IRISH GARDENING 



20 



altliou^li il lias Ten perfume iiiid all other charaiteris- 

 ik's of a Tea, yet it was not really one; il lacked the 

 • actor in the absence of which its true character could 

 not ilovelop. Instances of (his are known in the case 

 of two white rabbits, some of the pro^jeny of which were 

 black and others Jjrey. So, in like manmr. two wind- 

 roses may produce red or even yellow roses, the resuli 

 being due to the interaction of factors existing; in the 

 sexual cells. 



That two distinct varieties can be obtained Ironi llu' 

 same hep should cause no surprise, since it is the seed 

 th.it is the unit, not the hep. Il is common knowledjje 

 lh.ll seedllnjcs raised from seed contained in the same 

 hep vary in g^rowth, habit, colour, and perfume. When 

 the sexual cell conveyed by the pollen of one parent 

 meets the sexual cell in the ovum of the other, and the 

 two gametes are yoked together, the seed unit is 

 tormed, and whatever factor is dominant in the one or 

 the other will prevail. In one seed this dominance may 

 lead to the production of a rose allied to the Hybrid 

 I'erpetu.al, in another seed to a Tea. The factors latent 

 or dormant in the gametes affect Iheir offspring for 

 generations to come. 



Sweet Peas. 



\S a lover of this most popular and useful flower I 

 _/~Y write a few lines chiefly on the selection of 

 suitable varieties for exhibition and garden 

 decoration. Before naming a few of the best varieties 

 1 would like to say a few words on the preparation of the 

 ground for the plants. They should be raised by sowing 

 in pots and boxes at once and placed in a cool green- 

 house or frame, giving plenty of air when the weather is 

 mild, after the plants are an inch high. There are 

 manv fancy composts used by growers for filling pots 

 and boxes, but I find little difference in the plants it 

 watering and airing have been properly done. I know 

 two first-rate growers; one uses pieces of sods about 

 iine and a half or two inches in diameter and the same 

 deep for each plant, scooping a hole in the centre three 

 quarters of an inch deep for each seed, and placing the 

 pieces close together in boxes, so that a large number 

 of plants can be raised in a small space, then each plant 

 lifts out with a fine ball of soil when planting out in 

 .\pril. The other grower uses a mixture of loam broken 

 line two parts, and one part leaf-mould, for filling pots 

 and boxes ; he also places over the moss used in 

 covering drainage a good layer of sweetened horse 

 manure passed through a half-inch riddle. Plants are 

 equally good whether raised in pots or turf, so that you 

 see the compost is not verv Important, other culturvil 

 details being right. 



Prkpakation of thk GkolM). — It would save us 

 much hard work if Sweet Peas could be grown fit to 

 win prizes without deep trenching and heavily manuring 

 the ground, but we ;ill know that it cannot be done, ,ind 

 experience plainly shows that rarely are the flowers 

 good and the stems long unles- the plants are highly 

 fed, and the soil well prepared in the early winter for 

 preference. For each row of .Sweet Peas, open trenches 

 two to three feet wide and the same deep; if the soil is 

 good for that depth take off the top two feet of soil and 



give a heavy dressing of dung to the opened trench and 

 dig deeply in. If yon have a shallow soil take off the 

 good soil and barrow away the bad soil underneatii to 

 a depth of two or three feet. Then break up the bottom 

 of trench and fill with good soil (chopped sods that 

 were cut and stacked for twelve months are best, but 

 difficult for many to get) and well-rotted cow manure, 

 three parts soil to one of manure, well mixed. When 

 filling in the trench give a dressing of bone-meal, sav 

 one half-pound to yard run oftrench. and a like amount 

 of superphosph.ile and sulphate of potash, keeping 

 the latter near the surface, which should be left rough 

 to be acted on by the weather, frost, &c. 



V,\EJIKIIKS. -It is difficult to give a list o( new and 

 old varieties and keep within the limited space avail- 

 able in Irish C.^riunini;. but the following twenty- 

 four will be found all first-class sorts, good alike for 

 exhibition and garden decoration : — Maud Holmes, 

 deep crimson, the best of this colour; Klfrida Pearson, 

 improved Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes ; Thomas Stevenson, 

 orange, the best of this colour ; Hercules, improved 

 Countess Spencer; Etta Dyke, best white ; Clara Curtis, 

 best deep cream ; Nettie Jenkins, a good lavender ; 

 Elsie Herbert, white pink-edged ; Nubian, a good 

 maroon ; Mrs. C. W. Breadmore, cream-edged pink ; 

 Earl Spencer, good orange, requires shade ; Mrs. Hugh 

 Dickson (new), cream pink ; Constance Oliver, good 

 cream pink; Tennant Spencer, good rosy mauve: 

 \'ermiIion Brilliant, fine Scarlet Spencer; Caplivalion 

 Spencer, a nice wine colour; Doris Usher, a grand deep 

 pink or cream ; Flora Norton Spencer, clear pale blue ; 

 Mrs. W. J. Unwin, white-flaked, orange scarlet ; Bar- 

 bara, new orange, does not burn badly ; George 

 Herbert, a large rose-carmine ; Florence Nightingale, 

 lavender and rose edge ; Afterglow, violet-blue and 

 rose ; Sterling Stent, salmon orange. 



The above are all Spencer varieties. When giving 

 a list of sorts in Irish G.\ki>i;mng in .September. 

 1907, I little thought the old grandiflora varieties were 

 so soon to i;c< out. W. T. 



( y " bi- lonfifinctL) 



A Winter Stroll. 



By K. .M. l\i|.nicK. 



WALKINCi lound the Botanic Gardens, Glas- 

 nevin. on the 20th oi January one fifids quite 

 a host of interestitig plants in flitwer. We 

 have to commence with several Irises. Iris stylosa, 

 a native of .Algeria, and its white variety, are both 

 flowering as if in defiance o( all winter wind and 

 rain. Among the dwarf Irises the lovely yellow 

 Danfordia." is open, and seems to enjoy life in the 

 warm border outside tbe Cactus House. In the same 

 border we have I. V'artani, which, next to I. stylosa, 

 is the earliest of all. This Iris belongs to the 

 same section as the well-known I. reticulata, which 

 we will see next month. The flowers are a delicate 

 lavender blue, with _\*ellow and dark lilac markings on 

 the falls, about six inches high, and having grey- 

 green, four-angled leaves, armed with sharp points. 

 I. reticulata var. sophenensis is almost over, but I. 

 persica Tauri and Heldreichii are still throwing' up 



