IRISH GARDENING 



45 



The Lawn Mower. — Next to diggring perhaps the 

 most laborious work the gardener meets with is that of 

 shaving the lawn or grass plot. A well-kept, evenly cut 

 lawn is certainly a thing of beauty, and no efiFort should 

 be spared to keep it so. This cannot be done with a 

 blunt, ill-set lawn mower. To save expense, the duty of 

 overhauling the lawn mower is often given over to the 

 Jack-of-all-Trades labourer, who is very fond of showing 

 his mechanical skill by unscrewing and takingasunder all 

 the vital parts of the machine. Unfortunate results 

 often follow his putting it together again, as the true 

 setting of a lawn mower is a very intricate business 

 indeed. It is good economy to send the machine to a 

 reliable firm who make a specialit}- of this work, and no 

 time should be lost in having it seen to at once. Ere 

 this month is out the mower will be wanted, and good 

 work can onlv be expected from the workman who is 

 provided with efficient tools. 



Seed Raising. — A beginning in real earnest must now 

 be made with seed-sowing necessary for the summer 

 display of bedding. Half-hardy annuals should be sown 

 in heated frames or in pots or bo.xes, and placed in a 

 warm house. An eas}' method of raising these seeds is 

 to make up a hot-bed consisting of two-thirds of leaves 

 to one of fresh stable dung which will give a temperature 

 sufficient for starting such seeds as asters, petunias, 

 marigolds, and all annuals of this class. Lay four 

 inches of soil on top of the manure, and sow in very 

 shallow drills two inches between the lines. Be very 

 sparing with water till the seedlings are in the rough 

 leaf, when they will be ready to transplant into boxes or 

 a cool frame to be grown on and hardened off for their 

 summer quarters. 



Spring Propagation. — Deficiency of stock has 

 frequently to be remedied by spring propagation. This 

 can best be carried out with success where there is a 

 command of artificial heat all through the spring ; 

 otherwise the hot-bed must be utilised, and if intended 

 principally for striking cuttings, use more stable litter 

 and less leaves in the fermenting material, though 

 where plenty of leaves are used the heat lasts longer, 

 but it is at no time so strong as when stable manure 

 enters largely into the making of hot-beds. The 

 principal evils to be avoided in spring striking are a 

 d;imp, stagnant atmosphere and keeping the cuttings 

 too damp on the one hand and on the other allowing 

 them at any time to become so dry as to cause them to 

 droop and shrivel. 



Mo.NTBRETI.VS.— This charming class of hardy plant 

 deserves a place in every garden. No special prepara- 

 tion is required for their culture, as they grow and flower 

 beautifully in any good garden soil. Frequently one 

 sees in gardens large clumps that have not been divided 

 up for years, producing plenty of foliage but very little 

 bloom. Lift these without further delay, and select the 

 strongest roots, planting them singly six inches apart, 

 either in beds or in lines. If the latter, let the lines be 

 fifteen inches apart. .A gay border of montbretias can 

 be obtained by planting a selection of different colours, 

 and these have been much improved of late years, and 

 for cutting few things last longer fresh in rooms. Some 

 growers replant their montbretias every year. It entails 

 much work, and in cold, late localities is not desirable. 

 Every second or third year is quite often enough. A 



good selection may be made from the following list : — 

 Crocosmiseflora, orange scarlet, one of the best ; 

 California, superb, pure yellow ; Drap d'Or, chrome 

 yellow ; Distinction, scarlet and yellow ; Gerbe d'Or, 

 splendid large golden yellow ; Incandescent, orange 

 scarlet ; Germania, bright red ; Tragedy, deep orange ; 

 Oriflamme, orange scarlet. 



Hoeing.— The hoe is the implement which should be 

 most frequently in the gardener's hand, for the surface 

 of the soil scarcely can be too frequently stirred. All 

 flower beds and borders will now be much benefited bv 

 this operation. Some cultivators are fond of following 

 the hoe with a rake to smooth down the surface again. 

 This I consider bad practice, as the next shower of rain 

 makes a cake on the surface of the ground which entails 

 the use of the hoe again to break it. Aeration of the 

 soil can only be obtained when loose and free for the 

 penetration of the sun's ravs. 



The Fruit Grounds. 



By WiLi.iA.M R. Spencer, Manor House Gardens, 

 Loughgall, Co. Armagh. 



THE weather conditions practically all through the 

 winter months have been very favourable for the 

 carrying out of the various operations recom- 

 mended in previous calendars. The rainfall has been 

 very light and frosts almost nil, the thermometer 

 seldom falling below freezing point. So we assume 

 that all work, such as 

 pruning, nailing up, and 

 forking of groimd aroiuul 

 fruit trees and bushes, has 

 been completed, the prim- 

 ings burned and returned 

 to the soil in the form of 

 ashes. These operations 

 being completed t h e I 

 grounds should present ' 

 that cleanly and well- 

 cared for appearance that 

 is characteristic of the 

 progressive man. W'e may 

 now turn our attention to 

 other work that must have 

 our attention this month. 

 .As most growers have 

 either farms or gardens to look after it is evident 

 that preparation of ground and seed sowing, &c.. 

 in these quarters must also have our daily attention. 

 This is why the above noted work should be got through 

 in the slack months during every favourable spell of 

 weather. Otherwise they are very likely to be got 

 through now as quickly as possible, if not entirely 

 neglected, and work quickly done, or done in a great 

 hurry, is never well done. The advice offered bj' the 

 writer in last issue (p. 24) re " New Ideas in Planting," 

 recommending growers to experiment for themselves in 

 this way by planting a few trees, has been most timely, 

 and we trust ere now a good many trees have been so 

 planted throughout the country. (A few have been 

 planted in this neighbourhood.) 



• Owing to an error, tfie portrait given last month as that of Mr. 

 Spencer was really a duplicate portrait of Mr. Gumming taken some 

 years ago. 



William R. Spencer.' 



