DECEMBER 



IRISH GARDENING. 



191 



less twigs. Keep them open and allow plenty of room 

 between the branches. Branches requiring- to be 

 shortened should be cut back to a shoot pointing out- 

 wards. Never allow thera to grow towards the centre 

 or cross each other. 



Raspberries. — These produce their fruit on the young 

 wood, that is, the canes made the previous year. Never 

 on old wood or spurs as in the case of currants, goose- 

 berries, &c. The pruning of these is perfectly simple, 

 only requiring the old canes to be cut clean away close 

 to the ground every autumn and a sufficient supply of 

 the young ones allowed to remain for fruiting the 

 succeeding }'ear. In selecting those to remain always 

 choose the strongest, and always those nearest the 

 centre of stool, the remainder may be cut away or 

 pulled up by the roots and used for making new- 

 plantations. The canes left for fruiting are to be 

 slightly shortened in March— about a foot in length 

 being cut off the tops. Young ones, or those 

 planted this year, should be cut down in spring 

 to about a foot of the ground to cause young shoots 

 to spring from the base ; they fruit the succeeding 

 year. If the fullest results are to be obtained, all winter 

 pruning must be followed up in summer when young 

 shoots are being made, by these being pinched or cut 

 away. Pinching plumps up the buds at base of shoots 

 and causes fruit buds 10 be developed. The pinching of 

 such kinds as gooseberries is necessary for the ripening 

 of fruit, as where closely pruned thej' produce a mass of 

 wood which smothers up the fruit entirely, shielding 

 them from the beneficial influences of sun and air. 

 Peaches, cherries, and plums benefit by the entire re- 

 moval of young shoots, where too thickly placed, when 

 about an inch or two long, and sufficient only retained 

 to fill vacancies or replace old worn out ones. 



Marketing Friit. — Owing to the enormous crops of 

 apples of poor or middling quality, and the large quanti- 

 ties of good fruit also which had been blown off trees by 

 the severe gales during October, and had in consequence 

 to be put on the market early, good prices were hard to 

 get. \'ery poor prices, indeed, have been the rule for 

 the past two months. Growers were very glad, in many 

 cases, to get an offer at all in the markets. This slate 

 of things must be remedied if fruit growing is to remain 

 a profitable branch of husbandry, and to do this markets 

 further afield will have to be sought. We are entirely 

 dependent upon two or three large towns at present. 

 We must try some of the English or Scotch towns. But 

 before we attempt to do so our present system of packing 

 for market will have to be improved. It would be 

 useless sending in the packages at present in use to 

 such places. The boxes recommended by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture for the packing of fruit certainly 

 do not appear to have taken on. Nor are they likely 

 to do so, except for the very choicest fruits. They 

 are considered too expensive and give too much 

 trouble, as they take up some time to pack and 

 grade fruit properly. What we would like to see 

 is clean barrels such as are imported from Canada 

 and other countries. If we could get these barrels at 

 a fair price, with lids to nail down, made at home, I 

 believe that they would take on better than the small 

 boxes referred to. Of course fruit would have to be 

 graded, and lids marked with grade, &c. If wc had a 



plentiful supply of these we could then pack our fruil 

 and send them direct to any market, -which it is quite 

 impossible to do with the kind of barrels now in use. 

 The above is written in the earnest hope that somebody 

 may take this matter up, and that something practical 

 may result from it. The need for it is great when wc 

 realise the fact that Bramley, Derby, and other first- 

 class varieties have been freely sold here at anything 

 from 2s. 6d. to 5s. per barrel of nine stone. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



By James Bracken, Horticultural Instructor, Co. Cork. 



THE forcing department must now have particular 

 and constant attention so as to have sufficient 

 and successional supplies at all times of 

 rhubarb, seakale, asparagus, French beans, &c. In 

 forcing asparagus the hot-bed ought to be in working 

 order before planting it over — that is, the violence of 

 first healing ought to be passed, and when a shallow 

 layer of fine soil (about two inches) is spread ovei- the 

 fermenting material, strong four year-old plants are 

 lifted, and so that the roots may not suffer, without 

 delay, they are closely placed together and covered over 

 with fine rich soil. Dry leaves thoroughly mixed wiih 

 fresh horse-stable manure, well turned and put firmly 

 together, is the usual medium for supplying heat for 

 forcing purposes, and lucky is the gardener who has a 

 sufficiency- A deep frame and a mild hot-bed can be 

 made to yield a large supply of rhubarb, if the stools are 

 raised and covered in the manner described for 

 asparagus. If asparagus is to be forced in frames the 

 hol-bed must be made deep and firm enough to give a 

 steady, high temperature. Both asparagus and rhu- 

 barb forced in frames must be matted over, properly 

 securing the covering, and if the soil is at all dry a 

 thorough watering with tepid water should be given at 

 the start. To colour and to give flavour to asparagus, 

 when the growths are well through the soil, light and 

 air must be judiciously and cautiously given. 



Rhl b.\rb when well forced is so profitable, and so 

 much more appreciated than the unforced kind, that it 

 well deserves more general cultivation. Covering over 

 the stools in the open with barrels and heaping ferment- 

 ing material about these must be continued where this 

 is the method of forcing. 



French Beans may still be sown on the chance of 

 getting a small gathering, choosing seven-inch pots and 

 using light soil. A hot-bed may be started for a first 

 supply of Early Born carrots. In this, some Wood's 

 frame radish and a little All The Year Round, or Paris 

 Market lettuce may also be sown. 



Potatoes.— Where not yet attended to potatoes for 

 seed should be placed in sprouting boxes and stood in 

 some position not too dark, but which can be made 

 quite secure from severe frost. Medium-sized tubers 

 of good form make the best seed. Begiiuiing the month 

 the seed for forcing in pits or in pots should be sprouted 

 in heated glasshouses to hasten the process. .\ hot-bed 

 may be started in a pit towards the end of the month 

 for this purpose. 



General Work.- On all mild days freely ventilate 

 frames growing cauliflower plants, lettuce, and endive. 



