46 



IRISH GARDENING 



Sii nuicli lias beoii claimial lor Ibis iiK-lliod ol' planliiiif, 

 the experiments lia\'c been carried on over such a 

 leng-tbened period and the results al\va\'s favourable, that 

 we cannot lijcbtl)' pass it over, although it has been 

 received by mativ with incredulity. They cannot con- 

 ceive it possible for trees planted in this way to do 

 better than if planted in the old style. In reply to such 

 sceptics I can only endorse the advice already oflfered 

 by the writer of the article. Let all jifrowers plant a few 

 in this way for themselves and test its merits, if merit 

 it possesses, before we pass our final judgment upon it. 

 If it eventually proves as advantag'eous in general 

 practice as it has already done in the trials carried out 

 in England it must prove of immense advantage to the 

 country on the whole, as aiy other system must which 

 can at the same time give a more vigorous growth to 

 the trees and improve as well as increase the crop of 

 fruit. 



Str.WVBERRIES. — The month of .\vigust or early in 

 September is the best time of the year for making new 

 plantations of these, as if good plants are put in then 

 and carefully attended to in the matter of hoeing and 

 watering a very fair crop of the very finest fruits may 

 be expected the succeeding season. Unfortunately it 

 often happens that they cannot be got in then owing to 

 the quarters being occupied by some other crop. Plants 

 are then put out in October. Where this has been so, 

 the plants should be examined after fro.sty spells of 

 weather, and any which mav have got loosened be made 

 firm and the ground hoed if the soil be dry- Krom these 

 plants fruit cannot be expected this year, and all flower 

 trusses as the\' appear must be nipped off, so that all the 

 growth possible may be got into the plants, and so build 

 up as fine crowns as possible for the next year. If they 

 ha\e not been put out in October this may be done at 

 once. PUmt in rows two feet apart and eighteen inches 

 from plant to plant in the rows. Water if at all dr\'. 

 The directions given above for October planting applies 

 to these. If new plantings of these are intended to be 

 made next August I would strongly advise the prepara- 

 tion of the ground now, and planting an early maturing 

 crop such its lettuce, spinach or early potatoes. These 

 will allow the ground to be cleared in good time for 

 planting, and all that will require to be done then would 

 be to lightly fork over and level the ground. The ground 

 by then would have had time to settle down and be in 

 splendid condition for the successful culture of this most 

 important crop. Proper cultivation of the ground 

 consists in digging as deeply as the nature of the soil 

 will allow, two feel deep if possible, and breaking up 

 of sub-soil with a fork, and at the same time giving a 

 very generous quantity' of the best farm\"ard maniui'. 

 Ground so prepared will pi'oduce vcrv hea\y ci'ops (ov 

 three or four years, after which they should In- 

 IhrowEi away ; in the uieaTiliiue another planlalivui should 

 be ready to take its place. Many growers allow plants 

 to occupy the ground for a much longer period. I do not 

 consider it profitable to do so, as berries deteriorate, at 

 least in size, and are later in ripening than fromyomiger 

 plants. The plantations made in late autumn or at the 

 present time may for this year have an onion crop 

 planted between the rows — one line between the rows of 

 young plants and eighteen inches apart in the row ; they 

 cast such a light shade that I hey do little damage in lliat 



way, but they take a considerable auiount of nourish- 

 ment out of the soil, and were it not that the ground would 

 otherwise give no return this jear I would not advo- 

 cate its adoption at all. As already noted, .August is the 

 proper time to plant. There is then a fair return the first 

 j-ear. The plants can then be properly attended to and 

 the fruit plots kept to themselves. 



Raspbkrriks. — The canes may now be shortened 

 and, if not already done so, tied up to wh^itever is pro- 

 \ ided for their support. In shortening the canes we 

 must be guided by their strength. Twelve inches is 

 about the proper length to take off each. We must 

 assume that old fruiting canes were cut away after 

 fruiting, also the superfluous canes removed. Have all 

 tied up now. There are many methods adopted for 

 the support of these. Perhaps the most general is single 

 posts at about four feet apart, to which four or five canes 

 are lied. Planted in this way work between them is 

 easily carried out. The canes and fruit receive the 

 greatest possible amount of sun and air, two most 

 important factors in their culture- The only drawback 

 to this system is the expense of stakes, as they require 

 renewing every fe\\' years. Newly planted canes must 

 now be cut down to within fifteen inches of the ground 

 to cause a supply of young canes to spring up at once 

 to fruit next year. .Amongst established plants very 

 little cultivation is required, the roots being clo.se to the 

 surface. A spade must not be employed in doing this. 

 The surface may be stirred with a fork and the hoe 

 occasionally employed to keep down weeds. They are 

 gross feeders, and mulchings of well-rotted maiuu-e 

 should be annually given them. During the summer 

 applications of liquid maniu'e may be given; this is 

 necessary for the building up of fine stout canes, without 

 which the crop will suffer both in quantity and qualit\'. 



Pi;.\cilES. — These on open wall must be attended to 

 at once, as the buds will be by now pushing fast. It is 

 usual to have these unfastened and allowed to hang 

 away from the walls during- winter to retard growth as 

 much as possible. They must now be laid in, as daniiigi- 

 would be done them by having the buds knocked off if 

 deferred longer. In doing so lay in shoots about four 

 to si.x inches apart, remove very weak growths and 

 shorten strong ones slightly, cutting to a wootl bud, which 

 ai-e easily distinguished from fruit buds by their much 

 slimmer proportions, wood buds being long <'ind pointeil, 

 whereas fruit buds are short and roimded. In nailing 

 these be careful to allow room for future development 

 of the shoot. The shred should be large enough to take 

 a shoot twice the size of the one being tied. If the lie 

 is too light the free f\ow of sap is retarded, an ;ibnormal 

 thickening of the shoot takes place ,it thai jioint, and 

 giuuming ensues. 



Till-: Lix;.\N BlCRKV. -This comparatively new IVuit 

 from America, the result of a cross between a 

 raspberry and a blackberry, is rapidly gaining favour, 

 and rightly so. It is delicious in tarts, bottles well, makes 

 excellent jelly, and is esteemed by some for dessert. 

 Its culture is very simple, and may be treated in exactly 

 the same way as advised for raspberries. It has long, 

 rambling growths, often fifteen feet long, so that a trellis, 

 fence or poles are necessarj' for their support. They may 

 now be shortened and secured to supports, and the 

 ground pointed over and nuilchcd, if not already done. 



