i6 



TRLSH HARDENING 



growth ;iikI proper development, seeds may be 

 sown under glass in mild heat during the first 

 month nf the year. Shallow boxes filled with any 

 light rich soil will suit, and care must be taken 

 not to be too liberal in regard to quantity of seed 

 put in : The garden seeds supplied by our 

 leading Irish linns may be depended <»n to give 

 a high percentage of germination, therefore sow- 

 thinly so thai stout, strong plants may result. 

 After the young plant- show, the lightest and most 

 airy position should be accorded them, for it 

 must be remembered thai they are quite hardy, 

 and the adoption of this early sowing is intended 

 primarily to lengthen the time of their growth, 

 and not to afford an opportunity of forcing them 

 unduly and weakening their constitution. 



Peas. Rarelj does one hear of objection being 



made to a dish of good green peas ; peas, indeed, 

 may be regarded as the most popular vegetable 

 product of our gardens. It" only a fraction of the 

 work and care that is given by gardeners of all 

 classes to the culture of sweel peas were devoted 

 to the vegetable form, what an improvement in 

 crop and quality would result ! A general 



practice in the way of forwarding tl arly crop 



is to sow in pots or on thin sods, grass side down- 

 ward, and transplant these bodily later on to the 

 open ground when conditions seem to be favour- 

 able. It works out well enough. Often, however. 

 the plants are much too close, owing to t lie 

 restricted space for sowing. These, like t lie sweet 

 peas, do not. however, seem to receive any check 

 worth mentioning when separated at planting 

 time, ami certainly grow away in a robusl 



manner. If this method is adopted the seeds 



ma\ lc sown in boxes, and when singled out 

 carefully at the planting time, allowing a lew- 

 inches between each plant, the most satisfactory 



results are attained. With the very dwarf sorts. 



that are most favoured lor early work, such 

 splendid kinds as Gradus and The Pilol mighl 

 with greal advantage he included : a greater 

 weight of produce will he given and succession 



assured. 



Onions. A.par1 altogether from the exhibi- 

 tor's point of view, everyone should know that 

 far ami away liner crops are produced h\ early 



sowing under glass in January than waiting for 

 suitable conditions in March to begin in the open 

 ground. Ailsa Craig is the variety mosl favoured, 

 hem- mild in flavour and growing to a large size. 



Much trouble will he saved later on if one is 



patient enough t<» dibble in the seeds, say, an inch 

 apart in the boxes or pans when sowing. The 

 root, of young onion- are exceedingly brittle, 

 ami consequently much damage is done when 

 singling them out for further transplanting. A 

 little heat, of course, i- desirable, bul a little 

 goes a loim way, lor thej are easily weakened. 



(. I plant- can he hail too even where artificial 



heat i- noi at command from this early sowing; 



growth nalurallv will he slower, hut the plants 



pr iport ionally si out . 



Mustard wi> Cress. Those excellent salads 



1 1 1 ; i s he -own at intervals of a fortnight . It is not 

 necessary, nor even desirable, to use -oil. Pieces 

 of thick felt, or even cloth, kept constanlj moist, 

 will bring on i he growth to the pjghl stage for 



cutting, and the annoyance of gritty matter will 



he absent . 



Tomatoes. It hardly pays to try in our dark 

 winter days to endeavour to bring autumn-sawn 



tomato plant- through that period. It is not a 

 question of heat but of light : hut just now seeds. 

 sufficient to produce enough plants for a very 

 early crop, may be got in. They too should he 

 -paced as ill the case of the onions. Rather mole. 

 however, might lie allowed, as only a limited 

 number will he required. 



Potatoes.— In pots on shelves near the glass 



or on mild hotbeds these may. with a little care 

 and judgment, he easily forced. Their value lies 

 more in their novelty than in their nutritious 



qualities. They are ill some cases expected 



however. Weber's Early is a grand little kind 

 for this work. It does not grow large, nor is il 

 a big cropper, hut it is exceedingly white and 

 early. 



Cauliflowers.- -A small sowing of the forcing 



kinds made now will in all likelihood form a 

 succession to the latest broccoli. These are, it 

 must he pointed out. rather tricky kinds to deal 

 with. Unremitting care is required, for they are 

 comparatively delicate and highly bred, and if 

 they once receive a serious check in their growth, 

 '" buttoning," as the premature production of the 

 flower is called, takes place and all is lost. Water 

 is sparingly used too. as they are very liable to 

 damping off — that is. the stems turn black and 

 the plants die. Crowded plants always suffer in 

 t his wa v. 



A Practical Demonstration of Pruning 

 and Spraying. 



Tipperary, especially the district round Clonmel, 

 has always been celebrated for its orchards and 



for the quality of the apples grown in these 

 orchards. Cider making is an old established 

 industry, and excellent cider is still made by the 

 farmers. There is an orchard attached to ad the 

 farms in the apple-growing districts, some of 

 these old orchards being of considerable extent, 

 from one to ten acres. I 'nfort una1el\ they have 

 not received the care and attention which they 



deserve. The trees are mostly old, and they have 

 not been pruned ; the heads have become dense 

 and crowded, and the stems and branches are 

 thickly coated with moss and lichen, a condition 

 which render- it impossible for them to produce 

 remuneral ive crops of apples. 



The Department of Agriculture has en- 

 deavoured to draw attention to these matters 

 by giving practical demonstrations of the proper 

 treatment of old fruit trees. On 17th and ISth 

 December Sir Frederick Moore. Mr. \V. S. Irving, 

 and Mr. Rutherford, the Counts Council In- 

 structor in Horticulture, attended at Mi 30 a.m.. 

 ami practically pruned ami then sprayed two old 

 apple tree- in each <>f two orchards, describing 



lie' various operation- a- the work proceeded. 



Advertisements had been previously put in the 



loeal paper- and posters displayed notifying that 

 this work would he done, ami inviting fanners 

 to he present. The orchards selected were beside 



the public road, so that the effects of the treat- 

 ment could afterwards he noted by passers by. 



About twenty-five farmers at t ended each of these 

 demonstrations, ami tools a keen and intelligent 

 interest in all that was done. They were en- 

 couraged to a-k questions freely, and so many 



point - w ere cleared up. 



