22 



IRISH GARDENING 



but as a rule I find plants and weather gene- 

 rally suit between the 17th to the 25th of 

 March. 



I find it a good plan to put a stout post to the 

 end of each row and run two strands of gal 

 vanised wire from post to post — one strand 

 aboul three Eee1 and the other about six feet 

 from the ground. The pea stakes are put in as 

 usual, hut lean against the wire to which they 

 are tied. It takes aboul half the quantity of 

 stakes and is a very strong erection, standing 

 practically any wind : one can tie the Sweet Pea 

 shoots to it as t hey gro\* up and are thinned out. 

 Always leave a young shoot or two to cut back 

 to : you will want the fresh young shoots for 

 some of the later shows. I hope we will all have 



I'l'" 1 " i"'\ \ Rhododendron Walk. 



a lucky time in 1913. I am sure we will be hard 

 to heat if we 3tick to the three P.s. 



I read these quainl verses in a journal ol 

 sorts : Hew are rather suitable for as amateurs. 



Hi he day looks kinder gloomj . 



An' j our chances kinder slim, 

 it i he >ii uat ion's puzzlin,' 



\n' i he prospeci 's aw Ful grim, 

 \n' perplexil ies keep pressin' 



Till all hope is Dearly gone, 

 •Jus' bristle up, an' grii your teel h, 



An' keep on keepin' on. 



Furnin' never wins a fighl . 



An' frel i in' never paj - ; 

 There ain't no good in broodin' in 



The pessimisl ic waj s. 

 Smile jus' kinder cheerfully 



W hen hope is nearlj gone, 

 An' bristle up, an' grii your teel b, 



An' keep on keepin' on." 



Rhododendrons. 



By J. VV: BESANT; 



Of all the evergreen shrubs hardy in this 

 country the hybrid Rhododendrons are cer- 

 tainly the most gorgeous. They are eminently 

 suite 1 for massing in beds, for informal grouping 

 in thin open woodlands, by the margins of 

 woods, and finely developed single specimens 

 are effective on law ns. 



An ideal site for Rhododendrons is one where 

 the natural soil is open and well drained, a 

 sandy loam for preference, and shade from 

 tierce sunlight. Such a soil only requires a 

 small quantity of peat or leaf-mould forked into 

 the top spit for the retention of moisture in 

 times of drought. 



Rhododendrons are 

 moisture lovers, but will 

 not stand stagnant water 

 about the roots, hence it 

 is necessary to break up 

 the soil at least two feet 

 deep to assist the perco 

 lation of surface water as 

 well as to encourage the 

 rise of moisture in times 

 of drought. In shady glens 

 and valleys, where evapora- 

 tion is less rapid than in 

 the open and where on the 

 slopes water is quickly 

 drained away, Rhodo- 

 dendrons are generally 

 happy. 



Visitors to the Howth 

 domain in Rhododendron 

 time must have admired 

 the glorious display made 

 by plants growing among 



the steep rocks where (he 

 roots are always cool and 

 sweet, and the rocks give off a sufficient supply 



of moist ure during dry weal her. 



.Many of the species of Rhododendrons are 



epiphytes growing on the branches of trees in 



the Himalayas : and in no case, w lid her on trees 



or not, are the roots far below the surface. 

 Consequently h has been found in actual 



practice that the nearer the surface I he roots 



arc kept . the better the plants thrive. In some 



situations this mighl lead to the roots being 



dried up, bul this may be obviated by the 

 application of a mulch of half-decayed leaves 



at planting time and annually for a few years 

 while the plants arc small. The root system of 

 a Rhododendron is a dense compad mass of fine 

 hair like fibres which, unlike many other shrubs. 

 never extends in proportion to the spread of 

 the branches. Therefore, though mulching is 

 very necessary while the branch system is just 



[C. P. 



