124 



IRISH GARDENING 



Fruit Crop, 1918 



The reports herein sulniiitted to this Journal 

 show on the whole that the large fruits will be 

 iinich below the average crop, though there was 

 a profusion of l)loom almost everywhere. 



In well sheltered gardens and orchards and 

 wliere the trees have received proper attention as 

 U) cultivation, manuring and spraying, the crop is 

 very little below the average. In grass orchards 

 where it has been found impossible to have the 

 trees sprayed, the ground kept free from weeds, 

 the crop is in many places a complete failure. 



During the last twelve years many orchards have 

 been planted on land near to the walled in fruit 

 and vegetable garden in many noblemen's 

 demesnes. In most cases the gardens receive 

 good cultivation, the trees are w^ell attended a!id 

 with good results, whilst the orchard ground and 

 trees receive scanty attention. I have been in a 

 number of these places lately and though there is 

 a fair to good crop of fruit in tlie garden there is 

 practically none in the grass orchard, and the 

 trees present a sickly appearance. 



If remunerative crops of fruit are to be procured 

 from grass orchards much more spraying will have 

 to be done to the trees, and the ground abound 

 the trees will need to be kept more iree froin 

 grass and weeds and also to be more liberally 

 treated with manure. 



The trees in general x>i'omised well early in the 

 year. Frost and high winds, however, caused 

 nuu'h damage not only to fruit trees but also to 

 timber and hedgerow plants. 



Fruit growers, especially in the western counties, 

 have reason to remember the gale of 8th-9th June, 

 as not only did it ruin the large fruit crop and 

 l)roke off many of the Jn-anclies, but it also 

 knocked off many of the currants and gooseberries. 

 The storm of 23rd May and the continuous 

 liarsh, cold nights and bright days of April and 

 May ruined much of the fruit blossoms. 



Apples are on the whole from a below average 

 to a bad crop, there being very few really good 

 crops of apples either in private gardens or in 

 connnercial plantations. Cordon and wall trees 

 are a good crop and the fruit is of good quality. 

 It is certainly the worst Apple crop for many 

 years. 



Exposed orchards in grass are bearing prac- 

 tically no fruit. Trees of medium age appear to 

 be bearing best. Of these Bramley, Beauty of 

 Bath, Worcester, Grenadier, King of the Pippins, 

 and Walsham Abbey are most prominent, also 

 young trees of Rev. W. Wilks. 



ears are almost a failure all over the country, 

 there being very few good crops. The trees 

 flowered extra well, but only on sheltered walls, or 

 gardens, is there even a sprinkling of fruit. This 

 is a loss to the country as imported fruit will be 

 scarce. 



Plums are in general a poor crop and much 

 below the average. In very few gardens is there 

 a good crop. In the commercial plantations of 

 Dublin and Meath, where they are grown chiefly 

 for the Dublin market the crop is very much be- 

 low the average. On walls I have seen a few good 

 crops of Coe's Golden Drop. Victoria and Green- 

 gages. Damsons are almost a failure in general. 



Sweet Cherries are a average croj) in the 

 large plantations of Derry, Dublin, Meath and 

 Wicklow, but in other districts they are a below 

 average crop. 



MoBELLos are in general bearing an average 

 crop. 



Gooseberries are the redeeming feature in this 

 year's fruit crop. Heavy crops are the rule, and 

 the frvxit is of good quality, and good prices were 

 realised for the early marketed berries. Had it 

 not been for the storm in May there would have 

 been a record crop. 



Currants are also a good crop, very few of the 

 returns being below average. Boskorp Giant 

 and Victoria Black are bearing very heavy crops 

 of very fine fruit. Red and 'White Currants are 

 also bearing well, caterpillars causing less 

 damage than usual. 



Raspberries on a whole are an average to a good 

 crop. The flowers set well but the continuous 

 drought and harsh winds when in flower and 

 iunnediately afterwards prevented many of the 

 fruits from swelling and proved detrimental to 

 what would otherwise have been a record crop, 

 as in general the canes ripened up well last year. 



Strawberries have been the most variable crop 

 of tlie year, and may be taken as an average to 

 below average crop. In the soufth the season 

 was a very short one, lasting only about a fort- 

 night, and many of the later flowers did not set for 

 the fruits swell. The northern crop was later 

 and turned out much better. The fruit from 

 around Dublin forwarded to the Dublin market 

 was of exceptionally fine quality, and previous 

 t3 the operation of fixed prices very good re- 

 turns were obtained for the fruit. 



Insects have been very troublesome this year, 

 especially where winter and spring spraying 

 operations were neglected. Winter moth cater- 

 pillars have been very destructive in a number 

 of grass orchards, many of the trees being almost 

 defoliated and the fruit blossoms ruined. No 

 less than .'!9 per cent, of the correspondents record 

 this as one of the most troublesome pests, yet one 

 good spraying with arsenate of lead spray will 

 destroy most of the caterpillars. Gooseberry 

 Sawfly caterpillars are reported by 32 of the cor- 

 respondents as doing injury to bush fruits, but 

 the damage is not so serious as last year. Aphis 

 has been very troublesome on most fruit trees 

 and bushes. A nvnnljer record American blight 

 (Woolly Aphis) and the caterpillar of Ermine 

 Moth as doing much damage to Apple trees. The 

 latter has been very destructive in Co. Dublin this 

 year, I counting no less than 42 nests on six feet 

 of an Apple tree branch. Fungoid pests have 

 not been so serious as in the last few years. 

 Canker has been recorded by 25, Black Scab or 

 Spot by 20, American Gooseberry Mildew by 14. 

 Silver Leaf by 3, and Brown Rot by 3 of the cor- 

 respondents as doing considerable damage. Black 

 Scab or Spot is undoubtedly causing much dam- 

 age to the Apple and Pear crops, especially in 

 neglected orchards. In private gardens it is not 

 so injurious, which goes to prove that good 

 cultivation checks the ravages of this disease. 



I beg to thank the numerous correspondents for 

 kindly forwarding me the valuable information 

 to enable me to compile this report. 



W. S. Irving. 



