142 



IRISH GARDENING 



The Compass Plant of the Prairie. 



" Look at this delicate plant tliat lifts its Iiead from the meadow. 

 See how its leaves are turned north, as true as the magnet ; 

 This is the compass flower, that the finger of God has planted 

 Here in the houseless wild, to direct the traveller's journey 

 Over the sea lil;e, pathless, limitless waste of the desert. 

 Such in the soul of man is faitli." 



— Fio'ii EvititgchiH'. 



THESE lines wore inspired b)' a letter whicli 

 Long-fellow received from a United States 

 general about the plant's peculiar characteristic 

 oftnriiing the edges of its leaves dtie north and soiitli, 

 and the fact seems to have long been known and 

 made use of as a guide b)' hunters in the open prairies 

 of North America. 



.'\lthough many disbelieved tluit a plant could indicate 

 direction, yet when Professor Asa Gray investigated the 

 matter upon the wild plants in the prairies, he found 

 that the above lines were founded on fact, and that the 

 edges of the basal leaves were generally turned due 

 north and south. 



Most plants of this kind liave the stoma or breathing- 

 pores of the leave.s on the under surface, but it is inter- 

 esting to note in this case that the pores are equalh' 

 divided on both surfaces, and the " palisade cells " of 

 the upper and lower strata are very much alike. 



The poet is quite astray in describing this as a deli- 

 cate plant, for it is a hardy, strong-growing herbaceous 

 perennial with flower stems reaching from ^ to 7 feet 

 high, according to whether it is planted in good or bad 

 soil. The flowers are yellow, about three inches across, 

 something like small simflowers, produced in .'Vtigtist or 

 .September. The foliage is distinct and handsome, being 

 divided into fine segments. 



The plant is easy to grow in any open situation, al- 

 though not exceedingly showy, yet is ati attractive and 

 interesting plant to have in the garden. 



The Beginner's Guide to Fruit 

 Growing.* 



By F. k. Wai-c.h, Massachusetts .'\gricullural College. 



THIS eminently practical little book deserves to be 

 read by all who contemplate embarking on fruit 

 growitig, whether for pleasure or profit. True, 

 it is written primarily for American beginners, 3'et the 

 sound practical advice given will appeal to all reason- 

 able-minded people ; and in Ireland, where the future of 

 the industry is fraught with much promise, such a work 

 as this should do much lo encourage the novice antl 

 clear away many nattnal doubts and fears. Every 

 aspect of fruit culture is lucidly dealt with, from the 

 propagation of the young trees lo the renovation of old 

 ones. Allowance must be made for the difl"erence in 

 certain details as practised in America. In propagation, 

 for instance, root grafting of apples is common in many 

 parts of America, This system is not practised to anv 

 great extentin this country, most nurserymen preferring 



• Orange Judd Company, New ^'ork ; Kegan Paul, I'renih, 'Irubuer 

 and Co,, Ltd., London. ;{s, 6d, nci. 



budding. The author, however, discusses the \arious 

 systems quite impartialh', and concludes that good trees 

 iTiay be produced by any or all of the various methods 

 practised. The present writer, however, prefers the 

 budded specimen as more suitable for general purposes 

 here since the stock is obviously much stronger at the 

 beginnini;. Here again, however, allowance has to be 

 made for the wonderful growth which takes place during 

 summer in the States. 



Interesting chapters on orchard management, culli 

 vating, spraying, &c., combine to atld mucli value lo I he 

 treatise generally. 



Lists of the various varieties of fruits arc included, bul 

 these, with few exceptions, will not be found suitable for 

 this cotnitr}-, and some, such as peaches and apricots, 

 do not coiue under the heading of orchard fruits in 

 Britain and Ireland. The book is amply illustrated, 

 well boimd,and clearly printed, and is a credit to author 

 anil publishers alike. J. \V. B. 



Suh-.\lpine Plants.*" 



By H. Sri-ART Thomp.son. 



IN a former work entitled " Alpine Plants of Em-ope,' 

 .Mr. Thompson has dealt with the .-Xlpines of the 

 iiiglier regions in a masterly m.anner. Sub-.\Ipines 

 when applied to plants must bea very elastic term, for al- 

 though a few plants seem to reside onlj' in the sub- Alpine 

 zone, yet the majority overlap — that is, besides being 

 found in this region they either ascend to the -Alpine 

 zone, or may also be found in the lowlands. Many of our 

 own native plants are foimd in the Swiss upland meadows 

 and woods, and although Switzerland possesses about 

 600 more species t:>^ plants than the British Isles, Mr. 

 Thompson points out that we have much to be thankful 

 for in our own beautiful flora. 



Sub-.-\lpines, not having to face such severity of 

 weather and boisterous winds as the high Alpines do, 

 naturally assume a large stature, and we get most of 

 the stronger growing Alpines for our own rockeries 

 from this region, 



June and early July is a good lime to see the (ien- 

 tians, .Alpenrose, &c,, in their full glory ; but as m<'in\- 

 visilors to .Switzerland take their holiday in .August, 

 Mr. Thompson gives a chapter on •' Fruits and Berries " 

 to be found about that time. A short chapter follows 

 on the cultivation of Alpine plants, in which the author 

 writes — " As early summer approaches, inost '.\lpines' 

 should be well watered once or twice a day." .Such 

 frequent watering is neither necessary or desirable, for 

 most .Alpines are deep-rooting, and on a well-built 

 rockery their roots delve deeply in the soil in search of 

 moisture, 



"Collecting anil Pieserving Plants'' is .a useful chap- 

 ter, and tells the novice how to dry and preserve the 

 plants he collects. The greater part of the book is 

 given up to descriptions of plants — 850 species are 

 describeil anil ^^3 coloui-ed plates with i()S figui'es arc 

 given. 



• "Suh-Alpine I^lants." Published by (i. Routletlge .V Suns. Ltd., 

 London. 7s- 6d- net. 



