IRISH GARDENING. 



19 



Gooseberry bushes subject lu attack from sawfly 

 caterpillars should be similarly sprayed, but not later 

 than when the berries are about the size of peas. 



APHinES.— Most fruit trees are subject to attack by 

 aphides, of which the common g-reen fly is an example. 

 Cherries, plums, and black currants are most frequently- 

 attacked. Apples and gooseberries suffer to a lesser 

 extent. The attack is noticeable on the tips of the 

 young- growths; the curling of the leaves indicate the 

 presence of the fly. The aphis appears usually after a 

 spell of cold weathei-, and spreads with extraordinary 

 rapidity, so that unless it is checked in the commence- 

 ment much injury will be done to the growth and fruit. 

 A g-ood remedy is to spray with soft soap and quassia 

 extract, which is prepared by steeping 3 lbs. quassia 

 chips in 3 gallons of boiling water, and allowing it to re- 

 main overnight ; then the water should be strained into 

 another vessel, and i lb. soft soap dissolved in boiling 

 water added. This is sufficient to make ten gallons of 

 spraying mixture, and water should be added to make 

 up this amount. If the mixture is slightly hot it will be 

 more effectual. Where the shoots are severely attacked 

 it may 'ne necessar}- to dip the affected parts in a portion 

 of the mixture. 



Mulching Fruit Treks.— All trees and bushes, espe- 

 cially those in a state of bearing, benefit as a result 

 of being mulched, and the best time to do this work is 

 in late spring or early -summer. Certain varieties of 

 apples like Rramley Seedling and Newton Wonder 

 make vigorous growth, and do not readily come into 

 bearing, therefore it is not advisable to mulch such 

 trees at this stage. In the natural course they will 

 come into fruit-bearing, or this period can be hastened 

 by root-pruning, then mulching will be advisable. The 

 surface mulch keeps the roots near the top soil and 

 makes the rooting medium, cool and moist, thereby 

 promoting the increase of fruitful roots. It also iniproves 

 the quality of the fruit. In a dry summer the value of 

 mulch is most apparent, as the groimd is then liable to 

 become parched, and trees not mulched suffer as a 

 consequence and carry light crops of fruit. 



General Remarks.— Strawberries coming into bear- 

 ing should be watered during dry weather, and if liquid 

 manure is available a few applications to the plants, 

 when the fruit is swelling, will be of great assistance. 

 It should not be continued after the fruit ripens. All 

 runners, except those required for producing plants, 

 should be cut off. Use the Dutch hoe constantly among 

 the fruit trees. There is no better implement for keep- 

 ing down weeds, and is so easily worked that a child 

 ma}- use it. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



By J. G. Toner. 



BEET. — Seeds of this sweet and much appreciated 

 vegetable require to be sown at a comparativel}- 

 late date, otherwise there is generally more or 

 less tendency to coarseness. The mangel-like roots 

 that are seen time and again are by no means appetis- 

 ing or nourishing, and are the result of cultural errors 

 more often than a bad strain of seeds. Medium sized, 

 deeply coloured roots are what e.xperienced growers 

 aim at producing, and these are always to be had from 



deep and thoroughly worked ground to which dung has 

 not been recently added. The finer the soil can be 

 made by good honest digging and breaking the better 

 the crop will be. Drills at eighteen inches apart are 

 suitable, and the seeds may be sown one inch deep. 

 At a distance of from one to six inches apart the young 

 plants are thinned, so that there may be little likelihood 

 of specimens growing beyond that size considered 

 perfect for the table. In shallow soils the turnip-rooted 

 kinds are easy to manage. 



French BivANS. — Where space is in an\- w.xy limited 

 it will be found a most economical plan to make use of 

 the climbing varietj-, for a fairly long suppl\- can be 

 depended o\\ from a small piece of ground. This kind 

 crops earlier than the scarlet runner, is exceedingly 

 productive and considered by many epicures as quite' 

 equal to the pods of the dwarf section in fl.-^vour. A 

 rare good character indeed ! 



Runner Beans. — A most prolific and also ornamental 

 variety of the somewhat coarser runner bean is Painteil 

 Lady, and on this account it may be used to please the 

 artistic sense as well as to fill the dish. LIncommonly 

 well does it look when trained over arches or climbing 

 high rods placed so as to screen ugly corners. Ramp- 

 ant growers such as these require liberal treatment, but 

 the manure should be placed as deeply as possible in 

 the soil. 



Tomatoes. —During this month plants intended for 

 outdoor culture must be well hardened oft' bj- transfer- 

 ring them to cold frames where abundance of air can 

 be given on all suitable occasions. If possible, they 

 should before reaching the open quarters have one 

 truss of fruit set. Comparatively few follow this 

 method during recent years owing to the qualit\- of our 

 summer weather ; at the same time, there are about 

 many gardens well-favoured spots where these could 

 be grown most seasons with a fair prospect of a pay- 

 ing crop. And, moreover, it does not follow that 

 because a proportion, often a large one, of the fruit 

 does not ripen on the plants that they are worthless or 

 anything like it. This is by no means the case, for the 

 produce of the outdoor plants can be made good use of 

 very late in the season by artificial ripening, thereby 

 prolonging the supply to a very considerable extent. 



In all cases it is most desirable to keep them 

 trained to a single stem, not indeed, as is a common 

 practice, by letting them grow into practically a hedge 

 and then coining along with the knife, cutting the 

 superfluous branches off in merciless fashion. Rather 

 should they be looked over at regular periods and the 

 little shoots as they show at the axils of the leaves be 

 rubbed out or pinched off at that stage. 



Spinach Beet. — He was a wise man who said that 

 we like best what we have least of, and this feeling 

 may account for the contempt that some show for this 

 excellent vegetable. The round or, as it is called, the 

 summer variety, with its prickly companion in winter, 

 seem to be the favourites for the tables ot many. 

 Quite a number of sowings must be made to keep up 

 the supplies, and in hot weather, notwithstanding care- 

 ful management, breaks will occur, and then what we 

 have least of we want most, or think we do, which 

 comes to much the same. No such erratic conduct as 

 giving us flowers when leaves are in demand can be 



