IRISH (iAHDKNING 



The Month's Work. 



The Flower Garden. 



i;.\ W. Kim;. ( iji'.l.'ii.'f (.. I.i.r.l I >iiiil.:.l 1». 

 i{i.lly\\;illrr l';.iU. Vx. I>..uii. 



KN.sK CiTTlNtis.- -.M;iny kin. Is ..f K.i.sis may hr 

 ].ri>|ta!,'al('il from tiitlin^'s. .\llli<inj;li llu- iuusitv - 

 men liiul it Ix'ttcr to Imd i.lu'ir |ilaiits on stn.n- 

 storks, tiaidcnt'l-s and amatriii's will liiid ]ikiii(> 

 raisfd fi-om (•uttiiiK>< ([\iitf satisfactory. S.lr.t 

 w.'ll-riix-iu-il vouMii shoots with, if luissilil.', a Ileal 

 nf th.- old wo"od a'ttachi-d, a stout shoot of alx.ut 

 ir. inches in lenittli hcint; preferable to a. weaker 

 cm- that is not so lonu. It is necessary to ]>la(«' 

 the euttini: fairlv (U-cp in tlie soil, sav al»oid. a 

 .hpth of !t inches, so that th.. ])art wJiere tlu- roots 

 foi'tn will ke.-p moist. .My i.laii is to i.lace liie 

 cuttini;s in rows in tren<-hes, treailinu; the soil \.i\ 

 lirm ahout them. 'IMie WicJuiraiana t>pe. siicli 

 as Dortithy Terkuis, Kxcelsa, lliawalluu .V:c., are 

 especially easy of iiuTfUse by tliis means, and in 

 this case smalu-r shoots may- be used as cuttings. 

 This type of Hose is so vahiable for covering 

 f<nces, trellises. iV:c., that those who have plenty 

 of shoots available should insert a considerable 

 number of cuttings, and the work should ])e 

 pushed on without dolay. 



l-{KI)l)INCi I'Kl.AHGONIU.MS. — The cuttilliis which 

 iiitherto liave occu])ie<l ])ils and frames should 

 now be moved into their whiter (juarters ; at this 

 stage an abinulance of ventilation is necessary. 

 They should be given sufficient line heat only to 

 exclude frost and sujierthious moisture. For 

 several months water shovild be afforded 

 cautiously, and only Avhen absolutely necessary. 

 All dead and decaymg leaves and flowers should 

 be prom])tly removed. 



Pj.axts in Cool Frames. — The bedding plants 

 ill unlu'ated frames must not be allowed to suffer 

 neglect. Kemove the lights whenever the 

 Weather is dry and tliere is not frost, and tilt 

 tlieiii on wet days, it being imdesirable that these 

 ])lants should be coddh^d in any way. Keep the 

 ghuss of the frames c-lean that it may admit the 

 sunlight. In this dull season of the year excessive 

 damp is often more injurious than cold, therefore 

 take means to prevent any excessive damp arising 

 amongst the yoiing stock. 



General Work. — Clear away all the deaa and 

 decaying material from the herbaceous plants, all 

 annuals that have flow'ered and any weeds there 

 may be in the borders. The few flowers that 

 still remain Avill then be more effective. Any 

 vacant i)lace.s that still remain should be filled in 

 with spring-lilooming iilants, such as Iris, late 

 flowering Tulips, Wallflo-\vers and Myosotis ; 

 these should be ])lanted carefviUy when the 

 weather is dry. (Tirysanthemums that have 

 already flowered should be cut clown to the 

 ground level, and any plants lifted for stoc-k that 

 may be required for that purpose. In the 

 cleaning o])erations be carefid that no labels are 

 taken away or even disarranged. Swee]i and 

 roll the grass and paths, and make everything 

 apiiear as tidy as possible. Montbretias may be 

 taken up, divided and ])lanted in rich soil, moving 

 the smaller bidbs to the reserve garden for growing 

 into flowering size. An abundance of protecting 

 material should be at hand, siich as bracken, 

 heather, &c., for covering half -hardy plants on 

 the ajiproach of severe frosts. Ilalflvvrdy 



.limbers oil walls sh..iil.I ha\.. a protective 

 inal.rial spr.a.l .(V.i- their r.i.its, and in the case 

 ol Id <.f fn.st a blind or some mats should be 

 thrown ..v.^r (h.- top growth. If th.s.. .1. -tails are 

 I. •ft until fr..st arriv.'s. it will lie,|u,ntl\ happ.-n 

 that th.'X .aiinot Im- . airi. .1 m.,| in liin.- i,'. pr.'V.nl 

 ill jiii'v . 



The Fruit Garden. 



•i;i:i) |{ai;kki;. ( iai-,|ei,.r i., |.;,,|y l''il/.- 



(ieiMl.l. CariiyoiMii, Co. Clar... 

 I l'a\.Miial>l.' w.alh.'i' i. m <l it i. >ns ami th.- 

 sati>la.tory stat,'. this slioiii.l 1... a vry 

 mill ill I'niit .piarleis. Hoot pi'iming, 



(.1 



soil 

 bus 



whi.h I .l.s.iilM.I in last month's n.ites, shoiil.l 

 I... .■,oiipl.t..l as .pii.kly as p.issible, so that th.' 

 lifting an. I i-eplanting of such ti-ees as recpure 

 lifting may be got througii before new trees 

 ai-e in hand for planting, wh.-rever n.-w jilanting 

 is to be carried .ml. Assuming that |ir.-parati<ins 

 lor planting as .ulxise.! in S.'pt.'iiib.'r issu.- ..f 

 linsil CAIiDKNIN.. Iia\c I).-. '11 .|i|l\- cai'I'ie.l .tut, 

 an.l the trees to iian.l from the nin-serv, every 

 fav..urab!.- oppoi-lmiitv shoul.l be availi-d of t^) 

 the fullest extent to get through the j.lanting 

 of all kinds of fruit frees during this month and 

 early jiart of next. This early planting gives the 

 tr.Ms considerable advantage over those ]ilanted 

 ill the middle or latter half .if the winter months, 

 inasmuch that the early jilanted trees become 

 established in the gr.uind b.'fore severe winter 

 sets in. They may b.- pi-uned in the sjiring 

 months before growth c.miiiiences, and invariably 

 make a satisfactory^ amount of new wood .luring 

 the growing season^ — advantages that ])ra.tically 

 amount to almost the gain of a year's ])lanting 

 over late iilanted trees. For ])ermanent orchar.ls 

 the system of mixed iilanting is most generally 

 followed, and for commercial purjioses is the 

 best — i.e., the permanent trees, strong growing 

 varieties, standards on Crab stocks, in straight 

 lines 25 to 30 feet apart each way with bush 

 trees, of such fruits as are most likely to succeed, 

 and meet the requirements of different localities ; 

 ai)])les (on Paradise stocks), jilums and such 

 market pears as are known in the locality to be 

 good croppers and suitable for market planted 

 between the standard trees. In convenient 

 proximity to good markets, black currants and 

 gooseberries may be iirofitably grown between 

 the lines of trees, but in districts remote from 

 markets and railway, root croiis or vegetables 

 for home consumption slunild take the place of 

 fruit bushes, &c. Planting should not be carried 

 on while the ground Is so wet as to adhere to the 

 feet, nor dvxring the prevalence of sharp frosts. 

 If trees arrive from vendor with roots unduly 

 dry (as they generally do if lifted in dry weather) 

 it is very beneficial to place the roots in water, 

 siich as a stream, a ])ond, or cistern of water, and 

 allow them to soak in the water a couple of 

 hours before planting, or being heeled in to await 

 planting. Previous to planting, all strong and 

 damaged roots shovdd be cut over with a good 

 sharp knife or secateur, the damaged roots where 

 they have been broken, and the strong roots 

 shortened 3 or 4 inches ; roots that have been 

 growing straight down should be cut to within 

 (i or 8 inidies of base of tree. Break up the soil 

 very fine, and when planting carefully spread out 

 the* roots evenly, and keep them from working 

 downwards. Be careful to completely fill all 

 interstices b.-tween r.iots : this is much facilitated 



