IRISH GARDENING 



which would l.r hard U) heat. Tlu- gnu'ral hsl 

 ..f hiill.s ami tuluTS is n most intfrcsliiii;; and 

 instriictivf diic. and Wi- heartily (■(•miiK'ud llic 

 \vhi)k> work to the uotici' of our readers wit li evcrv 

 eonlidenee that their reqiuvenu'uts will lie I'ully 

 met. 



Record of Rainfall for Twelve Months, 

 1915. 



il.rh.s 



.l;in. Ii.!t2. liaiu lell nil lil da >.-,..! Ill,- 111.. nth. 



F.li. c..:!: 2li 



.Mar. (I..SS s 



.\|>ril. I.nc. i:; 



.May. I.!t!l K; 



.luiie. 2.-j:!. .. ,. 1.". 



.Iul>. l.tU. .. 2.-. 



Aug. 2.11 IS 



Sept. 2.112 !••> 



Oel. .").t),S IS 



Xov. 2.S!J HI 



Dec. 5.11 24 



Sliuwiug a total lall of :58.i7 inches, with 203 

 days on which rain fell. 



.1. .Matthews. 



The Gardens, Tourin. 

 Co. Waterford. 



Stephen" s Green, Dublin.* 



At Dviblin. Ireland, wiiere I spent several weeks 

 of last autumn, 1 was j)articulax'ly pleased with 

 the novel and attractive arrangement of the many 

 fancy beds of flowers which decorated the lawns 

 of the public grounds. I made drawings of the 

 best designs, numbering the jjarts and making 

 notes of the flowers used, and also took photo- 

 graphs of some of the beds. I only regret that 

 my time has been so occujiied the ])ast year that 

 I could not lu'ejiare illustrated articles for the 

 Magazine from these notes. 



The bed was in the lawn at Stephen's Green, 

 a neat little ]ark near the central part of 

 Dublm, contaming about nme city squares of 

 groimd. This ground was originally a bog, but 

 was donated for a park, and certain parts were 

 excavated to form beautifvd winding arms to a 

 small lake, and even hills and rocky ridges and 

 terraces were artificially created. The Avaterways 

 are crossed by bridges artistically designed and 

 constructed, and the grovmds are tastefully laid 

 out with winding, shady walks, flower beds and 

 borders, shrubbery and trees, all of which are 

 well kept by skilful workmen. A collection of 

 waterfowls adds interest to the grounds, which 

 are visited by thousands of city people during 

 warm summer evenings, and in daytime many 

 children are brought to this park for fresh air-, 

 recreation and amusement. 



The bed was formed as follows : — The entire 

 bed was bordered with the green rosettes 



of Echeveria : the white lilling inside was 

 of a silvt-r-leaved. low-growing plant md. unlike 

 the foliage of Dusty Miller. The Ix.rder of tlw 

 scroll was of dense, light gr.-en plants resembling 

 Endive, and the dark jiarts enclosed were formed 

 of red Alternanthera. .Just inside the AUernan- 

 Ihera. enclosing the centre of the bed, was a 

 circular border of dwarf blue liobelia, and spaced 

 around in this central part were twelve white- 

 leaved plants lifteen inches high, not unlike 

 llelichrysun\ lanatum, and the background 

 aiiumg th(>se plants was made up of rose-coloured 

 Tuberous Begonias and white Pansies inter- 

 mingled. 



Mr. J. Cussen.* 



* From Park's Floral Magazine September, 

 for 1915. 



Hk.\deks of luiSH G.vuuENi.vc; will he ghid ti> 

 know that this gallant .siddier is now home again, 

 having been invalided frfim the Expeditionary 

 Force. In our March number we published some 

 extracts from a letter receiv'ed from him recom- 

 mending a dozen good Sweet Peas. Our friend, 

 who has seen much strenuous lighting since then, 

 is still keen on his favourite flower, and we have 

 pleasure in jiublishing some Timelj' Hints 

 on Sweet Pea Growing, which, in spite of the 

 enfeebled state of his health, he has been good 

 enough to send. Gunner Cussen was at the battle 

 of Mons and also in the flghting at the Marne, 

 the Aisne, Villiers, Armentieres, Messines and 

 Ypres. 



Herb Culture in Ireland. 



Thk newspa]>ers, for the la.st week or so, have 

 published numerous letter's with reference to the 

 enormous increase in the iJrice of certain drugs, 

 and the possibility of growing the herbs which 

 produce these drugs, in Ireland. 



In a letter to the Irish Times of February 2nd 

 Sir Frederick Moore sounds a timely note of 

 wax'ning by pointing out that " the matter is 

 really not so simple as it seems." 



In* the course of his letter he points out that 

 all the i)lants in question do not grow naturally 

 on the same soil formation : some dislike lime, 

 while othfers flourish only in poor limy soil. 

 Further, as Sir Frederick iioints out, in many 

 cases the common wild plant is far richer in the 

 essential principal than the cultivated strains, and 

 he instances the garden forms of Foxglove, which 

 would be "comparatively useless as drug producers 

 and comparatively worthless as a material for 

 sale." 



It a])pears, therefore, that intending growers 

 would do well to make all enquiries possible as 

 to the ])lants suitable for their soil before embark- 

 ing on any extensive iilanting. Further, also, it 

 would be necessary to get into touch with the 

 manufacturers and find out where they are 

 situated and what are their requirements, for the 

 druggists are not always, if ever, their own 

 makers. The large manufacturers could supply 

 information as to the herbs required and in what 

 quantity and in what condition they must be 

 delivered ; then the intending grower could find 

 out which of the herbs his soil was likely to grow 

 successfuUv. 



Unavoidably" held over. 



