134 



IRISH GAEDENING 



as carrots, beetroot, i»ar.snip, &c., but split and 

 badly formed roots ought to be saved tliis year 

 instead of being given to the hoi\ses and l>igs. 

 Salsafy and si-orzonera are so seldom grown that 

 they need no mention. 



Potatoes, so far as their ke(>])ing qualities go, 

 should be ke])t in pits. Those really green ones 

 can })e used for seed, but many large tubers pro- 

 truding through the soil and partially greened 

 can be used for food at once, the green bitter 

 pai't being merely cut off. This economy will 

 add considerably to the stock at a time when 

 potatoes will be high in price. 



KohUrabi, if grown, may be kept longer than 

 one has hitherto regai-ded its season. Celery 

 ought to be carefully ])reserved. In the case of 

 wet weather through the winter it can be covered 

 with sheets of corrugated iron or canvas coverings. 

 White celeriac will prove a useful substitute for 

 celery well into the spring months. 



Jerusalem ai"tichokes can, of course, be vitilised 

 in the usual way by either ])itting or leaving them 

 where grown and digging as required. Leeks can 

 be used more fully than u.sual. Borecole can be 

 used from the bottom leaf to the heart, not as is 

 usual the heart cut out and the bottom leaves 

 wasted. The sprovxting broccoli gives much 

 valuable food in the spring which is often wasted. 

 Asparagus kale also ought to be carefully used 

 uj) ; every shoot will count. 



Water-cress may be used as an addition to the 

 table, and, contrary to many ideas, can be grown 

 without the aid of a water trench or stream ; a 

 rich manured trench grows it to perfection. 



All the nuts are excellent food, and any one 

 possessing them will harvest every one. 



Rhubarb can, of course, be preserved, and 

 makes an excellent addition to the food su])i)ly, 

 and in a few weeks more the stools can be pre- 

 pared for forcing into growth. The small 

 cucumbers, " Gherkins," can be pickled in con- 

 junction with cauliflowers, small onions, &c. 

 These may be also made into chvitney. Endive 

 and lettuce can both be had throughout the 

 winter, the former blanched. Anyone possessing 

 a good supply of hard-fed horse manure can pro- 

 vide a daily sujjply of mushrooms, even without 

 the help of a regular mvishroom house, a cellar or 

 dark shed suiting almost as well. Herbs of all 

 kinds will ere this have been saved for winter's 

 supply. 



The crop of ap])]es in Ireland this year is a 

 bountiful one, and the fruit is good. If "the price 

 of sugar is not considered prohibitive, they as welj 

 as all other fruits can be preserved as jelly or jam. 

 The wild crab of the hedgerows as well as the 

 rowanberry make excellent jellies, the latter 

 possessing medicinal pro])erties. The common 

 parsley, too, makes a beautiful amber-like jelly. 

 Plums, blackberries, and red currants, if still 

 hanging, may be bottled in glass jars : these will 

 come out fresh for a year or more alter bottling. 

 Bottling outfits may be had from the large stores 

 or direct from the makers. Fowler, Lee & Co.. 

 Queen's Road, Reading. Complete bottling 

 outfits can be procured at from 20s. to oOs. : 

 numbers of bottles 24 to 86, and ca])acity 4 gal- 

 lons to 14 gallons respectively. These outfits 

 are excellent, and jars of a larger size can be had 

 at moderate cost for preserving rhubarl), a.sy)ara- 

 gus, peaches, leeks, &:c. The directions are 

 simple, and the fruits or vegetables can be had 

 at any time, quite as fresh as the dav thev were 



bottled. I can vouch for such things as green 

 peas, beans — broad and kidney — plums, goose- 

 berries, currants — black and rcul — loganberries, 

 peaches, ai)ricots, &c., turning out of the 

 bottles in perfect condition the following year. 

 Obviously an ac(piisition of this kind is worth 

 accjuiring. 



Api)les of the late keei)ing kinds, such as 

 Bramley's Seedling, I^ane's Prin{;(! Albert, New- 

 town Wonder, &c., should be stored and not sold 

 at present. The early soits are a glut on the 

 market now, and they, if not made into jelly, 

 could be cut into fritters and dried for ])reserving 

 late into the year. I anx not a cJtej, and can only 

 refer readers to the cookery books for the neces- 

 sary information. Possibly many apple growers 

 are without a ijroperly constructed fruit house, 

 but a barn, outhouse, or cellar will keel) somid 

 ap])les nearly as well as the mos-t up-to-date 

 house, and, if these are not available, the late 

 keepers may be pitted like potatoes and opened 

 out when reciuired. I have seen tons of Bramley's 

 Seedling apple stored for weeks in this w ay. 

 Storing in sand is a good way of preserving ap])les, 

 provided frost is kept out. A])ples are just as 

 likely to keei> in heaps as when laid out on trays in 

 a fruit room. Pears may be ke]>t similarly. 



It is, perhaps, not within the i)rovince of this 

 article to mention eggs. Being an allied subject, 

 however, I would recommend all who have more 

 than they can use at present to pickle the surplus 

 in jars or buckets, using water glass as the pre- 

 serving agent. It can be had from any oil or 

 colour merchant with directions. Eggs so pre- 

 served are particularly fresh months alter beingput 

 into water glass, and eggs will be dear next spring. 



All cereal crops will, of course, be used 

 judiciously, as with the shortage in our overseas 

 Eurojiean supplies the next few months will, in 

 all probability, see prices rise. 



In urging readers to act on the foregoing sug- 

 gestions, T claim no sui^eriority. Only it ap])ears 

 to me that many who have always had enough 

 for their own particular needs will allow that to 

 suffice this year also ; but we are fiicing a ])osition 

 of extreme gravity, where widows and orphans 

 must be provided tor. Fathers and mothers 

 •unable to help themselves, left without sons to 

 earn for them, sick and maimed in the war filling 

 our hospitals — on our very doorsteps — then we 

 non-couabatants must do our duty by hel])ing 

 those helpless ones. It is the only privilege lelt 

 VIS, and we ought t(t be proud of giving, fiom our 

 juuch or our little, to those less fortunate, and by 

 filling at once every emi)ty available space eacii 

 one will be adding his qiu)ta to a laudable work. 



Rudbeckia speciosa 



This is one of the best of the latc-fiovvering 

 Coneflowers, very free and (|uite hardy. The 

 (•omi»act .and dwarf hal»it makes it a iiseful 

 ])lant for the front of the border, ^)r it may be 

 massed near the edge of a shrubbery. The 

 average height is 18 inches to 2 feet. The 

 flowers, ))roduced in August and September, 

 are about 2 to 3 inches across, and very useful 

 for cutting. TJie golden ray florets suriound 

 a V)la(k cone-like disc. Increase may be readily 

 effected in autumn or spring by dividing the 

 old ]) hints. In some gardens liuiiheckia New- 

 manni is the name by which it is known. North 

 America is its native country. 



