MAY 



IRISH GARDENING 



75 



jenta, most floriferous, amiable, and altogether 

 charming-. 



Red Paddy is very pretty, a somewhat brighter 

 shade and uncommon. 



Double Rose is a beautiful large bright lilac 

 pink. 



Arthur Desmoulins (who spells his name in 

 many different ways) is very free-flowering, 

 hardy and satisfactory ; the blossoms (which 

 often grow in the manner of a polyanthus) are 

 of a rich purple-lilac, several shades deeper than 

 the old Double Lilac. Marie Crousse is much 

 the same colour, perhaps a little rosier and 

 larger. 



French Cirey is a very pale soft grey-lilac, 

 pretty but not very effective. 



Of Double Salmon I cannot speak, having, 

 alas, no personal acquaintance with it, nor yet 

 with Double Black. 



There are, doubtless, some other varieties, 

 but these are the most important ones, as I do 

 not now speak of double polyanthuses. I have 

 heard a rumour of " new doubles " produced by 

 a happy and talented amateur, but have not as 

 yet had the privilege of occular demonstration. 

 There are four chief enemies to be contended 

 with in the Primrose Garden. 



1. The Leaf-spot Disease, a sort of fungus 

 which of recent years has greatly increased, 

 attacking both garden and wild primroses. It 

 appears on the leaves in brown and yellow- 

 patches or spots ; it does not kill the plant, but 

 weakens it and greatly spoils its appearance. 

 The best means of combating it is to pick off 

 and burn all the dead and badly affected leaves, 

 and to spray the plants at short intervals with 

 a weak solution of Bordeaux mixture. 



2. A fat, curled-up white grub (the larva of a 

 small grey-brown beetle of the weevil descrip- 

 tion), which likes to live under primroses and 

 to eat the roots. When moving the plants it 

 is well to shake off the clay so as to make sure 

 that none of these grubs are moved with them. 



3. Red Spider, the tiny spinning mite which 

 infests the under side o( the leaves, and i> 

 therefore very difficult to get at with any insec- 

 ticide ; its presence may be known by the 

 speckly yellow appearance of the leaves, and if 

 they are badly infested eventually all the leaves 

 die off. To get rid of red spider, the plants 

 should be taken up in autumn and dipped in 

 paraffin emulsion — /.<•., a small wine-glass of 

 parallin, well stirred into a gallon of water 



(which should be stirred again from time to 

 time) ; a little soft soap also stirred in will add 

 to its effectiveness. Miss Ormerod, who made 

 a special study of injurious insects and how to 

 deal with them, recommended the following 

 mixture as the best remedy for red spider : — 

 4 oz. sulphuret of lime and 2 oz. soft soap to a 

 gallon of hot water ; the sulphuret and soap to 

 be well mixed together before the water is 

 added, gradually stirring all the time; it may 

 be applied while still warm by syringing under 

 the leaves or dipping the plants. If the sul- 

 phuret cannot be procured, boil i lb. of sulphur 

 with 2 lbs. of fresh lime in 4 gallons of water. 



4. The worst enemy, in my experience, is 

 the Primrose Borer, which attacks the plants in 

 spring and continues its work till autumn. 

 When you see one of your best plants suddenly 

 drooping and withering you may be pretty sure 

 that one of these thrice detestable borers is 

 working into its heart; then if you search very 

 carefully at the base of the central shoot you 

 may see a little " saw-dust " marking the en- 

 trance of the tunnel, and perhaps the flattened 

 tail of the grub sticking out. It often looks ver\ 

 like the remainder of a stalk that has been 

 picked. For these most destructive creatures 

 I know of no certain remedy beyond hunting 

 them down and killing remorselessly wherever 

 their tracks appear, and moving the plants 

 every year into fresh ground. Aptorite or 

 vaporite dug into the soil when replanting is 

 also a help. 



Spring and autumn are the recognised times 

 for lifting and dividing primroses ; personally, 

 I rather prefer the spring, or when they are just 

 out of blossom, if the weather is not very dry. 

 They should never be left more than two or at 

 most three years without division; many oi' 

 them are the better of it every year. 



When dividing (which should be done with a 

 knife, if the plants do not break asunder easily) 

 the old woody root-stocks should be removed 

 as much as possible, and if these are planted 

 they will \cry »">ften throw up shoots and 

 de\elop into nice health}- plants. 



C^* ^^ C^^ 



MlXiNt; Mani'KES. — AiiuUeiir gartieiuM-s imisl be 

 L-areful when vising artificial manures not to mix 

 tog-ether nitrate of soda with superphospate or basic 

 slag with either sulphate of ammonia or superphosphate, 

 as chemical action will be set up between them and either 

 harm to plants or loss of fertilising material will result. 



