8o 



IRISH GARDENING. 



MAY 



cliartfod to till" varii'tN of spiii.iil) known as l\ipolnal 

 or spinach beet. It is not, of ooiirse, perpetual in the 

 full sense of the term, but eonipareJ with theotiiers it is 

 so. One sowinir linrin^ this month will at least assiiii- 

 the If lower of bcinj^ ablr> to pro\ iiie a first-iate j^-n-en 

 vevfotable from Jiil\' to Jime. Kiih, stroni; i.;roinul is 

 best for it, and the seeds may be put in one imli ileep in 

 lines on the tiat or raised drills two and a half fiil .iivirl. 

 Kventually tlie plants may be left one foot .ip.iii. l>iii 

 only thinned to six iiu-lu-s .il lirsl. .As the lUiiiaiul 

 increases e\ ery seconil plant may be pulleil up bodily 

 .iml the leaves useii ; those remaininvf will soon occupy 

 ;ill the space and prove a most ilepeiuiable sourci- oi' 

 supply almost throuj^ii tiie wliole year. 



ClHlMHKKS A.NU .M KLONS. — The fusl half o( this 

 month is certainly the best period to jjet these plants 

 into their fruitint; frames. The hotbeds should be at 

 Ic.ist three and a half feet in height and eighteen inches 

 wilier all round than the frames. One plant will sulVuc 

 for a six by four feet structure, and care must be taken 

 not to plant until the heat has subsided somewhat, 

 usually about a week after the bed has been made up. 



or two of the irises, notably the Jap.m iris (1. la-vigata 

 and 1. sibirica): the beautiful blue \"irginian cowslip 

 (.Martensia virginica), Scarlet lai dinal-Hower (Lobelia 

 cardinalis) jinil autumn coKhicunis. Hut all such plant- 

 ing must be done with iliscriniination. To be beautiful 

 it must bi' light, .irlistii- and iion-ci>ii\ entional. 



Notes 



Ho.NKV-i'KonrciNG Flowers.— The following is a 

 list of flowers useful to bees. They are all easily grown, 

 and most of them are worth growing if only for their 

 beauty: — .\ltha;ia rosea, Auchusa gigantea, Artemisia 

 vulgaris, Horago officinalis. Campanula sp. Centaurea 

 Cyanus, Echium vulgare, Hyssopus officianus, Lathyrus 

 odoralus, Lavendula vera, Melilotus alba. jVIirabilis 

 jalapa. Reseda odorata, Ruta graveolens, Salvia offici- 

 nalis, Trifolium incarnatum, Thymus vulgaris, Verbena 

 officinalis. 



PvRETHRt M or Persian insect powder is obtained 

 from the dried flower heads of two species of chyrsan. 

 themum. It contains an oil poisonous to insects. It 

 may be used in the form of a powder or a spray or by 

 fumigation. Sometimes it is used mixed with flour and 

 then sprinkled over the foliage. 



By the M.\rgin of Stre.\ms.— The margin of a 

 stream running through one's ground may often present 

 opportunities for effective embellishment by planting 

 grounds of easily grown semi-aquatics. Mr. K. L. 

 Davidson, writing in Coittitry Life, suggests for spring 

 flowering little colonies of the early white primrose 

 Harbinger, and, where there is slight shade, P. japonica; 

 that best of forget-me-nots M. dissitiflora ; the double 

 lilac cuckoo flower (Cardamine purpurea), and the leaf- 

 less pink heads of Saxifraga peltata which sends up its 

 fine umbrella-like leaves later on —a delightful foliage 

 plant for positions too cramped for the giant Gunneras. 

 For summer and autumn the yellow Mimulus in the 

 water, and on the banks Touchme not (Impatiens), one 



Progressive Ireland. 



■Ic on •■ I'l nil C'ullurc in Ireland " 



rcci-iil issue of llu- Loutlon Daily 



in will be inti'resling 



I N ;i special .ii 

 that app.ared in .. recen. 

 /'i /n;nif>/i, the folKnving c|i 

 \o ni.my of our ie;idi>is : 



" Will) i-ommendabli> and characteristic energy fruit- 

 growers in the .North of Ireland have set themselves 

 to the task of putting their house in order. Until 

 recently even the best and most advanced orchardists 

 placed their fruit on the maiket in second-hand barrels, 

 which frequently ^presented a dirty and uninviting ap- 

 pearance, and were of all sizes and shapes, while the 

 apples contained therein lacked uniformity of size anil 

 quality. Buyers could never be sure of the weight of 

 fruit offered for sale, and very often the top layers con- 

 sisted of beautiful specimens, which served but to 

 conceal the rubbish which 1h\' underneath. Needless to 

 say. such methods were fore-doomed to failure, and 

 even those who conducted their business on honest 

 principles suffered by reason of the bad character 

 which Irish packers had richly deserved. Eventually 

 growers realised the seriousness of the situation, and, 

 greatly to their credit, in the early part of last year 

 was formed the Ulster Fruit Growers' Association to 

 assist cultivators in the disposal of their fruit to best 

 advantage. It was decided to abolish antiquated 

 methods, for it was obvious that if the fruit was to be 

 sold to advantage on its merits in the markets of 

 Great Britain and Ireland it was necessary to cast 

 away the old order of things and adopt modern ways 

 of business. 



•' Now, the members of the association are working on 

 lines similar to those adopted in Canada. The apples 

 are classed into three grades indicative of the quality 

 and size of the fruit, which is packed in new, clean 

 barrels, or boxes, used only once for the conveyance of 

 merchandise. That is an excellent feature of the 

 industry, as clean, new packages are altogether desir- 

 able as vehicles for the carrying of fruit. Generous 

 measure is put into the barrels, which contain about 

 1401b. net, whilst boxes hold over 401b. Very stringent 

 are the conditions laid down for grading, both in 

 regard to quality and size, and the regulations must be 

 strictly observed by members of the association. By 

 means of careful packing with the aid of pressure, the 

 fruit may be sent over long distances without suffering 

 the slightest dam.ige, the lids of the barrels being very 

 tightly fastened." 



The article concludes by saying— " There is great need 

 of a stimulus to fruit-growing in parts of England, 

 especially in the West country, where the methods of 

 culture are very old-fashioned, and some of the varie- 

 ties of apples fit only for electioneering purpo.ses. 

 Much benefit would be derived if some English growers 

 would take a trip to Ireland, and, despite a little morti- 

 fication to their pride, learn a lesson from that country 

 in regard to apple culture." 



