82 



IRISH GARDENING 



JUNE 



products is ammonia. Tliis brini,''s us to (he 

 next point, and a point ot" extreme interest to 

 ijardeners. By what process is this amnion i- 

 fication of ori^-anic matter in the soil brou^lu 

 about y It is broui,>'ht about throuj^^h tlie action 

 of" specific kinds of bacteria. These arc tin\ 

 forms ot" \ej4etable Vifc of extreme minuteness 

 that exist in truly enormous numbers in our 

 cuhi\ated soils. These particular races of 

 bacteria attack the waste proteins, and ferment 

 them, and ammonia is one of the products 

 formed. 



The nutrition of crops depends therefore 

 very largely upon the intensity of ammonifica- 

 tion in soils, and it is obviously a matter of 

 much importance to know, first, if we can in any 

 way encourag-e the work of ammonification, 

 and, secondly, if so, how? Well, the all-im- 

 portant thinj^ is to supply the minute organ- 

 isms with abundance of air, as without a 

 sufficiency of oxygen they cannot thrive. To 

 effect this the soil must be well drained ; if it 

 is in any way water-logged, then the air 

 is kept out of the soil and an unhealthy 

 fermentation sets in. Good tillage increases 

 ammonification, as this breaks up the clod, 

 admits more air, and affords a more extensive 

 field for bacterial action. Hoeing during the 

 summer months is also a great aid, as it not 

 only keeps the surface open and helps ventila- 

 tion but it also tends to conserve moisture, 

 without which no bacterial fermentation can go 

 on. Again, the presence of lime is an important 

 factor ; it corrects acidity. .Acids are liberated 

 during the process of decay, and bacteria are 

 checked, or even stopped, in their growth in the 

 presence of acids. Lime unites with, and there- 

 fore neutralises, acids ; hence its utility in this 

 connection. 



Keeping in mind the importance of amm-oni- 

 fication, and knowing the conditions that favour 

 its action, a good deal can be done to improve 

 and sustain the fertility of our soils. From 

 what has been said one can easily see why broken- 

 up old pastures give us such productive soils. The 

 continuous sward so seals the surface that very 

 little air can reach the soil, and therefore the 

 decay bacteria develop very slowly and the 

 stock of decomposable organic matter increases 

 from year to year. But when the pasture is 

 broken up and the air is free to permeate the 

 soil the bacteria increase enormously and much 

 9,mmonia is liberated. 



French Gardening. 



liy A. \'. Kkk ki:m)1,n, I'iiKlouii I'niii .nul l-"lo\ver 

 l-"arm, lu-ar Watorlonl. 



SO much attention has recently been paid 

 in England to French gardening that it 

 is surprising so little notice of this 

 interesting branch of gardening has been taken 

 in Ireland. London is, of course, the chief 

 distributing centre for garden produce through- 

 out the Kingdom. I'^ormerly France had the 

 entire monopoly in this market with early 

 vegetables, &c., but English growers, by adopt- 

 ing French methods, are every year obtaining 

 a larger share in this business. 



The situation of Ireland, however, should 

 give her peculiar advantages in supplying such 

 centres as Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow, not 

 to speak of her own towns. Neither climate 

 nor soil are very important factors in French 

 gardening, but it is obvious that what has 

 been shown to succeed so well in England 

 should also succeed in Ireland. 



Briefly, the system of these Continental 

 gardeners or " maraichers " is to obtain a 

 succession of choice flowers, fruit, and veget- 

 ables in advance of those grown in the ordinary 

 way. This is accomplished by means of frames, 

 cloches or bell glasses, and stable manure, and 

 is really an elaboration of the ordinary hot-bed 

 system. 



The frames are made on the French pattern, 

 which admit the maximum amount of light, 

 unlike the unwieldy and cumbersome English 

 ones. These French frames are, however, very 

 simple to make, though it is advisable to buy 

 the "lights" ready-made, only glazing them 

 at home. Seven or eight crops should be 

 obtained from the frames during the year. 

 Cloches are used for very much the same 

 purposes as frames, but have certain advantages 

 over these in raising seedlings and some varie- 

 ties of plants. 



The illustration is of part of my French 

 garden, which is near Waterford, and will give 

 an idea of what cloches in use are like. 



The hot-beds are made up and arranged 

 according to a special system, which it is 

 unnecessary to fully describe here. The 

 manure is used to enrich the surface soil 

 at the end of the season when it has lost its 

 heating properties. In time the surface soil 



