IRISH GARDENING. 



15 



The Month^s Work. 



Southern and Western Counties. 



13}^ W. C'ami'15I-:m . llv.nl (laidcucr lo Lord 

 Castletown, Dout'iailc Court, Co. Cork. 



\\ IIKX we iiad our first copy ol' IIh' Iui>II 

 (; AIM i;xi\';; for 1!»17 all our (lioui^hts were 

 (lirtH'led towards food production and how to get 

 flic most oul of till' ground at oiu' disijosal. lioth 

 professional and amateur gardeners ha\-e done a 

 great deal during the past year towards food 

 piodiiction, but we nuist make even a greater 

 elToit during the coining year. Now is the time 

 lo begin : no matter how small your plot of ground 

 I nay be do not despise it : it is wonderful what an 

 amount of vegetal)U's can be got out of a few 

 squai'c yards if i)ro])crly cultivated. \\'ork in the 

 M'getable garden dvu-ing the month of January 

 mainly consists of digging and trenching. I do not 

 think trenching will be carried out to any great 

 extent this ^^ inter owing to the shortage of labour : 

 but. at any rate, we can have the ground deeply 

 dug and thrown up roughly : this will make 

 tilings easy when sowing and planting time 

 comes, besides the benetit; the soil will derive 

 from being eN posed to frosts. No opportunity 

 should be lost of collecting all available manure 

 or anything that will make manure. Those who 

 used to depend on the farmyard for their supply 

 will now find tlu-re is not enough to go round 

 owing to the Compulsory Tillage Act. Collect as 

 many oak and beech leaves as possible for hot- 

 ijeds. No doubt the greater part of the leaves 

 has been swept up ere this, but there is always 

 ])lenty more to be had by going out into the 

 woods for them : those that are not wanted for 

 hot-beds ^^ill make excellent manure mixed with 

 stable litter and garden refuse. Towards the 

 middle or end of the month sow Onion seed in 

 boxes and place in a warm greenhouse ; if very 

 large bulbs are not required it will not be neces- 

 sary to transplant them until they are planted 

 where they are to mature. Stir the ground 

 between Cabbage plants with hoe when weather 

 is line ; look over frames of Cauliflowers and 

 Lettuce plants and remove all decayed leaves ; 

 give abundance of air on all favourable occasions. 

 Sow Tomato seed in pans in heat, also a little 

 Lettuce seed, it is sure to come in useful. Put 

 some more Khubarb and Seakale sets into gentle 

 heat to succeed those t hat are already in. Prepare 

 material for hot-beds by mixing stable litter and 

 leaves in equal portions ; turn the lieap a couple 

 of times to sweeten it. If beds are to be made in 

 the open they should be made larger than the 

 frame intended to be placed on them, at least 

 1.5 inches shoidd be projecting on all sides of the 

 Irame. Sow early Peas and Bi'oad Beans on a 

 warm border, also French Leans in 7 or 8 inch 

 pots and place in a temperature of (50° ; to keep 

 up the supply, sow a few pots every two or 

 three weeks. Look over Seed Potatoes, .and 



stand early varieties on their end in boxes t> 

 sprout. 



Hardy I-ktit (iai;i>i::. 



Much has been done in recent \ i-ars lo improve 

 (lit! fruit crop in Ireland ; the increasing demand 

 for good frvut and the high prices obtainable 

 sliould encourage anyone who has the means of 

 doing so to plant freely the class of fruit most 

 suitable to the district. Travelling through the 

 south of Ireland one constantly comes across old 

 oi'chards that iiuist have been plantc^d centuries 

 ago. You rarely see any fruit on the trees larger 

 than gaod crabs. ;ind yet their owners cling to 

 those old orchards like some cherished heirloom ; 

 nor can you make them understand that the same 

 space planted with good approved sorts of Apple 

 trees would produce ten times the present value. 

 The |)!anting of all kinds of fruit trees should be 

 pushed forward now, but it is work that never 

 pays to hurry over. Always make the hole large 

 enough to allow the roots to be spread out to 

 their fullest extent ; have some good loam 

 chopped fine and mixed with leaf-movdd to place 

 about the roots. If the tree requires staking, place 

 the stake in the hole before tilling in the earth ; 

 by so doing you run no risk of breaking the roots. 

 Make the soil aroimd the roots as firm as possible. 

 Planting should nt-ver be done in wet weather, 

 wait until you get tlie ground fairly dry ; before 

 planting remove all broken or damaged roots 

 with a sharp knife. Look over new plantations 

 of Strawberries, liard frosts are liable to loosen 

 the young plants. Cuttings of Goose beri-ies and 

 Currants should now be inserted. Select young 

 shoots with a piece of the old wood attached, 

 clean oft" all the buds half way up the cutting, 

 place them in rows inches apart and If) inches 

 between the rows. Black Cvu-rants should not 

 have the buds taken off, as the shoots from the 

 ground usually bear the best fruit. Bullfinches 

 w ill now be getting troublesome, and means must 

 be taken to destroy them or protect the bushes 

 from their ravages ; slacked lime and soot mixed 

 and shaken over the bushes will render the buds 

 ilistasteful to them. Where birds are particu- 

 larly troublesome it is a good plan to delay 

 pruning as long as possible. 



TdK Flo WE It (iAi!iji;x. 



Christmas i\t>,sKs.--l'"rames or hand-glasses 

 placed over these will keep the llowers clean and 

 induce longer flower stems. 



Herbaceous Beds. — If those have not already 

 been forked over they should be taken in haml 

 at once ; at the same time work some well rotteil 

 nuinure in between the plants. Where any plants 

 are getting too large and encroaciiing on their 

 neighbours it is best to lift clean out of the ground 

 and plant back some of the best pieces. 



Antirrhinum and I'^ast Lothian Stock should be 

 sown this month in i)ans in a warm greenliousu ; 

 give air to all bedding stulf in frames on nuld 

 days. Any one who has a heated frame or green- 

 house can now commence to increase his stock 

 of bedding plants if Uiore are required. 



