OCTOBER 



IRISH GARDENING, 



:59 



The Month's Work. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Grounds. 



By \V. UsHRR, The Gardens, Bienanstovvn, Cabinteely, 

 Co. Dublin. 



Ni^^||jfe|'wa TOURING October we are forceably 



•^1^"^ 1^ reminded of the coming winter; 



f ' ^ K the leaves are falling all around, 



*^_ ,-uid claim a lot of time and labour in 



) I * oollecting them, and trying to keep our 



. *«, tj| gardens and pleasure grounds tidy. 



^ j ^jj The garden begins to look desolate, 



f .' ' ^\ the beds and borders which a few 



-t' weeks ago were full of colour are now 



>-'T|vg wearing a very lonel\' look. Flowers 



are few and far between. Dahlias, 



asters and chrysanthemums are our 



Itrincipal flowering plants just now, and 



with the first slight frost off goes the 



tlahlias. Therefore we are more than 



ever called upon to keep our gardens 



and grounds tid\-, so that they may be 



at all presentable. 



The propagating for next year should 

 now be finished, but taking into con- 

 sideration the drought we have ex- 

 perienced this year I think it has been 

 very difficult to get cuttings, especially 

 of such plants as calceolarias and ver- 

 benas. The}' have been flowering so 

 freely that there is no growth suitable 

 for cuttings ; but we may, with every 

 chance of success, put in cuttings of such plants during 

 October, if we can get them, and if rain comes during 

 the first week of the month young soft gi-owths will 

 make better plants than the hard shrivelled pieces we 

 had during August and September. Late put in 

 cuttings with much foliage on will require more atten- 

 tion to guard them against damp. 



The inexperienced gardener and amateur mav some- 

 times inquire what plants propagate best at this season. 

 A short list might be useful— Ageratums, antirr- 

 hinums, bonubardias, centaureas, cerastiums, cineraria 

 maritima, fuchsia, geraniums, gazanias, heliotropes, 

 lobelias, pansies, penstemon, phloxs, salvias, tropa?o- 

 lums, vincas, roses, &c. , and almost every hard}' shrub. 

 We now turn our attention to preparing for the spring 

 by planting where they are to flower wallflowers, 

 primroses, aubritias, silenes, myosotis, and the host of 

 bulbs at our command, and the earlier those are got 

 into their allotted space the better they will flower 

 next spring. Narcissus, snowdrops, scillas, &c,, should 

 be planted in the grass. They look best if run along 

 the edges of shrubberies or large trees, placing them, 

 if possible, where they may get some shelter from the 

 worst winds. Violets should be got into frames for 

 winter blooming. It is advisable to pick the strongest 

 and best plants, and either pot them or plant them in 

 frames which have been prepared for them by placing 

 about one foot of good hot manure in the bottom and 

 some nice loam and leafmould on the top to the depth 

 of eight inches ; the hot manure starts them to grow 



immediately and they become established before hard 

 frosts. Schizostyles, which had been singled out and 

 planted last March, if carefully lifted and planted now 

 in frames or pots will yield a lot of flower for cutting 

 during the winter months. 



Place pieces of glass over any alpines which are 

 liable to suffer from damp (especially the androsaces),and 

 pot up pieces of varieties which may be at all tender. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By G. DooLAN. 



ROOT-PRUNING.— This work, where necessary, 

 should be carried out during the present month 

 while the temperature of the soil is favourable. 

 Thus, the trees operated on will, to a certain extent, 

 recover before the winter really sets in. Some varieties 

 of apples, pears, and plums have a tendency to make 

 too much growth at the expense of fruit, and this is 

 very noticeable if the trees are growing in rich 

 ground. There is no doubt that root-pruning alters the 

 character of the tree, checks exuberant growth, and 

 brings it into a state of fruitfulness. In the case of 

 young trees planted within the last seven or eight years 

 the best plan is to lift and re-plant the trees imme- 

 diately. Very little use should be made of the knife 

 except to cut back any downward roots. In lifting the 

 trees a fork only should be used, and great care must 

 be taken to preserve the surface roots. Re-plant at 

 the same depth that the tree previously occupied in the 

 ground, and make the soil very firm about the roots. 

 A strong stake driven firmly in the ground should be 

 provided for each tree. This is important, as large 

 trees are subject to be blown about and injured by 

 strong wind. In the spring a mulch of manure should 

 be placed on the surface over the roots, thus providing 

 a cool and moist medium during dry weather. The 

 season following little growth will be made, but a large 

 number of buds will develop into a fruiting condition 

 instead, and these will flower and set fruit in the suc- 

 ceeding season. 



Treatment of Older Trees — In the case of large 

 trees that require to be root-pruned, a trench should be 

 made at a distance of six or more feet from the stem, 

 the distance being in proportion to the spread of the 

 branches. The surface roots in this case should also 

 be preserved and a fork used in loosening the soil. A 

 trench two and a half feet deep will be sufficient, the 

 soil should then be undermined and any downward roots 

 cut. To prevent too severe a check on the tree, half 

 the roots only should be treated at one time; the other 

 half may be done in the following autumn. In replacing 

 the soil and surface roots, some fresh loam and lime 

 rubble should be added. This will tend to encourage 

 the growth of new roots. 



Many old trees are not worth the trouble of root- 

 pruning. Re-grafting will be found more satisfactory 

 in such cases, but in the case of young, vigorous trees 

 root-pruning undoubtedly hastens fertility. 



How TO Store Fruit. — This question will occupy 

 the attention of many fruit-growers just now. It is not 

 always possible, nor is it advisable, to market the fruit 

 at a certain time. A glut in the market causes a fall in 

 prices, therefore it is advisable, where a large amount 

 of fruit is grown, to have a suitable place for storing 



