I82 



IRISH GARDENING 



Bulb Farming; in Ireland. 



O 



Coiicludcil. 



i\ April r2 i visited Messrs. Hogg- & Robertson's 

 bulb farms at Rush and at Malahide, 17 and q 

 miles respectively from Dublin, and easily acces- 

 sible by rail or over good roads by motor. The ground 

 at Rush is a flat, sandy plain, partly sheltered from the 

 sea blasts by low sand hills. Rush is one of the chief 

 centres for early potato growing, parsnips and carrots 

 being also largely cultivated. Owing to exposure, the 

 fields, which are small, are protected with hedges and 

 banks. The bulb grounds, although somewhat scat- 

 tered, cover a large area. The effect from March to 

 June produced by large areas of brilliant colour of 

 Tulips, Anemones, and Narcissi, reminds one of parts 

 of Holland, and justifies the name given, "Holland in 

 Ireland." Tulips are grown here in quantity, early, 

 mid-season, and late, Cottage, Darwin, and species, 

 and all seem to thrive equHlly well. The foliage always 

 appears to be abnormally large and succulent, and deep 

 green in colour, and the bulbs are plump, heavy, and 

 clean. Some of those which were most striking on the 

 day of my visit were Prince de Ligny, Hector Van de 

 Neer, Keizer Kroon, f'ottebakker Scarlet, La Remar- 

 quable. King of Yellows, Kohinoor, White Bird, &c. 

 The Darwins, oi which large quantities are grown, 

 were promising well, and later on amply fulfilled the 

 promise. 



La Mancha. where Mr. James Robertson resides, is 

 about half a mile from Malahide station and from the 

 sea, its name being made famous by the herd of Kerry 

 cattle from which so many prize winners have 

 emanated. The ground here is a good, sandy loam, 

 much heavier than the soil at Rush, and there is also 

 much more shelter. .V large portion of the stock of 

 choice varieties of Narcissi is grown here, and there 

 were several acres of the older standard varieties. 

 A five-acre field was one mass of colour from end to 

 end. The white varieties of Ajax, sometimes found 

 difficult to grow, were especially good and healthy, 

 amongst them being Lady of the Snows, Mrs. Bette- 

 ridge, Countess Cadogan, Mrs. Robert Sydenham. 

 Countess of Mayo, Mrs. T. \V. .Moore, Peter Barr, &c. 

 Other good varieties of other sections which were in 

 evidence were White Queen, White Slave, Weardale 

 Perfection, Bedouin. Florence Pearson, Great Warley, 

 Lady .Arnoti, Lady Margaret Boscawen, Mrs. George 

 V . Brooke, and Mona. The effect of such a quantity 

 of flower in the soft evening light was pleasing in the 

 extreme, and left a sense of complete satisfaction, and 

 a feeling that as regards the plants " all was well." 



On April 15 I went to Sligo to finish at Lissadell my 

 inspection of the principal Irish bulb farms. Lissadell 

 lies at the far. or northern, side of Sligo Bay, which is 

 divided into two by a neck of land terminated bv 

 Roche's Point. The northern portion is known as 

 Drumcliffe Bay, and <:!n the shores of this is Lissadell, 

 facing due south, well sheltered by woods, which were 

 carpeted with primroses in full flower. Bulb growing is 

 only one of the many industries carried on at Lissadell, 

 as. in addition, there is a fine plant nursery, and forcing 

 houses where tomatoes and strawberries are exten 

 sively grown, a poultry farm, a dairy farm, early potato 

 farm, and a large sawmill which is kept supplied with 

 timber from the estate, replanting being judicionslv 

 done to replace the felled trees. Sir josslyn Gore 

 Booth takes a lively personal interest in all t'hat goes 

 on, initiating and supervising it. The bulb farm is 

 divided into two sections, garden and field. The gar- 

 den section is a large piece of ground enclosed by 

 hedges, with long beds eighty yards by three feet six 

 inches, running due north and .south, intersected by a 



path in the middle, and in this enclosure are cultivated 

 the newer and rarer varieties, also the seedlings. A 

 day could profitably be spent studying these seedlings, 

 of which there were many thousands, the result of 

 various crosses. Some of these crosses gave promise 

 of startling results in the near future, notably Trian- 

 ilrus X King .Alfred, Triandrus X Mad. de Graaft", from 

 which cross there were pure white, sulphur, and bicolor 

 seedlings. .-\gain, Minnie Hume X Triandrus albus 

 produced some lovely white flowers, some plants with 

 several flowers on each inflorescence, and some with 

 single flowers of a fine Leedsii tv'pe, both chaste and 

 chai-ming. .Mad. de (Iraaff . Weardale Perfection 

 was another cross which produced some startling 

 results. In fact, there were hundreds of crosses in 

 everv stage of development, those enumerated being 

 only a few which were noted at the time as very pro- 

 mising. There were thousands of seedlings of pure 

 poeticus, and Sir Josslyn was busy marking the most 

 perfect flowers for further trials and crosses. This 

 section seems to give satisfactory results more slowly 

 than the others. Evidently much time, patience, and 

 expense are necessary to obtain any marked advance 

 on the select varieties already in the market. 



From the garden section we passed to the regular 

 farm, l-'irst to a ten-acre field on higher ground, pro- 

 tected by trees and by rising ground on the north-west 

 side. The soil here is rather a stift' loam, but well 

 drained. .Man}' of the newer varieties, as well as 

 quantities of the older sorts, were represented, including 

 Incognita, King Alfred, Oriflamme, Mrs. Percy Foster. 

 Orange King, Joseph Sangster, Queen Ma\', Mrs. R. 

 Sydenham, and most of the good poeticus varieties, all 

 of which looked happy and flourishing. Lower down 

 a field, about four acres in extent, contained large 

 quantities <i{ Emperor, Empress, Sir Watkin, Barrii 

 conspicuus. Golden Spur, and others. The flowers of 

 these were being cut and packed for market in a large 

 shed, giving employment to a number of boys from the 

 .ndjoining village. The cut flower trade here, as at the 

 Warren Gardens, is quite extensive. There are other 

 large fields close to the shore where enormous quan- 

 tities of Narcissi are grown ; indeed, one wonders 

 where all the bulbs go. .Mthough it is bulb farming, 

 ever_\'thing is most carefulh' and s\"stematicallv done, 

 " roguing " is strictly carried out, sick stocks are 

 isolated or destroj-ed, and nomenclature is carefully 

 checked. .\n interesting feature at Lissadell is a series 

 of experiments carried on to ascertain which varieties 

 are most suitable for cultivation in grass, or for pot 

 work, or for forcing. The results are tabulated, and 

 information is given to customers who make inquiries, 

 and also in the catalogue. The rest i^i the dav was 

 given to inspecting the very complete collections of 

 .\lpines and of herbaceous plants, the wild garden, 

 the rock garden, and other features, and also enjoying 

 the magnificent views of the mountains which can he 

 had from various parts of the grounds. 



Sir F. W. Moore in The Field. 



ft^* 6*^ ^^ 



The hall was dress'd with holly green. 

 The damsel donn'd her kirtle sheen ; 

 Power laid his rod of rule aside. 

 .\nd ceremony dofi'd his pride. 

 The heir with roses in his shoes, 

 That night [night village-partner choose ; 

 All hail'd, with uncontroll'd delight 

 And general voice, the happy night 

 That to the cottage, as the crown. 

 Brought tidings of salration down. 



— Walter Scott. 



