I02 



IRISH GARDENING 



potash), it follows that the plant must pass 

 a large amount of water through its body in 

 order to build up its cells. A sunflower plant 

 about 6 feet high will evaporate during a day 

 about a quart of water, and it has been esti- 

 mated that for every gramme of dry solid matter 

 produced by a plant 250-400 grammes of water 

 must be transpired away. Transpiration is in- 

 creased by heat, bv light, and hy dryness and 

 motion of the air. It is greater by day than 

 by night. The stomata, or pores of the 

 leaf, can regulate the transpiration of plants 

 to a certain extent by closing automatically 

 when the air is very dry and opening widely 

 when it is moist ; this is brought about by 

 changes in the turgidity of the surrounding cells. 

 These stomata also fulfil the purpose of the 

 breathing pores, and permit the exchange ot 

 oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acidgas between 

 the atmosphere and the interior of the leaf; the 

 plant gets all its carbon in this way from the 

 carbonic acid gas entering by the stomata. It 

 has been estimated that a medium-sized cabbage 

 leaf is provided with about eleven million 

 stomata, while in the sunflower leaf they number 

 about thirteen million. 



Since water is such a vital necessity to the 

 plant it follows that the cultivator must do all 

 in his power to secure a sufficient supply for 

 his crops. Deep cultivation and the addition 

 of decayed organic matter will cause the soil to 

 store more water ; mulching or hoeing the sur- 

 face vvill check the loss of water in dry weather. 

 In the case of cuttings transpiration must be 

 checked, for there are no roots to absorb water 

 from the soil; by keeping the cuttings covered 

 with a bell glass or frame, and shaded from the 

 sun, transpiration is reduced to a minimum. 

 Probably the correct watering of pot plants is one 

 of the greatest tests of a cultivator ; if he over- 

 waters, his plants die of suffocation of the roots 

 or sourness of the soil, if he vmder-waters they 

 die of drought. It is only the man of experience 

 that knows the happy mean. 



Experiments on the Pollination 

 of our Hardy Fruits. 



(Conlinued from p. 84.) 

 By Cfxil H. Hooper, M.R.A.C. 



APPLES. —Out of 6^^ varieties of apples tried, on 

 wliicli unopened blossoms were bag-ged and left 

 untouched, only Iiisli Peaeli matured its fruit, and 

 that was very g-ood ; oftliose liagged and pollinated with 

 their own pollen by brush or .intliers. the following 11 

 varieties set and matured their fruit : - Irish Peach, 

 White Transparent, NewtOTi Woruler, EcUlinville Seed- 

 ling, Summer Golden Pippin, Haumann's Red Winter 

 Reinette, Peasgoods Nonsuch. Christmas Pearmain, 

 King of the Pippins (damaged by sawtly, eventually fell), 

 and I believe .American Mother and James Grieve, but 

 am not certain of the two l.ilter. Whereas in nearlv all 



the crosses made good fruits have resulted : out of 64 

 crosses some 48 were successful. Among- the best may 

 be mentioned Brabant Bellefleur, with Beauty of Bath 

 pollen ; Mr. Gladstone with Beauty of ISath ; Alfrislon 

 with Beauty of Bath ; Christmas Pearmain with Cox's 

 Pomona ; ?'It?re de Menage with Sandringham and 

 Hornmead Pearmain ; .Mlington Pippin with Summer 

 Golden Pippin; High Cannons with lirenadier ; The 

 Queen with Haumanns Red Winter Reinetle ; Lane's 

 Prince .Albert with The Queen ; Cellini with (iraham's 

 Royal Jubilee. These crosses were made by bagging 

 unopened buds and afterwards pollinating, but witMout 

 taking out the stamens from the flowers; the pollina- 

 tion was done either by anthers held by forceps or b\' 

 camel's hair brush, the brush being dipped in methylated 

 spirits each time before using again, allowing the brush 

 to dry before use. 



In the case of Cox's Orange Pippin tree nine bunches 

 of unopened Howers had their stamens taken out with 

 forceps, and the stigmas werethen pollinated by a camel's 

 hair brush or by the anthers with the pollen of nine 

 different varieties o( apple and then tied up in muslin or 

 paper bags ; this was to try to find out which pollens 

 would give the best results. Eight of these set fruit — 

 namely, with High Cannons, Bramley's Seedling, 

 Grenadier, Lady Henneker, Golden Spire. Duchess's 

 Favourite, tile Queen, and with its own pollen; only 

 with Peasgood's Nonsuch did fruit not set. However, 

 these fruits gradually fell, and only two matured^ 

 namely, tho>e pollinated with High Cannons and 

 Bramley's Seedling, the latter being one of the best 

 fruits on the tree. In this case it was probably chance 

 that the Peasgood pollen did not set fruit, as several 

 good apples, such as "Charles Ross" and " Rival," ha\e 

 been raised from this cross. 



Cox's Orange is found by experimenters to be self- 

 sterile — i.e.. does not mature its fruit when polliitated 

 with its own pollen- it is, therefore, important to find 

 a good polienizer to intermix where it is planted. Mr. 

 C. Martin, .Manager \:\'i the Toddington Orchard 

 Company, told me his best fruit of Cox's Orange Pippin 

 came from a plantation interplanted with Duchess's 

 Favourite ; one grower told me he found Worcester 

 Pearmain a good kind to plant amongst Cox. 



In reference to this subject Mr. John Smith, the 

 Horticultural Instructor for Durham, writing in the 

 Ganioii'rs Chritnirle on October 2Sth. 191 1, page 310, 

 " Experiments in the Pollination and Setting of F'ruit," 

 recommends from actual experience planting a crab 

 apple (such as John Downie, l)artmouth. or Siberian) to 

 every twelve Co.x's Orange, as he finds the pollen oi 

 crab apples very potent pollen. At the Government 

 School of Gardening at Buda-Pesth, with the object of 

 pollination, the dilTerent kinds of apples were di\'ided 

 into families ami pl.anted in groups, thus Codlins, 

 Pippins, Pearmains, Nonpareils, Russets, Reinelles, 

 Pomeroys, Costards and Crabs ; from experience this 

 is considered a good system. .Apparently it is an 

 accepted fact that cultivated apple trees set their fruit 

 better in the neighbourhood of a crab tree. 1 shoidtl 

 like here to record the 53 \'arieties of apples that in 1911 

 did not mature fruit with me with their own pollen, but 

 before stating tb.at .a wariety is self-sterile duplicate 

 trials ma}' be needed to be made for more than one 

 season and in several places: — Adam's Pearmain, 

 .\lfriston, .-Mlington Pippin, .Annie Elizabeth, .Astr.achan. 

 Beauty of Hath. Beauty of Kent, Belle de Pontoise. 

 Benn's Red, Bismarck. Blenheim Orange, Brabant 

 Belle Fleur, Cellini, Coi kle Pippin. Cox's Orange 

 Pippin, Cox's Ptimon.'i, Duchess's Fa\ourite. Egrettiont 

 Russett. I'earn's Pippin. Cilailstone, Ciolden Noble, 

 Golden Spire, Grenadier, Hambling's .Seedling, Hiyh 

 Cannons, Hoar\' Morning, Holl.andbury, Hornmead's 

 Pearmain. King of Tompkin's County, Latly Henneker, 

 Ladv Sudelev. Lane's Prince .Albert, Lotldington, Lord 

 Derbv'? Lord SunieUI, Mi-rede Menage. Old Kawthorn- 



