H4 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Sthawhkkkiks in (■st.il)lislM-tl l.cds sIk.uI.I 

 l)t- kept flcar cf late niniu-is. and [hr -lound 

 betwi'i'n tlu'in liocd \\ licru-vcr di\ i nouuli. A 

 mulching «>f short nianuiv if availaM.- will l.r ol 

 great l)fn»'(it to thcni. 'Vhr incscnl month is a 

 goo.l time to plant nrw l.cds. so that the voiinji 

 l)lants will 1)1- well . .^t al)lish('(i Ixloiv uinl.-r 

 sets in. N'arict it-s of vigorous haliits. sncli as 

 Royal Sovereign and Bedford ("hanipion. siiould 

 \m- given plenty of room, plaeing tiie rows 

 W inches apart, "and allowing 2 feet helweeii the 

 plants in the rows, while those of a smaller liaiiil 

 of growth only need 2 feet between the rows and 

 IS inches fi-om plant to plant. Wlirtc straw- 

 berries for prest'rving are in demand, tiu' \ arid \ 

 Viconitesse H. de 'riuiry will be found to 

 give an enormous crop of rather small frxiits 

 which, being sweeter than most kinds, will not 

 re(iuire so much svigai- in jam-makiny. 



Wall fruit trees tiiat are still carr\ inu croi.s of 

 fruit should not be allowed to become di y at tlie 

 root oi- the fiuils will be dericirnt in si/.e and 

 flavour, and. morcoxci'. in the case of stone 

 fruits. wouKl l)c vei\ liable to crack in the event 

 of heavy rains occuring. Late peaches and 

 nectarines should be well protected from birds, 

 which al'e unusually troiiblesonie this season. 

 Traps should also l)e provided for earwigs. Shoit 

 lengths of broad bean stalk inserted amongst 

 the branches are very ett'ective ; these should be 

 blown through into a tin containing a little 

 parallin each morning. As soon as these trees 

 are cleared of fruit pruning should take place. 

 and all sui)erfluous shoots removed, enough only 

 being left at the proper distance apart to furnisii 

 the wall space for next season. As the work 

 proceeds these should be loosely tied in their 

 places, thus furnishing a guide as to the number 

 required, and also preventing the shoots from 

 becoming bent or crooked, a state of things 

 which it is not easy to I'ectify after the wood has 

 ripened. Trees that have made gross unfruit- 

 ful wood during the season should now be 

 marked with a view to lifting or root-pruning 

 them later on. The former operation should be 

 carried out before the leaves fall, as these will 

 encoui'age the formation of new roots before 

 winter, and this wall enable the trees to cany a 

 crop of fruit the following year, although the 

 advantage of lifting the tree will be more fully 

 apparent the secoiid season after. Root-pruning 

 can be done at any time during the winter. This 

 consists of taking out a trench round the tree 

 at about 4 feet from the stem, and cutting with 

 a sharp knife all thick roots and those growing 

 in a downward direction, at the same time taking 

 care to preserve all fibrous roots, and to replace 

 these at their proper level when filling in the 

 trench again. 



No time should be lost now in making ovit 

 lists of trees that are required for planting during 

 the coming winter. For those si art inu 1 o |ilaiil an 

 orchard the following six dessert ai>])les. in tiieii' 

 order of ripening, can be recommended : — Beauty 

 of Bath, Worcester Pearmain. James Grieve. 

 Cox's Orange Pippin, Barnack Beauty, and 

 Lord Hindlip. Six good cooking apples in their 

 order of ripening are : — Grenadier, Loddington 

 Hambling's Seedling, Lane's Prince Albert, 

 Bramley's Seedling and jVewton Wonder — which 

 last variety may be described as the best 

 " general purposes " apple we have, a vigorous 

 tree, bearing large crops of handsome fruits, 

 which keep late, cook splendidly, and are qviite 

 palatable in a raw state. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



H> .1. M. jN.w, (Jardeiier I.. I„,rd hunsanv, 

 |)un>aii\ Castle. Co. Mealli, 

 Omo.ns. Durinu this nionlh tlu' si)ring-.sown 

 onions should \>r pull.. I. dried, and stored. 

 Where a lar-e ,|uan1itv ..I onions are grown, the 

 bulbs ma\ he IV ved'.iiiickU fr(.m th.' soil with 



a >liai|, hulell hoe. \\<,ik the hoe well under 



the .,nioii> alonu the r-ow>,. Ilie roots will thus 

 b.' cut wilhout harminu the bulbs. If the 



walher be drs. allow Ihe crop to lie on the soil 

 where Ihev <a M be turned occasionallv. and 

 Ihoroughlv dried befoiv being stored, "if the 

 weather is wet remove the bulbs to an open shed, 

 and lay them thinly on the floor to dry. Onions, 

 aic best tied in bunches and suspended to the 

 raftt-rs of a cool, dry shed, where frost is excluded. 



Ci:i,Ki{V. This important croj) will now i'e(|uiic 

 moulding-up. This woi'k should only be done in 

 di\ weather. Hemove all short stems or leaves 

 from the base of the plants, and tie loosely with 

 rallia. The soil placed about the plants should 

 be well pulverised, six inches of soil will be 

 sufficient for the first moulding-up. 



Tomatoes. — Cut away all excess of grf)wths 

 fro?u tomatoes, and i-emove all small fruits ; any 

 fmlher stinndant will be of little use to plants 

 grown in the open. Late tomatoes grown under 

 glass may .still have some diluted liquid maimre to 

 matuie the crop. 



Turnips. — Seeds of this vegetable if sown after 

 the first week of this month fail to develoj) t heir- 

 roots well, but a good return is obtained from the 

 tops as a green vegetable in si)ring. Turnips 

 sown in August may require some stimulant to 

 quicken the growth, but a free use of the hoe on 

 rich soil is better than artificial manure to any 

 growing crop. 



Greens. — A good breadth of Savoy cabbage 

 may still be planted ; make the rows 18 inches 

 apart and an equal distance between the plants. 

 All the Brassica family for winter and spring use 

 are growing fast. Where late spring and early 

 sununer broccoli are grown, an application of 

 salt (agricultural). 1 oz. per square yard, will help 

 to harden the stems of the plants, and make them 

 more fit to withstand the winter. When cauli- 

 flowers are ready, cut the heads and pull up the 

 jjlants. not leaving them to exhaust the soil with 

 useless growth of leaves. 



Leeks. — Where early leeks have been planted 

 in trenches, they will now require moulding-up ; 

 a further planting may still be made early this 

 month. Make the lines 18 inches apart, and 

 l)lace the plants 9 inches asunder in the lines. 



Dwarf Beans. — Dwarf and Rxmner Beans 

 have been rather unsatisfactory owing to the cold 

 weather in the early part of the season. Late 

 sown beans are now doing well. Gather when 

 large enough for xise and the beans will keep 

 fruitful for a longer period. Should the pods be 

 left to form seed flowering ceases. 



Cabbage. — Plants from .Inly sowing should be 

 planted into theii- pei'maiient ([uarters dvu'ing the 

 second week in September. As nearly all cabbage 

 grown for spring use are the small-growing kinds 

 they may be planted 18 inches in each direction. 



Salad. — Transplant hardy lettuce from the 

 early August sowing, make the lines 15 inches 

 apart, and the plants one foot asunder in the 

 lines. A further sowing of any hardy variety 

 of lettuce may be made early this month. 

 Radish, mustard and cress may be sown at 

 intervals to suit denxand. 



