86 



IRISH GARDENING. 



.spoils their appoavniioo and lowrrs tlicir ( nm- 

 lucrcial vahu'. 



Tlio successful manaj^'ciiiciil ol' l)ci"s dciu'iuls 

 very largely u])on liavintr each slock licadcd by 

 a vii^oroiis and prolilic c|ueen. I'lulcr modern 

 methods of niaiiagenient in moveable comb 

 hives, queens jiroduce a greater inimber of eggs 

 in a season and become exhausted eariici- in life 

 than those kept in small fixed-coml) hives. It 

 is not, as a rule, advisable to keep (pieens past 

 their second season, except in the case of an 

 extra good one of some special race. Xnclei 

 should be formed early this month, either from 

 hives that may have swarmed or combs taken 

 from hives to lessen the risk of swarming. Tt is 

 advisable to have the young queens mated 

 during the b(>st of the season, when drones are 

 vigorous and luimerous. The owners of one 

 hive, providing it is large enough to liold 

 thirteen frames and a dummy, can form a 

 necleus of three frames, on one of which there 

 should be a cpieen cell, and place them behind 

 the dunnny, and making a small entrance for 

 the bees of the nucleus to work through. The 

 space of the frames taken from the stock should 

 be filled with frames of foundation. A small 

 strip of canvas or jute will keep the nucleus 

 separate from the stock, although during a 

 good honey flow I have permitted the nucleus 

 to have access to the crates, but imless they are 

 separated immediately the honey flow stops the 

 stock in front is almost certain to rob the nucleus. 

 Peter Brock. 



Fairview, Enniskillen. 



Antirrhinum Nelrose. 



This very beautiful Snapdragon caused some 

 considerable interest when introduced some 

 years ago, and still remains one of the best of 

 its kind. The colour of the original ])lants was 

 oi a charming clear pink, and the length of the 

 flower spike was quite remarkable in j)ot-grown 

 plants. Introduced to Britain from America by 

 Messrs. "Wells, of Chrysanthemum fame, it was 

 primarily intended for pot culture, and is said 

 to be largely grown under glass in the States 

 for the cut flower trade. There seems no reason, 

 however, why it should not be grown for summer- 

 flowering outside, and one can imagine very fine 

 efiects from bold masses planted in the her- 

 baceous border or beds about the grounds. 

 Seedlings vary somewhat in colour from pale to 

 deex^er pink, and during May a fine batch of 

 pot-grown sjoecimens has been adorning the 

 flower house in the Botanic Gardens at Glas- 

 nevin. Florist. 



Wallflowers. 



I'i:\\ pcojijc seem to re disc the great advance 

 wiiicli lias been made in tlic production of 

 (olour \aiictics of Walltlowers during the last 

 few years, 'riicrc iimst be quite a score or 

 more distinct shades and colours now obtain- 

 able, and very fine effects are possible by taste- 

 fully airanging a few harmonising shades. In 

 these days when economy in the garden is a 

 necessity and the bulb order has to be kept as 

 low as possible, much may be done in raising 

 spring flowers from seeds, which by compari- 

 son are cheap, and give results not inferior to 

 the most gorgeous display of Tulips and other 

 bulbous plants. The labour of pricking out a 

 sufficient number of plants is not very alarming, 

 an;d comes at a time when most of the cropping 

 and planting has been done in the garden. 

 Those Avho love flowers but have small gardens 

 without accommodation for nursery beds will 

 find they can buy a few dozen Walltlowers, of 

 different varieties, very cheaply from any 

 market n urseryman . 



The following is a selection from among 

 those known to the writer, but the arrange- 

 ment of the colours is best left to the taste of 

 the individual concerned : — Fire King, a very 

 brilliant variety of a bright orange colour, very 

 attractive ; Harbinger, an old variety of 

 a rich brown colour, valuable as usually 

 the earliest to flower ; Orange Bedder, one 

 of the newer varieties, giving a large per- 

 centage of rich orange colour, becoming yellow 

 with age ; Vulcan, though by no means new, 

 yet a fir.st-class sort of dwarf habit and with 

 large rich crimson flowers ; Blood Red, a good 

 strain of this old favourite is hard to beat ; 

 Golden Ptlonarch is a fine rich yellow of good 

 habit and better than the old yellow variety ; 

 Primrose Dame is paler, almost sulphur yellow, 

 and very attractive in combination with others ; 

 Ivory White and White Dame are two pretty 

 creamy-white varieties which look charming in 

 contrast with the darker kinds ; Eastern Queen 

 is of a colour hard to describe, but develop 

 ultimately to salmon -red or rose ; Ruby Gem 

 becomes ruby- violet when fully open, and is 

 capable of a very pleasing effect ; Ellen Wil- 

 mott is a handsome ruby-red variety, tall and 

 strong, with large full flowers ; Bel voir Castle is 

 a useful yellow of dwarf habit, sidtable for 

 planting with a taller dark variety. 



A good many others may be found in cata- 

 logues, and selection is largely a matter of taste. 



Cheiranthus. 



