8o 



IRISH GARDENING 



root, action r.sultaut (an,! corui-arr,! with iin- 

 imilclKMJ trci's) : tliis \\ ill he mucii Jiiorc a|i|iaicut if 

 liot sun. with tlryin<i winds, slioiiUi in'cvail dniinii 

 this antl next niontli. If the siirfa<'.' of the <4ioiin.l 

 has hfc.ni.- hariirn<-.l and iriist..-d ..vcr. it sh..idd 

 ho hrokt-n up and made lint- with a I)iittli iioc 

 or liu(<o .ultivator h.-fort- tii.- inul.h is ai'i-licl : 

 such tri'atnicnt also t^r'ully niininiiscs the 

 nccfssit y f >r watcrin;,' in rases of srvcn- dr nivclit 

 setting in. and i)art ic iihirlv so with tnt-s platdfd 

 a-ainst walls, whi.ii {.•.•l ti..- ill .-n-.Tts of dr-iiirht 

 more «n>ickly and scvciriy Ihin thosr trees 

 lilaiited in tlu' ojn-n. 



Voun^' trei's wluch have eonie into Ix-arinn 

 siihstantial enijis of fruit (and tin- it\d ones may 

 say "why not we also y)sh uild he luulclied also ; 

 hut for tlu'Se tli«' manure iua\ he nunh freslu-r 

 and more stimulatim; tliau I'ni' new planted trei-s ; 

 if tlie weatli.T sliould !>.■ hot and <lry at the tMue 

 of mulching these fruitinii trees, the value of 

 mulehini,' will he eousiderahly eiUiaru-ed hy 

 followinir up witli a i,'ood soaking of water, whieli 

 at once wishes down to the roots a great jtart of 

 the nutritive propei'ties of man\ire. A maxim 

 oft and oft repeated '• keep the lioe ji'oing '" if 

 it lias not already hoen set <j;oinf;. .Nfake no 

 fuither (Uday in hoeinu' and cultivating to ])otfi 

 keep ilown weeds and (o hreak \i]) crusty or 

 lumpy surfaces, whi'h nuist he very common thi;< 

 season after the ahnormaUy wet winter. Fre- 

 quent lioeing, or .such as will maintain the gi'ound 

 loo.^e and free of weeds, is almost as heneiicial 

 as nuilcliing to frviit trees of all kinds, and in 

 aihlilion gives a very gratifying and smart 

 appearance to the garden or orchard. Hush 

 fruits, strawl)erries and rasplH-rries are all much 

 henetited hy the a])])licat ion of some quick- 

 acting and stimulating dressing while their 

 fruits are swelling, during this and next month. 

 Xitrate of soda is one of the hest. Where the 

 Inislies, «.S:c.. were duly mamircMl and dug amongst 

 duriiiii the winter or early spring nu)nths. the 

 soda may he api)lied at the rate of alxmt 2 ozs. 

 (n^t more) to a good sized and fruitful Inish or 

 about an ounce tti the square yard amongst straw - 

 Jierries and rasitberr'es, once or twice during the 

 seaso7^. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



By A. Pkarsox. (Jardenej' to A. F. Sliarman- 



Trawfor.l, Esq.. Lota Lodge, (danmire, Cork. 

 ^[ay brings with it much work in the vegetable 

 garden. Thinning und transjdanting will be 

 itecessary during moist spells, while hoeing 

 between all growing crops during hot dry weather 

 will act henelicially to the soil and the crops ; 

 should failures in earlier sowings liave occurred, 

 these nuiy still be made good, indeed the more or 

 less ex|>erin\ental work of .sowing vegetables late 

 last Slimmer at the (mtbreak of the war proved 

 that many things formerly regarded as requiring 

 a long time to mature turned in much quicker 

 than thoiight ])ossible. 



Beans, now flowering, should have the points 

 ]»inched out; this prevents attacks of black fly 

 and hastens ]K)dding. A sowing niay still he 

 niade on cool heavy soil. 



KiDXEY Bean.s, dwarf and climbing, may be 

 sown freely, allowing liberal sj)ace for dwarfs 

 between the rows, say at least 2 feet, and 18 inches 

 between the ])lants. I^ight rich soil suits the 

 Kidney bean. The climbing varieties require 



moiv loom still. Jn the rase of the .omni.m 

 Searl.'t J{unn.-j'. ali..u 12 fe.-l between the I'.iws; 

 the inti-rvening s|i;o ,• will suit very well for 

 growing vegetable maiidu s. 



Hkkt. Sow the main crop. .Nice snudl roots 

 of good (pialitv will i-esult from present sowing. 



|{ii()(( (.1.1. Sow for su. cession th.- late Muy 

 and .lune vai-ieties. 



HinssKi.s SiMtor-i-s. Plant out .ui lich soil 

 a few jilants i>( earlv sowing for autumn use. 



("AHMACiK. If tile small t.nder h.-aits are 

 I'eipiired in late sumnu'r. sow a pinch of sonu' 

 small v.iriety su.h as Tender and True. i'liek 

 and pl.uil out e.irly sju-ing sowings. 



<' \i!i;<ii'. Thill during sliowerv weather: ^dve 

 a liiiht dusting ..f .soot and salt' now ;iml .lu'aiu 

 as a deterrent to the<arrot lly. 



rAri.ri-'i.oWKlt. -Frame-sown plants will need 

 planting out in the richest soil : indeed a trench 

 of manuiv, were it possible to give such, would be 



givedilv seized .Ul. (dve Jileutv of Watl-r if the 



weather is at all drv. 



C'i;i,i;i!V. — If trenches are not already m.ide. 

 tliev lliav now be completed, plaixting the I'idges 

 witii eitiuT a line of lettuces or Preiudi beans. 

 Place pleiit y of faiinyai'd manure in the trenches, 

 and leave till the young plants are ready foi- 

 planting. A trencli of IS inches wide and 12 

 indies deej) is a nice size, to stand 4 feet apart. 



Lettuce. -Sow the large varietir-s now where 

 they are to mature, and water freely .-ill earlier 

 plantings. 



Pka.— Sow the s.Mond .-ariies ev.-rv ten davs 

 in sliallow trenches. This facilitates watering, 

 or surface mulchings may be placed in the depi-es- 

 sion. 



H.\Di.sir. — Mustard and cress ought to be sown 

 freipiently to keej) a fresh and tender sujiply. 



To.MAToES. — Those sown for the jnirpose of 

 planting outdoors will be lit for harih-ning about 

 the end of May and jilacing in their fruiting 

 fpiarters A south wall or boi'der well slieltered 

 from east winds is a suitable jilace to grow thejii. 



A'EGETABLE Maurows will be lit by tlie end 

 of the month to plant outdoors under a handlight 

 or frame for a start, an old dungheaj) or ridge of 

 manure covered with soil .suits them admirably, 



Potatoes. — Earth iij) all early varieties when 

 readv. 



Chrysanthemum Flowers in March 

 and April. 



Ox Apiil 21st we received a box of Chrysan- 

 theiuum flowers from Mr. .1. .NFoncrieff, Florence 

 Court (iardens, l<>nniskillen. 



The blooms were of medium size, fresh, and of 

 a soft iiink colour. These are of nuich interest 

 on accmmt of the unusual season of flowering. 

 Writing later Mr. ^Vfoncrieff says : " I think it 

 is rare to have such good blooms at this time 

 of year, I have had a dozen ])lants which have 

 been in tiowersince .\[arch,and flowers all of good 

 size. I have grown it now for two year?, and it 

 flowers about the same time. I got it from a 

 friend who called it Milfred Blush. I have looked 

 through a lot of catalogues, but cannot find such 

 a name." 



Perhaps some of our readers may know the 

 variety or of others which behave similarly, in 

 which case we would be glad to hear from them. 



