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IRISH GARDENING 



Obituary. 



Mr. a. R. SARGENT. 



Many of our readers are familiar with the splendid 

 work done by Professor Sargent of tlie Arnold 

 Arboretum, Harvard University, Jamaica Plain. 

 Mass., and will sympathise with him in the loss of 

 his son. 



Mr. Sargent was a distinguished landscape 

 architect and worked in close association with his 

 father. Together they made long journeys, includ- 

 ing one over the Trans-Siberian Railroad down to 

 Java and Chile and the Straits of Magellan, in 

 search of new plants. 



R. HOOPER PEARSON, EDITOR OF THE 

 O'A RDE2s^ERS' CHROSICLE. 



It is with the deepest regret that we record the 

 death, early in the morning of the lltli Jiaie, of 

 Mr. Robert Hooper Pearson, Managing Editor of 

 tJie Gardener.^' C'Jnoiiicle. 



Devoted to his duties as an editor, he was no 

 less devoted to the interests oi horticulture, and 

 to these combined objects he gave all his thoughts 

 with a singleness of purpose which won the ad- 

 miration ot all who knew him. 



Mr. Pearson was born on July 18, 18(JG, at 

 Ureedwood, in Staffordshire. His gardening pro- 

 clivities were pronounced at an early age, and his 

 father ai>i>renticed him in the neighbouring gardens 

 of Keele Hall, under the late Mr. Wallace. After 

 serving his apprenticeship he applied for entrance 

 to Kew Gardens as a " yoUng gardener," and was 

 successful in becoming a member of the Kew Staf^. 

 After his two years' training at Kew, where he 

 rose to the position of sub-forenum, he sought 

 further experience in the Marquis of Bute's garden 

 at Cardiff Castle; he was always appreciative of 

 the excellent training he received under the late 

 Mr. Pettigrew. He then went to Patshull Hall, 

 Staffordshire, but after a short stay there he was 

 offered a position on the (Tanlrnci's' Chronicle by 

 the then Editor, the late Dr. Maxwell T. Masters. 

 He joined the staff of the paper in 1892. and be- 

 came Editor, on the death of Dr. Masters, in 1903. 



He was keenly interested in every aspect of 

 horticulture, and held many offices in various 

 societies. He was Hon. Secretary of the Horticul- 

 tural Club, and during his term of office the mem- 

 bership increased from about fifty to some two 

 hundred. He was a member both of the Scientific 

 and of the Floral Conunittee of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society; an active supporter of garden- 

 ing charities, he held a position on the Executive 

 of the Royal Gardeners' Orphan Fund for many 

 years, and took a real interest in many of the 

 children who were supported out of the Funds. 

 He was instrumental in helping to found the 

 British Gardeners' Association, and for several 

 years was President of the Kew Guild. On the 

 occasion of the Royal International Horticultural 

 Exhibition in 1912. he held the office of Press 

 Secretary, and discharged his duties to the ad- 

 miration of all. 



^As an author his best known work is The Book 

 of Garden Pests, but his name became famous 

 through the popular series of books known as 

 Present Day Gardenh\g, edited by him and 

 written by specialists in each subject. 



He married in September, 1893. Miss Jennie 

 Evans, of Lmgoed. Abergavenny. His wife and 

 only child, a daughter, survive him. 



Reported Missing. 



LANCE-CORPORAL CECIL SMITH. 



\Vk regret to learn from Mr. George Smith of 

 Daisy Hill Nurseries, that his second sou has been 

 missing since April 15tli. Readers of Iiush 

 liARUENiNG wilt Sympathise with the jjarents in 

 their great anxiety. Tlie following cutting from 

 the A('ic;i/ Bcportcr gives the details of his 

 career : — 



" Jjance-Corporal Cecil Smith. Royal Irish 

 Rifles, son of Mr. George Norman Smith, and 

 grandson of Mr. Thomas Smith, of the Daisy Hill 

 Nurseries, Newry. officially reported as missing 

 since the 15th of April. He left Belfast with a 

 draft on last Good Friday, and was sent up the 

 line in France on Easter Monday. He had served 

 three years in a North of Ireland Camp, and he 

 had just attained his 19th birthday the week be- 

 fore he left for the front. His elder brother is an 

 officer in the Royal Air Force. 



Allotment Observations. 



By J. Hurley, Superintendent Corporation of 

 Dublin Land Cultivation Committee. 



Neglected plots at this time of year are easily 

 detected. The absence of the plotholder is re- 

 vealed by the presence of weeds in large numbers. 

 All weeds should be pulled or kept down with the 

 hoe. Every weed deprives the cultivated crop of 

 a certain amount of nourishment, which has to be 

 put into the ground by the plotholder in the form 

 of manure. Manure at present is expensive and 

 scarce, therefore do not grow weeds. 



The Corjioration allotments are about to be 

 judged and prizes given foi intelligent cultivation. 

 It is well, perhaps, to point out here, that to win 

 a prize a plot must first be free from weeds. The 

 other points necessary are provision for succes- 

 sional crops, neatness of paths and borders, and 

 the proper cultivation of five distinct kinds of 

 vegetables. The judging this year will be carried 

 out on somewhat different lines to last year. It 

 i-i i:)roposed that a local allotment committee 

 should visit an outside area and reconunend at a 

 rate of one plot in ten. Then the selected ])lots 

 to be finally judged by two or more com])etent 

 horticidturists. The comijetition will lie very keen, 

 and it is believed that the prize winner of last 

 year will have to be well prepared if he is to 

 succeed this time. 



Early Potatoes are l)eiiig dug on mostly all 

 plots throughout the city. Pearly Puritan and 

 Ei)icure l)eing most ]jrominent. 



Spraying has been started though the weather is 

 not very suitable for it. The cost per spray per plot 

 is estimated at 3s. The Land Cultivation Com- 

 mittee have given tlie use of 14 Knapsack 

 sprayers to the Irish Plotholders' Union, and with 

 a little good luck the operation ought not take 

 long to perform. The practical agriculturist 

 sprays his Potatoes principally on the under sides 

 of the leaves; from this the plotholder should 

 learn a lesson. The blight is found if carefully 

 looked for early in the season on the under sides 

 of the leaves in the form of minute brown spots. 

 It is. therefore, advisable to spray early, and spray 

 the undersides of the leaves as well as the top. 



On many plots the stalks of Tripoli Onions 

 have been cut; this is detrimental and should 

 certainly be avoided. These stalks have their 

 functions to perform— viz. : they manufacture 

 ])lant food which is returned to the bulb. If the 

 bulbs are showing signs of ripening they should 

 be pulled and left to dry off gradually. 



