IRISH (;ai<i)ening 



soom to kiK'w .iiul U' U-c\ ili.ii ill ili'.iliii^ Willi ii.iiiiii- 

 tluiiv must In- always somo .v;ivo aiul taUf. mi^lit. willi 

 miioli advaiitajjf, possoss tliemsi-lvos ol inoiv i-laslii- 

 notions. Should tho soil lit' iii nii-o coiulition, jji-t tlu- 

 work lioiu' by all means, for not only do the seiils 

 leipiire a lon^'.T time than most to iferminate, iiut llu' 

 roots are slow too in cominir to maturity. It may he still 

 of use to point out that dunij shoiiUl iioi he .nKKil wluii 

 the soil was heinif prepared. 



If tiiey follow a erop of onions, celery or peas, Hiul. 

 providinij what w.is iieoessar}' was done for these, a 

 ji^ood return of lari;e ami fairly clean roots will result. 

 The iliijifiiiif, the thoroui^^h and honest dij;^y:ini; and 

 fiiiinij ilowii of such jfround is all that is reall}' required. 

 To prevent cakinjf of the covering^. a little fairly fine 

 coal .ishes or turf mould mixed with the soil will prove 

 a v.iluable ditail in iheir ciillure. 



(\irrcnt Topics, 



IN the last issue of the Journal of the Royal Horticul 

 tural Society an interestiiigf report is given as to the 

 effects of the frosts of the winter of 1 908- 1 909 on vege- 

 t.-ition. Oueries were addressed to some sixty garden 

 owners in England, as well as to some in Scotland and 

 Irelaiui, as to the damage sustained b}' their plants ami 

 shrubs during that w-inter. I'arliculars such as the 

 situation of the garden, nulure of the soil, tluralioii of 

 the frost, minimum temperature recorded, and age of 

 the plants were also enquired fov. As a result tin* 

 behaviour of some hundred species of doubtfully hanly 

 siirubs under the stress of a severe winter became 

 known, and the society was enabled to impart this infor- 

 mation to its members. Information such as this is of 

 great value to horticulturists, especially at the present 

 time when so many are making trials of the beautiful 

 new shrubs and plants which have come to us princi- 

 jially from inland China and Thibet. In many places 

 the great masses of laurel with hollies and conifers 

 which formed the main part of the shrubberies of 1 went v 

 years ago are making room for the more dainty atul 

 delicate flowering shrubs ; but the planter before pur 

 chasing the newer varieties of these naturally wishes to 

 have some accurate information as to the degree of ex- 

 posure which they will stand. We in Ireland have 

 several celebrated gardens where tender species of 

 trees and shrubs have been successfully acclimatised, 

 and where new species are on trial ; information from 

 such sources as to the behaviour of the newer species 

 under severe weather conditions would be doubtless ap- 

 preciated by many Irish horticulturists. 



A recent bulletin of the New Zealand Department of 

 Agriculture (No. 20) describes the damage caused by 

 oelworms, and mentions some methods of control wiiich 

 might be adopted. 



The bulletin mentions the following plants as being 

 attacked: — Potatoes, wheat, oats, hops, clover, and 

 onions. As methods of control it sugg-ests — 



1. Rotation of crops extending to six or even eight 

 years' interval between the same species. 



2. Infested refuse should be desiroved. 



3. Deep ploughing. 



\. K.iinit .iiul sulph.it.' ol pot.ish iia\t> \h-cu lomul lo 

 clii'ik the iiuiiMsi- 111 I'l'lwoi Ills. 



S. A ti.ip crop of beet whiili can be ilestroyed be(or«- 

 the pest li.ts bii'il ,iiul escaped .igjiin into the soil. 



In this couiiliy we have ihdiu'kuis s|iecies of ci-lworins 

 living in the soil, but the iiLijoiity Cecil on tlecayetl 

 \egi't;ible matter, aiul theii mouth parts are not adapteil 

 for- piercing or sucking tin- living tissues of plants. 

 .M.iny, indeed, cannot assimilate organic matter- unless 

 it has previously undergone a process of decay. How- 

 ever, there are records of a few injinious species, one 

 {IJctcrodont rndiciaila) causing swellings on the roots ol 

 tomatoes, and another ( 'J'vh'iirfiiis (/rvas/a/rLx) injuring 

 the roots of oats, l-roni h^iiglaml there are occasiona' 

 records of these worms pioxing injurious to the leaves 

 of carnations, the pseutio bulbs of orchids and the roots 

 of cucumbers. Occasionally eelworms are blameil for 

 damage for which they are not responsible. When found 

 in the decaying parts of plants they are not necessarily 

 themselves the cause of the deca}', but are more often 

 feeding on the tissues already disorganised by fungoid 

 or bacterial disease. Eelworms usually feeti together in 

 large numbers ; they may be recognised by their minute 

 size, white colour, and eel-like shape. A dilute solution 

 of permanganate of potash has been recommended as a 

 spray for destroying tlu-m in the soil. 



A correspondent in Ac Jiudiii (vol. xxiii., \o. 54<S) 

 suggests the use of hot water as an insecticide. He 

 states that all aphides and larvas are destroyed by 

 immersion in w-ater heated to 45° C, while 50° C. is 

 fatal to beetles and insects with a hard cuticle. Plants. 

 o\\ the other hand, will survive immersion up to 54° (.". 

 Pot plants attacked by insects should be rolled in a 

 cloth to prevent the soil falling out, and immersed in 

 water at a temperature of 50° C. for half a minute. 0\\ 

 trees he suggests that spra3'ing or painting with hot 

 water should be resorted to ; the heat lost by the passage 

 of the water through the air to be allowed lor. Thus, 

 if the jet is two yards off the tree the water should be 

 at _:^5 C"., if four to six yards off at 60° C. to 65° C, and 

 so on. The principal difliculty in connection with this 

 methoil of destroying pests is the exact regulation of 

 till" temperature. G. O. Siii:kk.\iM). 



•J^ 



Soot has considerable reputation among gardeners 

 not only as a manure but also as a specific against 

 insects, slugs, and other pi-sts. Its value as a manure 

 tU'pends almost entirely u]-ion tin- amount of ammonia 

 or nitrogenous salts contaiiuHl In it. Mr. H. W. ILarvey, 

 of the Cambridge School of Agriculture, has been 

 making investigations upon the composition of this 

 substance, and finds wide variations in the percentage 

 of nitrogen in the samples examined. It seems almost 

 certain that the value of the soot depends upon the 

 quality of coal used. In the cases tabulated, the percen- 

 tage varies from a half to eleven per cent. The lighter 

 the soot per bushel, the higher its value. Soot when 

 allowed to stand in a loose heap will lose in value. On 

 an average each bushel of soot contains one pound of 

 nitrogen, and the monev' \','ilue of this as a fertiliser 

 alone is sixpeiici'. 



