NOVEMBER 



IRISH GARDENING. 



169 



Notes. 



Crab Applks.— We have at dift'ereiit times in these 

 pagfes drawn the attention of our readers to the beaut\' 

 and to the usefuhiess of some of the better sorts of crab 

 apple trees as decorative subjects in gardens and 

 g^rounds. We note that a correspondent to Country Life 

 gives great praise to the dessert qualities of such kinds 

 as John Downie and the crimson Siberian crab, stating 

 that the latter is " of far finer flavour than any apple I 

 know of; indeed they are champagne only solid." In 

 our own experience we find that these particular apples 

 when ripe are in fact the first choice of boys — and we 

 imagine they are not bad judges of this class of fruit. 



Messrs. Maunsel have in the press, and will shortly 

 Issue, a volume containing the collected works of the late 

 Miss Charlotte Grace O'Brien. It will contain her poems 

 and scattered papers, including the series of articles on 

 "The Making of our Home" that appeared in these 

 pages during the first half of the present year. It is 

 edited by Mr. Stephen Gwynn, who contributes an in- 

 troduction that will be read with much interest by the 

 many admirers of the deceased authoress. 



We have received from Mr. Wni. Baylor Hartland a 

 box containing samples of the fruit of a number of our 

 native apples — that is, varieties of apples that have been 

 in cultivation in Ireland for a very great number of 

 years. .Amongst them is a batch of the "Ardcairn 

 Russet " a nicely shaped fruit of the Pearmain type, of 

 medium size, and handsomely coloured (rich orange 

 or golden-brown, shaded with bright red on the sun- 

 exposed side). It is a dessert apple, said to keep up 

 till April. It is firm, juic}-, sweet, and deliciousl)' 

 flavoured. We have ourselves ordered a few trees to 

 give it a trial, and recommend others to do the same. 

 If it bears well it ought to be good for marketing 

 purposes. 



At the recent meeting of the British Association in 

 Canada, Professor Somerville, in an introductory speech 

 opening the Forestry section, drew attention to the fact 

 that the present consumption of timber was rising faster 

 than the supply, the growing scarcity of timber being 

 clearly reflected in the rising prices. During the past 

 22 years nine out of thirty-two varieties enquired into 

 had risen more than 100 per cent, in price, and only two 

 had risen less than 23 per cent. It is, therefore, to the 

 interest of this country to take immediate steps to 

 prevent waste, and to replant on such land as can be 

 devoted to forestry purposes. 



As bearing upon the question o{ the stimulating 

 influence of electricity upon plant growth, it has been 

 found that within the Arctic circle there is a distinct 

 periodicity of rapid and slow growth in the thickening 

 of tree trunks (firs). The distinctive growth periods 

 coincide, it seems, with the periods of sr.n spots and 

 auroras, or, in other words, with high and low atmos- 

 pheric electrical tension. 



It is generally supposed that the root system of a tree 

 extends about just as far as the spread of its branches. 

 We note, however, in the report of certain orchard ex- 



periments an incidental reference to the length of apple 

 tree roots, in which it is stated that the roots in some 

 cases reached three limes as far laterally as the 

 branches. If this be true (and perhaps some reader 

 will investigate the matter and report to us), it would 

 suggest to cultivators a wider spread of fertilizers and 

 mulches than is generallv thovight to be needful in 

 orchard management. 



The date of the next show of the recently established 

 National Vegetable Society has been fixed provisionally 

 for September 2gth of next year. Non-members will be 

 allowed to compete on payment of a fixed fee. It is ex- 

 pected that the society will be in a position to offer a 

 large number of valuable prizes for competition. 



A F.\R-FAMED and much-honoured Scottish gardener — 

 Mr. David Thompson, \'. M.H. — has died during the 

 past inonth. Mr. Thompson was not only a great 

 gardener, bvit a prolific writer on horticultural subjects. 

 He was Editor of the Scottish Gardener, and a recipient 

 of the Neil prize, the Veitch Memorial Medal, and the 

 \'ictoria Medal of Honour of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society of England. He was 86 years old. 



Mr. C. E. Lambkin of " Walford," Shrewsbury Road, 

 Dublin, writes to us as follows : — " It may be interesting 

 to your readers to know that in my garden this summer 

 I have had quite a large crop of peaches on Standard 

 trees in the open. On four trees, planted I should say 

 five or six years, I gathered some 250 peaches, all of 

 which ripened, and are of a good size. I sent specimens 

 of them to F. W. Moore, Esq., Royal Botanic Gardens, 

 who pronounced them excellent. The trees have never 

 been prunetl or e\'en manured, and, strange, are facing 

 north. I'p to now I looked on them as merely orna- 

 mental, not having borne any fruit previously." 



The Arbor Day ceremony of the Irish Forestrj' 

 Society will take place at Bray, on Saturday, the 6lh 

 instant. This date has been fixed to suit the con- 

 venience of His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, who 

 has expressed his cordial sympathy with the movement, 

 and his desire to be present at the ceremony. It is also 

 hoped that Her Excellency the Countess of Aberdeen 

 will be present. The hour oi the ceremony has been 

 fixed at J. 30 p.m. 



The honorary degree of M.A. has been conferred by 

 the Royal University of Ireland upon Mr. F. W. Moore, 

 Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. 



The Belfast Chrysanthemum Show will be held on 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, the 9th aTid loth inst. 



Visitors at a recent exhibition of the Roy.il Horti- 

 cultural Society of England were much impressed by 

 the beauty of the exhibits of the early-flowering or 

 border chrysanthemums that form such imposing patches 

 of colour in the flower garden during the later months 

 of the year. It is a pleasing .sign of the change of taste 

 in the requirements of a decorative plant when these 

 single and relatively small-flowered chrysanthemums 

 attract so much public admiration. 



