IRISH GARDENING. 



FEBRUARY 



the cuttinj,'.s m.iy bo kept in ;i luU loo cokl (i;iiiu> or 

 lunise until they have rootoil. It must be iviiuMiibiMvd 

 that tlio chrysanthemum -Hke all herbaceous cullinjfs — 

 is leafy, and therefore liable to lose water by transpira- 

 tion, especially if exposed to britfhl sunlii^ht. If tlu-y 

 lose more water than they can take up from the soil the 

 shoots will flajf. To prevent this the cuttinjcs slioiiKl 

 be lij^htly shaded (sheets of paper will do) fr m direct 

 sunlij,'-ht until they have fairly started to make roots. 

 L'niler f.ivour.ible comlitions roots will be formed in 

 about a month or three weeks accordiiiij^ to the tempera- 

 ture. The after-tre.itnuMit oi' the rooted plants will In- 

 discussed later. 



Winter Spraying of Fruit 

 Trees. 



THK winter spraying of fruit trees with a caustic 

 wash is now j^enerally recog^nised as an essential 

 annual routine in order to keep the bark clean 

 and the trees free from disease. In an article on the treat- 

 ment of neijlected orchards, published in the current 

 "Journal of the [English] Board of Agriculture, " 

 reference is made to the importance of this work, and 

 some very useful information is g-iven upon the subject 

 under the following three sub-headings : — 



'■ U'ifihr Wiuhiug of Fruit Trees. — .\ neglected 

 orchard not only harbours during the winter all manner 

 of insect enemies which commence their ravages in 

 spring, but forms a nursery or breeding-ground from 

 which other orchards are infested with noxious insects. 

 The first step, therefore, is to destroy these pests as far 

 as possible, and for this purpose winter washing is 

 practised. 



" The caustic or burning wash applied clears away 

 moss, lichen and other vegetable growths that are not 

 only harmful to the health of the tree, but which also 

 act as shelter-places for injurious insects, while at the 

 same lime the wash may reach the insects themselves 

 in their various stages of development. 



•• The woolly aphis, the apple blossom weevil, the ear- 

 wig, the caterpillar of the codling moth in its cocoon, 

 and other insects are found during the winter shelter- 

 ing under cover of rough bark and of lichenous and other 

 growths on fruit trees. The destruction of their winter 

 quarters places such insects at a disadvantage, and their 

 number is in consequence materially reduced. Further, 

 some of the insects are killed by the wash itself. 



'• It has been found in practice that a wash used with 

 effect against an insect in its adult, larval, or pupal stage 

 may prove quite ineffective against the e^;^ of the 

 insect, and hence winter washing should be followed by 

 careful observation in spring, so that young, newly- 

 hatched insects may be dealt with— according to their 

 kind — before they have had time to do great harm or 

 to multiply. 



^'' Formula for Winter Wash. — The new caustic winter 

 wash : Caustic soda (98 per cent.), sulphate of iron, 

 lime, paraffin, and water. 



'•The improved winter wash, as suggested by Mr. S. 

 U. Pickering, F. R.S., Director of the Woburn Experi- 

 mental Fruit Farm, is now recommended. Its formula 



is :-Iroii sulph.iti', \ lb. ; liini-, j li>. ; c.iustic soil.'i. »lbs.; 

 panitlin (sol.ir disiilLilc). .t pi"'^ : ■"•il w.ilcr lo in.iki- 10 

 gallons. 



" In oriler lo pn^pjire the wash the iron sulph.ite 

 slunilil In- dis^oUetl in .ibout 9 gallons of water. The 

 lime should Humi he slaked in a little water and well 

 stirn-d, a little more water being added to make a 

 •milk." The 'milk' of lime should next be run into 

 the iron sulphate solution through a piece of sacking or 

 a fine sieve, to remove grit or coarse particles. The 

 paraflin should then be added and the mixture churned 

 thoroughly. Just before using, the caustic soda, in 

 ihi- jiowilered form, shoukl be added to complete the 

 •wash.' 



" This wash, which has both a cleansing property 

 and an insecticidal value, is recommended for applica- 

 tion while the trees are dormant, and certainly before 

 the buds have burst. Perhaps the greatest advantage 

 would result from such a wash if applied about the 

 beginning of February. 



^' A^ote. — As the wash has a burning effect on the 

 hands, care should be exercised in employing it. 

 Rubber gloves are sometimes used to protect the hands, 

 but these should be so secured that the wash cannot run 

 in under the rubber. The face, the eyes especially, 

 should also be protected. 



" It is advisable not to allow live stock in grass 

 orchards for a week or two after spraying. 



'■'' Effect of Caustic and Other Washes on the Health of 

 the Sprayed Plants. — Comparatively few exact experi- 

 ments have been conducted to discover how caustic 

 washes affect the health of the plants themselves. 

 Complaint is sometimes made that the plants suffer 

 severely, and with constantly repeated washings this 

 may be true. The winter wash above recommended 

 need not be applied annually, but only at intervals of 

 some years." 



Note. 



Glass Walls for Espaliers. — Some interesting 

 experiments on growing Espalier pears on glass instead 

 of masonry walls have been recently conducted in 

 France. The idea was to utilise the north as well as the 

 south side of the wall by using a substance transparent 

 to light. In one of the experiments a w'all of glass 6^ 

 feet high and about 60 feet long was erected in an east 

 and west direction, and fifteen pear trees (of the variety 

 '•Winter Doyen") planted on each side. The south 

 side yielded 134 pears (total weight 91 lbs.), and the 

 north side carried 119 pears, having a total weight of 

 77 lbs. The quality of fruit was good on both 

 sides, while it was noticed that those on the north side 

 had smoother skins than those on the south side. So 

 far as temperature goes there is very little difference 

 between the two sides, as the heat rays easily penetrate 

 through the glass. It should be noted that a ledge of 

 glass forming a narrow roof was run along the top of 

 the wall on each side. In the matter of cost it was 

 found that the glass wall would be about the same as 

 one of bricks. The disadvantage of glass is that, 

 unlike a brick wall, it does not retain heat, and therefore 

 is not so efficient in the event of frosty nights. It is too 

 early to form an opinion on the value of this method. 



