26 



IRISH GARDENING. 



one way of thanking the man wiio sent it, and 

 that is by making him a gift too. Nothing like 

 an adequate recompense — just a sahite. That is 

 what suggested tlie salver. Ton after ton of the 

 finest home-grown fruits and vegetables have been 

 sent to us, and will continue to come until the 

 war is over. They are vitally necessary, but they 

 are voluntarily sent, and there lies the charm." 



We earnestly hope that owners of garclens, 

 gardeners and plotholders will respond to the 

 generosity of the gallant seamen and come for- 

 ward with their produce in competition for the 

 unique prizes for which there may never again 

 be an opportunity of competing. 



Forestry. 



In this section there are classes for boards 

 sawn from home-grown trees of Oak, Elm, Ash and 

 other broad-leaved genera, and from conifers such 

 as Larch. Spruce, Scot's Pine, Silver Fir, &c. 



Class III in this section is open to nurserymen 

 and the trade only, and consists of a " General 

 exhibit of young trees suitable for connnereial and 

 oi'namental planting." 



Suggestions to Allotment Holders for 

 Autumn Treatment of Land. 



The following suggestions and recommendations 

 have been prepared for the benefit of those who 

 occupy small areas of land, such as allotments and 

 gardens, or who wish to bring fresh land under 

 spade cultivation witli the view of increasing 

 their supplies of vegetables during the autumn and 

 winter, and in the spring and early sunnner of 

 the next year. It should be borne in mind that 

 the suggestions made are dependent upon local 

 conditions. 



Land which is available for spade cultivation in 

 small areas may be divided into three chisses, 

 viz. : — 



(a) Land at present under spade or arable 

 cultivation. 



(6) Good land which has been under permanent 

 grass. 



(r) Derelict or waste land. 



Class A. — CulfAvatcd Land. — Assuming that land 

 of this character is in good heart very little 

 additional cultivation will be required in the 

 autumn. A dressing of either stable or farmyard 

 manure should be applied, and the ground should 

 be dug one spit deep. 



1. Vegetables irhieh may he soirn or jiluntcd 

 dur'niq July and the nnly part af AiK/ust : — 



1. Beet— Globe. 



2. Carrot — Early varieties. 

 '■i. Turnip — ,, ,, 



4. Onions — ,, ,, 



5. Spinach — Prickly. 



G. Cabbage — Varieties for spring cutting. 



2. Vegetables irhicJi may }>e suirn <ir plaiitrd ri 

 October and early Noreuihrr. — The following 

 vegetables might be sown or planted in October or 

 the beginning of November : — 



1. Broad Beans. 



2. Early Peas. 



-J. All varieties of CalAiage- raised from seed 

 sown in July or August. 



These plants will yield crops in the following 

 spring and early sunmier. })ut too late to allow of 

 Potatoes being successfully planted after them. 

 They could be succeeded, however, by Onions, 

 Celery, Leeks, Turnips, Broccoli, Brussels Sprout^., 



Kale or Carrots. Growers should remember that 

 one crop of the Cabbage family should not as a 

 general rule be succeeded by another of the same 

 kind. Beans and Peas should be followed by 

 Cabbage, and Cabbage by Onions, Carrots, or some 

 kind of crop other than the Cabbage trine. 



Information as to the application of fertilisers 

 to these crops will l)e fountl in a leaflet on Maniir- 

 ing of Cottage Gardens and Allotments. 



Class B. — Good Grass Land brohen up for Sirid.e 

 Culti ration. — Where grass land is broken up fin- 

 spade cultivation it must be treated in a different 

 way from the cultivated land described luider the 

 previous heading. 



In the first place the laud should be bastard 

 trenched. To begin with, the turf should be 

 skimmed off in a thin layer two to three inches in 

 depth from a trench which should be eighteen 

 inches to two feet broad. The first spit of soil 

 innnediately below the turf should be thrown back. 

 The bottom soil should then be stirred to a depth 

 of six inches with a pick, digging fork or spade, 

 according to the nature of the subsoil. The turf 

 layer from the next trench should then be laid 

 upside down on the stirred bottom of the first 

 tiench and the first spit of soil placed above it. 

 This process should be continued till all the land 

 has been dug over, the turf and first spit of soil 

 from the first trench being used to level up the 

 last. 



Land of this character is often very fertile and 

 should give a good yield of Potatoes or other 

 planted crop the following summer, but it can 

 seldom be used for crops raised from small seeds 

 in the year it is broken up, for two reasons : — 

 (1) T'nless the turf is very good and free from 

 weeds the result of the cultivation may bring up 

 and favour the growth of a numl)er of weeds 

 which have been kept under hitherto; a great deal 

 of hoeing may be necessary to keep these down 

 and this may interfere with the seedlings. (2) Old 

 grass land is often infested with wireworms (the 

 grub of the Click Beetle) and leather jackets (the 

 grub of the Daddy Long Jjcgs). These insects 

 may completely destroy the crop as soon as it be- 

 gins to grow. 



Treatment for these pests is given in leafiets 

 Nos. 10 and 11, but as the methods advised may 

 not be available the land should be frequently 

 lioed and the weeds kept down so as to deprive 

 the insects of their food for some months. The 

 land may also be dressed with lime. 



(lass (J. — Derelict Land. — Fertile grass land will 

 not ))e available in many districts for cultivation 

 l)y spade labour, and if additional land is to be 

 biought imder tillage waste land must be broken 

 up. Much of this land, however, is quite infertile 

 and could not be made to bear a crop to repay 

 the labour spent on it. Dry thin land 'nearing .■! 

 scanty crop of weeds, such as rushes, sorrel, or 

 bents, should be avoided, but heavy land bearing 

 a rank growth of nettles, docks and other vigorous 

 weeds will with proper c-ultivation give a good 

 return. There are many acres of suitable land of 

 this class available, especially in the neighbour- 

 hood of large towns, but care is needed in treating 

 it if it is ever to bear a satisfactory crop. The 

 following treatment is recommended. 



In the first place all rank growth of weeds 

 should be cut down with a scythe. If the weeds 

 are of a soft nature they might be put in heaps 

 with any available grass for making into a com- 

 post, or if annuals, and free from ripe seeds, they 

 may be dug in at once. If of a fibrous or woody 

 nature they should be burnt. The land might 



