IRISH GARDENING 



183 



very similar in this respect to Linaria pallida. 

 C. garganica, especially the variety W. H. Paine, 

 with a clear white eye, which I first saw at 

 Glasnevin, and C. pusilla are much more dainty. 

 I also have C. isophylla and C. Vidalli, the latter 

 only planted in the spring. 



Close to the A. glutinosum is a hybrid of 

 Dianthus csesius, which has formed a big mat. 

 and blossoms freely. I have only tried one plant 

 of D. neglectus, but it never seemed happy, and 

 soon withered away. I must experiment with it 

 again to see if it really objects to wall treatment 

 the same as it does, according to Mr. Farrer, to 

 the moraine. D. graniticus, practically the same 

 as D. deltoides, there is no trouble with. .Just 

 below the Antirrhinum, and very much at home, 

 is Onosma tauri um, with its splendid golden 

 drops. I had no proper success with it till T 

 tried it here, 

 but now the 

 winter'doesnot 

 affect it. Eri- 

 geron mucro- 

 natus near by 

 is an extremely 

 sat i sf a c t o r y 

 plant, as its 

 habit is so 

 graceful, and 

 it remains in 

 flower nearly 

 all the sum 

 mer : it is still 

 covered with 

 bloom now. in 

 the middle of 

 October. Hy- 

 pericum rep- 

 tans and ol- 

 ympicum, and 

 Coronilla mini- 

 ma are excel- 

 lent. 1 y i n g 

 close up 



against tin- 

 stones and 

 flowering 

 freely. 



Of Primulas 

 I have P. mar- 

 ginata, P. Clu- 



siana, P. tyrolensis, and P. Heerii,the last two only 

 put in this spring : and of Saxifrages : S. lingulata 

 Bellardii, S. sarmentosa, S. lanuginosa, and 

 S. Aizoon rosea ; but the last two seem to find the 

 heat of the stones rather trying. Othonna crassi- 

 folia, on the other hand, revels in it, as might be 

 guessed from its very succulent leaves : a curious 

 and attractive plant, though the small yellow 

 flowers do not make much of a display. Cuttings, 

 which strike freely, must be taken in the autumn 

 and kept under glass, as the cold and wet and the 

 attacks of slugs are too much for it in the winter. 

 Erimus alpinus too I used to lose in the winter, 

 but when grown in a chink of the wall I find it 

 a true perennial. 



Other things to be noted are Veronica Catar- 

 acts, Micromeria montana, Santolina pinnata, 

 Iberis gibraltarica. Sedum Stahlii. Sempervivums. 

 which flourish abundantly : Saponaria ocymoides, 

 Alyssum citrinum, Aubrietias, which form great 

 mats from nearly the top to the bottom, and 

 Helianthemums " in [variety." as catalogues 

 say. John E. Williams. 



Antirrhinum gltjttnostjm. 



On a dry wall. 



Winter Spraying of Fruit Trees* 



The humid atmosphere of Ireland is so favourable 

 to parasite growths, such as moss and lichens on 

 fruit trees and bushes, that winter spraying is 

 now recognised as an essential routine in profitable 

 fruit growing. Clean and healthy-looking bark 

 is of the first importance in the welfare of fruit 

 trees. Trees under good cultivation do not get 

 coated with parasitic growths so readily as those 

 that are neglected and stunted from starvation 

 by grass or rank weeds interfering with their 

 food supply. It is waste of time and money 

 growing trees if the necessary precautions to 

 protect them from the ravages of insect and 

 fungoid pests are neglected. The fight against 

 insect and fungoid pests seems, however, to be a 



stiff uphill 

 struggle with 

 some growers. 

 This state of 

 affairs is very 

 largely due, in 

 some cases, to 

 old and worn- 

 out trees that 

 are heavily 

 bearded with 

 p a r a s i t i c 

 growths being 

 allowed to re- 

 main as nur- 

 series for the 

 propagation of 

 pests, to be 

 carried by the 

 wind to better- 

 cared-for trees. 

 The remedy for 

 such trees is to 

 cut them down 

 and burn them 

 or first remove 

 as much of the 

 lichen as pos- 

 sible with hoes 

 or other scra- 

 pers, and then 

 give a tho- 

 rough spraying 

 2 lbs. caustic, 



with the following caustic solution 



soda, 98 per cent., to 10 gallons of water. 



As an efficient winter cleanser of fruit trees and 

 bushes that are otherwise reasonably well cared 

 for, I prefer commercial lime-sulphur, which is 

 now easily procurable in quantities to suit all. 

 It can be obtained in 10-gallon casks at nearest 

 railway station at Is. 3d. per gallon. Trees 

 affected with scab should be immediately sprayed 

 with one gallon lime-sulphur to 20 gallons of 

 water. If American blight is present, use it at 

 a strength one gallon of lime-sulphur to 15 gallons 

 of water. Applied late in spring I have found 

 it a most effective remedy for mussel scale. In 

 applying winter spray be sure that every part of 

 the tree is thoroughly damped right over the 

 smallest twigs. Apply it on a calm, dry day, 

 and unless the trees can be thoroughly damped 

 at the first spraying watch for a change of the 

 wind, and finish on the opposite side when the 

 wind may suit. If the trees are affected with 

 scab give a second winter spraying just before 

 the buds begin to swell. 



