H 



IRISH (lARDENING 



l.r |.!;iril.Ml ill the K'..s,. uMUlrll ..r .111 111.' l.lAVns 

 ;us sliiiulanls t)ir elicit Ls ^..i-.-..us. A few ..f 



the niDst uselul sorts aiv lliawatha, l^aily (iay, 

 Pa\il Transou. Exrt'lsa, Arils I'illar, Miiiiu-lialia, 

 Alln'rir Barl)U>r, Arcls Hover, Dumit'i' l{ainl)liT. 

 I'aiir.s Cariiiim'. Tlio Wallflowi'r. On llii' pi-rgola 

 we may with ^;reat advaiitagi? iiu-hiiU' : — ("li-iuati.s 

 montana, C montaiia nihra, and also a tew ul' the 

 .lackmanii type; I'olygomim Haldshuaiiiiuin, 

 X'itis Thuuheruii. \'. ('oiiinetia\ \'. ('. |)vii|iurea, 

 \'. eonlifolia. \'. Ileuryana. 



1Iai!i>y Plant BtxaiKus will ii.>w lued ;il(eii- 

 tioii hy linishiiig uj) all improveiiieiits : and later 

 in the month, when signs of growth ean he seen 

 amongst the plants, fork in weil-rotted mainire : 

 this sliould not be neglected, as Jierbaeeous 

 borders sot)n become poverty-stricken owing t^) 

 the tliick mass of roots which nearly all varieties 

 make. Delphinhims, Iritomas, Eudbeckias, Sun- 

 flowers, Miiluielmas Daisies, Spiraea Aruncus, 

 Campanida persirifolia — blue and white. Fox- 

 gloves, cV:c., wlieii ])lanted in masses at the jjresent 

 time in wliat one might call a wild garden, give 

 a very line show, especially when room is lett 

 to sow, also in masses, Shirley Po|)pies, Clarkia, 

 Eschscholtzias, Lupins and ('and\tuft. 



Annuals may now be sown in ])ans or boxes of 

 light soil, being careful never to allow the soil to 

 become dry. Antirrhinums, treated as annvials 

 and sown at the juesent time, flower well tlirough- 

 out the summer. Intermediate varieties, such as 

 Fire King and Orange King, make a very fine 

 addition to the summer bedding, while the taller 

 varieties are excellent for massing in borders. 



Sweet Peas should now be sown in three or 

 four-inch pots, finir or five seeds to a pot. Tlie 

 soil, corLsisting of loani and leaf-mould, should be 

 passed througli a half-inch sieve, and tlie ]>ots 

 may be placed in heat, but as soon as the 

 seedlings a])pear they must be moved to a cooler 

 liouse for a couple of days, and finally to a cold 

 frame witli a good coating of ashes in the bottom. 

 Tliis not only ])re vents slugs attacking the 

 seedlings, but keeps a uniform moisture in tlie 

 frame and saves continual watering, whicli is 

 very bad for the liealth of the plants. Sweet 

 Peas deserve the best culture whether they are 

 intended for exhibition or otherwise, therefore a 

 trench should be made for them at once ; the 

 trench should be at least 2 feet (5 inches deej), and 

 ])lenty of manure and bone meal added to the 

 soil, leaving it rough and exposed to the weather 

 till planting time. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By Alfred Baiikek, Gardener to Lady Fitz- 

 Cierald, Oarrigoran, Co. Clare. 



We might readily come to the conclusion tliat 

 the sight of such magnificent crops of fruit of 

 all kinds which were so generally recorded during 

 the past season (with the very regrettable excep- 

 tion of those districts which were so disastrously 

 affected by May frosts, &c.) would act as a 

 pleasura.ble incentive to fruit growers to persevere 

 in their efforts to attain as near perfection as 

 possible in the management of such varieties of 

 fruits as they cultivate, or even to make more 

 or less extensive additions to their fruit plots ; 

 nor would it be suii>rising to hear of many new^ 



-rowci-s j..iuiu- the iapidl\ ^-u.'llirig ranks .,f 

 fruit gi-uwers. Kar.'ly dn ue see such mi abunda.nt 

 crop of all kinds of fruit, with weather conditions 

 enabling all to niatui-e in (irst chuss order. 



Al'lM.Ks on tlie wholi! (and some varieties of 

 1'kaks) clothed themselves in such gloi-ious hues 

 as to be almost unrecognisable. The verv general 

 aba.n.l..niuent <.f fruit shows througl'iout the 

 coiiiUiy on account of the dreadful war was com- 

 paiatively a, minute mattei- ; though had the 

 shows been held as usual, visitors would no doubt 

 have witnessed a. record display of fruits, equal 

 (and ]iroba.bly sujierioi) to any in the iiritish 

 Isles. JJ.W, the war will soon come to an end, 

 and nui.y we all have a. hajijiier New Year than 

 the ])ast, and a j)rosj)erous one to fruit growers : 

 and the fruit trees al.so (why not ?), for J think the 

 j)ast year proved a very unhaj)i)y one to many 

 ])oor fruit trees, where owing to imjirojier manage- 

 ment a.nd iiruning, numbers of branches were 

 fairly broken with the loads of fruit they carried 

 (or rather failed to carry) — this fact ])roviding 

 a forcible i-eminder of the necessity for timely 

 and jiroper ])runing of garden and orchard trees, 

 so that they may form a compact head of sturdy 

 branches, capable of carrying iilentiful crops of 

 fruit, so that it may enjoy the fullest exposure 

 to sun and light, enabling the fruit tis mal^ure in 

 first class condition for either market or private 

 use. 



Trees of this tyi)e will be ensured by careful 

 ])runing in the early stages of their growth, and 

 continued annually until they liave attained tire 

 desired dimensions, commencing with a suitable 

 number of leading branches, according to age of 

 trees (these branches to be increased in number 

 as trees age). Keep all side growths pruned at 

 o or 4 buds from base of shoots, and shorten the 

 leading shoot at about half its length, in the case 

 of strong growing varieties, but cut the leading 

 shoots of weaker growers a few inches shorter, 

 taking care to cut at a bud pointing outwards ; 

 cut at a bud on upper side of shoot in pendulous 

 gi'owing varieties. 



Varieties of api)Ies which have the re|)utation 

 of producing fniit principally at hhe ends of the 

 ])revious year's growth are scarcely worth the 

 trouble entailed in growing them. A tree almost 

 devoid of fruit s])urs, and with a meagre crop of 

 ap])les hanging at the ends of shoots a cou])le of 

 feet long (pcrliajis uudi'i'sized and scabby), is by 

 no means a desirable or prolitable object : though 

 if such varieties must be grown, much improve- 

 ment may be effected through root-pruning or 

 lifting, to ensure much more compact growth 

 and more fruitful condition. Pears may be 

 ])runed in a similar manner. Plums should not 

 be so severely pruned. 



Apples, pears and plums trained on walls, 

 wires, «&c., whatever form they may be trained 

 in, should be similarly i)i'uned. This ])rin- 

 ciple of jiruning ai)plies equally to any form 

 of tree. Overgrown and unsightly fi-uit spurs on 

 trained trees shovild be thinned, cutting away 

 more or less each year until the trees become re- 

 furnished with spvirs. When cutting away such 

 s]nirs leave about 2 or 3 inches at base, and from 

 this will be produced shoots which form the basis 

 of new fruiting spurs. Morello cherries i)roduce 

 their fruit over the whole length of previous 

 year's growths, consequently a sufficient number 

 of the young shoots shovild be tied in, and the 

 surplus shoots cut away completely. The pruner 



