io8 



IRISH GARDENING 



Jl'l.Y 



Thk lieallh of crops is tlie lOiisljiiit care of all sue 

 cessful gardeners. A plant, like .in animal, is subject to 

 disease, and the appearance of ilisease is a sure sign 

 that something is interfering with the normal functions 

 of the organism. Uaci-, constitution, unsuitable conili- 

 tions of soil or atmosphere, irrational treatment ;inil 

 fungal or insect enemies, are perhaps the chief disturbing 

 factors in the garden. In all matters relating to hygiiiu- 

 a knowledge of the elementary principles of physiology 

 is absolutely neix-ssary if the sick is to be lunsed back 

 to health. In the case of pl.ints their organisation and 

 normal physiology are simpler, and therefore more 

 easily studied than in animals, and every craftsman 

 claiming the title of " gardener " ought to be famili.ir 

 with the every-day processes of life carriei.1 on in llu' 

 body of a living plant. 



It is a connnon-placi- fact in biology that a body in 

 vigorous health is far less likel\ to " catch " an infectious 

 (.lisease than one in a run-down or sickened condition. 

 To keep our crops strong and healthy, therefore, is one 

 of the cardinal points in gardening. Plants, according 

 to their kind, want a certain amount of water, air, 

 warmth and sunshine, and too little or too much of any 

 one of these will upset the proper working of the organs 

 and induce ill-health. Excessive drought or too much 

 moisture will manifest itself in a yellowishness of foliage, 

 accompanied in the one case with a hard stunted growth 

 and in the other with a soft or sappy growth, and per- 

 haps cankerous-looking swellings in addition. Want 

 of sufficiency of air. as in overcrowding, will be followed 

 by thinness of stem, the falling away of the lower leaves, 

 and by general weakness. Too low a temperature will 

 produce unhealthy-looking leaves of a yellowish-green 

 appearance Too little light will produce weak and 

 lanky shoots, soft and unmatured, late in flowering and 

 unproductive. To the student of Botany these results 

 are seen to be the natural outcome of the conditions. 

 It is, for example, as natural to the student of physi- 

 ology to expect "damping off" among crowded seed- 

 lings as it is to expect water to escape from a leaky 

 watering-can. 



Again, as in the case of animals, the overfeeding of 

 plants is quite as bad as partial starvation. Undue 

 richness of soil produces rankness of growth, but delays 

 the period of flowering, or even practically prevents it 

 altogether. Poverty of soil, on the other hand, produces 

 dwarfness and a too early and a too sparse flowering. 

 But while plants grown in the opeti require care and 

 knowledge on the part of the cultivator, plants grown 

 in the greenhouse require still more the intelligent 

 attention of the gardener, although it is quite true that 

 long experience, without physiological learning, may 

 yield success. Yei, at best, it is to a large extent mere 

 rule-of-thumb. That certain results will follow certain 

 methods may be expected, but why they should be 

 expected is not known ; and any serious alteration in 

 the conditions may readily upset his calculations. Such 

 a gardener has too little knowledge of the working 

 parts of the living machine and of the effect of changing 

 the intensity of the external factors influencing the 

 smooth running of the machine, to reason out the exact 

 change that must be made in the treatment to meet the 

 particular alteration in the environment. 



W I in respect to synjpt.inis of disease or of mechani- 

 cal injury in crops due to fungal or animal pests, a 

 writer in the monthly leaflet of the Woman's Agricul- 

 tural and Morticultiual L'nion gives a very useful list, 

 which we take the liberty of quoting. It is as fol- 

 lows:— "(/f) Pieces ciil out of a leaf are due, near the 

 giouiid. to biids or slii_i;s ; higher up. to caterpillars. 

 A leai with .i iigul.u curve ni.iy be laiil io the door Of 

 the leaf-cutting bi-e. (b) Transplaiil places in the leaf 

 are usuall}' ilue to wry sm.ill ciealures, some of them 

 miles. (() .A rolled le.if will probably have a caterpillar 

 or aphis inside ; if iiol, il is due lo a fungus in the tis. 

 sues. ((/) Discoloured spots generally betray the pre- 

 sence of a fungus. (<-) Mildew begins as a faint down 

 on either surface of the leaf. (/') Very small light spots 

 like pinpricks, that do not peiforale the leaf, are dvie to 

 thiips. The injuries of this pest also cause brown specks 

 on the bloom, and light stn-aks oi\ the leaves of carna- 

 tions, (ir) Cieneral ill-health traceable to no other cause 

 may be due to injury at the root. (//) Brownness or 

 dulness of foliage may be due to • red spider," visible 

 as a rule on the under surface of the leaf. It is a very 

 bright red, and very tiny ; it makes webs w hen present 

 in quant it}-. Fundus diseases are a special difficulty. 

 Their diagnosis requires life-long study and a micro- 

 scope, and to cure them is often impossible. Fortu- 

 nately comparatively few of them are dangerous. The 

 best course to pursue is that of preventive measures in 

 cases where the attack is expected of a well-known 

 and harmful parasite, such as potato disease, apple and 

 pear scab, rose rust, &c. ' Mould' on plants under 

 glass (Botrytis usually) should ne\er be treated with 

 disrespect. A dry atmosphere and ventilation are 

 unfavourable to its development. Keiiiedies are of most 

 use when used as preventives, and one application is 

 rarely sufficient. Most of the patent ones are excellent. 

 Space forbids entering into details, but the following 

 hints may be found useful : — i. F"lies, butterflies, moths, 

 leaf-miner. — Syringe foliage with soot-water to prevent 

 laying of eggs. (Place bag of soot in a pail or can of 

 water — the liquid should be so weak as not to look 

 discoloured.) 2. Fungus.— ^ordemus. Mixture — some 

 bought preparation, as Woburn Bordeaux paste, Har- 

 rod's wash ; sulphide of potassium, i oz. to 3 gals, 

 water (washed off easily by rain). 3. Aphis. — Soft soap 

 and paraffin mixed while hot to emulcif}' the paraffin ; 

 various manufactured washes. 4. Ked Spider. — Copious 

 syringing with cold water, also with salty water, i lb. 

 to 16 or 20 gals. 5. Slugs. — Dusting plants with soot 

 and lime, hoeing. 6. Wirewonns and all soil pests.— A 

 soil fumigant such as vaporite, hoeing. 7. Caterpillars. 

 — Hand-picking and insecticides." 



Mr. W'instanlkv. gardener to P. La Touche, Esq., 

 D.L. (to whom we are often indebted for beautiful garden 

 pictures), sends us an interesting photograph (which we 

 reproduce) of a pergola leading to a woodland walk 

 in the grounds at Harristown House, Brannockstown. 

 The pergola as a garden accessory comes to us from 

 Italy, and is the most effective method we have for the 

 display of climbers. As shown in the photograph, a 

 pergola should always cover an absolutely straight 

 walk. In hot, sunshiny days a pergola gives delightful 

 shade ; it is not a resting place but a path, and used as 



