DECEMBER 



IRISH GARDENING. 



187 



cuttings into this ; rt-place the soil, and press gently with 

 the foot. The after-treatment consists in keeping- the 

 ground clean and stirred with the hoe. Great care is 

 necessary to propagate only from healthy bushes. 



Winter Spraying. —The caustic alkali wash will be 

 found very effectual in cleansing the bark of fruit trees. 

 In the case of youngf trees one application will be 

 sufficient, but old trees may require several applications, 

 especially if the moss and lichenous growth is of long 

 standing. To prepare a forty gallon can of this mix- 

 ture, four poundscaustic soda, four pounds crude potash, 

 tiiree pounds soft soap, and forty gallons of water are 

 required. The soda should be carefully dissolved in a 

 small amount of water. Dissolve the potash similarly, 

 and add to the soda, stirring thoroughly ; then dissolve 

 the soap in boiling water and add to the soda and 

 potash, stirring the mixture all the time. Sufticienl 

 water to make forty gallons of mixture should then be 

 added. As the caustic soda is liable to burn the hands, 

 it is advisable to use an old pair of gloves at this work. 

 Spray with an ordinary potato sprayer, to which a 

 bamboo connection should be attached when doing tall 

 trees. A calm day should be selected for the spraying, 

 otherwise much of the material will be blown away. 



General Remarks. — During suitable weather much 

 of the work recommended for November may be con- 

 tinued. Fruit trees, however, should not be planted in 

 wet or frosty weather ; better far to defer such work 

 till the conditions are favourable. Pruning may be 

 done at any time during the winter, except in frosty 

 weather, though a few degrees will not matter. This 

 work has been so often described in the pages of Irish 

 (JARDENING that is unnecessary to go into details. It 

 should be remembered, however, that newly-planted 

 trees require rather severe pruning, as the object is to 

 get strong growth the season following. Always cut at 

 an out-growing bud. so as to have the centre of the tree 

 open. Trees that have been neglected in the past 

 should be pruned lightly, merely cutting away all weak 

 and crossing branches. To open up such trees the 

 pruning should be continued over a few years. Varieties 

 of apples like Cornish Gilliflower, Early Harvest, or 

 Irish Peach, which bear on the points of the shoots, 

 should have a number of the strongest shoots preserved, 

 and only the weakest cut away. 



It is most important to cut out all dead wood, as these 

 harbour fungous diseases. All the prunings, and 

 especially dead refuse, should be gathered and 

 burned on the ground. The careful fruit grower will 

 also gather and buiii the fallen le ives. as these often 

 contain the resting spores of scab ami other fungous 

 diseases. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



By J. G. TONKK. 



LETTICK AND K.\I)I\'E. -fiood white iieads 01 

 _^ lettuce and endive are quite a treat during the 

 winter and spring. If forward plants are still 

 growing in the open they may with great advan- 

 tage be transferred to frames or provision made 

 otherwise, according to circumstances, fitv hastening 



maturity and protection. Not only frosts but tlamp is 

 exceedingl}- inimical to their well doing; some sort of 

 shelter is therefore needed. When accommodated 

 in frames care must be taken to allow the maximum of 

 ventilation at all favourable periods ; on fine days the 

 lights may be entirely removed. The Cos varieties of 

 lettuce are usually tied up for the purpose of blanching 

 the hearts. This should be done in the middle of a fine 

 day, when the plants are dry, otherwise there would be 

 a tendency to 1 ot rather than to whiten owing to the 

 action of the confined moisture on the tender leaves. 

 The same remark applies to endive. 



Even in the frameless garden such crops can in a 

 number of ways be protected from the destructive 

 elements. Ordinary wooden boxes of any shape or 

 size may be laid conveniently by, and when the 

 dangerous periods threaten are simply turned over the 

 most forward portion of the crop. And, again, wooden 

 pegs driven into the ground at the sides of the bed. 

 leaving them a foot above the soil; light laths of any 

 kind are then attached to these, and will serv^ to sup- 

 port mats or other coverings. Pea rods even placed ou 

 them and strewn over with straw or bracken will ad- 

 mirably answer the same purpose. To secure crops 

 that are not quite hardy during the distressful season 

 some little pains must be taken. 



Potatoes.— It is full soon to be talking of planting 

 potatoes. That is so. Hut at the same time it is not 

 too soon to make preparation. This must be done early 

 if an early crop is desired. Some time during this 

 month seed intended for culture under glass might be 

 placed ends up in boxes on trays, aiifl well exposed to 

 light. Those that are started early, brought along 

 slowly with short, stout buds are sure later on to give 

 a satisfactory return. Extra early potatoes are, to be 

 sure, regarded more in the way of a novelty rather than 

 for their other qualities. All the same, people like to 

 boast of having already had them, and of their own 

 growing, too. Where room in a suitably heated struc- 

 ture can be found for a few their culture will cost 

 nothing extra in that respect. The usual place given to 

 them when potted is on a top shelf near the glass, 

 they interfere then little with the regular occupants. 

 Mackeys Lightning, Weber's Earl}', and Ashleaf 

 Kidnev are suitable kinds for pots or hotbeds. 



Forcing Opkkatiu.ns. — Rhubarb is very much es- 

 teemed in its forced state. The bringing along of early 

 sticks is not a very difficult job. It can be done in the 

 open, on hotbeds under glass, in heated greenhouses, 

 and even in a warm room or cellar. Good, strong roots 

 are required, and these may be purchased or raised 

 from the open ground at once. The main things to aim 

 at are to give a comfortable degree of heat, plenty ot 

 moisture, and to totally exclude the light. Under these 

 conditions good produce is secured. Boxes and barrels 

 of small dimensions are made use of when the stools to 

 be forced are growing in their permanent bed. They 

 are simply inverted over the selected ones, and a plen- 

 tiful supply of hot stable manure and leaves mixed 

 heaped over them. This material should, of course, 

 have undergone a course of preparation beforehand, so 

 that the heat may be mild and lasting. The heat will 

 he much prolonged and much trouble saved if a portion, 



