io6 



IRISH GARDENING 



Plants in Burma. 



The following interesting letter has been received 

 from a lady in Burma, who has sent home some 

 new and many rari; plants : — 



The flowering trees on the Wumans Kange (an 

 off-shoot of the main Divide, running N.W. to the 

 N. Maihka, the eastern branch of the Irrawaddy). 

 were a perfect glory, and. growing at an elevation 

 of from 7.000 to 9.000 feet in a region where there 

 is heavy rain and snow in the winter, should be 

 hardy. 



Of these the only ones of which I could then 

 get seed were Rhododendrons, the colour of which 

 I do not know, as the bloom was over, but they 

 were very large trees, and individual leaves 

 measured 14 inches. Growing in a dense 

 forest, about 8,000 feet, were two other s])ecies 

 of Ehododendron unlike anything I ever saw 

 before — slender stemmed, trees 50 to 00 feet 

 high, branching at the top, and covered with 

 loose bunches of sweet-scented white or pink 

 flowers. Of these I got some seedlings, which I 

 hope to send later when I get the oi)portunity. 

 I ani trying to get seeds. Another gigantic tree 

 appeared to be a kind of Magnolia, covered with 

 masses of creamy waxy flowers and bright green 

 leaves, but the trees were so imnxense and quite 

 unclimable that T failed to get a flower to examine, 

 and could only gaze up at them through field 

 glasses. In the same region were the tallest tree 

 ferns T ever saw, some of them with several heads, 

 new growths apjmrently starting from injuries 

 to the stem. Also a beautiful large-flowered ])ink 

 Begonia and a puri)le and a white Gloxinia. On 

 the open hillsides were many varieties of Rubus 

 (at least five). In some places were groves of 

 what I believe to be a very large weeping bircb 

 tree. and. of course, ferns, canes and palms 

 innumerable in the valleys. 



Along the river gorges (about 5,000 feet) was a 

 splendid white Rhododendron growing on the 

 rocks and overhanging the water : from this also 

 I hope for seeds later on. 



All up the N. Maikha the rocks are a sheet of 

 vivid scarlet Azalea, often accompanied by a 

 white Briar Rose. 



Further up, on the main Irrawaddy Sahoun 

 Divide, at Hi)imaw, the country is rather more 

 o])en and the gorges less precipitous ; the Hpimaw 

 valley is a wide glacial lake bed, of which the old 

 moraine forms the foot, the stream having cut a 

 gorge at one side and drained the valley, which is 

 laid out in neatly terraced rice fields. The 

 grazing grounds above are full of Primulas and 

 Gentians : above them forests of oak and ])ine 

 (Pinus Khasya, I believe), and higher again 

 are Rhododendrons, alder and a large white 

 Magnolia, and a host of others. 



There is a tree of which I only saw one young 

 specimen, and that dead, which further north 

 grows in great forests, and is niuch sought after 

 by the Chinese for coffins ; it seemed to me a sort 

 of cyi)ress, but I have heard it called " cedar " 

 and " silver fir." 



Most of the country is granite or disintegrated 

 granite (coarse sandy clay), but here and there 

 are out cro])s of brilliant white marble and grey 

 limestone ; on a ])atch of the latter I found 

 Edelweiss at 9,000 feet. 



There is aJso (I think), among the seeds, a 



shrub which I am told has a beautiful rose-pink 

 flower on red stalks. 



Other flowering trees which I saw were a 

 beautiful deep pink cherry, with pendant flowers, 

 and a white thing which looked, at a distance, 

 like a cherry, but was not. There were many 

 Orchids, some of which I have h(?re growing and 

 in flower. Where the country is fairly open there 

 is much cultivation — ]>eas, bu(;kwheat, maize, 

 millet, a little po])])y. and hill rice : and where 

 terracing and irrigation are ])ossible — ])addy. 

 The lields are often hedged with red or white 

 Pyrus ja])onica, and pears, peaches and plums 

 abound- 



I wish I liad been able to do more collecting 

 and i)ainting, but marching every day at least 

 ten and often over twenty miles left me little time 

 and often less energy, though I was able to 

 ride a minute but active i)ony the way. 



I hope to have a charming garden here. 



Hints on Watering. 



By A. F. Pearson. F.R.H.S. 



Most men who grow i>lants of any kind know the 

 trifles that count fop or against perfect growth, 

 instinctively the need of the i)lant for water or 

 otherwise is gras])ed. The keen eye of the keen 

 man sees the failing, flagging )»lant and takes 

 account of its wants, which he gives at the 

 psychological moment in a readily assimilable 

 form. Nearly all growers see the flourishing, 

 lusty plant and give credit to themselves for its 

 marvellous health and rapid growth, but many 

 fail to see until too late the arrested growth due 

 to poverty of some kind or other, and only when 

 vermin has seized the i)lant does it dawn on the 

 unskilful cultivator that something is amiss : now, 

 a trifle applied at the right tinae might have saved 

 the plant, and therefore a trifle has lost it. 



The foregoing statement may appear to many 

 too severe, but it cannot be too much taken to 

 heart, by the younger men especially. In the 

 animal as well as the vegetable world the same 

 applies ; the producer of first class stock knows 

 how much the attention to mere details does in 

 gaining him a coveted distinction in the show 

 ring or the market, likewise the man who shows 

 first class plants, fruits and flowers. Probably 

 the most ruinous failing in young cultivators is 

 their ignorance of watering, and how and when 

 to a]jply ; my experience is that the majority of 

 beginners do not realise when a pot ]ilant requires 

 water. They either witlihold or waterlog the pt)t; 

 then another ai)plies a small ciuantity of water 

 daily to every ])ot he sees, and so far as he is 

 concerned that proceeding effectively deceives 

 him, and incidentally the man in charge, as all 

 the surface soil remains moist ; but it is only 

 superficial, and the inner roots are actiuilly 

 suffering and the whole j)lant in jeopardy. 

 Plants in this thriftless state are susceptible to 

 attacks by all insect pests ; their systems are in a 

 deranged state, consequently they become, at 

 best, crip]»led adults, demonstrating to every 

 passer by unskilful cultivation. I therefore 

 suggest to beginners when a pot plant requires 

 water give it a thorough watering, half measures 

 will not do, but do not water a ])()t 7>lant when 

 it is full of moisture; a water-logged plant is worse 

 than a dry one. Rapping pots with the knuckles 



