IRISH GARDENING 



39 



or old pottery material will answer. Tlie ashes act 

 as a drainage. By about the middle of September 

 Violets have made good headway, and I lift each 

 clump carefully, with what soil is possible, and 

 deposit it in the space prepared for it in 

 the frame, taking care to allow at least 

 six inches of room between the foliage and glass. 

 When planting has been done, they have a good 

 soaking of water, and, as a lule, need very little 

 during the winter. By November the reward comes 

 in the shape of a prodigality of sweetly-scented 

 blooms. 



Ventil.\tion. — Many who grow Violets well up to 

 the time they are " framed " fail with them after- 

 wards, and this is mainly to l)e attributed to lack 

 of ventilation. Violets are hardy subjects; they 

 dislike coddling, and, therefore, the old maxim 



popular variety, having long stems. White Czar, 

 one of the very best whites. California, violet 

 purple, a profuse bioomer, and of vigorous consti- 

 tution. Admiral Avellan, reddish heliotrope. 



Doubles. — Mrs. J. J. Astor, heliotrope, large and 

 fine. Marie Louise, dark mauve, one of the best 

 doubles. Swanley White, large and very sweetly 

 scented. Belle de Cliatenay, white, tinted lilac. 

 W. LiNDERS Lea. 



Erica Darleyensis. 



This is certainly one of the most delightful of the 

 hardy heaths aud merits the attention of everyone 

 who cares for early-flowering hardy plants. Long 

 known in gardens as Erica mediterranea hijhrida, 



should be strictly carried out to the letter. It is 

 one which all gardeners know, viz. : — "Admit air 

 on all favourable occasions.'' Virtually this means 

 that after plants have been removed to frames 

 there are many days when the " lights " can be 

 moved altogether, and only placed in position at 

 night at the " tilt " for the admission of air. 



Damping. — A wet autunni is a source of trouble 

 to the grower of Violets, as it entails more watchful- 

 ness. It will mean the surface of the bed being 

 "stirred " now and again with a fork to promote 

 air to the soil; it will certainly involve the speedy 

 removal of all decaying leaves, and an introduc- 

 tion of an astringent like " flower of sulphur " 

 which will ward off a deal of damp, but, notwith- 

 standing all this, the flowers one may have in 

 November compensate for any trouble. Among 

 the many excellent sorts worthy of culture to-day 

 rnay be mentioned the foUnwing. They are rich 

 in fragrance and prolific l)l()omers : — 



Singles, — Prince.ss of Wales, large, blue, a most 



it has, as first pointed out by Mr. Bean, of Kew, 

 marked affinities with Erica carnea, and is a hybrid 

 between that species and Erica riiediterranca. Of 

 rather taller growth than E. carnea it nevertheless 

 never grows up like the common forms of the 

 Mediterranean Heatli, rather foiTning wide si^reading 

 masses a foot or more in height. The flowers, 

 which are often beginning to show colour in Novem- 

 ber and December are, when fully out, of a deep 

 pink, and remain in beauty until May. This lovely 

 plant is less averse to lime in the soil than some 

 other Heaths, a character inherited probably from 

 E. carnea, which does quite well in loam containing 

 lime. It is good practice to prune back the shoots 

 when the flowers are over in May, so as to keep the 

 clump dense and well furnished. Cuttings root 

 readily in July aud August, in a close frame or pro- 

 pagating case. 



