-4 



IRISH GARDENING. 



FEHRfARY 



ll isdiniciill witliii) tlu- limits ;illo\\V(.l to make a sc-li-c- 

 tioi) from the new varieties for tliis year, but tliero aie 

 some siirticiently dislimt from the almost infinite vaiiely 

 of shades and colours hitherto known whieli staiul out 

 prominently amongst the introductions ol last year. 

 The National Sweel 



Spencer, Hlack Knii; 

 llennis, and C'onslai 

 ll is to he hojied tl 

 cession of snow st on 

 has hrou.uht us tl 



It S 



Marjorie Willis, Kvelyn 



.'onfi 



d it 



Pea Societ) 

 •'Awards of M 

 the followinj;:, ; 

 always safe to follow 

 tiieir reconnnemlation, 

 as it is only i^iven after 

 a very exhaustive trial, 

 viz. : -- Clara Curtis, 

 cream (\V. J. L'nwin) ; 

 Charles Foster, mauve 

 (R. Bolton) ; Edrom 

 Beauty, orang^e (Deb- 

 bie) ; Dazzler, orange 

 scarlet (Breadmore) ; 

 Mrs. \V. J. linvin, 

 orang-e-scarlet, stiiped 

 on white (\V. J. Un 

 win); Sunproof Crimson 

 (Dobbie) ; and Mrs. 

 Hugh Dickson, cream 

 and pink (Dobbie) ; and 

 each of the following 

 has an individuality of 

 its own which separates 

 it from creations of 

 previous years — Zarina 

 (Hemus) ; Doris Usher, 

 cream and pink (A. E. 

 Usher) ; Masterpiece, 

 lavender blue (Dobbie ) ; 

 Picotee Waved (Eck- 

 ford) ; Princess Juliana, 

 primrose (Breadmore) ; 

 Queen of Spain Spencer 

 (Dobbie); Earl Spencer, 

 brilliant orange ; Kath- 

 leen MacGowan. sky- 

 blue (Breadmore); 

 Helio Paradise, mauve 

 (Hemus) ; Charles He- 

 mus, deep red (Hemus); 

 Vicomte de Janze, rose ; 

 Mary V'ipan, rose 

 waved; and Mrs. E. Ciii- 

 man, cream and rose 

 (Eckford) ; and in addi- 

 tion the following of 

 recent introduction are 

 deserving of special 

 mention— Mrs. .A. Ire- 

 land, AstaOhn, Mrs. C. 

 W. Breadmore, Dod- 

 well F. Browne, Mrs. 

 Duncan, Colleen, Mrs. 

 Townsend, Florence 

 Wright, King Edw-ard 

 Spencer, Aurora 



Sweet Pea Helen Pierci 



kve will h;i\i' le.irned by the sue- 

 frost anil rain which this winter 

 ad\isahility of trenching our 

 stations in the autimui. 

 llow often have we 

 sien the advice given — 

 ■' trench in October, 

 and leave the lop spit 

 open for the sweeten- 

 ing influences of the 

 frost," and how few 

 of us have heeded. 

 Trenching, yes. if there 

 is one lesson more than 

 another that our love 

 lor sweel peas has 

 lorced u|ion us. il is 

 llu- need for ilouhle 

 trenching, or bastard 

 trenching, according 

 to the condition of the 

 sub-soil, the next in 

 ifuportance being thin 

 sowing and ruthless 

 iliinning out. .Space 

 below, around, and 

 above is an absolute 

 necessity not only for 

 r\ sweet peas but for 



\ everything else we 



would grow to perfec- 

 tion. We must remem- 

 ber also in our zeal for 

 plants ten feet high, 

 stems 24 inches long, 

 with four blooms on 

 every stem, the danger 

 of overfeeding or fi-ed- 

 ing in too large doses. 

 The manure must not 

 be placed in layers six 

 inches thick, but well 

 incorporated with the 

 soil, and it must be 

 thoroughly rotted ; the 

 roots of our pets like a 

 root-run that is sweet 

 and fresh, and not 

 stodged with manure, 

 they will then branch 

 out and take up the 

 food as needed. W'e 

 want fibrous roots for 

 our sweet peas as well 

 as for our fruit trees. 

 Again, liquid stimu- 

 lants should never be 

 given until the blooms 

 are beginning to show 

 colour, and then only 

 in weak solution.'^. 



