IRISH GARDENING. 



127 



then be skimmed and bastard-trenched as advirieJ 

 above, but tlie greatest care must be taken (1~ iiot 

 to bring the subsoil to the top, and (2) to clear 

 out the roots of such weeds as docks, couch gra-'s, 

 creeping buttercup, l)indweed, nettles, &c. 

 spent in the eradication of such weeds will be well 

 repaid. 



Land of this character when freed from weeds 

 and properly trenched will bear a useful crop the 

 following year if suitably manured. If stable or 

 farmyard manure cannot be obtained, it is pos- 

 sible to supply the plant food from other sources — 

 at least, for some years. The chief plant foods 

 required to secure satisfactory growth are 

 (1) nitrogen, (2) potash, (3) phosphates. 



Xitrogcn can be supplied by digging in all soft 

 vegetal)le matter, such as grass, leaves of trees, 

 and decaying vegeta])le matter of any sort, 



Viifdsh may be supplied by collecting and Di'.rii- 

 ing all kinds of woody material, such as hedge 

 clippings, prunings from trees, &c. The ash should 

 be carefully saved in bags and kept dry. It is 

 especially useful on land that is to be cropped with 

 Potatoes. Seaweed is a valuable potash manure 

 and should be collected at all rocky sea coasts 

 (see Leaflet No. 254, TJie Use of ,s'rrnc'V'(/ as 

 Mdtiurc). 



PhospJiatrs will not be readily supjilied from 

 natural sources, unless large quantities of fish 

 waste are available, but phosphatic fertilisers such 

 as liasic slag, superphosphate and bonemeal should 

 be procurable througli the usual trade sources. 



Lime will be required in many cases and sh •iii'l 

 always be applied to grass land after breaking up. 



The advice as to insect pests and weeds under 

 Class R applies with even greater force to this 

 class of land, and great care should be taken to 

 get rid of both l)efore the land is sown or planted 

 with any crop. It would be better to keep such 

 land vacant till the spring, when Potatoes mi-ih* 

 be planted. — Lcaflrf. .309, liuard of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries. 



The Month's Work. 



Southern and Western Counties 



l!y W. ('AMiHF.T.L. Head Gardener to Lord 

 Castletown, Duiieiaile Court, Co. Cork. 



The Vegktabli:! Garden. 

 Foi;. many years we have not experienced 

 such a Inn^- spell of dry weather, no rain 

 having fallen during tlu' months of May, -June, 

 and the first week of July, except a few light 

 showers which were of very little use. All 

 planting out of Cabbages, Broccoli and all other 

 Winter Greens had to be held over until the 

 M-elcome rain which started to fall on the 8th of 

 July. Planting has been going merrily on since 

 then, and plants will soon pull up for lost time in 

 the moist warm ground. 



^ C.\BBAGE. — Make another sowing of Cabbage 

 Seed about the 10th of the month. ]-]llam's Early, 

 Flower of Spring and Sutton's April are three 

 good varieties for so\\'ing now. 



CELEnv.— The eai-liest' planted Celoiw will now 

 be ready inr a first earthing; before doing so pnJl 

 otf all side shoots and decaying foliage, water the 

 ])lants with manure water before filling in the 

 earth; great care should be taken that no "clay c^ets 



into the heart of the plants. ^Yhe^e there is a 

 lot to do and not much time or labour to do it, 

 perhaps the best way would be to go over the 

 plants first and tie eacli one ^\•ith Raffia (but not 

 too tightly). The earth can then be put around 

 the plants with a sipade. 



Turnips. — Another sowing of Orange Jelly 

 and Blackstone should be made early in the month. 

 I always sow at the same time some of the early 

 white varieties, they jirovide nice tender roots all 

 the early part of winter. 



Onions. — ^If Ti-ipolis and Shallotts have not 

 already been lifted no time should bo Io,st in 

 doing so, spread them out on a dry walk where 

 the wind and sun will thoroughly ripen them 

 l)efore storing them in a cool but dry house. 

 Sow seed of Tripoli (Jnions about the 15th of the 

 month; Ailsa Craig is also a useful sort to sow- 

 no \\-. 



PoTATiOES. — Lift and store second early sorts. 

 It is just as well to pick out those required for 

 seed while they are spread on the ground; it is 

 easier than picking them afterwards in a dark 

 house or cellar, at the same time separate all 

 small or diseased tubers from those fit for table 

 use. If there is the convenience of a house or 

 shed to store them in let them lie for a few days 

 to dry before covering them. 



Leeks.— Plant out the latest batch of Leeks, 

 these will remain longer without running to seed 

 than the earlier planted lot; give them a piece of 

 good rich ground to grow in, the richer the ground 

 the more tender the Leek. 



Spinach. — Sow the Prickly or Winter sort now, 

 the plants can be allowed to get a few inches high 

 before thinning when the thinnings will give a 

 few nice dishes. 



Caulif!L,owei!S.— Sow a little seed of Early 

 London Cauliflower in a frame where it can be 

 protected during the winter; also some all year 

 round Cabbage Lettuce. If Lettuce is sown out- 

 door to stand the winter raise the bed as high as 

 possible by taking out a deep trench each side of 

 the bed; damps being responsible for nearlv all 

 casualties among the plants in the south of Ireland 

 dui'ing the winter months. 



Vegetable ]\lARa!OWs are no^\• bearing freely and 

 require plenty of water during dry weather; give 

 them soakings of manure water occasionally and 

 cut off the marrows when large enough". If 

 ^[arrows are required for jam making, a couple 

 could be left on one plant to come to maturity. 



ToMATOEiS,.— Growing out-door will still need 

 generous treatment in the way of manure water 

 or some good artificial manure; as the fruit starts 

 to colour they can be pulled off and spread out on 

 a greenhouse shelf, or kept in boxes in a warm 

 kitchen ^\-here they will finish off nicely. 



The P'lower Garden. 

 Strawberries.— August is the best month for 

 makmg new plantations of Strawberries. Ground 

 where early Potatoes have been lifted and pre- 

 viously well inamu-ed will bo very suitable for 

 them: clean and level the ground, and make 

 it firm by trending befoiv planting. If tJK^ 

 nnmers have been pegged down as described 

 m last month's calendar they can now be 

 lifted with a good ball of ' earth attached 



