January 



IRISH GARDENING. 



The use of nitrates in the nutrition of a plant is to 

 supplv the element nitrogen necessary for the formation 

 of albuminous food substances. How is the nitrate 

 molecule broken up, or, in other words, what particular 

 force is employed to liberate the nitrog-en from its 

 associate elements within the living plant tissues? 

 Some recent researches show that the work is done 

 through the action of a special nitrate-reducing ferment 

 or engine-acting in the presence of a soluble carbo- 

 hydrate such as sugar, and that the action takes place, 

 mainly at least, in the green leaf 



Some interesting experiments have been recenily 

 made to test the effect of ether upon the germinating 

 power of old and new seeds, including tomato, turnip, 

 cucumber, cabbage and wheat. The results seem to 

 show that etherisation in all cases hastens germination. 

 It seems, moreover, to put 'new life" into old seeds. 

 In these particular tests only about one-third of the un- 

 treated old seeds germinated, while quite one-half of 

 the duplicate etherised batches germinated. It should 

 be noted that a hot-house temperature (about 75" F. ) 

 seems to be necessary for the success ot the 

 process. 

 He comes — he comes— the Frost Spirit comes ! and you 



may trace his footsteps now 

 On the naked woods and the blasted fields and the 



brown hill's withered brow. 

 He has smitten the leaves of the grey old trees where 



the pleasant green came forth. 

 And the winds, which follow wherever he goes, have 



shaken them down to earth. — Whitticr. 



Seeds with hard testas or shells slow to germinate 

 can be very materially aided by immersion In boiling 

 water for 10 or 15 seconds. The dry, hard seeds of 

 Canna, for example, are, we believe, 'usually submitted to 

 this treatment by gardeners before sowing in heat. 

 Some trials with the seeds of Acacia podalyricefolin 

 treated in this way germinated in twelve days, while 

 others of the same lot, untreated, did not germinate for 

 three months. 



To secure an early crop of asparagus a French culti- 

 vator recommends the use of earthenware tubes about 

 I to 3 inches in diameter and 8 inches in length, which are 

 to be placed over the shoots as soon as they appear 

 above ground. The tubes are filled with fine, loose 

 earth. When the tips of the shoot appear at the top 

 of the tube, the tube is lifted off, the earth falls away, and 

 the shoot can then be gathered. It Is said that this 

 method will bring the asparagus a month earlier than by 

 the usual mode of culture. 



Wr. I. Dearnalev writes — " .As one hears so much of 

 the advantages of root -pruning strong growing varieties 

 of apples, the following particulars may be of Interest to 

 the readers o^ your valuable paper : — In Feb., 190.^, 

 Mr. Wm. Murphy, Whitechurch, Carrlck-on-Suir, 

 planted 30 bush-trees of Bramley's Seedling. These 

 made a very strong growth from the first season, and in 

 Nov., 1906, one of the strongest bushes was lifted, rooted, 

 pruned, and replanted under my supervision. During 

 this year this same bush made a fair good growth, and 

 produced three stone of good quality fruit, which were sold 

 at 2s. 2<\. per stone, the other 29 bushes only producing 



ten stone, or on an average of about 5 lb. each tree, 

 which were sold at the same price. This leaves a clear 

 gain on the root-pruned bush of over 5s. Needless to 

 say, Mr. Murphy now believes in root-pruning." 



Potash Is essential for the proper growth and develop- 

 ment of crops. There seems to be a close connection 

 between the amount of available potash and the rate of 

 carbon assimilation, or, in other words, the making of 

 starch In the green leaf depends upon the presence of 

 potash in the cell sap. It has been found by analysis 

 that the amount of potash in the ash of a burnt plant Is 

 comparatively greater In the leaves and twigs than \\\ 

 the roots, showing that it Is utilised more In the light, 

 exposed parts of the plant than in the parts not so 

 exposed. In cases where there is a deficiency of avail- 

 able potash In the soil the amount of starch or sugar in 

 the plant is considerably below the average. 



Herr Molisch, in the Umschaii, has been drawing 

 attention to the method of accelerating the growth of 

 plants by means of warm baths. The horticulturist Is 

 ever on the watch for new dodges whereby he may be 

 able to produce flowers or fruits at times when they are 

 "out of season." It has long been known that plants 

 require periods of rest. The potato, for instance, likes 

 to sleep the whole winter through. But it has been 

 found that this long sleep may be dispensed with. If 

 potatoes be exposed to a temperature just above 

 freezing-point for a couple of weeks after they are 

 harvested the long sleep will be found to be unneces- 

 sary. Others have tried exposing plants to the stimulus 

 of ether. It has been found that if during the natural 

 period of rest a branch of lilac be exposed for a couple 

 of days to ether it will immediately begin to grow. 

 But ether is expensive compared with warm water, and 

 its use in the greenhouse lacks the element of safety. 

 The top of a rooted lilac-bush was placed for one hour 

 in water at from SSdeg. to 9odeg. , and then in a green- 

 house at about 60 deg. In forty days the bush was in 

 full leaf and flower. Another bush which had been 

 placed in the house without the preliminary bath had 

 its buds only just opening. In the case of catkins^ six 

 days after the bath they were many times larger than 

 before, while unbathed branches remained unchanged. 

 And the odd thing is that if after the bath the plants are 

 left in the open air the stimulus lies dormant for even 

 as long as a month. If then placed in the greenhouse 

 they behave as if they have just come from the bath. 

 The duration of the bath varies with the plants, but it is 

 not often prolonged for more than twelve hours. The 

 high temperature creates a demand for oxygen, and 

 the water prevents free access to the necessary gas. 

 Normal respiration is checked, and the buds are injured. 

 Eighty-six degrees is high enough for the gooseberry 

 and the hazel, whereas the birch requires a fever tem- 

 perature of 104 deg. Some plants must be bathed just 

 after the fall of the leaf, but others are unaffected until 

 later. At the end of the natural period of sleep the bath 

 will even stay the growth. An autumn bath acts at once 

 on the male catkin, but does not affect the leaf buds. 

 They sleep a deeper sleep than the flower buds. 

 Chemical changes must be set up before the bath will 

 stimulate them, and Its effect is not se. nn.l niilil 

 January. — Wcs/iiiiiister G.isette, 



