i6z 



IRISH GARDENING 



deeply and subsoiled, or else bastard-trenched 

 with forks and spades. 



With regard to manuring, it is not advisable 

 to add dung when planting apple tree-, the 

 better procedure being to heavily manure the 

 previous crop, which is very often potatoes, 

 giving perhaps a dressing of lime or of super- 

 phosphate, or whatever is needed before the 

 ploughing above mentioned — the needs in this 

 direction being discovered by the aid of a 

 chemical analysis of a sample of the soil carried 

 out by an expert at the business. 



The epiestions as to what var- 

 ieties of apples to plant, what 

 shape and sort of tree, and on 

 what stock they have been worked. 

 depend on the sort of soil one has 

 got to deal with, and also the mar- 

 kets one is trying to cater for. 



Taken as a broad general rule, to 

 which there are doubtless many ex- 

 ceptions, soils which are deep and 

 heavy j and inclined to be clayey, 

 grow very large apples of several of 

 the cooking varieties, but colour is 

 lacking in the dessert varieties ; 

 while on the other hand lighter and 

 more shallow soils grow smaller but 

 more highly-coloured fruits. 



If the land that is to be planted 

 is of the former description, varie- 

 ties like Bramley's Seedling, New- 

 ton Wonder, Lane's Prince Albeit. 

 Lord Derby. Grenadier, Warner's 

 King, should succeed admirably. 

 and if the markets which the 

 grower is catering for are likely 

 to take these profitably, it would 

 be wise fco plant a considerable 

 quantity rather than varieties like 

 Worcester Pearma in, Ja mes ( rrieve, 

 &c, which need a good colour to 

 enable them to sell to the bestadvan 

 tage. 



The converse is true, though per 

 haps to a less extent with regard 

 bo Light soils as, though there is excellent 

 coloured dessert lruit fco be gol off fchis bind, b 

 often yields line large cooking apples as well. 



With regard to the best shape of tree, and on 



what stock tins should be, the planter musl 

 often be guided bj his particular circumstances 



of his tenure of the land, the amount f capital 

 he has available. &c, and i can only indicate 

 what in my opinion is the ideal course to pursue. 

 where one either owns the freehold or has a 

 long lease with a prospect of reasonable com 

 pensation at the end of it. and a certain amount 

 of available capital for the trees. 

 ( To be continued.) 



Apple Tree Canker. 



Most gardeners if asked to state the cause of 

 apple tree canker would probably reply that it 

 was due to lack of vigour in the tree, induced 

 very likely by unfavourable conditions in the 

 region of the roots, or by some other adverse 

 circumstance in the physical environment of 

 the tree. 



While admitting, however, that the nature of 

 both the aerial and subterranean environment of 

 a plant may. and often does, play 

 an important part in rendering a 

 plant liable to disease, it has to 

 be recognised that the majority of 

 the diseases of plants, like those of 

 animals, are due to the attacks of 

 definite parasitic organisms. Apple 

 tree canker is a case in point, 

 and may be described as a highly 

 infectious disease, due to a par- 

 ticular parasitic fungus, without 

 the presence of which, however 

 lacking in general vigour an apple 

 tree may be, it will never develop 

 canker. 



Experience leads one to believe 

 that the infectious nature of the 

 disease is not^, sufficiently appreci- 

 ated by growers, and cases have 

 arisen,- not infrequently, where the 

 most infectious stage of the dis- 

 ease has not even been recog- 

 nised by them as canker at all. 

 Hence it may not be superfluous 

 to direct attention to the two 

 stages in the life cycle of the 

 fungus which causes the disease. 

 particularly seeing that in most 

 of the accounts of the disease 

 which one sees in English books 

 and leaflets, the early and par- 

 ticularly infectious stage receives 

 very scanty or even no treat- 

 Pig. l. ment. 



It is scarcely necessary to de- 

 scribe in detail the appearance of canker, 

 but a glance at Fig. gl will serve as a re- 

 minder of what one usually regards as 

 typical of canker. There is a more or less 

 open wound on the twig surrounded by a 

 swollen margin of bark. < m the bark sur- 

 rounding this wound the fructifications of 

 the fungus can usually be seen, especially 



if a. pocket lens be used. These are small, 

 rounded or somewhat, pear shaped bodies of 

 a distinct red colour, often in clusters of 

 several together. 



When young these red perithetia (as they are 

 called) contain a number of elongated sacs, each 



