128 



IRISH GARDENING. 



desiroJ lij,"-!!! iiops sm-li as K-IIir-os, railislu-s, iS:c.. may 

 be jfrown hoiwoi'ii ilu> row-, of plaiil^ tii^i yoar after 

 planting:. 



Do not keep llio hoc loo lonj; han.vfiiii; on llu- wall or 

 the cultivator '•under tiie hedge. " but koi-p tiu-ni i^oini; 

 on all favourable occasions, and especiall\ if wccils 

 have made headway durinjf the recent busy limes. 



Clip over hedifes, and clear out longjjrass from hedge 

 bottoms round plots and orchards ; cut out any noxious 

 weeds bv the root, to prevent any further spreading. 

 Clean roads and paths and make out-of-way corners, 

 &c., all tidy and clean. During this month it is a very 

 good plan to make a tour of inspection of all fruit trees, 

 and make careful notes of any changes to be made 

 during the autumn or coming winter. Note anything 

 that has done well or anything not satisfactory or worth 

 continuing to grow. Be particularly careful to note any 

 old trees that may need root-pruning or young trees 

 making too much growth and failing to produce satis- 

 factory crops of fruit. If any trees up to ten or twelve 

 vears of age are making a superabundance of growth 

 and not producing a reasonable amount of fruit, mark 

 them to be lifted when the time arrives (do not hesitate 

 or say *• I'll see what they'll do another year"), or more 

 than likely your chance of crops will only be deferred 

 until the time the trees are lifted. Trees that are not 

 doing well ma}' freqiientlj- be very much benefited by 

 lifting and replanting them in a more genial or suitable 

 compost, or it may happen that the tree has been too 

 deeply planted, and the replanting of tree with the roots 

 nearer the surface will cause it to break away into good 

 growth. If there is not likelihood of much to be done, 

 a handy method of noting the work is to bring round a 

 few labels, write on the label what is to be done with 

 tree, and tie it on the tree to remain until the work can 

 be taken in hands. Be careful to have an eye to grafts, 

 and if they have made much growth secure them against 

 been broken off with wind by tying a light, tidy stake 

 to the stock securely, and then tie the graft to this in 

 such a way that it cannot sway with high winds. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



Bv William Tyndall, Horticultural Instructor, 

 Co. Kildare. 



SPRING CABBAGE. -This is one of the most im- 

 portant crops grown in the garden, and nnicli 

 depends on the state of the ground, the time of 

 sowing, the locality and variety sown whether the 

 grow-er has success or failure. The best time for 

 sowing seeds is from the middle of July to the end of 

 first week of August, and I would make two sowings 

 about the beginning and end of the time mentioned. 

 For the early sowing select one of the small, early 

 hearting sorts as Ellam's Early, Excelsior (Hawlmark), 

 April (Sutton), or Flower of Spring, the latter is much 

 larger than the other three varieties named. Vov the 

 last sowing, in addition to Flower of Spring, sow either 

 Nonpareil or Mein's No. i, two good cabbages for 

 succession. If not already sown, select ground in good 

 condition and on a good warm border, and with the 

 soil in a moist condition from the recent heavy rains, 

 germination will soon take place and growth be very 

 fast, so that the largest plants will be fit for putting out 



from llic middle to llu- eiul ol' Si-ptemln r, not putting 

 oil |ilanting till October, as is so often done, for with 

 this vegetable earliness is everything, as ;it no season 

 o( the year is cabbage more appreciated than during 

 April, when other vegetables are scarce. Cover the 

 seed beds with a net to protect from birds that often do 

 much destruction. 



BkiKCOM.— Plant out wilhoul ilel.iy Lite broccoli, 

 selecting fairly firm giouiiil, and gi\e jilenty of room 

 between the plants. Model, April Queen, and X'ictory 

 are good sorts for planting now. Only put out good, 

 stout, well-rooted plants at this time of year. If late 

 cauliflowers are required, a small planting of Early 

 .\utumn Giant may still be put out in rich ground, and 

 good heads should be cut in October till si'lf-pro- 

 tecting broccoli are fit for use. 



Ti itNii's. — Make a sowing of Orange Jelly, Black 

 .Stone, or X'eitch's Red Globe turnips on ground 

 cleared of potatoes, am! the\- will turn in useful for 

 winter and spring use. 



Lettice.— About the middle ol' the month make a 

 sowing of lettuce to stand the winter and be fit for use 

 in the spring, the strongest plants to be put out the 

 end of September and remainder to stand in the seed 

 bed till March, therefore sow on a warm dry border. 

 Hardy Green, Hammersmith. Stanstead Park, and 

 Winter Pearl are good hardy \arieties. 



Onions. — The seed should be sown at once ol' 

 Tripoli and other onions in ground deeply dug ani.1 

 manured. .A few good varieties are Giant I-cmon, 

 Rocca, Red Flat Italian in Tripoli section ; Ailsa Craig 

 and Bedfordshire Champion should also be sown, being 

 quite hardy. If wanted for pulling young, White 

 Lisbon is generally grown, being quick of growth in 

 spring. 



Spinach. — Make a sowing of spinach in well pre- 

 pared ground deeply dug and manured, work in 

 a good dressing of wood ashes. Sow in lines fifteen 

 inches apart. Good varieties are Y'ictoria Round, The 

 Barker, and the old Prickly spitiach ; the two former are 

 equally as hardy as Prickly and have much finer leaves. 



Cai LIKLOWER. — ,\bout the third week of this month 

 make a sowing of cauliflower seed (Dwarf Erfurt or 

 Early London, and Autumn Giant) on a warm, sheltered 

 dry border, and protect from birds. 



C^^ ^^ tfi^ 



Maram grass {Psamina arenaria) is very common on 

 the sand dunes along our coa.sts. It is provided with 

 vigorous underground runners from which arise stiff" 

 sheets that grow to between two and three feet high. 

 The leaves are long, rigid, and narrow, and of a glaucous 

 light green colour. It is of great utility in binding loose 

 sand and preventing the wind from shifting it inland. 

 There are in many of our seaside golf links stretches 

 of bare sandhills that might well be planted with this 

 grass to the great improvement of the course. In 

 Holland vast tracts of sand are being systema- 

 tically reclaimed by the planting of maram. The 

 method adopted is to dig up the underground runners 

 (they usually lie about two or three inches below the 

 surface) and to cut them up into segments, having at 

 least one " eye " or shootbud on each piece. These are 

 then planted in the sand and well stamped in. 



