IRISH GARDENING 



187 



favourable occasions wlien the land is in a lit 

 state, so that it may benefit by the action of 

 frost and be in a more friable state when required. 

 Avoid handling or in anyway trampling land when 

 it is too wet, especially if it is of a heavy or 

 retentive nature, as it nvay take years to undo 

 the harni that may in this way be done in a very 

 short tinxe. 



Mulching. — Trees or bushes which may have 

 cropped heavily during the past season and 

 require assistance to maintain them in full 

 vigour should get a liberal nuilching with well- 

 rotted farm-yard manure this month, .so that the 

 winter's rain may carry the necessary nourish- 

 ment to the roots. The manure should, if 

 ])ossible, be wheeled or carted to a convenient 

 ])osition when there is a crust of frost on the 

 ground. In applying such mulching, first remove 

 about 2 or 3 inches of the surface soil as far as 

 the roots extend, then spread the nianure neatly 

 and throw the .soil back over the manure. Where 

 gooseberry sawfly had been troublesome during 

 the past sea.son, the soil removed from under such 

 bushes will contain the cocoons that would 

 ])roduce another attack in the coming season, and 

 should be buried deeply some distance back and 

 rej)laced with fresh soil. The covering of the 

 manure with soil maintains a neat apj)earance, 

 ])revents loss of manure from evaporation and 

 affords a good surface for hoeing the following 

 summer. If, however, any trees should show a 

 lack of vigour after recent .surface mulching, as 

 may have been indicated by the past season's 

 growth and early shedding of the leaves, applica- 

 tion of freshly slacked lime would be likely to 

 prove beneficial. If neither lime nor slag has been 

 a]>j)lied during the past tliree or four years, it 

 may be applied this month at the rate of about 

 15 lbs. to 20 square yards. It may be dusted 

 on the surface and left to wash in with the 

 winter's rain. Full grown trees derive great 

 benefit from occasional good soakings with 

 manure water, such as the drainage from byres, 

 stables or manure heaps when applied during 

 winter. 



Cordon Espalier and Wall Trees. — These 

 will now have cast their leaves and may be 

 ])runed and tied. Overcrowding of the .spurs is a 

 common error in the management of such trees, 

 and is as detrimental to them as overcrowding of 

 the branches of bush trees. No hard and fast 

 rule can be applied to suit all kinds of spurred 

 trees. A safe guide is to study the habit and 

 condition of each tree, and shorten or remove 

 any excess of spurs, so as to ])revent over- 

 crowding and keep them uniformly short. Dead 

 or dying stumps or snags, which are liable to 

 harbour injects or fungoid diseases, should be 

 cut back to healthy wood, so that the flow of sap 

 may more quickly calhis and heal such wounds 

 that will cover with bark. 



Nailing Wall Trees. — In mild weather, when 

 the ground is dry enough to tram]) on (or if too 

 wet boards may be used to stand on), cherries, 

 pi ms, ]»ears and choice kinds of a]t]tles may now 

 be ])runed and nailed. In pruning young trees — 

 ])lum. especially — keep the branches thinly 

 disposed, and maintain as far as ])i>ssible an 

 equal balance of growth between the bate and the 

 extremities of the tree. Cherries and ■i)lums when 

 neglected in summer ])inching uuiy have develo]ted 

 some very gross watery shoots, which should be 

 removed entirely, leaving those that are well 

 ripened and coming from the upper or lower side 



of the main branches. Slioots commg directly 

 outward should be shortened to about 1 1 inclies 

 to form spurs. Branches to be laid in and nailed 

 with shred.s should be shortened fronx a quarter 

 to about one-third of their entire length — for 

 exam])le, a branch 2 feet long should be shortened 

 to about 16 inches. Observe in tying in vigorous 

 young shoots to allow room enough in the shred 

 or tying to take in another branch as thick as 

 the one laid in, so that there will be am]>le room 

 for the .swelling of the shoot in the next year's 

 growth. Horizontal trained ajqdes and pears 

 should have the centre leader shortened to leave 

 fronx 12 to 14 inches young wood with the 

 terminal bud directed outwards, the next two 

 buds below will be in the right ])osition to form 

 the next tier of branches. The leaders on the 

 branches should be shortened to from a quarter 

 to one-third of tlie past season's growth, the 

 object of shortening being to get the branches 

 evenly covei'ed with spurs. Peaches and figs 

 .should not be i)runed or nailed until they show 

 signs of starting into growth in si)ring. 



The Fruit Store. — Keep a sharj) look out for 

 any signs of decaying fruit and ])rom])tly remove 

 it. Tliere is nothing more detrimental to the 

 keeping of good apples than letting the atmos- 

 l)here in which they are stored become contami- 

 nated with the germs of decay. Do not merely 

 throw decaying apples outside the door or on to 

 the manure heap, either burn them, bury them, 

 or if not too far decayed give them to ])igs. Let 

 nothing ever enter a fruit store tliat would give 

 off an odour that would taint the fruit. Preserve 

 a uniform cool temperature, free from draught, 

 and the atmosphere sufficiently close to i)revent 

 shrivelling of the fruit. On wet days select 

 Bramleys may be packed for the Christmas 

 markets. No.'l and No. 2 grades, being longer 

 keepers, can be dispo.sed of later on. Prices are 

 not so tempting at this date as we have experi- 

 enced in more peaceful times. Still I have seen 

 quotations that work out at nearly £10 i)er ton, 

 and a properly cultivated orchard yielding 6 tons 

 per statute acre, from trees not yet nine years 

 ])lanted. 



American Blight or Woolly Aphis. — This 

 pest is yearly becoming less, thanks to effective 

 washes and efficient spraying. Lime-.sul]>hur at 

 winter strength seems to make a clean sweei» of 

 all it can reach. 



Canker. — All canker wounds should be care- 

 fully scraped and cleaned with a sharj) knife and 

 anointed with coal tar. This will check the 

 disease from girdling the branch, and will al.so 

 prevent the spores from further accunuilating 

 and si)reading the disease. It is for the same 

 reason, advisable to burn all such scrapings and 

 ])runings from cankered branches. 



Winter Spraying. — No opportunity slu>uld be 

 missed when calm, dry weather ])ermits thorough 

 si)raying to get this im])ortant wt>rk done or 

 jiartly done, as it is seldom we get days calm 

 enough during winter to get trees thoroughly 

 coated. There are now many winter washes on 

 the nuu'ket, all more or less effective for the 

 pur])ose of kee])ing the bark in a clean and 

 healthy condition. Lime-sulphur is becoming 

 very ])'oi»ular, due to the results obtained during 

 the past two years, both as a winter wash and 

 as a summer si)ray in conjunction with arsenate 

 of lead for a]»ple and peaa- scab. For winter use 

 one gallon lime-sulphur to 20 gallons water keep 

 the bark in a clean and healthy condition. For 



