IRISH GARDENING. 



•1 1 Ki.]> 0\ I M Showinc; 

 I'kockss. t X 25.) 



majority tjf ova are laid wliere the wa^ih collects, the 

 effect is very maiked in lessening the numbers of 

 suckers. .As many of the ova on the treated trees are 

 seen to change to a leaden 

 hue, it is also possible that 

 the salt and lime set up 

 some osmotic action, and so 

 destroys the vitality of the 

 ova. 



Special noz/.U- should be 

 used for this thick wash, as 

 most nozzles clog with it 

 very readily. The most 

 satisfactory ones I have 

 found are Gould's " Seneca " 

 nozzles, which can be 

 cleared at once by turning 

 the tap seen in the figure, 

 when the aperture is blown 

 quite clear without any 

 waste c^i time in unscrewing the nozzle. Drake and 

 Fletcher of Maidstone also make nozzles for this 

 purpose. The success of this lime and salt treatment 

 h.is been remarkable where it has been properly applied — 

 th.it is, put on thickly. Italso benefitsthetrecsby cleaning 

 them, and hasa certain value inconnection with the woolly 

 aphis, and is most effective for plum aphis. The lime and 

 salt get eventually washed into the ground, and also 

 do good. It is surprising how much the general health 

 of the trees is improved after this treatment. In two or 

 three years a plantation may be practically freed of this 

 pest, but it may be necessary to carry it over a fourth 

 year. I have seen plantations which have not borne any 

 fruit for fifteen }-ears, owing to the psylla, yield after one 

 year's treatment a fair crop, and 

 still greater improvement in the 

 follow ing year. 



Spraying to kill the suckers 

 in the trusses can also be done 

 with advantage. Paraffin emul- 

 sion may be discarded, as it does 

 not penetrate down to the insects, 

 and if it is put on with force and 

 copiously it tends to burn blos- 

 som and foliage, and does more 

 harm than the psylla. Quassia 

 and soft soap wash is good in 

 early stages of attack, and pene- 

 trates to some extent, but by far 

 the most successful wash is 

 tobacco wash. This I have found 

 to work excellently and to have 

 great killing power. If tobacco 

 wash is used one cannot do 

 better than obtain some pre- 

 pared nicotine wash that can be 

 relied on. V'oss & Co. make an 

 excellent wash prepared on the 

 W'oburn standard which has 

 great killing power. It may be 

 used on open blossom without 

 D. M. Watson, of South Great George's Street, Dublin, 

 and Campbell & Co. of Manchester, also make reliable 

 nicotine preparations. Unfortunately tobacco washes 



are expensive. It is best, therefore, for the grower 

 on prevention by appljing the lime and salt wash, 

 at the same time cleans the trees and makes thei 



Si;niv( 



•X tor >prayiMg. 



fear of hart 



C.\sT Skins o.n Nv.mphs. ( x 2. i 

 much healthier. Where lime and salt wash cannot be 

 used, as, for instance, where vegetables, wallflowers, 

 ■tc, are grown under the trees, it is well to spray the 

 trees after the crop is pricked, when possible, with paraffin 

 emulsion any time before the winged psylla commence 

 to lay their eggs. If this is done a fine spray should be 

 sent not only all over the trees but into the clouds of 

 insects which fly down beneath the foliage. This will 

 kill large numbers and prevent much e^§ laying. But if 

 possible the lime and salt treatment should be carried 

 out, <M- where flowers grow under the trees tobacco 

 wash ni.iy he safely used to kill the larva- and nymphs. 



.MiSHROOM CiLTiKj-:.— " The Mushroom Tunnel " is 

 the title of an interesting article in .a recent nimiber of the 

 Weekly Sni/siiKiii. The tunnel in 

 iiuestion is an old railway tunnel 

 in Edinburgh, that, falling into 

 disuse, was let to a Company for 

 the cultivation of mushrooms. 

 The spawning beds are luade 12 

 leet long, 3 feet wide, and 2 feel 

 hlg'h. The manure ie^v the 

 formation of the beds is brought 

 from the cit\' in wjiggons drawn 

 along the old rails. It is trans- 

 fcrred from these at different 

 points into wooden troughs, 

 and frequently worked iiiUil 

 the rank fermentation is owr 

 .ind the manure has cooleti liown 

 10 the .safe temperature for 

 spawning. Each bed is said to 

 require from eighteen to twenty 

 bricks of spawning material, and 

 that the average yield therefrom 

 is about 40 lbs. of marketable 

 mushrooms. An effort is made 

 by the use of an electric fan at 

 one of the entrances to keep up 

 as uniform a temperature 

 as possible -60 to 65 degrees being aimed at. The 

 writer speaks highly of the quality of the crop, and 

 if the quality is as great as the size (judging from a 

 reproduced photograph) we can well believe il. 



\07.yA.v.s. 



0|>en to clear block 



