IRISH GARDENING 



Alpine rhint 



I THINK there is g^round lo L-ovor IH-Iori- .i 

 di'linilion is reached ; the present one (see I 

 (lARi^KMNi;, p. ijq) seems absurd -for insta 

 I'olyjcala ehain.cbiixiis is exeliuletl, while lelliioiu 

 which is iiiiuli more woody, 

 is iiicUideJ. Why? Tlu'-n 

 aifaiii, if P. ciiam.-ebuxiis is 

 exchided would P. vayre- 

 di.e be also siiut out ? Ane- 

 mone nemorosa is certainly 

 " herbaceous," but is >it>/ 

 Alf>i>it\ as even here in 

 Xewry it carpets woods 

 little more than lo feet 

 above sea level, and from 

 my point of view cannot 

 uDt be admitted amonjjst 

 Alpines at all. Then wh\- 

 include Primula rosea, 

 which, althoug-h it comes 

 from lofty regions, is a 

 true bog plant — almost an 

 equatic, in fact? Then, for 

 instance, suppose a com- 

 peting group includes a 

 pan of Daphne rupestris as 

 true an alpine as can be 

 found on the earth, would 

 the group he disquali- 

 fied because the plant is 

 woody ? If so, and the 

 group was mine, the judges 

 would get as thorough a 

 talking over as ever they 

 had got or would get. I do 

 not think that any thorough- 

 paced alpinist would be at 

 all likel)- to include alyssum 

 saxatile in any of its forms, 

 though he might include 

 other alyssums which arc 

 much more alpine. If you 

 let in Primula rosea wh}- 

 not the other herbaceous 

 plants from lofty regions, 

 those lately received from 

 the Thibetian border, for 

 instance, 13,000 feet up? 

 Surely alpine enough. Hard 

 and fast lines cannot be 

 drawn ; the collections are 

 now wide enough to admit 



of endless selections, and to pretend that any twenty 

 is better than any other twenty is absurd. 



J. Smith, Newry. 



Cape Heaths. 



The genus Erica is especially well represented in 



South Africa, and species introduced from " the Cape " 



used to be very great favourites as greenhouse plants. 



The principal reason perhaps for their present decline 



tment : 

 ists of 



ty lies in the 

 mil attention, 

 peat and saml 

 i.'Oi in w.-itcri 

 tl\c to r\l 



A CiooD Shkcimen of Me.\ti 



icl lli,il they recjuirc speci.il 

 The soil best suited for them 

 .iiul the greatest care must 

 iug the plants. They ;ire 

 nu's of dryness anil wetness, 

 n.ike very graceful subjects. 

 I hey are evergreen, ,iTid 

 when covered with hun- 

 dreds oi delicate pendant 

 bell-shaped flowers they 

 form a delightful orna- 

 ment to the greenhouse or 

 conservatory. Heaths are 

 propagated by cuttings v^ 

 the young tips of the shoots 

 in summer inserted in a 

 of sanilv 



pol 



Notes. 



twigs, and this is 

 death of the shrub. 



Tr.\n.spi,anting Kvkk- 

 r.RKENS.— The best time of 

 the year for transplanting 

 evergreen shrubs is, as a 

 rule, towards the end of 

 .September. The soil is still 

 warm and the roots active, 

 so that the shifted plant 

 will be able to adjust itselt 

 before the hard weather 

 comes on. The soil should 

 be prepared by deep 

 trenching, if the best results 

 are looked for, and fresh 

 soil added if deemed 

 necessary. After trans- 

 planting, the soil should be 

 watered, and, if thought 

 advisable, the foliage 

 sj'ringed. 



If the roots are unable 

 to supply the foliage with 

 a sufficiency of water to 

 counteract transpiration, 

 one of two things will hap- 

 pen —either the plant will 

 have sufficient strength to 

 save itself by prematurely 

 cutting off its older leaves, 

 or it will fail to cut them 

 off. If the latter happens, 

 the result will be that the 

 leaves will wither on the 

 sign of the approaching 



.A Goon Room Plant. — The Aspidistra (A. iurida) 

 or Parlour Palm as it is called, is one of the most 

 valuable of living-room plants we have in cultivation. 

 It will stand all sorts of ill-usage, such as draughts and 

 neglect in watering. Treated fairly it will always look 

 bright and refreshing to the eye. 



