IRISH GARDENING. 



55 



always been a very easy sulijcct, l)iil Ihough it 

 lias borne its fine flowers uuj.nud'iingly i bud only 

 lealised tbis season its full beauty, since 1 gave 

 it a little protection from tbe rain and damp tbat 

 liitberto have damaged its flowers l)adly. The 

 tiusses are very large, and lliough tbe petals are 

 wbite, tbe bunch of rose-coloured stamens is so 

 conspicuous tbat tbe colour is really a pinkish 

 w bite. 



Tbis plant came from tbe borders of Wepal and 

 is perfectly hardy, its one drawback to my mind 

 being the absence of foliage when in flower. Dur- 

 ing late summer and autuum the great leaves are 

 magnificent, with every sbade of red and criui- 

 son, and in sheltered positions they last on into 



iiKiiuirt'S — when crops are well rooted; meeting the 

 special requirements of each crop in the way of 

 food materials, space and sunlight, and affording 

 protection from cold by sowing at suitable sea- 

 sons — as in case of Riuiner Beans, or by shelter 

 breaks, treatment of our soils by liming, &c. 



Foes anu thkir treatment. — Tbe most trouble- 

 some pests of crops are often those which work 

 underground or just at the ground level. Of these, 

 one of the worst, on new allotments at any rate, 

 is the " Wire Worm," so called. This pest, which 

 is straw colour and varies in length and size 

 according to its age from about half an inch to 

 an inch long, and about one sixteenth to a tenth 

 of an inch across, is the larvae or grub stage of a 



PiHODODENDKON CTJNEATUM. 



(A new species discovered in C'liina \>\ Mv. Ceo. Forrest. We. hope to give a brief 

 desci'iptiou of it in our next issue, riioto b}- Oeo. Forrest). 



winter, but by spring are quite gone and the new 

 growth beginning is very little advanced by 

 flowering time, this beauty of foliage is also one 

 of tbe good points of l)otb Shortias, and in their 

 case it remains throughout tbe winter, and only 

 gives place slowly to tbe new, after the flowers 

 bave faded. 



Friends and Foes of Allotment 

 Holders' Crops. 



Ix previous notes tbe relationsliip of good cultural 

 conditions to healthy and pest-free plants was 

 pointed out. I would like to again emphasizj? tbe 

 necessity of thorough cultivation . deep digging, 

 boeing or scuffling, use of water-holding matter in 

 tbe soil, such as vegetable refuse; use of liquid 



small brownish beetle, commonly called the click 



beetle. . t^ ^.^ i 



The wire worm is onmivorous. It attacks nuiny 

 crops from time to time, but more particularly 

 Potatoes, Carrots and Broad Beans. Various soil 

 preparations are often recommended but I cannot 

 say that I have yet come across a cheap and 

 effective preparation which could be absolutely 

 relied upon to rid the soil of this pest. The 

 best method of dealing with it is to thoroughly 

 cultivate tbe soil during the winter by means ot 

 ridging, and in the summer by hoeing, so as to 

 exTX)se°'the maximum amomit of surface to the 

 action of the weather and to the watchful eyes 

 of the various useful birds. 



When new ground is being brought under cul- 

 tivation it will pay to give a good dressing of 

 agricultural salt or gaslime immediately on top 

 oF tbe inverted sods, say about 8 ounces to the 



