July 



IRISH GARDENING. 



105 



distinct kinds of spores in succession. Most of 

 these — and the g-ooseberry "cluster-cup" fungus 

 is one of them — do not pass through their whole 

 cycle of development on one and the same host 

 plant, but require at least two for the comple- 

 tion of their life histories. Thus the spores 

 produced in the cluster-cup on the gooseberry 

 do not germinate on the gooseberry but on 

 certain species of sedges. When the sedges 

 become infected the fungus produces on them 

 two further kinds of spores, the second crop of 

 which alone serve to re-infect the gooseberry. 

 Hence, the preventive measures to be adopted in 

 this case are (i) to gather all affected leaves 

 and their berries from attached gooseberry 

 bushes and burn them, thus preventing^ the 

 spread of the fungus to the sedges, and (2), to 

 keep all ditches and damp places where sedges 

 are likely to grow well trimmed and cleaned so 

 as to remove as far as possible the second host 

 of the fungus, and so prevent the infection of 

 the gooseberry. As a rule the fungus in 

 question does not do a large amount of 

 damage, nevertheless it should not for this 

 reason be treated with neglect. 



G. H. P. 



Roses. 



By O'Ddnel Bruvvne, W.D. 



TIME draws near when I hope we shall all meet in 

 Merrion Square to do honoin- to the Queen of 

 Flowers. It will be my first experience of a July 

 show in Dublin, and let us hope that the day and pre- 

 ceding- evening will be cool, and let us hope that the 

 worthy secretary of the show will have a larg-e tin bath 

 at some convenient place in each tent filled with water 

 on our arrival — not for us to bathe in, but to replenish 

 our tubes. Railway porters, cabs crossings tram lines, all 

 tend to jostle our tubes about, so I hope we shall find 

 the water when we arrive. It is no use telling' us that 

 there is a man with a water-cart somewhere about. 

 That won't do. We want to be able to get a vase and re- 

 plenish our Uibes as soon as possible. Let us hope that 

 Mr. Knowldin will oblige us in this point, and we shall 

 have something good to say for him. If any exhibitor 

 has to travel to the show let me warn him to keep his 

 two eyes — one is not enough — on his boxes all the way 

 from home, for some of us have suffered in the past. 



Now, a hint or two about the judge. He is not only a 

 judge but a chief justice, and a stern one to boot. 

 Mighty particular he is in all respects, with an eye like 

 a hawk that lets nothing escape him. He is not one of 

 your so-called judges ; on the contrary, he is fnctle 

 princcps, one of the best living authorities on the rose 

 at the present. Some years ago he carried off the 

 amateur championship in England, but of recent years 



pressure of business has made him, much against his 

 will, give up to a great extent that part of rose-growing 

 wherein he excelled — viz., rose-showing. That he has 

 a most determined manner about him, I can vouch for, 

 for he told me once of a terrible fate that befell him. He 

 and another exhibitor were travelling to a great show in 

 England in a cart loaded with boxes, and when nearing 

 a hill near the strttion the belly-band on the harness 

 broke, with the result that the cart tipped up. The 

 other exhibitor was for turning home, but not so our 

 worthy judge. Sending the boy in charge on to the 

 station to delay the train, he mended the harness with 

 his bootlace and packed up again, and drove to the 

 station. Next day, against England's best men, they won 

 (I hope my memory is right here) the seventy-two, forty 

 trebles, twelve vases, and goodness knows what else. 

 That he can grow good roses no one will dispute, see- 

 ing that on one occasion he showed a bloom of 

 Mrs. John Laing, and got the medal for the best 

 H. P. in show. A day or so later he showed the same 

 bloom and won the medal for best bloom in show, and a 

 couple of days later still this same bloom figured in his 

 winning stand. Every one will own that the late George 

 Prince was a terror in the "eighteen yellow" class 

 with Comtesse de Nadaillac, but he often had to go 

 second to W. J. Grant showing Marie Van Houtte. 

 Rest assured, reader, that you will get fair prices and 

 civility from W. J. G., and do not forget that we in 

 Kildare are proud of him, for he first saw the light in 

 this county. Be neat, do not forget your labels, do not 

 overdo, dress your flowers, and put your best foot for- 

 ward, and let us show him our best. 



So far as I can judge it will be a good show, but there 

 is just the likelihood of some of our best flowers being 

 over. There is one point I would very much like to see 

 cleared up. So far as I can see the N. R. Society has 

 never made out a list of what constitutes a dark or light 

 rose. There are many flowers on the borderland of 

 light and dark. Take S. M. Rodocanachi, for instance, 

 "glowing rose " the catalogues put it, but this hardly 

 describes the colour. It is very doubtful if it is a dark 

 rose— in fact I should place it as a " light " variety, but 

 there are others who might say to the contrary. 

 Where are we to draw the line ? Maman Cochet is 

 shown as a light variety, though in my opinion it is 

 darker than S. M. R. At present it appears as if it 

 rested with the judge to say what in his opinion when 

 judging is to pass or disqualify a particular variety. 

 We must get this point settled, and who can settle it 

 better for us than the man who is coming! 



^w ^* ^^ 



BoKDEAix-Si ciAR MIXTURES.— From the result of an 

 extended series of experiments by A. Kolliker with 

 Bordeaux spraying fluid, to which a little sugar or 

 molasses has been added, it would seem that distinct 

 advantages arise from the presence of the sugar. It is 

 among other things claimed that the keeping properties 

 of the fluid are increased, and that owing to certain 

 chemical changes that ensue, as a result of exposure 

 to the action of the air, free copper is liberated, 

 and that this increases the fungicidal action of the 

 wash. 



