IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME V. 



No. 55 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



SEPTEMBER 

 1910 



Horticulture in Ireland. 



A VISITOR'S IMPRESSIONS. 



By C. Wakely, Chief Horticultural Instructor to the Essex County Council. 



E were off to see the 

 " Emerald " Isle ! 

 Would the name 

 be justified? Well, 

 after a pretty good 

 scamper over the 

 country, one must 

 admit that the 

 name fairly applies. 

 True, we were 

 having- a cool, 

 moist summer in East Anglia, which made the 

 contrast less striking than would generally be 

 the case. In this connection one is reminded 

 of rich pastures, a profusion of ferns on many 

 walls, and lastly of the deep-green colouring of 

 many conifers. 



Contrasts between the growth of plants under 

 differing conditions are always helpful to the 

 gardener, except to him who is fixed in a rut, 

 and who seeks to apply hard and fast rules 

 to plants. (Does he exist in Ireland? He is 

 not unknown in England!) Once we have 

 learnt that plants are very much alive we are 

 ready to admit that many and varying condi- 

 tions will probably influence their growth and 

 development. 



It naturally follows that the man working on 

 any particular spot should discover how best to 

 grow his crops. Hence a visitor may hastily 

 form wrong conclusions. I may remark further 

 that, as our party consisted chiefly of agricul- 

 turists, our visits to gardens were generally 

 rather brief. 



I managed, however, to pay a special visit to 

 the Glasnevin Botanic Gardens. These are far- 



famed, and, I must say, justly so. Such a com- 

 bination of variety and good culture is rarely 

 met with. The gardens and nurseries of Lis- 

 sadell were intensely interesting, especially in 

 connection with the eff'ects of climate on plants. 

 Very much more will be heard of this establish- 

 ment in the near future, and many a garden 

 will be enriched from its treasures. The gar- 

 dens of Bessborough Castle showed many of 

 the possibilities of horticulture in Ireland. 

 Conifers, water-garden, herbaceous plants, 

 shrubs, and fruit were all excellent, and I would 

 fain have lingered longer in this beautiful 

 spot. 



Naturally I was on the look-out for the use 

 made of much smaller gardens and holdings, 

 particularly in view of the scope thus afforded 

 for instruction. One was quite familiar with 

 the important place given to the potato in Ire- 

 land, both as a food and, to a certain extent, for 

 the supply of sets for planting in England. It 

 is not for me to dogmatise as to what should be 

 grown, but I must say that the lack of variety 

 in the average cottage garden was specially 

 striking to an Englishman. Here there is 

 surely room for development and for a deal 

 of instruction. Such variety tests as were seen 

 at the Albert Agricultural College, Glasnevin, 

 should, however, go far to remedy this. 



Where the ground cultivated is of sufficient 

 area to involve marketing of produce it is 

 evident that crops must be considered for which 

 there is a demand. In connection with small 



* >Ir. Wakely was a member of the party of Essex Agriculturists 

 that recently visited Ireland on a tour of inspection, and whose pro- 

 ceedings were so fully recorded in the public Press. — Ed. 



