72 



IRISH GARDENING. 



MAY 



nienl at homo is to use pans instead oi pitts, 

 placinj^'' a plant in tlic CL'nlre, and pullinj^- each 

 j^rowth carefully away from the main plant and 

 layering each j^rowlh down firmly without 

 severint^ it from its main connection. Thus \ ou 

 will be able to j^et cjuite a number ot small 

 plants, which root freeh. \'el it is curious that 

 you invariably lose the old tuft, which has 

 become too hide-bound for propaL^alion. 



The best soil to use tor this is j,''reater pro 

 portion o[' sand, with sulFicient leaf soil to aiVord 

 root action. Plenty of air must be admitted at 

 all times in ortler to keep these plants in a dry 

 and fresh state, when quite a creditable result 

 can be obtained from these collected plants. 



\ow, there are the Campanulas Soldanella, 

 Pianthus, Saxifraija, Ranunculus. &c., but 

 space bids me to hold them o\ er until the next 

 issue of this journal. 



The Enemies of Trees. 



By A. V. KoKBES. 



WHILE the planting- of trees is every- 

 where advocated at the present time, 

 the fact is frequently forgotten that 

 planting often ends in failure through the lack 

 ot' simple methods of protection ag^ainst the 

 risks and dangers to which all trees are liable. 

 l'"rom the time the seed is sown or the seedling 

 planted until the tree reaches its full develop- 

 ment the careful forester is always on the look 

 out for enemies, and invariably finds them. 

 Under natural conditions the greatest enemy 

 to forests is man, who cuts down and destroys 

 by fire more than he can use in the first place, 

 and more than the forests of the country can 

 reproduce in the second. In Northern Europe 

 and America this destruction is going on to-day, 

 and on a more limited scale the woods of Ire- 

 land are passing through a similar crisis. Over 

 the greater part of Europe, however, methods 

 of protection and conservation have succeeded 

 these wasteful processes, and the forest areas 

 over three-fourths of Europe are either 

 stationary or slightly increasing in size. This 

 desirable improvement, however, was not ac- 

 complished without considerable trouble, labour 

 and expense. P'irst and foremost communities 

 had to be controlled by forest laws and local 

 regulations, for in early times forests were 

 always regarded as free to all comers, and as 

 open to theft or pilfering as the pebbles on the 



sea-shore. While this view continued the forests 

 disappeared as lapiilly ;is the population in- 

 creased. With tile disappearance of local 

 lorests and commons forest, laws graduall> 

 iell into abeyance, and forest protection assumed 

 a nuMc technical character, assisted, as occasion 

 rci.|wiieii. In the common or civil law of the 

 country. 



The principal lornis taken by forest protectiiMi 

 to-day are measures ag"ainst wind, lire and 

 grazing or browsing of domestic or wild animals, 

 all of which may destroy existing forests if pre- 

 \ entive measures are neglected. These measures 

 are chiefly reg^ulated by commonsense, as it is 

 seldom necessary to put them into operation 

 indiscriminately. Other protective measures 

 o\' a more technical character are those relating 

 to insect pests and fungoid diseases, and with 

 these the forester is often compelled to call in 

 the assistance of the scientist. On the Con- 

 tinent, calamities due to caterpillars oi' several 

 moths are kept in check by the introduction of 

 disease-producing bacteria, while parasitic fungi 

 are fought with fungicidal sprays. 



Forest protection in Ireland is chiefly con- 

 cerned with domestic economy (amongst which 

 the goat is the most troublesome), rabbits and 

 squirrels among-st the larger animals and 

 beetles, weevils, and sawflies amongst the in- 

 sects. The most conspicuous fungoid disease 

 is the larch canker or blister, which is gradually 

 spreading throughout the country, but is capable 

 of being- successfully dealt with on most soils. 



The choice of suitable trees for various soils 

 and situations, careful planting, judicious thin- 

 ning, and attention to such details as drainage 

 and pruning are most likely to lessen, if they 

 do not prevent, the attacks of most parasitic 

 enemies. 



f^^ C^* C^* 



A G.\KDEN Song. 



Heie in this sequestered close 

 Bloom the hyacinth and rose. 

 Here beside the modest stock 

 Flaunts the flaring- hollyhock. 

 Here, without a pang^ one sees 

 Ranks, conditions, and degrees. 



Here be shadows large and long, 

 Here be spaces meet for song. 

 Grant, O Garden-god. that I, 

 Now that none profane is nigh — 

 Now that mood and moment please - 

 Find the fair Pierides ! 



Austin Dobson. 



