IRISH GARDENING 



B5 



sufficient moisture has not been kept around the 

 plants in hot dry weather. The greenfly is easily 

 destroyed bv slight fumigation at frequent 

 intervals. It has been stated that Cinerarias 

 are rather difficult to bring to perfection, but 

 such a statement is grossly untrue. There is no 

 difficulty in growing these showy plants, pro- 

 viding they are given fair treatment, which 

 every plant requires. 



Herbaceous Calceolarias 



For some reason or other this delightful green- 

 house plant is not grown so extensively as it 

 should be. I know 

 of no other plant 

 that commands the 

 same amount of 

 admiration w h e n 

 well grown. Every 

 year seems to bring 

 some new charming 

 colours from the 

 hybridist; at present 

 we have besides the 

 old spotted varieties 

 many beautiful selfs 

 from deep maroon 

 to delicate sulphur- 

 yellow, scarcely two 

 alike. In many 

 cases there seems 

 to be some difficulty 

 in obtaining that 

 delightful freedom 

 so characteristic in 

 a w e 1 1 - g r o w n 

 healthy plant, con- 

 sequently the resuh 

 is a short, imattrac- 

 tive specimen with 

 small flowers and 

 foliage. In most 

 cases the reason 

 is due to some check 



PiNUS Pinaster four years after Seeds 



WERE SOWN IN THE BOG. 



in cultivation. To 

 be successful the plants must not receive any 

 check from the seed pan to the flowering stage. 

 Codling is chiefly responsible for failures in many 

 cases. At all times Calceolarias delight in a 

 cool airy house shaded from the hot sun during 

 summer. Seed should be sown about the end 

 of May in a light compost consisting of loam 

 leaf mould, with plenty of sand, all passed 

 through a fine sieve made fairly firm in the seed 

 l)an : water with a fine rose to settle the soil 

 al)out an hour before sowing ; cover the seed 

 with a thin coating of very fine soil, place the 

 pan in a shady corner of the greenhouse, cover 

 it with a piece of glass to check evaporation till 

 seedlings appear, when it can l)e removed near 



the roof glass. As soon as the seedlings show 

 their first pair of rough leaves they should be 

 removed from the seed pan to boxes in a similar 

 compost about 2 inches apart. A close watch 

 must be kept for greenfly, as this pest can 

 conceal itself beneath the small leaves un- 

 noticed, doing irreparable damage. 



As growth advances potting should receive 

 attention. As a rule 3 or 4-inch pots are 

 usually large enough for removing the plants 

 into from the boxes, using similar soil, preferably 

 a little rougher. Careful watering is most 

 essential at all times ; never allow the plants to 

 suffer either extreme wet or dry. For the 

 final potting 8 or 

 9-inch pots are large 

 enough. This soil 

 should consist of 

 good fibrous loam, 

 with a fair supply 

 of good clean leaf 

 mould, add one 9- 

 inch pot full of 

 cow manure broken 

 up fine, also plenty 

 of coarse sand, avoid 

 chemicals, use a 

 little diluted farm- 

 yard manure, water 

 during flowering 

 period ; an abund- 

 ance of air at all 

 times is one of the 

 chief p o i n t s of 

 success. 



W. H. Green. 



Fabiana 



imbricata 



A NATIVE of Chili, 

 this shrub was in- 

 troduced about lcS39 

 and is still not 

 grown to the extent 

 that its decorative qualities warrant. It very 

 much resembles some of the larger growing 

 Ericas, and is a shrub worthy of extended 

 cultivation ; although so much resembhng an 

 Erica, it belongs to the potato family— 

 Solanacese. The flowers are aljundantly pro- 

 duced, being of a white colour, which offer a 

 pleasing contrast tt) the tiny dark green foliage. 

 The shrub cannot be stated to be perfectly 

 hardy, but planted against a wall in a position 

 facing south, and given the protection of a mat 

 during the coldest weather, it should be quite 

 at home : while in the southern parts of England 

 it succeeds in an open position without any 



protection. ^ ,, 



H. C. Elsdon. 



