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lIMSll (iAKDKXLNG. 



Fruit Crop, Ireland, 19 16 



.Irs. 



1r WiMll.l l.r 



I'lir -rowers 

 .,. II, is >..,r. 

 ukI 

 l.is. 



.\..rtli u|- Ir.'hin.l li;.v.- Ii.ul ,i lull .• 



Only an <p.l.l .urii.ird Ii-mc an.l lli 



caiiyiiii; aM\lhin.i; like a r\n\i. 



were living in hdpes of a ii(a\\ ( 



as (he trees riixMied llteii' woo.l well last >.■ 



t'onned an extra lai'^i' nninlicr of liuil 



This r.-nltcl in a li.'aw lloWMinu. hut \rr\ lew 



uf the llouel-s set Iruit. Tile seas(ni"s Weather 



has heeu verv disa])]M)iiit luu. that of January 

 heint;- so very mild Ihal ii was thou-ht tlie 

 sprint;- would be very earl>'. {•"loni l>'eln'uary, 

 houfver. (o mid-April the wi-ather was very 

 cold. wet. aiul with verv little sunshine. This 

 ehecked the tiTowth to such an extent that by th^3 

 end of .May the season was about two week& later 

 than the average. .Much of that leeway has 

 since been made up. The apples are, in general, 

 a very poor crop, and in most orchards they aie 

 swelling very slowl>-. It is many years since the 

 prospects were so bad in the commercial distiicts. 

 Here and there is to be found a good crop, but 

 in the great nuijority of cases there is oidy a 

 sprinkling, and the large growers of Bramley 

 Seedling around Armagh have very poor crops. 

 The crops are better in the South and West. 

 \\'e had no hot. di'y days and frosty nights 

 when the api)les wei'e liowering this season, but 

 the cold and rain pievented the proper fertilising 

 of the flowers, and of most of llie flowers which 

 did set the fruits dropi)e(l ininiediately after 

 forming. Brandey Seedling, Lane's Prince 

 -Vlbert, Lord Derby, Royal Jvibilee, Beauty of 

 Hath. James Grieve, and Grenadier are in general 

 bearing better than other varieties, and those 

 with tew fruits are Bismarck, Allington, 

 Gascoyne's Scarlet and Blenheim Orange. This 

 is a disastrous year on peai's, as not one of the 

 hundred correspondents records a very good 

 cro}). They are almost all either bad or below 

 tile average. The trees in the open are 

 ])ractiea!ly bare of fruits ; those on walls are 

 bearing a few fruits. 



Plums are poor in general, the only one bearing 

 a good crop being Victoria. In an odd planta- 

 tion the Czar and Rivers' Early Prolific are 

 bearing well, but of the older orchard plums the 

 fruits are scarce. The trees flowered extra well, 

 but few of the fruits set. Cherries are much 

 below the average. Where sheltered by a wall 

 the early varieties- bore a few fruits, but those 

 in the open are poor in general. 



Gooseberries are a very heavy crop almost 

 everywhere, and the fruit is of excellent quality, 

 being much above the average in size and very 

 good flavour. 



CuRR.\NTS are a very good crop in general, and 

 the fruit is of good size. From what I have seen 

 Victoria is bearing more fruit than Boskoop 

 Giant, and the fruits have ripened well in most cases. 



Raspberries are a good crop, and have 

 ripenea up beyond expectations, the good 

 weather of late being very beneficial. They 

 flowered late this year, and few of the fruits were 

 injvired by frost. 



Strawberries promised very well and set well, 

 but owing to the sunless weather very many 

 of the early fruits w^ere ruined ; the latter half of 

 the crop was gathered under better conditions. 



Insects on the whole have not been so injurious 

 as in past years. The caterpillars of the winter 



moth have done most harm to the appl.' ],\ eating 

 til.' \oinm lea\ .s and llower l.nds in t he eail vspriug. 



Aphis have can; CO very little tiouble excei)t on 

 a f -w aj.pitis, eurrants am' cheri'ies. 



Sawll>- on go(is<'beri'ies ami magpie moths have 

 iieeii repoi'ted by very few correspondents. Coc'liu 

 and ei'mine moth wen^ not so coniinon as usual. 



()f fiipgoic' pests there! has been an increase; 

 ill tlieii ravages, both in (piantity and intcMisity. 



.\|i|ili' and pear scab arc; vi^ry bad in numy of 

 the large conmieirial i)lautations and doing very 

 inneli damage So fai- no cure has beei> found. 



Canker 's also very ])i-.>\alent on apph; and 

 jx'ar t I'ees. 



American Mildew on gooseberries is rejx.rt.'d 

 a.s doing much ilaiiiage in a nuiiil).:r of counties, 

 and silverleaf on the plum and apple is s])i-cading. 



in general, large fruit tr.is are bearing jioor 

 crops, and bus!i fruits arc' hearing good ci'ops. 



W. S. Irvi.vo. 



Trial of Winter Fruiting Tomatoes 

 at Wisley. 



'i'liK Koval llortuultural Sociel v will carrv out 

 a t.ial of Wintei' Fruiting 'iomatoes at Wisley 

 during the ensuing season. Seeds for trial 

 (1 packet of each variety) should be sent so as to 

 reach the Director, R. II. S. Gardens, Wisley, 

 Ripley, Surrey, from whom the necessary entry 

 forms (one for each variety) may be obtained 

 or or before Tuesday, August 15th, 1!)16. 



Annuals in Pots. 



TiiK cidtivation of annuals in pots is worthy of 

 attention by all gardeners, but especially by 

 amateurs with limited accommodation. .Many a 

 suburban gardener can boast a small greenhouse, 

 though possessed of but little of a garden, attached 

 to the dwellinghouse. 



In keeping the greenhouse gay annuals may 

 play an important part, and the ease with which 

 many of them can be grown should be an advan- 

 tage to the man with limited spare time and no 

 space for growing on batches of bulkier plants. 



Among the best for this purpose is Statice 

 Suworowii, a very pretty annual often used in 

 the adornment of flower borders in summer. 



It is often recommended to sow the seeds in 

 September, but this is unnecessary, entailing 

 careful attention through the winter months. 

 Seeds sown in February in the greenhouse will 

 produce handsome flowering plants in July, thus 

 the season during which they require attention is 

 considerably shortened. 



The seeds may be sown in a pot or pan, using a 

 compost of light sandy soil. Cover lightly and 

 place in the greenhouse, or a cold frame will do 

 if house accommodation is limited. Water 

 thoroughly with a fine rose-can, and germination 

 w'ill take place in a week or two. When large 

 enough the young plants may be pricked out in a 

 box or pan of sandy soil and grown on in the 

 frame until they have formed rosettes of leaves 

 three or four inches across, when they should be 

 potted up singly into six-inch pots, using a 

 slightly rougher compost. Water well on potting, 

 and replace them in the frame. When the flower 

 spikes begin to push up remove to the greenhouse, 

 when handsome spikes of pink flowers will be 

 produced, often reaching a height of three feet 

 above the pots. Pl.^ntsman 



