January 



IRISH GARDENING. 



1, 



colour. Taken separately, the colours are often 

 too strong and glaring, and vniless care is 

 taken to blend and tone down those with softer 

 shades the eflfect is entirely lost. 



Care, with regard to mixing of colours, is 

 perhaps never more to be considered than when 

 dealing with annuals where variety is so great 

 and where flowers predominate over leaves. 



Roses. 



Rv O'DoNKL Browne, M.D. 



K hope that the recent 

 jinnouncement oi the 

 R o \' a 1 Horticultural 

 Society's intention to 

 hold a rose show in 

 Julv may be an extra 

 stimulus to new members 

 to show as much as they 

 are able. Exhibiting is 

 a most fascinating pur- 

 suit, and *'once bitten 

 twice eager " may not be 

 a wrong motto to mai.y 

 next Jul}-. I do not mean to convey the idea to any 

 novice that he will win every class he shows in, but it 

 will give him a good lesson in the way of e.xhibiting cut 

 roses. I often have wished that under an exhibitor's 

 card there was left a space for a competent judge to 

 write a short criticism on each exhibitor's stand ; but, 

 please remember, I said a coiiipe/ent ]a&ge. Such a plan 

 as this criticising exhibitors' flowers, especially when 

 done by a first-class man, would be most useful in pro- 

 moting better knowledge and culture of this glorious 

 flower. A couple of years ago, at a fruit show held in 

 Ballsbridge bj' the Royal Horticultural Society, there 

 were shown boxes of fruit packed for market, and on 

 each box was to be found a short note signed by the 

 judge. I noticed that visitors and exhibitors took 

 especial notice of this particular class. It would also 

 give visitors and intending exhibitors some useful 

 hints by pointing out what is amiss with any stand 

 which, in their eyes, should have won the prize ; 

 also, I think the Royal Horticultural Society should 

 off'er a prize to voung members for judging. They 

 could judge either before or after the real chief justices 

 had given their award, and to the competitor who 

 most often judged exhibits correctly the prize should go. 

 This scheme was carried out at a show of cattle here, 

 and it was surprising how many entered for the prize. 

 Were this scheme tried, local secretaries could more 

 easily get good judges for their shows instead of relying 

 too much on several " old birds " that are always to be 

 seen. Judging is an irksome job when too much of it 

 falls on a man's shoulders ; besides, what are we going 

 to do for judges when these old stagers no longer care 

 to fly about the country? Never having been at a July 

 show belonging to the society, or not having an old 

 schedule of one of its shows beside me, handicaps me in 

 the matter of giving a hint or two to any novice desirous 

 of trying his hand at showing. It will be a grand 



opportunity to anyone wishing to begin, as I feel sure 

 there will be plenty of classes for garden or decorative 

 roses, which most people grow and care more for than 

 individual specimen blooms in boxes. But the staging 

 of such bunches is no easy matter, and requires much 

 practice and care. It is here that I look to the ladies for 

 help to show us how neatly roses can be shown. At 

 the London rose show nothing, in my opinion, can excel 

 the beautiful way in which the ladies do their baskets of 

 roses and dinner table decorations. Let us hope we 

 shall see some of our ladies following their lead. Truly 

 much depends on what varieties of flowers we show, but 

 I think it should be made a rule to have two classes, one 

 for those who have grown the flowers used and one for 

 exhibitors, allowing them to purchase their table decora- 

 tions. Varieties like Dorothy Perkins, Mrs. O. G. 

 Orpen, Irish Elegance, especially the latter, lend them- 

 selves beautifully to table decorations. The one desider- 

 atitm is to make your table, when flowers are arranged, 

 look as light as possible. London exhibitors do not try 

 and blend colours. Supposing, for instance, they use 

 Mrs. O. G. Orpen (hybrid damask) for centre they keep 

 all the table done with this variety and nothing else. Also, 

 instead of mixing ferns, &c. ,they use growths of the same 

 rose and not of any other to lengthen the arrangement. 

 Nothing can be more odious than a flower of one variety 

 and the growth of another. When it comes to cutting 

 these flowers another wrinkle may be of use. For, say 

 the show is to-morrow-, it is no use, if you possiblj' can 

 manage it, to cut open flowers to-day. This last remark 

 requires explanation. Supposing I was going to show 

 roses to-morrow in Dublin, and could not cut and travel 

 up on morning of show, I should cut early to-day, and put 

 them in water in a cool shed. The cut sprays must only 

 have mere buds on them — by to-morrow- they will be open. 

 By leaving them in water for some hours before travel- 

 ling, if you do not intend bringing them to the show in 

 vessels containing water, they will have imbibed a certain 

 amount to carry them until you reach the show. When 

 at the show to-morrow the flowers open they will show 

 those glorious yellow- stamens and anthers w-hich are 

 sine qua non to all single roses, instead of " black eyes." 

 Another good thing by early cutting is that roses with 

 apricot or flesh colours will not bleach in the shed, and 

 they are safe from rain. Should they show- signs of 

 flagging at any time a very small spraying with a fine 

 rose on the syringe will help to keep both the roses and 

 vour flagging hearts alive until the judges have passed. 



f^ t^ t^ 



A Profitable Apple-tree. — The remarkable fruit- 

 fulness of an old apple tree was brought under my 

 notice during the past season. This tree is in the 

 possession of Mr. John Fahy, Kilmanhan, Piltown, and 

 is of the Old Brandy or Golden Harvey variety. It is 

 about 90 years of age, and measures, at one and a half 

 feet from the ground, ten feet in circumference, in 

 perfect health, and carrying a heavy crop of small, 

 clean fruit almost every season. This past season it 

 gave a crop of over 13,000 apples, which were sold in 

 Carrick-on-Suir at from 6d. to 2S. per 100, according to 

 quality, the produce from this one tree making a total 

 of £5 IDS. nett. Formerly Mr. Falij- always sold the 

 fruit on the tree, and never got more than 17s. for 

 same. I. Dearnalev. 



