IRISH GARDENING 



123 



green fly as one of their worst enemies, next come 

 30 per cent, with winter moth, which caused 

 much damage this year, destroying practically a 

 whole plantation of black currants in Go. Tyrone ; 

 American blight was bad with 20 per cent., 

 gooseberry sawfly caterpillar with 18 per cent., 

 apple sucker with 1 7, per cent., codlin moth with 

 11 per cent., ermine moth with <> per cent., black 

 currant mite with 5 per cent., and pear midge 

 with 3 per cent. 



Though insect pests have not been so trouble- 

 some as usual, fungoid pests are much worse. 

 Apple scab and canker are the worst fungoid pests 

 with 30 per cent. each. These have caused much 

 damage to apples and 

 pears this year. canker 

 being very prevalent 

 on comparatively 

 young trees. No less 

 than 14 per cent, give 

 American gooseberry 

 mildew as one of 1 heir 

 worst pests. It is un- 

 doubtedly a very bad 

 disease, and all bushes 

 found diseased should 

 be immediately 

 burned. It is bausing 

 much loss and anxiety 

 tocomniercial growers 

 as up to the present 

 no cure has been 

 found. Apple mildew 

 is given by 9 per cent . 

 This is on 1 he increase, 

 but can be kept down 

 by spraying with a £ 

 per cent, solution 01 

 Bordeaux mixture. 

 Brown rot is given by 

 per cent., and silver 

 leaf on plums by '■'> 

 per cent. 



M u c h spraying, 

 pruning and regraft- 

 ing has ye* to be done 

 to combat the two 

 worst fungoid pests 

 i.e., canker and scab. 

 Mildew has nol caused 

 so much damage to 

 the strawberry crops 

 this year as it usually 

 does. 



To sum up, I may 

 state that the large tree fruit crop is a poor 

 one, and that the bush fruit crop is a good one 

 in general. 



I wish to offer my sincerest thanks to the 

 numerous correspondents for their great kindness 

 in filling in and returning the forms. 



Photo by] 



centre of the rosette that foretell the coming of 

 the flower spike ? The flowers on the plant 

 illustrated in the photograph are unusually pure 

 in tone without the least spot or speck, but with 

 the surrounding rocks covered with S. aizoon 

 forms in full flower it is very doubtful if any of 

 the seedlings will come true. The rosette of this 

 particular plant was not very large — about 

 8 \ inches diameter — and it has flowered much 

 sooner than I anticipated. I have a theory, not 

 yet sufficiently proved, that if one can only keep 

 S. longifolia well watered during the dry windy 

 period which we usually experience in early 

 spring, that the plant is not nearly so likely to 



flower prematurely. 

 I h a v e plants of 

 S. longifolia g r o w- 

 i n g in close proxi- 

 m i t y to S. squar- 

 rosa and S. tirolensis, 

 both of which I find 

 must have water at 

 1 his time of year, and 

 t he plants of S. longi- 

 folia benefit from 

 the watering their 

 neighbours receive 

 and have gone on 

 growing, w hereas 

 oilier plants of S. 

 longfolia planted in 

 similar places but not 

 receiving spring 

 watering's have nearly 

 all flowered while of 

 quite small size. It 

 is possible that in 

 their home in the 

 Pyrenees the water 

 f r o m the melt ing 

 snows keeps them 

 moist during the 

 growing season, while 

 over here for lack 

 of sufficient moisture 

 at that period they 

 rush into flower. 

 Anyhow the experi- 

 ment is worth trying 

 carefully by those 

 who wish to retain 

 their rosettes of S. 

 longifolia as long as 

 possible. 



M. HORNIBKOOK. 



SAXIFRAGA LONGIFOLIA - 1 '. Hornibrook. 



Saxifraga longifolia. 



If only this Faxifrage would refrain from dying as 

 soon as it has flowered what a priceless treasure it 

 would be ! It seems absurd that one should hope 

 against hope that a particular plant is not going to 

 flower when the flowers are so charming, yet how 

 many of us are there who grow the plant and do 

 not sigh when we see the unmistakable signs in 1 he 



&£* e^* e^ 



Anchusa myosotiflora. 



In the front of a choice border or on the rockery 

 this excellent perennial should find a place 

 It is a well-named plant, for the flowers are 

 very similar to the Myosotis, and have the true 

 For'get-me-Not blue, always a welcome colour in 

 the" garden. Throughout April and well into 

 May leafy shoots a foot high are produced, which 

 carry graceful branching sprays of small blue 

 flowers. No difficulty should be found in its 

 culture given good ordinary soil it will thrive in 

 full sun, or even partial shade, arid may be 

 easily increased by cuttings or small bits taken 

 off the parent plant. If given a too shady place, 

 large coarse leaves are produced, but very few 

 flowers. 



