22 



IRISH GARDENING 



Snowilrops ami Ci"0fus<'8 are bocomiiif; pli'iitiful, 

 and tlu- giant (riilaiifhu.s Ehresii, now fur a number 

 of years establislied in a bed of slirul)by SpirEeas, 

 is quite attractive. A large colony of Crocus lin- 

 pemti is a glorious sight with every " blink " of 

 sun, and smaller lots of Crocus Siclicri. bright lilac, 

 and C. cln!/suiif)ius, orange yellow, are not less 

 beautiful. 



Iris iinyuicularia, though in wonderful flower 

 since late autunni, is still giving a few flowers. 

 Quite a number of forms of this Iris are known, of 

 which the following are grown here : — /. uiKjui- 

 cularis othd, cretensis, onijustifolia, JiDperiitr'ice 

 Elisahetlur, liizicii, marijiniitu, and specioso. Iris 

 iilatit also condescended to give a flower, respond- 

 ing probably to the heat of the past sununer. and 

 now /. histriiji'lcs is opening fast its bright-blue, 

 white spotted blossoms. This will be followed soon 

 by 7. reticulata, already well above tlie ground. 

 Tulipn Kaufmaiiniatia is well up, and only requires 

 a few sunny days to coax out the flowers which, 

 however, may be happily delayed if the present 

 frost continues. Xarcissus tazetta, at the base of 

 a sunny wall, has been in flower since Christmas. 

 ...Lithospcrmum rosmariiiijolivm , really a dwarf 

 shrub, has been well furnished with its delightful 

 gentian lilue, flowers the greater part of the winter 

 and will continue to flower for a long time. Among 

 shrubs I ought to have mentioned are Clewiitis 

 cah/ciiiii. which is bearing abundantly its nodding 

 pale yellow, purple-spotted flowers, and C. rirrhosa, 

 with smaller flowers of the same colour, but un- 

 spotted, with less divided leaves; both are ever- 

 green. J. W. B. 



Window Plants in Winter. 



The mo.st critical time for window plants is 

 during the days of winter; it is also the period 

 which demonstrates the grower's capacity and 

 skill in bringing them through successfully until 

 the days begin to lengthen. It is always an ad- 

 vantage, of course, to be able to give many sub- 

 jects, suitable for window adornment, an occa- 

 sional removal to a greenhouse, where they can 

 renew themselves, especially if the room in which 

 they have been located is one illuminated by gas, 

 the fumes of which, to say the least, do not pre- 

 dispose to a healthy condition. One notices re- 

 peatedly how both flowering and foliage plants 

 brought from a greenhouse when in the pink of 

 perfection, soon collapse, and those who buy such 

 plants are sometimes at a lo.ss to understand the 

 reason. It is easy of explanation, and is due to 

 a sudden change of environment, after plants 

 have been brought up in a humid atmo.sphere and 

 then transferred to a stuffy room, where the air 

 is often dry and vitiated. 



Growing on Pl.\nts. 



In view of this quite common experience, it 

 seems to me that the wisest course to pursue is 

 to commence with window plants when they are 

 quite young, .so that they become acclimatised to 

 the conditions of the room in their early stages. 

 and this is particularly to be observed in the case 

 of foliage plants. Take as examples, Ficus elas- 

 ticu {" India Rubber " plant), Aralias. and 

 Asparaijvses. Bring these fully-grow-n from a 

 greenhouse, at this time of the year, and place 

 them in a sitting-room window, and what almost 

 invariably happens? Why just this — after a week 

 or so they begin to lose their brilliancy and their 



vitality weakens, and it is not long before they 

 need returning to the more iMJUgenial atmosphere 

 fiom whence they came. Grow the same subjects, 

 say, from the thianb-pot stage, continue to pot 

 on as is required, let the room be ventilated, and 

 the window shaded when needed, and these plants 

 will develop — more slowly than those in a green- 

 house it is admitted — and in a measure be 

 imnuuie from the dry and imcongenial con- 

 ditions found in many rooms. 



Importance of Cle.^nliness. 



Another point worthy of note in connection 

 with window plant culture is that the foliage 

 should be kept scrupulously clean by frequent 

 sponging. This, obviously," entails troul)le, but 

 it brings its own reward. Then, again, such plants 

 benefit by stimulants now and again to insure their 

 healthy condition. This may take the form of some 

 well-known and approved fertilizer; a little guano 

 in the water, or, perhaps the most common, if not 

 the best, •' pick-me-up " for most kinds of plants, 

 old soot. This, if placed in a coarse bag and 

 deposited in the water tub, will be found to be 

 most serviceable, as nothing imparts more bril- 

 liancy to foliage. Aspidistras benefit greatly from 

 a use of soot, as do subjects like VaUotas (Scar- 

 boro' Lilies) and Fnmcoa ramosa (Maiden's 

 Wreath), which make handsome window plants 

 when in flower, and also have a value from a 

 foliage standpoint. There need not be any dearth 

 of blooming plants in a window from spring on- 

 wards, having regard to bulbs at our disposal, 

 such as Narcissi, Tulips, Hyacinth, Crocuses, 

 Scillas, &e. Even the hardy "plant border fur- 

 nishes us with subjects that are of help in keep- 

 ing a window gay, provided they, like the bulbs, 

 are potted now and allowed to make growth in 

 a cool, dark place before being brought into the 

 light of a room. Such are Dielytras, Spiraeas, 

 Campanulas, to mention a few. 



As a rule, those who take special pride in keep- 

 ing their windows gay with flowering and foliage 

 plants generally succeed, but the greatest success, 

 so it seems to me. is achieved when a beginning 

 is made with plants when cjuite young. 



Mercaston. 



Allotments. 



During recent years the planting of Potatoes, 

 which are innnune to Black Scab or Wart Disease, 

 has been general on allotments in Great Britain. 

 As the result also of official exijeriments the plant- 

 ing of inninme varieties to this disease has been 

 increasing in districts not infected. Most cata- 

 logues now state which varieties are immune, and 

 the habits and qualities of these Potatoes have 

 been most carefully investigated. Unfortiuuitely, 

 with this disease the infection is usually more 

 severe in allotments and small gardens, where the 

 cultivation of the Potato is not succeeded by a 

 rotation of crops. The disease is little known 

 among allotment holders on this side of the water, 

 luckily enough, except in a limited area. It is, 

 however, easily recognised by characteristic small 

 cauliflower-like grow^ths which appear on the sur- 

 face of the soil and also on the tubers. These 

 growths are quite distinct, and at first greenish 

 in colour, but rapidly decay and turn black; hence 

 the name of the disease. Experience in England 

 proved that the disease, in centres of fresh in- 

 fection, almost invariably is first observed in allot- 



