IRISH GARDENING. 



M3 



to the .sun till thoroughly dried, has a sweetening 

 effect which goes a long way in eradicating the 

 germs of diseases which o])erate on fruit after 

 storage. The fruit-room, to kee]) it in the Ijest 

 possible condition, should have both a spring and 

 an autumn cleaning. Moveable shelves or racks 

 that can be conveniently scrubbed and aired 

 periodically are the niost suitable. 



STORiNCi Fruit. — Towards the end of the 

 month, especially in early districts, some of the 

 mid-.season apples and i)eai\s requiring short 

 storage may be fit to gather. The changing of 

 the i>ips from white to a brownish tinge indicates 

 the a])i)roach of maturity. If left too h)ng on the 

 trees after reaching this stage, a large percentage 

 may be knocked off by wind. In gathering 

 choice fruit take them one at a time, and lay them 

 carefully in padded baskets or on trays. Sonxe 

 delicate skinned a|)])les are more easily injured 

 than eggs. With ])ro])er ste]i-ladders and small, 

 ])added baskets fruit from high trees can be safely 

 gathered and lowered with cords. No fruit which 

 falls from the tree should be .stored with those 

 that are hand-picked : they should be placed with 

 the wind-falls for immediate use. 



Insect Pest.s. — Ti-ees which are infested with 

 ai>]>le-sucker should, immediately they are cleared 

 of fruit, be sprayed with lime-sulphur at a strengh 

 of one gallon commercial lime-sul]ihur to forty 

 gallons of water. Apply the spray in a very fine 

 mist, directing it upwards, .so that the underside 

 of the leaves may be coated with the .sulphur. 

 Avoid spraying to the extent of causing it to drip 

 from the trees, as excessive spraying is not so 

 effective in coating the leaves as when it is evenly 

 dewed in a very fine nxist. 



Strawberries. — The land is now in the right 

 state of moisture for planting carefully i)repared 

 runners. Plantations formed last month should 

 now be well established, and will derive great 

 benefit from a good dusting with soot. Nip oft" 

 runners as they ap})ear, and kee]) the surface 

 well stirred with the hoe. New ])lantations may 

 still be formed ; providing that good plants are 

 available and that the land has been i>roperly 

 ]»re])ared for them. 



Preparations for Planting Orchards. ^ — 

 This is a good time to begin to prepare land for 

 autumn ])lanting. The profit derived from 

 orchards is, in mo.st cases, very largely controlled 

 }}y the state of the land when the trees are planted. 

 It is of the utmost imj^ortance to have land which 

 is intended for orchards thoroughly cultivated 

 sometime before planting o])erations begin. This 

 month is generally the best in the year for heavy 

 work on land, if it is not Ijaked by long drought, 

 it is invariably in good condition for carrying out 

 dee]! cultivation to the best advantage. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



By Arthur IIorton, (iardener to Colonel ('Jiuide 

 Cane, St. Wolstan's, Cel bridge. 



Cauliflowers, Autumn Sown.^ — J'robably no 

 vegetable is more appreciated than gocjd cauli- 

 flowers in s])ring and early summer, when choice 

 vegetables are extremely scarce. The ]iresenl 

 month is the most suitable time for sowing the 

 seed. Complaints aie made that ]ilants irom 

 this sowing often button, coiLsecjuently are 

 useless. Unfortunately this is oflen too true, 

 but the fault in the nuijority of cases is in sowing 

 the seed too early. Undoubtedly better results 



are to be obtained by sowing the seed in autumn 

 than fiom ])lants raised in heat during .lanuary 

 and February. It is always advisable to make 

 two sowings, the first early in Sei>tember and the 

 next about three weeks later. If the weather 

 conditions are favourable to quick germination 

 and growth, the latter sowing will be found the 

 most useful. The seeds should be sown liroad- 

 cast in beds, not too thickly, and securely netted. 

 When the plants are large enough to handle, 

 ])rick out iiito frames, allowing a distance of about 

 four inches between the plants. The soil must 

 not be too rich or far from the glass. Kee]) the 

 lights off on all favourable occasions, the aim 

 being to make the ])lants as hardy as ])o.ssible. 

 Should severe weather ]irevail, it is most im])or- 

 tant to have the lights well covered with some 

 suitalile material. The most ])()])ular varieties 

 for this sowing ai'e Early ],ondon, Walcheien, 

 and Autumn (iiant, and which come in for use 

 in the order named. Many of the latter variety 

 often become blind after ]ilanting out, conse- 

 quently it is advisable to ])lant fairly clo.se in the 

 lines to make u]) for this fault. 



Spring Cabbage. — Seeds sown the latter end 

 of .Tuly will be ready for transferring to their 

 ])ermanent c]uarters during this month, and 

 should be ])lanted on dee])ly dug and well manured 

 ground on an early border if available. It is not 

 advisable to make too large a ])lanting from this 

 sowing, as the ])lants are liable to run to seed, 

 ])articularly so it the winter is mild. It is an 

 excellent x>lan to ch^aw out the young ])lants from 

 the seed bed and dibble out in an o])en ])osition 

 about four inches a])art, and defer the )iuun 

 l)lanting until next month. By that time onions 

 will be lifted, and no better site could be cho.sen 

 for s])ring cabbage, as the ground for onions is 

 generally well trenched and manured the ])reviors 

 s])ring, therefore all that will be reciuired is a 

 fairly dee]) digging unless manure is ])lentiful, 

 which, un'ortunately, is seldom the case. The 

 distance to allow between the lines and ])lants 

 must be gauged according to the variety grown. 

 From eighteen inches to two feet between the 

 lines and about twelve to (iiteen inches in tin; 

 lines will be am])le for most varieties. In sonu^ 

 gardens it is very difficult to grow good cabbage 

 owing to clubroot. A shar]) look out should Ix; 

 ke])t for this disease when ]ilanting. It is easily 

 detected by knots or swellings on the root. 

 Plants so affected should always be burnt. This 

 disease is very difficult to eradicate once it gets a 

 linn foothold, (iood dressings of either gas or 

 fresh lime a]i]ilied in the autumn, leaving it on 

 the surface a few weeks before digging it in, is 

 oiie of the best methods of ridding the ground of 

 this troublesome disease. 



Potatoes. — If growth is com])leted it is advis- 

 able to lift the main cro]), ])articularly so if di.scase 

 has nuide its ap])earance. Nothing is to be gained 

 by leaving them in the ground, as many of the 

 tubers will get affected which if lilted in time 

 might, be saved. Select fine weather for lifting 

 the cro]), and leave the tubers on the sui'face 

 until they get thoi'oughly di'ied before linally 

 ]iitting them. The to])s should never be left on 

 the ground, but collected and burnt, (ireat care 

 should be exercised in lifting the very smallest of 

 the ])otatoe>. 



Clear the ground of all silent cro])s and weeds. 

 The earthing u]» of celery should be done gradu- 

 ally and only on line days. S])ina(h, turni])S, 

 and lettuce may still be sown. 



