46 



IRISH CARDENING 



aiul add good lop-drosi-ings as the roots iijiiwur 

 through the soil. Koop tho fnuiR's covorod a( iiiglit. 

 and admit air vi ly carefully. 



P'ltKNCH AND lU-NNKH HiCXNS. — If suttlfii'llt Space is 

 at coiiimaMd, make a sowiug of both French and 

 Uumur JV'aiis fur plaiitiiig out later: rais.- in col.l 

 liaines and keep them growing st\ndily. 



^IrsHRooMS. — Prepare manure for thf summer 

 iTOp of Mushrooms. In making the heds out of 

 doors keep the manure viiy firm. Kiep the mush- 

 room house well damped in hot weather for bearing 

 l)i.ds. and turn off any fire heat. 



l.KKKS. — Plant out til.' tirst sowings <.f Lei-ks in 

 veil prepar.Ml trenches and prick out later sowings. 



Onions— Onions niis.d in January should be 

 plant<:d with care in their iiermanent quarters. Us*' 

 the Dutch hoe whenever possible on all tho growing 

 crops. 



Sked Sowing.— Aluke l'*««1 sowings of Winter 

 Broccoli, Savoys, Kales, Cabbage, Kohl Kabbi on a 

 south border and protect from birds. Make a good 

 sowing of Parsley, Radishes and Turnips. Spinach 

 and all saladiugs must be sown according to re- 

 rjuiremcnts. 



Maruow'S. — Sow a quantity of Vegetable Marrows 

 and raise in heat: pot into G-incli pots when ready. 



Ci:t.eky. — Prick out the earliest sowings of Celery 

 ar the jilants become fit. Keep tho young roots 

 straight and keep well supplied with water. 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



AviticOTS. — Search carefully for the small cater- 

 pillars that do so much damage to the yomig 

 Apricot foliage and small fruits, and destroy every 

 one. Proceed with disbudding before the shoots 

 liocome too long. Remove those on the underside 

 and back, leaving the well placed shoots for exten- 

 sion. &e., leaving the spur shoots a little longer. 

 Endeavour to summer prune Apricots rather than 

 using the knife too much. Young trees making ex- 

 cessive growth are better lifted in the autumn. 

 Allow the trees plenty of light and sun and a Avell 

 drained border, and never allow the roots to suffer 

 from drought. 



FoiiCED Stkawherp.y Plants. — ^W^here it is intendod 

 tu plant the Strawberries that have be^n forced, 

 every care must bo taken to harden them off pro])eily. 

 Keep well supplied -with water and carefully 

 syringed every afternoon. Plants thus treated will 

 bear excellent crops next season in the open ground. 

 Royal SovereigiT is one of the best for this purpose. 

 It is advisable to place all plants that arc being 

 forced into a cool house, with full sim, as soon as 

 thev begin to coloru-, thus getting a first-rate 

 flavour, which is often missing in forced fruits. 



Pe.\ches and Nectarines. — Remove any protec- 

 tion as soon as the weather is favourable and start 

 disbudding. These trees require this operation to be 

 carried out with great care, and extended over two 

 or three weeks. Remove all foreright shoots and 

 finally leave the leading and best placed basal shoot, 

 and generally one about the cont)'e, according to the 

 state of the tree. In old trees that have filled their 

 allotted space the leader must be stopped. Finally, 

 endeavour to allow each shoot six inches from its 

 neislibour. Thin the fruit concurrently with the dis- 

 budding, first removing the ill-placed fruit and where 

 thev have set in bunches. See that the borders are 



well Bupplie<l with water. Be ou the watch for 

 gK-enfly and peach leaf blister, and destroy 

 iuunediately. 



Raspbekiuics. — Ciivo tlm liasplxrry plautations a 

 good Dutch iKM'ing, then apply a good mulching of 

 nuumre, the llaspijerry being u gross surface feeder. 



W'.KJA. Titi:i;s. -Ml wall troes that are flowering 

 should be well protected during frosty weather, rc- 

 ivioving th) coverings in the day time. Most of the 

 trees retjuire unremitting att<'ntion throughout the 

 s< ason to keep them thoroughly clean and healthy. 

 See that all ties are secure and not Uwi tight to injuw 

 the bark. Syringe •well with Quassia l-'-xtract or 

 advcrtiseil insecticide to keei) down aphis. Attend 

 larefuUy to the watering: many trees often suffer 

 terribly from drought. 



GuAFTINr..— As s<K)n as the sup rises freely pro- 

 ceed with any grafting that has to be done. This 

 ivquires skill and patience and must be done care- 

 fully. When finished keep the scions damped with 

 a fiue spray during hot, dry wi^ather; it will also 

 keep the clay from cracking open. 



Fruit J3oRDEns'. — Do not allow any vegetables or 

 flowers to be planted closer to the fruit trees than 

 four feet, as it is quite necessary to have this 

 amount of space for working operations; the roots 

 also require all tho goodness and moisture of the 

 .soil. 



Red and Wiiitg Cdhiunts. — The currant moth 

 i)fgins to food on the young Currant foliage early 

 this mouth, and should be sprayed well with 

 paraffin emulsion before the leaves are fully ex- 

 panded. 



General Work. — Keep the hoe busy in all fruit 

 quarters, and endeavour to keep everything clean 

 and in good order. Cut and cart a good supply of 

 loam -whenever possible for next autumn planting 

 and topdressing. Give all stone fruit an occasional 

 dusting of lime to assist the trees during tho 

 stoning period; guard against drought in any form. 

 Trees recently planted and not breaking into growth 

 should be kept syringed and shaded from bright 

 sunshine. 



PLEASURE GROUNDS AND FLOWER GARDEN. 



SuMJiET! Bedding Piants. — Specimen plants that 

 were placed in their final ])ots last month are now 

 making rapid progress, and towards the end of the 

 month remove them to cooler quarters. Fuchsias, 

 Zonal Pelargoniums, HeUotropes, Marguerites, 

 Dahlias, Verbenas, Lantanas and Lobelia should be 

 placed in cold frames and gradually hardened off. 

 Wat-ch for frosty nights and cover the lights with 

 mats. 



Plants for Present Pli.\ntin«. — 'Endeavour to get 

 Pentstemons, Violas, Antirrhinums, East Lothian 

 Stocks, Hollyhocks and summer-flowering Chrys- 

 jinthenmms planted in their permanent positions as 

 soon as ]»ossible. Take up \Aith good balls of soil, 

 and when planting make the holes large enough to 

 ]ilaec the -whole in position without breaking the ball. 

 It is one of my greatest difficulties to get the holes 

 made large enough. Somehow the planters want to 

 .squeeze the plants into the smallest space, then 

 they wonder if the plants stand still for a consider- 

 able time. On no account ever plant or pot a dry 

 plant: it is fatal. 



Gladioli. — Select a well tilled piece of ground for 



