IRISH GARDENING. 



NOVEMBER 



"IRISH GARDENING. 



an illustrated monthly. 

 Offices-53 Upper Sackville Street. Dublin. 



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 shnuki be addressed to "The Editor." 



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 " The Manaser." 



The Fruit Show at Ballsbridge. 



THE fruit show recently held at Balls- 

 bridge has afforded another clear 

 demonstration of the fact that the soil 

 and climate of Ireland, generally speaking, are 

 favourable to the production of apples of the 

 very highest quality. 



Such a show as this conveys different im- 

 pressions to different minds. 



The townsman who cannot grow fruit for 

 himself is attracted by the bright and appetizing 

 display, and asks himself where he can obtain 

 apples like these for his own table. He may 

 enquire for them at the shops, but more than 

 likely, under present conditions, he will be 

 unsuccessful in his quest, and will have to 

 content himself with American fruit, beautiful 

 in appearance, but fibrous to the taste. 



The man who is not already a fruit-grower, 

 but who has land of his own, is encouraged to 

 plant some fruit trees thereon, and can select 

 from the array of varieties before him the 

 names of the best fruit. 



The fruit-grower recognises man}' of the 

 varieties as old friends, but is enabled to com- 

 pare the dishes with those he himself can 

 produce. Even if he is not a competitor he is 

 stimulated to greater exertions by seeing what 

 his fellow-growers can do, and he has an op- 

 portunity of inspecting new varieties which, 

 perhaps, he has read of, but has not seen before. 



It is to be remembered by the unitiated that 

 fruit of high quality cannot be produced by 

 merely planting the tree and leaving it to itself. 

 Thorough cultivation, careful pruning, and 

 judicious thinning of the fruit are essential to 

 the production of first grade apples. 



A noticeable feature of the exhibition was the 

 superiority of the Irish produce over that ex- 

 hibited by English growers. Two tables of 

 English fruit, one from the east and the other 

 from the west of that country, were in the hall, 

 and the Irish fruit had a distinct advantage over 

 them, both in colour and in form. Of course 

 due allowance must be made for the fact that 



the past summer was a wet one in England. 

 Yet, notwithstandingthis,the comparison cannot 

 but be an encouragement to Irish growers. 



All the standard varieties of apples were well 

 represented both in the separate classes and in 

 the collections. It was interesting to note the 

 difference in colour between dishes of the same 

 variety. Allington, Lane's Prince Albert, and 

 Cox's Orange Pippin were remarkable in this 

 respect. Colour is largely influenced by ex- 

 posure to light, but is also affected by the nature 

 of the soil and the feeding which the tree gets. 

 Apples grown in the counties of Kilkennv and 

 Clare appear to take on a peculiarly good colour. 

 Needless to say a good colour greatly enhances 

 the market value of the fruit. 



With regard to varieties, intending planters 

 should be guarded against purchasing a large 

 number of trees of a particular variety merely 

 because it looked handsome on the show table. 

 The constitution of the tree and its cropping 

 qualities should be carefully enquired into before 

 planting any quantity of it. For instance, 

 Peasgood Nonsuch, which looked so splendid at 

 the show, will not succeed everywhere, hut 

 requires a warm, well-drained soil for its CLilti- 

 vation. 



The show furnished many examples of the 

 great influence of grading on the appearance of 

 a sample of fruit. It was easy to see how one 

 inferior fruit could spoil the effect of a dish or 

 of a collection. Too much importance cannot 

 be attached to grading in the marketing of fruit. 

 The first prize packages were models of how fruit 

 ought to be sent to market — perfectly graded 

 and packed in neat lines, with just sufficient 

 packing material (paper shavings) to protect 

 them from rubbing against the sides of the 

 boxes, the boxes themselves (bushel and half 

 bushel size) being light but strong, and provided 

 with ventilating holes. The box of Cox's would 

 easily fetch 2d. per fruit in the London market, 

 the Bramley's ij^d., and the Peasgood 2)2d. 



How is it that in spite of a show, such as 

 this, first quality Irish fruit is difficult to 

 obtain in the shops? Simply because fruit of 

 the best varieties is not grown in sufficient 

 quantity or marketed in the best manner to 

 secure the steady influx of high-grade fruit to 

 the retailer. There is a ready demand for such 

 fruit both in this country and across the Channel. 

 The fruit show should encourage Irishmen to 

 grow fruit which will supply that demand. 



t"i. O. SllEKRAKD. 



