14^ 



IRISH GARDENING, 



Native Dvc Plants 



Current 1 opies. 



DTK INT. a ivoi-nl visit lo llu- wcsi of hvl.nul wi- 

 won- miK-li inlc-ii-sU-a in tlu- iiu-thod of ilvini,- 

 luMiu- >ini.. wools with ilyos .-xtiacloil from 

 diftorenl plants -mostly liolu-iis -i^'o^vini,- in tiio ilis- 

 triol. As most people know tlio introdiK-lion in tlio 

 eig-litecnth CLMUiiry of foreign ».lyes possessing higlu-r 

 commercial advantages rapidly displaced the vegetable 

 dyes peculiar to the country, and it is only along 

 the western seaboard that the old fashion still 

 lingers of using native plants. Many of the shades 

 of colour obtainable by the use of certain plants are 

 distinctlv artistic, and it may interest many of our 

 readers to know of a few more or less common plants 

 that may be used for this purpose. The mordant is 

 commonly boiled with the wool, and the plant used is 

 alum, which not only brings out the colour b.it fixes it 

 in the fabric of the wool. Pale yellows are given with 

 the leaves of pear. plum, birch, and willow, also with 

 the sweet gale of bogs ;ind the redshank (Persicarca) 

 of cultivated fields. The yellows produced can be 

 darkened by the addition of alkalies (potash or ammonia^ 

 The ragwort, whose yellow flowering heads are so 

 conspicuous in many pastures, also yields a fine yellow, 

 but the best yellow is that obtained from weld or dyers" 

 mignonette {Reseda Luteola). This latter plant was a 

 great favouiite with dyers in dying wools green. The 

 common corn m irigold {Chrysanthemum segetum) gives 

 a deep yellowapproaching orange. Browns of different 

 shades are yielded by several common plants. Alder 

 bark, with different proportions of alum, gives varying 

 tints of red. and with copperas various shades of black. 

 Practically similar colours may be obtained from the 

 bark of oak and birch. Beautiful yellow-browns may be 

 got from ling, one of the commonest of our heathers, and 

 a fine, rich russet brown from the lichen, known as Sticta 

 pulmonacea. Various species of another lichen genus 

 (Parmelia) yield charming shades of crottle browns. 

 Fresh walnut husks and the rhizomes cf the white water- 

 lily give particularly rich browns ; they require no mor- 

 dants, and the wool is soft and delightful to the touch. 



Greens may be obtained from the ripe berries of 

 privet with alum and from the flowering tips of the 

 common reed [Phragmiles communes) with copperas. 

 Very few native plants appear to yield good reds. 

 The' tormentil {PutentlUa tormenliUa) gives a dull red 

 with alum, and the fresh inner bark of birch gives a 

 slightly brighter shade. Woad {Isatis tinrtoria) is the 

 only plant giving a blue colour. It is said that the 

 best green is that produced when the wool is first dyed 

 with woad and then "topped" with weld. A large 

 number of interesting experiments en this subject was 

 carried out some years ago by the late Dr. Plowright, 

 and although vegetable dyes have long ceased to be 

 of much economic importance his results are well worth 

 our careful consideration. 



^w t^ t^ 



Crowns for kings' wearing, gems for all men's sharing, 

 Rubies from the rowan trees, diadems of dew ; 



Thorny gorse for golden thrones, tapestries of brown 

 fir cones 

 Gifts of price were these from winds that blew. 



I 



!••. IVm.i.. Ro 



il Uotanii- Gardens, Glasnevin. 



' is ,1 recognised fact in gardening that by burning 

 soil its fertility is subsequently increased, although 

 fov ;i short time afier the burning its fertility may 



lessened. .Some cuiumher and tomato growers 



who have difficulty in getting new 



oil 



•very ye 



ir m.iki 



use of this knowledge, and will sometimes bake their 

 soil instead of changing il. At the British Association's 

 meeting at Sheffield in September, Dr. E. J. Russel 

 detailed some interesting facts and theories bearing 

 upon the important subject of soil fertility. Drs. Russe! 

 and Hutchinson have been conducting a series of ex- 

 periments at the Rothamsted Kxperimental Farm. 

 They find that crops benefited greatly when the soil was 

 first heated to a temperature of 70 degrees to 100 

 degrees for two hours, while treatment for forty-eight 

 hours with the vapour of toluene, &c., followed by a 

 complete volatilisation of the antiseptic, brought 

 about an increase of 30 per cent, or so in the crop. 

 Moreover, after analysis the plants were found to have 

 taken up larger quantities of nitrogen and other foods 

 from the treated soil, so that the increase of the crop 

 must be due to greater supplies of plant foods in the 

 soil and not to mere stimulus. Most of the foods in 

 the soil are made suitable for the u.se of plants by 

 beneficial bacteria in the soil, and Dr. Russel maintains 

 that the partial sterilising of the soil only destroys some 

 of these bacteria, but entirely destroys hitherto unsus- 

 pected but larger organisms in the soil which feed upon 

 the living bacteria. So it seems that these larger 

 injurious organisms are more easily destroyed than the 

 smaller beneficial bacteria. After the soil was watered 

 and left for a time the bacteria increased to a degree 

 that was never attained under normal conditions. 



The prize essay on profitable fruit growing by John 

 Wright is a small but well-known book, sound and 

 reliable in its teaching. It should be in the hands of 

 all interested in fruit, for it can be obtained for the sum 

 of one shilling. In the ninth edition now published the 

 selection of varieties has been revised and brought up 

 to date, their suitability for the purposes indicated has 

 been confirmed by the leading experts. A short 

 chapter on fruit growing in Ireland is included, and on 

 page 100 an interesting example is given where an old 

 orchard in Co. Roscommon, three acres in extent, 

 produced a crop of apples which realised only £^ lOS. 

 The old trees were headed back, grafted with that 

 splendid apple Bramley's Seedling, and after three 

 years from grafting the crop was expected to 

 realise j^ioo, a really fine example of renovating an old 

 orchard. 



The photo shows a good specimen of the double 

 white annual larkspur, sometimes known as the stock- 

 flowered larkspur. Along the borders at Glasnevin 

 they have been greatly admired throughout the season, 

 and are still in flower. They are of a tall branching 

 habit, growing three to five feet high according to cut 

 ture, and can be obtained in various colours as white, 

 pink, carmine, or violet. For supplying cut flowers 

 they are also of great value. These colour forms an 

 varieties of Delphinium consolida. and should not b([ 



