Xll 



IRISH GARDENING. 



O'Ferrall, Kildangan Castle, Monasterevaii ; Miss 

 Gaisford, The Orchard House, Maynooth ; Lady 

 Sandeman, Ardmore, Youghal ; Mrs. Ed. Mooney, 

 Leixlip Castle ; Miss Osborne, Cowslip Lodge, Bettys- 

 town, Drogheda ; Messrs. Ed. \V. Eyre, City Treasurer's 

 Office, Dublin ; C. G. M'Carthy, Wilton Place, Dublin ; 

 Col. Hall-Walker, Tully House, Kildare ; F. H. Greene, 

 Ashfield Park, Terenure ; Herbert Malley, Chetwynd, 

 Bray ; G. C. Stapleton, Wyvern, Killiney ; Max 

 Greene, Private Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant : 

 Major Thackery, R.M., The Curragh ; and as practical 

 members — Messrs. J. Paine, Geashill Nurseries ; J. 

 Campbell, The Gardens, Ballynagall ; and Thos. 

 Shortreed, The Gardens, St. Wolstan's, Celbridge. 



Clare Horticultural Society. 



The above society's summer show will be held in 

 Ennis^on July 28th, and a very fine list of prizes has been 

 framed. The competitions are open to the Co. of Galway 

 and province of Munster. H. Bill, hon. sec, Lifford, 

 Ennis. 



The financial success of the late spring show held by 

 the above society was the subject of much jubilation at 

 a meeting held on May 15th, and a very fine schedule 

 for a show to be held about the middle of April next 

 was verj' enthusiastically passed. 



Naa.s District Horticultural Society. 



The seventh annual show of this society will be held on 

 the 4th of August next, and its prize schedule is now 

 in circulation. There are cottager, amateur and open 

 classes. 



Garden Notes. 



Tow.\RDS the end of last month the trees and shrubs 

 began to rival one another in making our garden look 

 beautiful. When the fruit trees began to bloom, the more 

 or less plain, dull garden began to look like fairyland. 

 The promise of the summer came with the unfolding of 

 the apple blossoms. Then we began to realise that the 

 leaves on the trees were broader and greener, till with 

 the bursting of the laburnum and the lilac buds we knew 

 that summer had come. The earth became dry and 

 thirsty, the plants began to straggle, when a long, 

 steady rain came, washing the dust from the leaves, 

 revealing glorious freshness of green, and opening up 

 the pores in the earth and flowers, liberating their pent 

 up fragrances. — A. 



As the .\merican gooseberry-mildew is liable to make 

 its appearance from May onwards great watchfulness 

 must be observed in order to detect it in its very earliest 

 stages. It spreads quickly, and the essence of treat- 

 ment is to attack it early. We need not describe the 

 disease or repeat the life history of the fungus, as these 

 have already appeared in our pages in past j'ears. 

 It will be remembered that there are two stages of the 

 fungus, a summer spore stage and a winter or resting 

 spore stage. The winter spores are germinating about 

 this time of the jear and the fungus beginning its raids 

 upon the twigs. Young, sappy shoots are more liable 

 to suffer than firmer, slow-growing shoots, and hence 



quick-growing varieties, such as Keepsake and Crown 

 Bob, may be more easily infected than a slow-growing 

 variety like Whitesmith. For the same reason bushes 

 on good, deep, humid soils are more readily attacked 

 than bushes on shallow soils or stiff, clayey ones. 

 If the disease appears the affected parts should be 

 pruned off at once, and with as little shaking as possible 

 so as not to dislodge spores. The}' should be directly 

 transferred (without even placing on the ground) to a 

 vessel containing a disinfectant, as they are highly 

 infectious. As a protection the bush and immediately 

 neighbouring bushes should be sprayed with a mixture 

 of fresh liver of sulphur and water (I oz. of sulphur to 

 2 gallons of water), repeating the operation in a dav or 

 two if the sulphur does not well cover the shoots. This 

 mixture is for earl)' work ; after the end of July it may 

 be made stronger. .-V little soft soap added to the 

 mixture will increase its power of adhesion. If the 

 sulphur can be made to adhere to the twigs there is 

 no doubt that much good may be done in the way of 

 checking fungal growth. The great objection to the 

 removal of the tips of shoots early in the season is, oi 

 course, due to the fact that buds normally dormant 

 will break into shoots, and these fresh, sappy growths 

 are, as we have already noted, very liable to be attacked 

 by the disease. But in an ordinary year there is little 

 fear of buds breaking after mid-August. Market 

 growers should obtain the leaflets on this subject 

 issued by the Department of Agriculture. 



Begin to look out for the caterpillars of the saw-fly, 

 as their ravages have already begun. A good, safe 

 wash to spraj' the leaves with is arsenate of lead, which 

 may be used without danger to within three weeks of 

 gathering the fruit. The saw-fly lays its eggs first in 

 .April or May on the under surface of gooseberrj- or 

 currant leaves, and in about a week the caterpillars are 

 hatched. They start feeding at once on the leaf, 

 piercing it with numerous small holes ; these leaves 

 should be picked immediatelv and burned with the 

 caterpillars on them, for if left the latter soon travel over 

 the bush, eating greedily. There are usually three 

 generations during the year. The last brood spin their 

 cocoons under ground and rest during the winter, not 

 pupating till the spring. To prevent any return of the 

 saw-fly the soil under affected bushes should be removed 

 to about three inches, and buried deeply during late 

 autumn or winter and replaced with fresh soil and 

 manure. 



To gardeners, and especially to amateurs not requir- 

 ing a larger machine, the " .\boI " syringe can be 

 recommended. When purchasing, however, see that 

 you get the newest pattern, provided with the '* patent 

 spray nozzle " and drip preventer or protector. The 

 latter will be much appreciated by user when at work 

 with caustic solutions, as it saves the hands from coming 

 into contact with the fluid, and at other times prevents 

 the disagreeable wetting of the hands and arms that so 

 frequently takes place when using an ordinary s\'ringe. 

 The No. 5 size is recommended to the average amateur ; 

 with this should be purchased the extra fine and the 

 coarse nozzle, also the bend with which the under sides 

 of the leaves can be so conveniently spraj'ed, as pointed 

 out by Dr. Browne in writing about roses. 



