IRISH GARDENING 



Irish Forestry Society— Arbour Day 

 Celebration. 



The Irjsh Forestry Society have For a long time 

 been urging the necessity of extensive tree plant- 

 ing, and (ixed a National Arbour Day — tr.e 

 first Satxirtlay of November — for the planting of 

 trees by public and private bodies. In an 

 interesting booklet which the Society has pub- 

 lished the history of the Arbour Day" movement 

 is given along witli useful information concerning 

 the schemes inaugurated by the Dcjpartment of 

 Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland 

 for the furtherance of planting for shelter and 

 ornament. 



In order to attract puljlic attention to the 

 necessity for tree planting, the Irish Forestry 

 Society held their Arbour Day at the premises of 

 the Irish School of (iardening for Women, 

 " Meeanec," Terenure. 



The proceedings were presided over by Mr. T. P. 

 (iill. Secretary of the Department of Agriculture 

 and Technical Inst nietion. Letters of apologies 

 for absence were received from their Excellencies 

 the Lord Lieutenant and i^ady Wimborne, the 

 Loj'd .Mayor and, Lady Mayoress, Mr. Duke, ^Ir. 

 Field, ALP. : .Miss Cunningham, the Earl of Ross, 

 and others. .Mr. (UU then addressed the gathering 

 (of about 200 people), explaining the general 

 objects of the Irish Forestry Society, and stating 

 that he was glad to bo of help to them in making 

 a new start mider new circumstances, new times 

 and new associations, and ho{)ing as a result of 

 the present gathering that the Arbour Day move- 

 ment would develop as it had done in Anierica, 

 that just as Mr. J. S. .Morten had become famous 

 in U.S.A., so might Mr. Chas. Dawson, whom he 

 was glad to see present that day. and who had for 

 a long time pioneered that work, become known 

 as the originator of a similar scheme in Ireland. 

 Continuing, .Mr. (iill stated that some years ago a 

 departmental commission was formed in Ireland 

 to go into the question of the need for the plant- 

 ing in Ireland, which has, with the exception of 

 Iceland, the lowest woodland area in Evirope. 

 The problem was tackled vigorously, and as a 

 consequence schemes were drawn up and powers 

 obtained by means of which some thousands of 

 trees had been planted. Since the war began the 

 need for planting had been more than emphasised. 

 At th(^ present time the whole of Cireat Britain, 

 including Ireland, was beiiig rapidly denuded of 

 its remaining trees, and he could assure them 



that both the Imperial Covernment and the Irish 

 J)epartment were fully alive to the urgent neces- 

 sities of the situation. Concluding his address, 

 -Mr. am announced that the next iteni on the 

 ])rogramme was the planting of forest trees and 

 standard fruit trees. 



The first tree planted was a hybrid poplar — of 

 very rapid growth —raised and presented by 

 Irofessor Henry (Populus (ienerosa). This was 

 planted by Mr. (iill, who— taking off his coat- 

 showed that he knew how to handle a spade and 

 also how to well and truly plant. This was 

 planted at one side of the entrance gateway of the 

 Irish School of Gardening for Women, while a 

 similar tree was planted on the other side by Mrs. 

 T. W. Pus.' oil. Standard apple trees (presented 

 by Messrs. Pennick & Co., Chas. Ramsav & Sons, 

 Alex. Dickson A: Sons, Watson ct Sons, W. Power 

 (Waterford), Jas. Walsh (Portadown) were then 

 l)lauted in quick succession by .Mrs. T. P. Gill, 

 -Miss Pothwell, owner of Meeanec, who acted as 

 liostess to the Irish Forestry Society; Mrs. 

 Staikie Miss Haire Foster, Miss Barton, Mrs. 

 Wright Professor M. C. Farrelv, .Mrs. Jones, Miss 

 Sweeney .Mr. Wood, Miss (Jilmore. Mrs. Bell, Miss 

 O'Reilly, :Mrs. Eason, Miss McMurdo, Dr. Henry 

 and Professor Houston. The work of planting 

 was facilitated by the presence of twenty of the 

 professional or students of the Irish School of 

 (iardening for Women), two of whom were 

 stationed, at each tree. 



In closing the ceremony, Mr. Chas. Dawson 

 moved a vote of thanks to Mr. T. P. Gill for 

 presiding; this was seconded by .Mr. Joseph 

 Hutchinson, Secretm^y of the Irish National 

 Foresters' Society (a, benefit society), who stated 

 that recently his society had gone into the matter 

 of tree planting and Were prepared to plant trees 

 ail over Ireland if t hey got facilities, and ground 

 allotted for the purpose. The vote having been 

 heartily acclaimed and acknowledged by Air. 

 Gill, who pointed out the vahu' of getting girls 

 such as he saw-.p^-esent that day interested in 

 gardening and ajfforestation. the proceedings 

 .terminated with various votes of thanks and suit- 

 at)l(' ii^])lii's. 



A Query. 



S(»i..\.\i .M .lA.s.MiNoiDKs, as figured in Paxton's 

 Mat/ozinr of Botany, is giv(m as having bluish 

 flowers. All the plants in cultivation as far as 

 I have seen have pure white flowers. Ai'e there 

 two plants under this name, or is the figure 



wrongly named ? 



R. M. S. 



NOTICE 



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 READERS OF 

 IRISH :: :: 

 GARDENING 



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