IRISH GARDENING 



99 



of any Hybrid Perpetual Avith '" the true old 

 Rose scent "" that is good in September. Per- 

 haps some one A\ill suggest Hugh Dickson. But 

 to call a variety a Hyb'-id Perpetual does not 

 make it one, and besides Hugh does not possess 

 the pure Damask perfume ; it goes one better 

 than that ; its fragiance is a blend, a mixture. 



There are some, how- 

 ever, who seek for 

 the Dairask perfume in 

 every Rose ; if it is ab- 

 sent they say the Rose 

 has no fragrance. A 

 few years ago a new 

 seedling was exhibitefl 

 at one of the fortnightly' 

 shows of the Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society, and 

 obtained an a\\'ard of 

 merit. A leading mem- 

 ber of the Floral Com- 

 mittee met the exhibitor 

 in the street, and remar- 

 ked, " Young man, your 

 Rose has received an 

 award of merit. To 

 tell you truth I don't 

 think much of it ; it's 

 got no smell.'' Never- 

 theless the bees at home 

 were revelling in its pure 

 Musk perfume, to the 

 neglect of all other Roses 

 in its vicinity. 



Therefore one would 

 lu'ge on all who seek for 

 fragrance in the rose : 

 cultivate, enlarge your 

 sense of smell, if you have 

 not already done so]! 

 Time was when we rejec- 

 ted all Roses that were 

 not so-called ■■e\hi))ition"' 

 varieties. ( )iu' vision 

 was restricted. We 

 could see no })eauty 

 in Aimee Vibert, Celine Forestier,' Maiden's 

 Blush, and such like. We have recovered our 

 sight, our eyes have been relieved of cataract, 

 and we can once more see l)eauty in a J lose even 

 if its symmetry is imperfect, and it is lacking in 

 many ])etals. Now go on and recover the 

 sense of smell, or rt least widen it. Let it 

 emlrace and appreciate not only " the true 

 old Rose scent," delicious as it is, but all 

 the other perfumes yielded by the Queen of 

 Flowers. 



Kilmacurragh* 



Photo bs/] 



Erica 



Ar.STRAI.lS AT 



In County Wick low are to be found many 

 gardens of great beauty, and Kilmacurragh, 

 favoured by a climate \\'here fc\v degrees 

 of frost arfe registered, is second to none 

 for unique specimens 

 of trees and shrubs. 

 The estate has for a 

 long time been 

 noted for fine trees; in 

 front of the house is 

 a large skeleton of an 

 oak, Avhich must have 

 been a fine tree many 

 years ago, and from 

 the records kept some 

 huge sycamores, now 

 having a girth of 16 

 feet at 3 feet from the 

 ground, were supposed 

 to be the finest speci- 

 nrens in the county 

 about the year 1794. 

 In a marshy spot a 

 group of firre old alders 

 are so gnarled, twisted 

 arrd lichen- covered that 

 in their leafless winter 

 state they are often 

 nristakeir for oaks. In 

 another place the 

 C' r o c u s has been 

 naturalised in the grass 

 and seeds itself ; in 

 spring it covers a large 

 stretch of ground with a 

 beautiful purple mantle 

 t)f flowers. 



The present collection 

 of rare trees and shrubs 

 was largely foruied bj' 

 the late Mr. Thomas 

 Acton, a very keen 

 plant lover, and the 

 estate has dcsceiuled, a few years ago, to 

 his nephew. Captain Acton, who has (juickly 

 developed a keen and appreciative love of 

 plants. 



Many of the old forest trees are thickly 

 ('oated\\ith Uchen. showing how cool antl moist 

 is the atuiosphere ; tlic annual rainfall is about 

 40 to 45 inches. 



The Himalayan and other Rhododendrons 

 thrive wonderfully under these conditiorrs with 

 a good deep soil, and are stroirgly represented. 



[ It". A'. Alhn 

 KlI.MAcrUKAl.ll. 



