IRISH GAKDtlNMNG 



'33 



ha\c all.iiiKHl ;i i;iHhI si/o :nul iiii.' \w\\ I'mi^lKHl 

 speL"iiiu-n>. pai liallv lill llu'in with a liaiui li>i k 

 so thai tlic lipcniiii^ proicss may ho liaslciKi.1. 

 About the hi.'i,'imiini,'- of Si'ptciiilier is i|iiito lout; 

 enoujfh to alli'w iIumu io ii-inaln in ihc ijioiiiul, 

 for if left loiii^cj mam ol tho host will in ail 

 prohahility sphl or become discoloured. One 

 olteii hears that 

 these specimens 

 l\o not k e e p 

 well, but this 

 failure is i^eiie- 

 rally ilue to the 

 careless \v a \ 

 in which I h e 

 o n i o n s a r e 

 handled. Lay 

 them out in the 

 open, exposeil 

 to sun aiul air, 

 turnini^ t h e m 

 over at intcj- 

 vals ot a lew 

 days. 1 1 bad 

 weather p r e - 

 \ails tini-.h the 

 ripeniny p r o - 

 cess nude r 

 glass. The 

 roiiijh outside 

 skin shouUl be 

 r e m o \ e d, so 

 that when the 

 work is com- 

 pleted only one 

 smooth skin ol 

 a nutty-h a z e 1 

 brown appear- 

 ance is notice- 

 able, while the 

 necks should be 

 tied down neat- 

 ly and made to 



look as small as possible, Willi rci^artl to \arie- 

 ties, Ailsa Craig is, undoubtedly, the best onion 

 for exhibition purposes. The true specimen 

 should be deep, almost o\al and without anv 

 tinge of red in it. When staging for com- 

 petition every bulb shoukl be arranged so as 

 to stand quite clear ol its neiyhboui', and 

 every endeavour shoidd be made to ha\e each 

 bulb as nearly alike as possible. 



I 



E..B. 



P/nilo (y] 



AlL^A CuAIi; OmoX 



I lif l'r()p;iL',;iti()ii ol shrubs. 



\ nurseries and large ,i;arilens where bij; 

 i|n.intrties are required this work is going 

 on more or less constantly throughout the 

 year in o\-n; way or another. The amateur and 

 private gardener, however, who have many 



interests to look 

 alter b e si d e s 

 have n s u a I I y 

 perforce to con- 

 line themselves 

 to certain times 

 for the various 

 operations con- 

 nected with the 

 management of 

 their gardens. 



September is 

 a very good 

 month to take 

 cuttings of 

 m a n y shrubs. 

 Then the wood 

 is well ripened, 

 but the leaves 

 arestill retained 

 and help to sup- 

 port the cutting 

 while the pro- 

 cess of " cal- 

 1 u s i n g " is 

 going en. 



Soil tor cut- 

 tings should be 

 light and por- 

 ous, consisting 

 of about equal 

 parts of loam 

 and sand, with 

 a little 1 e a f - 

 mould added. 

 The amount of 

 sand and leaf mould necessary varies according 

 to the quality o\ the loam. Heavy stitT loam 



[Liimouiistn Lio. 



will 



require more santl. 



and lii2hl saiulv loam 



should have rather more leaf-moulil- 



Cuttings taken now may be trom four to six 

 inches long. The amateur will find it an 

 advantage to remove each cutting with a 

 "heel"— that is, it should be gently pulled of! 

 the parent shoot, when a portion o\ the older 



