IRISH GARDENING 



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nimil;i niaiatoidcs. 



ala 



yt 1. rHOl'l'.ll originally foiiiKl by I'l'ie Di'lavay. 

 ^~\^ this plant was introilucoil to millivation by Mr. 

 (.'■eor^e Korrest when collectinjiiii West Vimiian 

 lor the Itees, Ltd. The collector found it in abiind.ince 

 in the Tali \'alley. favourinjj moist, sunny situations, at 

 an altitude of about 5,000 to 7.000 feet. Mr. Forrest 

 collected thirty-nine species of the Primrose family in 

 China, and fifteen of these proved to bo new, and most 

 of llu-in have been found to be hardy in our gardens. 



I'rimula mala- 

 coides cannot be 

 rocommeniietl a s 

 a hardy plant, but 

 as an indoor plant 

 it is i|iiite an acqui- 

 sition. .At Cilas- 

 iu'\ in the seeds 

 were so w n i n 

 March or .\ p r i 1 

 last, aiul wore 

 grown in frame 

 and house without 

 any heat ; now the 

 plants are in five 

 and six inch pots, 

 and have been 

 producing a cloud 

 ^tt' lii^ht, graceful 

 spikes throughout 

 January and Feb- 

 ruary. The photo 

 shows a small 

 plant, and gives 

 an idea of the 

 habit. The flowers 

 are small, lilac ii\ 

 colour, having a 

 pleasing frag- 

 rance. They are 

 luii'iie in whorls 

 on slender stems, 

 a foot to eighteen 

 inches high. The 

 seedlings vary 

 much in size and 

 shade of colour of 

 the flowers, so it 

 is not strange to hear a while form has been raised. 



For winter flowering, a light, airy house with enough 

 beat to exclude frost and damp is desirable, otherwise 

 the dense mass of foliage is inclined to rot near the 

 centre of the crowns. Mr. Walpole, at Mount Usher, 

 grows it well near a stream ; in such a place it flowers 

 with great profusion throughout the summer months. 



One would hardly think that the flowers would l.i-.t in 

 water, yet they will remain fresh for a week wiien cut, 

 and for small vases they are as light and fairj- a 

 decoration as one could well desire. 



Mr. Forrest has again st.irted out to China to hunt 

 for new plants. This time he goes for Mr. P. D. 

 Williams, an enthusiastic amateur in Cornwall. Our 

 best wislies for sucoeis and a safe return go with him. 



I'holo I'yj 



I^crjK'tiial Mow criiig Carnations. 



Hy J. CV. HlsAM, O.ik P.irk Ci.irdens, Cu low. 



I.\ est.ihlishuients where Carnations are inconstant 

 demand for decorative purposes a good batch of 

 the winter-flowering v.irielies is indispensable. 

 Of late years these Carnations have been much 

 improved, and there arc now a large number of 

 splendid varieties in many pleasing shades of colour. 



which produce 

 fine flowers with 

 non-splitting 

 calyx on long stifl" 

 stems. 



In private estab- 

 lishments it is 

 much better to 

 grow a good 

 batch of, say, half 

 a dozen reliable 

 kinds, choosing 

 favourite colours, 

 than to grow only 

 a few plants each 

 of a large number 

 of varieties. My 

 reason for advo- 

 cating this is that 

 by this means it 

 is possible to cut 

 sufliciout flowers 

 of one colour to 

 decorate a large 

 dinner table o r 

 drawingroom.and 

 if the plants have 

 been well grown 

 one can cut and 

 come again. Per- 

 petual Carnations 

 are easily propa- 

 gated from c u t - 

 tings at almost 

 any season of the 

 year, but prefer- 

 ably September 

 and January. 

 They root very easily in shallow boxes filled with sandy 

 soil and made fairly firm ; fresh loam well broken up 

 with the hands, with a liberal allowance of sharp sand, 

 suits them well. Some growers recommend sand alone 

 for rooting the cuttings, and they certainly root very 

 quickly in it, but I find that if some soil is added the 

 rooted cuttings take more kindly to the heavier compost 

 when potted up. 



The cuttings inserted during September root quite 

 well in a cool house. It is a good plan to put the 

 cuttitig boxes into deeper boxes and cover with glass. 

 They should be put in a position near the roof-glass 

 and shaded from bright sunshine. They should never 

 he allowed to get dry at the root, and an occasional 

 sprayi.ig overhead with clear water helps them greatly. 



I'RIMIIA M.MAfOiriES 



