It 



llUSll UARJJKNING 



foliage ovi'rhoad tliov will lioiuiiif \\»aU ami 

 drawn. Potatoes growiiij,' on liot hods and 

 heated pits may i)e given a little warm soil t<> the 

 growths when large eiioiivrh. and air givi-n more 

 ireely. l'reparatit)ns must Jie made tdr the lirst 

 ontside plantings, a good position is nniler south 

 walls hetweeii the fruit trees; take out ahout a 

 foot of the old soil and add a good fresh (•ompost. 

 with plenty of leaf soil, plant c-loser than on the 

 borders, a.s they will hr ready for use early in 

 June. 



Peas— C'ontiinie to make sowings of the First 

 seetion Peas on south oorders. Should the Chef 

 or Cook he an expert vegetable Cook ilo not sow 

 white seedetl Peas, make sure you get a first 

 rpiality variety and green; good nuirrowfats take 

 ahout 18 weeks before they are ready for use this 

 time of the yi-ar and l(i weeks next month, liy 

 eareful timing and ol)servation oiu> laii kee]) a 

 good sui-eession from May to November in 

 favourable seasons. 



Skeo Sowing.— Small (piantities of Jirussels 

 Sprouts, Celery. Caidillower, Leeks, Cabbage. 

 Lettuce. Cos, and Cabbage. Tomatoes for main 

 erops. and Cucumbers require raising in boxes 

 ami pots for earliest supplies. Egg plants and 

 Capsicums requiring brisk heat, should ))e sown 

 towards the end of the month. 



General Work— Get sutfieient manure together 

 and turn several times for celery trenches. Keep 

 all hot beds well lined, and all work pushed for- 

 ward as fast as possible, protect the Cabbage bed 

 from pigeons and draw a little soil up to the 

 collars of the plants in fine weather, they are very 

 early this season. Harbinger turning in on south 

 borders. KtH'p the hoe well plied between the 

 rows of Spinach. 



The Haru.v Fruit Gardkn. 

 Fruit Room— Keep a sharp watch on tne Truit 

 .still in the fruit room, it is very liable to decay 

 from now onwards, and to keep the supply going 

 till June this season will prove fairly difficult. 

 owing to shorter supplies. We still have good 

 specimens of the following varieties : — Crimson 

 Bramley, Brandey's Seedlings, Sandringham. 

 Newton Wonder, Wellington, Hanwell Souring, 

 Annie Elizabeth, Chelmsford Wonder. Northern 

 Greening, Striped Beefing and T>ane's Prince 

 Albert, culinary varieties; and the following 

 Dessert : — Cox's Orange Pippin, Blenheim Orange. 

 Cockle PipT)in. Christmas I^earmain, Stunner 

 Pippin. Dutch Mignon. Brownlee's Rus.set, 

 Boston Russet, Royal Russet, and Liver more 

 Favourite. We are testing a good many of the 

 new varieties, they are keeping wonderfully well 

 up to the present. William Crimip is in splendid 

 condition. I had 30 fruits of W^orcester Pearmain 

 reserved on the top .shelf close to an open ven- 

 tilator, although an early apple it keeps in good 

 condition till March, but one of my nimble garden 

 hids found he could reach them, so his gain was 

 my loss. Of course I do not recommend the latter 

 variety for late use. I am only stating its keeping 

 qualities. The following Pears are giving us some 

 choice dessert at the present time, Josephine 

 de Malines, Winter Nelis, Easter Buerre, Glow 

 Morceau, and Bergamotte E.speren. and Culinary 

 varieties Verulam and Cartillac; by this list one 

 can see how useful these late varieties are and 

 worthy of more extended planting. There are 

 plenty of varieties in season from Septend)er to 

 December. Lord Hindlip is a most excellent 

 dessert variety that everyone ought to grow. Our 

 trees of this variety are only recently planted and 



not fruiting yet Keep the Iruit room as cool as 

 l»ossible ami open the ventilators night and day 

 when the outside glass is above .'JH". The floors if 

 cement or bricks nuist be kept damp; this will 

 help to keep fr\iit firm and jtiump. 



I'l.r.MS — Complete the training and pruning of 



all IMimis as sj) ly as po.ssible. Where the sjuns 



have become unsightly it will be a<lvisable to cut 

 llu'iu right back, treating a part of each tree 

 every season until they are refurnished with close 

 fruiting buds, remove a portion fif the surface .soil 

 rei)lacing with good loam and lime rubble. Plums 

 recpiire a pleiititnl su|)ply of lime at all times. 

 Exandne the borders for water every week. 

 Should any ot tiie trees be making excessive 

 growth, have their roots examined and the 

 strong coarse ones shortened back. Standards 

 growing in the open and in orchards may have 

 their branches tliinned wheie too thick. If silver 

 leaf is in existenrr grub ..iit the trees and burn 

 every iiarticle. 



Ai'i'i i:s AND Pi:ars— If the i)runing ' is not yet 

 (itnsheil. get it linished as early as j)ossible, clean- 

 ing u|) and binning all jirunings. Give the trees 

 a dressing of well-rotted maiuire and the ashes 

 from the smother fire. Where new orchards are 

 in contemplation it is advisable to prepare the site 

 beforehand, cropping with potatoes to clean the 

 ground. The trees can then be jjlanted early in 

 the autumn and will start rooting right away. 

 Before trying too many varieties, pay a visit to a 

 good fruit grower, and ask his advice as to the 

 varieties that succeed in the neighbourhood. 



Si'RAYiNG. — Where lichen, moss, and parasites 

 are present, the trees should receive a thorough 

 spraying with one of the special Caustic alkali 

 preparations advertised in Irish Ganlennnj. 

 Choose a still day, and give the trees a thorough 

 drenching from the tips of the growths to the base 

 of the trees. Protect the operator's clothes and 

 boots, and use rubber gloves. T'se according to 

 directions given with each preparation. 



Pkackes and Nectarines— If the trees were tied 

 to stakes away from the walls as recoininende<l. 

 they may now be placed in position and trained 

 to the walls again, tie the growths as straight as 

 possible, allowing fi inches from shoot to shoot; if 

 wires are piovided, the matting should be twisted 

 once round the wire whit-h brings the bark close 

 to the matting instead of the wire, which is in- 

 jurious. If nailing has to be done, use matting in 

 preference to shreds, make a thoroughly neat job 

 of the training, the object shoidd be to cover ithe 

 space with fruiting wood from the stem to the ex- 

 treme tip. Watch th<\t all the ends of the shoots 

 are securely fastened, tying with reef knots, which 

 will not come luitied. Thoroughly clean the hol- 

 ders when all is finished, and .give full bearing 

 trees a dressing of artificial manure and top dress- 

 ings where necessary and neatly fork over the 

 whole border. The protecting materials shouUl 

 be in readiness for placing in position as soon as 

 the flowers oi)en. 



Small Fruits— I'^inish the ])nining and cleaning 

 of the small bush fruits as soon as possible, burn- 

 ing all prunings. Give a dressing of manure be- 

 fore forking over the squares, and lime dusted 

 over the trees will prove beneficial. If birds are 

 troublesome the safest plan is to put the nets on, 

 tliis will also help to keep a few degrees of frost 

 away. Bullfinches started on our Prunus in the 

 ))leasure grounds at the end of December but I 

 am thankful to say have not yet got inside the 

 garden walls. 



Labels — See that all labels are in position and 



