IRISH GARDENING. 



151 



holly, and the hooked fruits of cleavers and 

 burdock sticking" to one's clothes. Some of the 

 structures which enable fruit or seeds to be 

 borne by the wind are worthy of observation. 

 In the great family of the composites, to which 

 the dandelion, thistle, and ragweed belong, the 

 fruit of many of the species is provided with a 

 parachute-like arrangement of silky hairs. In 

 the dandelion the hairs radiate from the end of 

 a long stalk formed from the prolongation of 

 the fruit. The fruit of the thistle has long and 

 abundant feathered hairs attached directly to 

 the top of the fruit, while in the ragweed the 

 hairs are simple. 



The winged fruit of the ash and .sycamore 

 cause the seed to fall some distance out from 

 the parent tree, even when there is very little 

 wind, by giving it a slanting motion through 

 the air. 



Some plants eject their seeds forcibly from 

 the fruit, thus causing^ them to be scattered 

 some little distance from the parent ; amongst 

 these are the bitter cress, the wood sorrel, and 

 the furze. 



Most trees in temperate and northern cli- 

 mates shed their leaves at the approach of 

 winter. This is not simply due to the death of 

 the leaves through cold, but is brought about 

 in what one might call a deliberate manner by 

 the tree itself. A special layer of cells is formed 

 across the base of the leaf-stalk — the absciss 

 layer. The cells forming this layer part from 

 one another readily and the leaf falls ; the scar 

 which remains is covered by cork. 



School Gardens. 



{Continued from Page J 2^-) 



Some Practical Suggestions. 

 By L. J. Hr.MPHREV. 



THE weather will oftimes render work out- 

 doors impossible, and if instruction is con- 

 fined to one day a week such serious gaps 

 will arise in the sequence of garden work that 

 the season's crops may be ruined in the 

 intervals. In such cases the pupils must be 

 allowed to work on intervening fine days, if 

 necessary without the instructor, who should 

 be asked to leave written instructions as to the 

 work to be done in his absence. O^ course, 

 where the instructor is permanently on the 

 premises no such difficulty could arise, and in 

 the majority of schools there is at least one 



teacher who possesses sufficient knowledge 

 to superintend the pupils' work. 



On the plots already mentioned a regular 

 system of cropping should be carried out, and 

 the plots being arranged parallel to one another, 

 a line of vegetables grown through the whole 

 number. This arrangement not only gives a 

 better appearance to the g-arden but simplifies 

 the instruction, as each pupil will be engaged 

 on the same work at the same time. For 

 instance, when a drill of seed is to be put in, the 

 ground is first prepared by raking level and the 

 line stretched from end to end ; each pupil then 

 draws the drill, sows the seed and covers it in, 

 labels being-, of course, placed in suitable 

 positions or the situation of the drill will be 

 rapidly forgotten by the pupils. Working in 

 this way there is no chance of getting crooked 

 lines or mixed labels, and comparison is easy 

 and to be relied on, stimulating the pupils in 

 their work. 



The flowers will, of course, be arranged on a 

 different system. In the case of the older pupils 

 some three feet could be allowed on each plot 

 for the purpose of growing- such annuals as 

 individual tastes suggest. Another plan which 

 has some advantages, especially for the younger 

 pupils, is to set apart one or more borders for 

 flowers, and, when this is done and the border 

 made from six feet to eight feet wide, tall 

 perennials can be grown at the back, while 

 annuals, dwarf perennials and bulbs can be 

 planted in unoccupied spaces in front. The 

 latter plan gives more opportunity for tasteful 

 arrangement, and the effect is in competent 

 hands far superior to the individual efforts at 

 the end of each plot. The annuals sown are 

 apt to be ineffective when grown in small 

 spaces without suitable background, and it is, 

 perhaps, more easy to instil a love of flowers by 

 means oi a good " class '" border than by 

 annuals grown individually. .\11 the sowing and 

 planting should be done by the pupils, and if 

 they are occasionally asked to select their 

 favourite flower, and afterwards outline its 

 cultivation, they will not lose more by this 

 method than they would by the other. 



In every garden a bed or beds should be 

 allotted as seed beds and for cuttings, in which 

 cabbages, leeks, &c. , could be raised, and in 

 which cuttings could be rooted and stocks for 

 grafting prepared. 



In the above notes an eft'ort has been made 



