one or two rosettes, adding some 

 well decaj^ecl manure to the soil when re- 

 planting. B. 



Campanula Portenschlagiana. 



This is one of the finest ami most easily grown of 

 all the dwarf Bell flowers. As our illustration 

 sliows, it makes a magnificent mass Avhon 

 allowed sufficient space to wander at will. On 

 the rocker}' it can be reliod on to estal)lish itself 

 freely, and will annually make a lovely display 

 in June, and continues bearing floM'ers over a 

 long season. Tt is not fastidious as to soil or 

 position, flourishing in any decenlly cultivatefl 

 medium without any elaborate preparation of 

 grit, sand, &c., and it is equalh' happv whether 

 planted in a flat ]")ocket or wedged in ])etween 

 stones forming a wall face ; and it flourishes in 

 sun or shade, but does not suffer drought gladly. 

 In fact it is so vigorous that care must be taken to 

 plant where choice and less vigorous gems will 

 not be lost in the fight for existence. The 

 flowers are a pleasing shade of blue purple, 

 borne so profusely as to almost smother the 

 glossy dark green leaves. 



Propagation is easily carried out b}' simply 

 digging up a clump in spring and dividing the 

 rhizomes into small pieces, replanting them in a 

 nursery bed or potting up for future ute. 



B. 



Saxifraga burseriana Magna. 



This magnificent variety, though not so early 

 flowering as the variet}' major, is superior in 

 size of flower, and at Glasnevin seems to be much 

 more satisfactory than the much-vaunted 

 8. burs. Gloria, which invariably produces a 

 large jiroportion of deformed flowers. 



The flowers of var. magaa are c^uite as large 

 as those of var. Gloria, pure white in colour, the 

 petals broad and solid -looking. 



A few plants are now flowering in the Alpine 

 House, part of a stock originally presented to 

 the Gardens by ]\Ir. Murray Horni brook, a great 

 lover and successful grower of Saxifrages. 



Glasnevin. 



Seed Sowing. 



During April, when most of the digging of plots 

 lias been fmisliecl and earlv potatoes planted, 

 seeds of other vegetables \a ill be so^n in ( onsider- 

 nl)l(( quantity. 



From what one hears of the iniinense demand 

 for seed it would appear necessary to again warn 

 jieopld agaiiist sowing too thickly. This matter 

 has already ))een alluded to in Irish (Jardexinc;, 

 hut tlie id<'a seems firnrly rooted in the minds of 

 tlu' inexperienced that the more seed soun the 

 hetter the crop. This idea is entirely wrong and 

 cannot he too strongly condemned. 



Onions, carrots, turnips and such small seeds 

 should he sown as thinly as possible so as to have 

 as little thinning out to do as possihle. Onion 

 seed is sometimes sown thickly for the purpose 

 of using a large portion of the crop as " scalliojis," 

 hut, generally speaking, a very thin sowing will 

 yield all the " scallions " an average family re- 

 (piires. 



Peas will he close enough at three inches apart, 

 making a double row ; broad beans six Inches ; 

 iiinner beans nine inches in a single row, and 

 (Uvarf beans six inches. 



.Maincrop potatoes should not he less than 

 thirty in<-hes between the rows and fifteen inches 

 l)etween the sets. All the best and most experi- 

 enced growers recommend plenty of light and air 

 foi- potatoes, both early and late, and those who 

 t\V{'. planting now on new ground will find wide 

 planting will give the best results. 



Gardener. 



Onion Sets. 



Next to potatoes and cabbages there are few 

 more popular vegetables than onions. In a well 

 cultivated garden there is not a great deal of 

 dilficulty in securing a good crop, given ordinary 

 care in the prepai"ation of the soil and in subse- 

 • [uent cultivation. In new ly broken grass land, 

 hort'ever, it is prohable that onions from seeds 

 might prove sonievvhat uncertain, and various 

 pests of insect and fungus origin are apt to do 

 grave injury to the crop, particularly if it is in 

 anyway weak at first. 



So useful a vegetable, however, is well worth 

 attempting, and to those who are cultivating 

 ground this year perhaps for the first time, and 

 who have but a few sjiare hours to devote to it, 

 we recommend planting onion sets in preference 

 to sowing seeds. The advantage in using sets 

 lies in the fact that one has a small onion to begin 

 with, and they may be planted at once at the 

 distance apart at which they are to remain, and 

 consequently no further attention as regards 

 thinning is required. Furthermore, being 

 stronger from the beginning, they are less prone 

 to attack from maggot and mildew, and therefore 

 there is less likelihood of disappointment. Allot- 

 mevit holders will find these sets most useful, as 

 they can he inserted in any odd corner, providing 

 the soil has been well and deeply dug. Some 

 manure would he an advantage, of course, but 

 can be done without, as niedinm sized solid bulbs 

 keep much belter t luin large soft ones. The sets 

 should be. planted nine inches apart, merely press- 



