IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME XIII 



No. 143 



Editor J. W. Besant 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



JANUARY 

 191S 



The New Year^ 





Xkvkh ill all its long history was gardening so 

 Important as at tlie ])rL'seiit time. In \n-dc- 

 lirally c-wry civilisc'd country cultivation is 

 going on with an inteiisiveness hitherto un- 

 dreamt of. Farming, which produces most of 

 the liulkifi' foodstuffs, is being extended and 

 ])ursucd \igorously everywhere in all con- 

 tinents w here fo(jd of any kind can he produced. 

 Gardeners, with their intensive methods of cul- 

 ti\ation, have during the ])ast year produced 

 enormous (juantities of good food, and have 

 l)y precei)t and example encouraged tlujusands 

 of others to do likewise. The year 1917 might 

 well go down to posterity as the allotment year, 

 for it has l)eeii distinguished by the immense 

 enthusiasm of the allotment holders in Great 

 Jiritain and Ireland; and, judging from signs 

 and portt-nts now apparent, the New Year bids 

 fair to equal if not eclil^se its predecessor. 

 Tlujusands still clamoui' for allotments, and 

 they imist be satisfied. There may be acute 

 scarcity of food, but it must be mitigated as 

 far as possible, and one of the easiest means of 

 eliminating the danger is tn provide plots for 

 all who reipure them, and who are willing to 

 cultivate them. 



It should be the aim of everyone to help for- 

 ward the allotment movement to the utmost. 

 At the present moment how many are enjoying 

 a sufficiency of Potatoes who would otherwise 

 be buying against each other in the shops I An 



enormous amount of work remains to be done 

 ill s|)reading a knowledge of the best methods 

 of growing garden crops. From all i)arts of the 

 country- We heard of the magnificent work done 

 during 1017. Allotments obtained late in the 

 spring, the ground in ai)palliiig condition, yet 

 by midsummer the crops were growing as best 

 they could. The fine early work was too often 

 marred by subse(iueiit errors in sowing and 

 planting. FT'equently two or three times the 

 number of Potatoes were planted that need 

 have been, and all sorts of seeds were invari- 

 ably sown too thickly and insufficiently thinned 

 out. The old pernicious lazy-bed system of 

 growing I'otatoes should be got rid of, and 

 planting in drills or on the level substituted. 

 Expert advice tactfully proffered is greatly 

 wanted, and trained gardeners slujuld do their 

 utmost to help and encourage food ])roduction. 

 In our February number last year we ventured 

 to appeal to the trained gardeners of Ireland to 

 let no opportunity ))ass of helping in the great 

 national work of food ])roduction, and we again 

 urge them to place themselves at the service 

 of the nation. We would be glad to see the 

 Pioyal Horticultural Society of Ireland taking 

 up the allotment movement and lending its 

 ])owerful assistance in procuring additional land 

 and in supjdying expert advice wherever re- 

 (pu'red. The New Year opens under dark war 

 clouds, but we must find the silver lining. 



